Skeptical man loses weight, finds compassion at Center for Weight Loss
Zach Birge admits he was dubious when his primary care doctor referred him to MultCare’s Center for Weight Loss and Wellness two years ago.
“To say I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder would be an understatement,” the Auburn man says. “You name a diet, I’ve tried it.”
A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes convinced Birge to give the Center a shot. But he wasn’t optimistic.
“I’d never found a doctor who listened when I said I was hungry all the time,” he says.
But Karyn Harkins, MD, didn’t just listen.
“Dr. Harkins was the first doctor who believed me,” Birge says.
More important, she didn’t just give him a diet.
“My biggest thing was I found someone who listened to the issues that I had when it came to food, It wasn’t just, ‘This will solve this,’ it was ‘Why are you hungry?’”
Birge, 36, says he started the program at about 460 pounds.
“I’ve lost about 45 pounds and it’s been kept off for two years,” he says. “Usually I’m a big yo-yo person when it comes to my weight.”
Being overweight has been part of Birge’s life and identity as long as he can remember. He remembers carrying around a “toddler-sized” bag of chips and finishing it off by himself.
“When I say I was always hungry, I was always hungry,” he says.
Birge had gone on his first diet when he was just 12. While his friends studied playbooks and practiced throwing to get ready for football tryouts, his preparation involved weight loss meetings.
“I had to make the maximum weight limit to play with kids my age,” he says. “My weight has always limited what I could do.”
Dr. Harkins prescribed medicine to help, but the most effective thing Birge found for his weight loss was that she and the other clinicians actually listened to him.
“There was lots of personalization to the program,” he says. “It wasn’t just one size fits all.”
That included dietitian Anne Corley, who helped Birge figure out good substitutes for the unhealthy foods he craved.
“I’m a salty snack person so I’ve had to find ways of getting that salty snacky thing satisfied,” he says. “Having access to a dietitian has been so important. Being able to message her and say, ‘I really, really want some Cheetos, but I can’t have them so now what do I do?’”
After about a year on the program, Birge’s wife joined him.
“She knows it’s right for her, too,” he says.
The shared experience means they can provide even more support for each other in the weight loss journey.
“The nutritional psychotherapy is helpful too,” he says. “The whole program has made me rethink my relationship with food in general. Food has always been a comfort for me. If something goes wrong, you go to the bag of chips. Feeling sad? Go get a bowl of ice cream.”
Having his wife in the program helps them both bounce those feelings off each other rather than eating to deal with emotions.
Besides taking control of his food, Birge says he’s incorporating more movement into his day, from walking on a treadmill to simply parking further away from stores to get a few extra steps in.
Birge says he’s enjoying a slow, steady decline in his weight.
“I still have a long way to go in my opinion, but we’re getting there,” he says.
Birge says he was overwhelmed and beaten down when he got his diabetes diagnosis. But the Center for Weight Loss quickly helped him feel less overwhelmed.
“I felt a lot like a failure, but these people would look me in the eye,” he says. “Not just Dr. Harkins and Anne but everybody in the office. You see true compassion in their eyes. They’re not just seeing this big person and thinking, ‘Another failure just walked through the door.’ The weight loss people care. They’re on your side.”
And, he says, knowing that he doesn’t have to be perfect has kept him on track.
“It’s OK to not be 100 percent on diet all the time,” he says. “The biggest thing for me has been it’s OK to fail. This is not something where if you fail once it’s all over.”
Birge says he knows it’s intimidating to start a weight loss program. But he has simple advice for anyone considering making a call to the Center for Weight Loss and Wellness:
“Take the chance. It’s worth it.”
The MultiCare Center for Weight Loss & Wellness supports you before, during and after the weight loss journey.
