Local Diabetes Education

Just had our annual advisory board meeting and came away feeling like we are doing some good in the community, meeting the needs of some individuals with Diabetes. But there are still a lot more that could be helped.

Our Diabetes Education program: 7 Steps to Diabetes Control is being held in Knox County twice . Once in Frederictown at Dr Bill Elder's office: Jan 24,31, Feb 7 5:30-8:30. The classes are going to be offered at a new location in Gambier, at the community Center.. Sessions are Jan 31, Feb 7 and Feb 14 9-noon. Doctor's order is required to attend, and we would love to have you attend. Contact me if you are interested.

A few words of encouragement from Michael Bidwell, 54, PWD ( person with diabetes) , of Cincinnati. He identifies that taking responsibility for his health after his diagnosis set the stage for success. "Our doctors, nutritionists, and endocrinologists are all consultants," he says. " We are the ones in charge. We need to know how to adjust our diet, exercise, and meds to create healthy balance that allow us to function, feeling well." In my estimation sounds like he has attended an empowering Diabetes Education program. What are you waiting for? You are the one in charge. Make a goal to take care of yourself in 2012. Let me know how I can help.

Improving your health through weight loss

Often I sound like a broken record, but we do need to concentrate on the things that we think are important. As a dietitian, I cannot modify your medications, that is not in my "scope of practice", but I can counsel you on one of the best ways to get healthy that I know, and that is getting into a healthy weight range.

The BMI tool is a helpful resource to give you a general idea of what your health risks are in relation to weight status, but like any other tool it does not provide a total picture of what is going on. When it is used as a tool to assess health in relation to others, it could have some positive indicators. I object to the use of it to "categorize individuals" as far as either being overweight or obese or morbidly obese. I think we as a health profession, need to learn how to use the tool without derogatory classifications. Individuals who are overweight , obese, or morbidly obese, realize they are, and do not need to be reminded by having a "label". Just my thoughts....
Anyway, I personally have utilized my knowledge to "get to a healthy weight" for years. And I have been moderately successful when I applied the principles that I know. I kept thinking that if I could just reach the weight that was good for me, I could maintain it. With the help of findhealthysolutions, I have been able to move into a different BMI category, from overweight status to "healthy status". My challenge now is to maintain that . I am implementing what I have preached. Exercise is the number one indicator of whether or not weight loss will be maintained. I am trying. Plus I am listing to my inner hunger cues and continuing to use the take shape for life products, 2-3 a day. So far it is helping me "hold tight" we will see.

My story is that I was on the program for 3 weeks and noticed a reduction by half in my triglycerides and cholesterol. I have lost 20-25 pounds and feel great. Hope to continue with the program. Now, my goal is to introduce it to others. I want you to become as healthy as you can. Let me know how I can help.www.findhealthysolutions.tsfl.com. Check it out, see what you think.

Managing your weight for the holidays

Christmas in September???? NO WAY

No, this is not an advertisement for how many more days till Christmas, or a friendly reminder about how to navigate through the holiday buffets . This is real information on how to be 20-25 pounds lighter by the holiday season.

Imagine how good that would feel and how much healthier you could be ...
how would that drop in weight affect your arthritis,
your blood pressure,
your diabetes??

We all know that weight loss has a positive impact on all those issues.
If you join findhealthysoloutions, and follow the eating plan you will lose 2-5 pounds a week. Since there are roughly 16 weeks till mid December, you could easily lose 25-30 pounds by then. The beauty of the program is that it is easy, straight forward , and you get my support all the way through the weight loss, the transition to regular food , and the maintenance plan to help support long term weight loss.

I will be at Foster's Eastside Pharmacy in Mt Vernon, Ohio the second Thursday of the month from 4-5 . Hope to see you there.

find health solutions

Find Health Solutions is the name of the program I am offering for weight management. It is based on meal replacements which are shipped directly to your house, it is cost neutral as compared to food costs, and best of all, it comes with me as a support/health coach. So far I have seen individuals who enroll in the program have some fantastic results and want to help provide the support to them to continue with the process. I will be working with Thomasina Crock, RN to introduce the program to counties in Central Ohio.
I will be at Foster's Eastside pharmacy in Mount Vernon on the second Thursday of the month 4-5:00 and in Coshocton at the Moose Lodge the second Tuesday of the month 6:30-7:30. Of course you can always email me for more information.


A recipe that I would like to share today, is one of my favorite...it is vegetarian and soooo easy to prepare.

Grilled portabella-pepper sandwich.
2-3 large portabella mushroom caps
Italian Dressing 1-1/12 cups
Soy Sauce 3 tablespoons
1 small red or green pepper
2  100 claorie whole grain round sandwich buns
2 slices swiss cheese
Sliced tomato, onion, fresh spinach

Mix Italian Dressing and soy sauce in 7x9" glass pan. Place mushroom in marinade for 2-8 hours or overnight.
Place mushrooms on grill  (300-350 degrees). Place on grill and cook each side until vegetables are slightly charred and softened on both sides about 2-4 min total. At the same time, grill the pepper and or onion.
Place mushroom, onion, pepper, spinach on bun. Top with swiss cheese and enjoy.

Per serving
Calories: 260
Carbohydrate: 30 grams
Protein: 15 grams
Carbohydrate choices: 2

Diabetes Self Education

I have been asked by Health Education On Demand to help them field test on line education materials about Diabetes. I am excited to offer this to all blog readers. There is no cost to it, but I would like your feedback on the quality of the information and how easy/hard it is to use.
I have checked with the company to make sure that your privacy is protected. That is important to me. The only info that I would need to sign you up is your name and email address. I have spent about 4 hours this afternoon previewing materials that they have available and have selected those pieces that I believe would be of assistance to you in learning about Diabetes.It will come in installments, so you can casually read it as it interests you. No pressure
So often we turn to the internet to provide information about diabetes, but I always get concerned that patients that I deal with are getting accurate information and not "old wives tales". The materials gathered are all from well established sources. There is a variety of types of media that are represented from YouTube to narrated power points to pictorial representations. So there is something for every type of learner..
Email me at floschermer@gmail.com to sign up. I just need an eamil address and your name- first and last.  I would love to see what you think of it.

7stePs to Daibetes Control Fall Schedule

A brief update to let individuals in Central Ohio know that 7stePs to Diabetes Control has started establishing its Fall Schedule for 2011.
A Diabetes Education program that is accredited like ours is, can provide tremendous insights for you about your diabetes and how to better control it. Our program will be taught using the same basic information that you would get at Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, or a University Hospital because we all need to meet the same criteria.
The 7steP program however, is brought to where you are, rather than having you come to where the program is. We like to locate our programs in physicians' offices when possible.That is where you come for help with managing your diabetes...that is where you can count on getting accurate information. We also have located several "Silver Sneaker" programs which are renting space to us to provide the program. As a Senior, if you are taking care of your health by exercising on a regular basis, you want to know how to take care of issues like Diabetes. We are excited about being able to bring quality programming to those areas.
Here is our schedule as we know it today September 5. Please let us know if you are interested in participating.
Marion Ohio- to be scheduled
Coshocton Family Physician Group in Coshocton September 13 and 15 12:30-5:00.
Fredericktown Ohio- Dr William Elder's office. October 4 and 6  1:00-5:30. Registration deadline is September 14.
Upper Arlington, Ohio at Studio 50. Introductory talk will be presented September 27  by Dr Tracy Schermer and Florence Schermer CDE, and Classes will be November 1,8,15 9-Noon. Registration deadline is October 26.
In addition, stay tuned for class dates at the Sanctuary in Danville Ohio .