A New Approach to Food Brings Lasting Health Benefits

“You don’t have to be perfect, just be consistent.”

This is the food mantra of Anne Koprajda, and it’s definitely working.

Anne learned these pearls of wisdom from her Wellness Institute dietitian, Jennifer Gashinski, whom she says has taught her how to improve her diet, “for benefits that will last my whole life.”

Anne is a long-time Wellness member, who at 41 decided it was time to change her relationship with food. She signed up for the Wellness Institute Weight Loss Clinic, and that’s when she met Jen.  Following an assessment to learn about Anne’s ‘food history,’ Jen created a personalized two-week meal plan that included breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, based on the number of calories Anne needed to lose weight safely.

Jen helped Anne change her approach to grocery shopping, meal planning and portion sizes and introduced easy, delicious recipes to help make healthy eating sustainable.  Anne now has the knowledge and confidence to introduce nutritious new ingredients into her pantry. And – bonus – her girls are on board. “Now they say, ‘Can we have that lentil salad again?’” she laughs. “And even my 10-year-old is cooking.”

To enhance her food knowledge, Anne attended two free events hosted by Wellness:  a cooking workshop, where she learned how to incorporate nutritious ingredients into everyday meals; and a ‘food label tour.’ “It was a real eye-opener,” she says. “It showed us what we need to look for regarding things like sodium and sugar content.”

Anne works out at Wellness two or three times a week (“You can’t get bored here!”) and is thankful for the facility’s whole-body approach to health. “It’s not just about the numbers on the scale,” she says.

“My behaviour toward food is different. My blood pressure has come down. I’m feeling stronger.  It’s the health improvements that people don’t see that keep me coming back.”

Our Registered Dietitians and Weight Loss Clinic are available to help members and non-members alike improve their relationship with food, learn about healthy eating, and get support for lifestyle change.