Weight management is one of the key steps on the road to a healthy you, says local heart and stroke Charity Croí, who are just announcing details of their next series of six week (one hour per week ) weight management programmes which take place in the Croí Heart and Stroke Centre, Newcastle, Galway and at select venues throughout the west of Ireland. The Croí programme is delivered by highly qualified dietitians and each participant is encouraged to keep a food diary and participate in weekly weigh-ins where they receive on-going advice and motivation.
Earlier this year Croí commenced the delivery of their own dietitian-led weight management programmes, which are very different from other popular, commercial and well promoted programmes. The Croí programme has been developed from years of working with people who struggle with their weight and people who have to lose weight due to its impact on their heart attack, stroke, and diabetes risk.
It is based on best practice in dietary advice and provides participants with expert guidance on all aspects of healthy eating, exploring issues such as your relationship with food; making healthy choices when shopping; understanding food labels and controlling portion sizes.
To-date, the Croí programme has been achieving great results, with participants shedding on average, over nine lbs across a six week period. Weight loss on the Croí programme is managed so that it adheres to the recommended weight-loss guidelines of one to two lbs per week. Sustainable weight loss is the key to successful and long term weight management says Croí.
“Weight management is not about ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods; celebrity ‘fad’ diets or crash diets; or sudden and unsustainable weight loss,” say Croí dietitians Claire Kerins and Katie Cunningham. “It’s about the holistic approach to your weight, focusing on your overall lifestyle and how it’s impacting on your weight. In this context, our programme addresses issues as varied as the quality and quantity of your sleep, your hydration, physical activity and exercise etc.
As well as dietary advice for weight management, we provide expert advice on diet and lifestyle to help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure levels and to reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes,” say the two dietitians who have developed and who deliver this unique programme. The Croí weight management programme is one of many innovative preventive health programmes which have been developed by the award winning heart health team based at the new Croí Heart & Stroke Centre in Galway.
The next Croí Weight Management Courses will commence in the Croí Heart & Stroke Centre on the following dates (and run for six weeks ):
Monday Jan 20 10am-11am
Tuesday Jan 21 6.30pm-7.30pm
Thursday Jan 23 3pm-4pm
On Wednesday January 29 , Croí in association with Galway Rural Development and Teagasc will commence running a six week weight management course in the Liam Mellows Campus, Teagasc, Athenry. This course will run each Wednesday from 10am-11am.
As places are limited on each course, pre-booking is essential. Bookings can be made by calling Croí on 091-893500 or on-line at www.croi.ie (on or after January 6 )
