Two Red Deer doctors have literally stepped up to be the face of the new Primary Care Network (PCN) initiative ‘Health Basics’. Dr. Lauralee Dukeshire and Dr. Peter Bouch, along with the staff of the Red Deer Family Physician Clinics, and the staff of the PCN, are currently participating in a virtual walk around Vancouver Island. The ‘Trek around the Island Challenge’, which started in January, requires each participant to log a minimum of 11,000 steps per day on their pedometer to complete the course by July 2009.
But Dukeshire and Bouch have each taken the walking challenge a step further and have set goals to lose weight in a very public way. They will have the eyes of their peers, patients and the community of Red Deer on them.
As many of us know first hand, losing weight and keeping it off is not easy. With nearly half of all Canadians reporting physical inactivity, and one in seven Canadians, aged 20-64, classified as obese, Dr. Dukeshire and Dr. Bouch face the same obstacles that everyone faces on the road to permanent weight loss.
Dukeshire is a full time physician and mother to two small children. To meet her goal of losing 10% of her bodyweight by the end of the walking challenge, she started using her treadmill regularly. “Honestly, it has been a bit of a struggle with my schedule and I’ve been doing some start and stop with exercise,” says Dr. Dukeshire. “But overall, my activity level is higher and I actually find I get cranky if I don’t fit it in.”
Dukeshire hasn’t lost much weight, but she points out that her focus going forward is eating better, a critical part of any weight loss strategy. Dukeshire’s husband is starting a fitness challenge through his workplace, so having him on board will be great support at home. She is excited to ramp up and is dedicated to making progress over the next months.
Dr. Bouch is also a full time physician, a parent and the primary cook in his family. His original goal was to lose 25 pounds by July, and he is well on his way having passed the 10 pound mark. From the start of the challenge, he knew that he would have to make some changes in his menu planning. “We have been watching our portion sizes, and we are eating more veggies,” says Bouch. “And we’ve got a lot less junk food in the house now.”
Wearing his pedometer is also an important reminder for Bouch of his activity levels. He is regularly getting in his daily steps and he’s also hitting the gym. Dr. Bouch’s patients are noticing a change in their doctor and it has opened a dialogue with them. “Patients want to lose weight, but are concerned about unrealistic diets,” say Dr. Bouch. “I am confident when I write a Health Basics prescription, they will learn techniques to assist them in making lifestyle changes and that’s what it’s all about.”
We will continue to follow both Doctor’s in their weight loss journeys, but who will be the biggest loser? We’ll just have to ‘weight’ and see…
About Health Basics The dramatic rise in the incidents of weight related disease, such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure, lead the Red Deer PCN to create the Health Basics program. The program is aimed at empowering the community of Red Deer to put health at the top of their priority lists for 2009.
Health Basics has been lauched in three waves beginning with a walking challenge for health care providers, followed in February by the introduction of a patient targeted program called "Choices", and presently by initiating community involvement with a community noon walk which occured on May 26th, the installation of outdoor gyms and the development of community walking groups.