MOVE! Makes a difference
November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and through awareness campaigns and health education efforts, word is spreading that diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, amputations, nerve damage, and other complications. In some cases, Type 2 diabetes can be controlled by exercise, diet, and weight loss.
This was the kind of future Alan “Wayne” McSpadden was facing when his primary care provider told him he was “pre-diabetic” during a visit to the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center.
“That got my attention,” McSpadden says of the diagnosis. The seventy-year-old Air Force Veteran served in Southeast Asia early in his career, before returning to the states and becoming a civil engineer after his discharge.
“Several of my family members have diabetes and have suffered a number of complications from it. So, when my provider recommended I participate in the MOVE! program, I was ready.”
“MOVE! is a multidisciplinary weight management program that focuses on making behavior changes related to food and physical activity,” VA Registered Dietitian Brianne Riggins explains. “The program includes guidance from a registered dietitian, a psychologist, and a physical therapy assistant. The group consists of nine weekly sessions, plus follow-ups at one, two, three, six and twelve months.”
“Participants are encouraged to make behavior changes that are sustainable and can be managed long-term. Areas of focus include portion control, food label reading, food journaling, mindful eating, types of physical activity, and goal setting,” added Dr. Amanda Wallace, VA Psychologist and Health Behavior Coordinator.
“I like the tag-team approach,” McSpadden says. “And the rest is calorie-counting, journaling, portion control…the usual stuff. I gave up sodas and candy bars, cut the fried food, and switched to grilled chicken. I lost 20 or 30 pounds real fast,” he says. “But I never really had to quit eating things that I enjoyed - I just needed to watch how much of them I ate.”
McSpadden lost a total of 65 pounds while participating in the program. “He’s a real success story,” Riggins says of McSpadden. “We hope his example will encourage others to take similar action.”
“It was pretty intense in the beginning. We met once a week for a couple of months,” McSpadden explained. “The group experience kept it interesting and motivational, and learning how to do the journaling and keeping the portion size in the front of my mind was very effective.”
“I’ll tell you a story,” the Veteran said. “My father was a tail gunner on a B-17 during World War II and flew 35 missions over Germany. One day we heard a B-17 was coming to Branson, so we took my dad to see it and take a ride on it. But, to get to where my dad sat, you had to go through the bomb bay, and it was a narrow, V-shaped pass-through. I wasn’t able to fit through there. I hadn’t realized I’d gained that much weight, but I knew it was time to do something.”
Asked about the impact on his daily life, McSpadden says, “I get around the golf course better. I can do more things, and I have more energy. It’s made a big difference. When I first started losing the weight and would run into friends and family I hadn’t seen in a while, they were amazed at the change in me, and told me to keep it up.” He smiles as he describes his yoga instructor daughter as a “fitness nut,” adding, “I think she’s proud of what I’ve done.”
Indeed she is. Daughter, Kara noted, “Not a day goes by that I don’t feel proud about my dad and all he has accomplished. I’m so happy he is taking his health seriously – not only for himself, but for his grandkids, who think he hung the moon!”
“Even my beautiful wife has lost weight since I joined this program,” McSpadden says. “When your spouse’s eating habits change, your eating habits tend to change as well. Our experience with other diets was short-lived,” he adds, “but I’d highly recommend MOVE!.”
For more information visit: MOVE! - https://www.move.va.gov/