Sheila Tippie, R.N., knows firsthand what it’s like to be overweight. This is one of the first things she tells participants in Fairview Physician Associates’ CAN DO program—a holistic healthy lifestyle and weight-loss program. “Growing up, I was the skinny kid who ate what I wanted and didn’t worry about exercise,” Tippie says. “That changed as I got older, had kids and all of a sudden found myself 30 pounds overweight.”

After trying fad diets that didn’t work long term, Tippie changed her lifestyle to incorporate healthy habits. The same strategy is the centerpiece of the CAN DO program, for which she is one of the health coaches. CAN DO’s approach to weight loss addresses all areas of the client’s life: food choices, activity level, work/family issues and overall attitude. Tippie boils it down to “activity, appetite and attitude.”

Setting modest, reasonable goals for weight loss helps keep clients from getting discouraged and establishes a pattern of success, Tippie says. The personalized approach from the health coaches also is key to continued success and has led to praise from program participants.
One of those participants is Edina resident Barbara Lambert. A former high school English teacher, Lambert says her recent retirement was the impetus for making some changes in her own lifestyle. “Over the years I had developed some pretty bad habits,” Lambert says. “As part of my retirement I decided to set some personal goals for myself. I wanted to take advantage of my new life in a healthy way.”

The CAN DO program was just what she needed to kick-start those changes. Lambert’s personalized program meant cutting down on red meat, keeping food and activity journals, and increasing her weekly exercise. One of the key components of the CAN DO program is addressing the participants’ ingrained attitudes about food and how those feelings affect behavior. That was helpful to Lambert as she embarked on her new healthy lifestyle.

At her initial meeting, Tippie created a framework for Lambert outlining healthy eating and templates for breakfast and snacks. “One of my biggest challenges was training myself to eat breakfast every day,” Lambert says. “My schedule as a teacher for so many years meant I didn’t have much time in the morning, so I was in the habit of grabbing a cup of coffee on my way to school.”