Obesity is an issue among many Americans that often times leads to other health complications such as hypertension and diabetes.
More than two in five adults suffer from obesity, while one in 11 adults suffer from severe obesity, according to a 2017 to 2018 report done by National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Conscious of their excess weight, many people have turned to various weight loss programs and exercise regimens to get into shape.
One such program that is on the rise in Plant City, is Ideal Protein, which was founded over 20 years ago by Dr. Tran Tien Chanh, a general and sports physician.
Ideal Protein is a low-carb diet, which takes its participants through three different phases.
Phase One helps to burn fat by restricting carbohydrate consumption and eating whole foods. It lasts until the ideal weight is achieved and is monitored by a coach.
Phase Two focuses on maintaining the weight achieved, with instructions on how to gradually implement carbs and healthy fats when eating whole foods.
Phase Three requires visits with a coach to stay on course and offers helpful tips which can be found in educational pamphlets.
Dr. Mark Filosi is a pharmacist at the Family Care Pharmacy in Plant City – one of several Ideal Protein clinics in the Tampa Bay area that offers the program’s food products as well as its coaching services.
“We’re literally taking people off of blood pressure medicines, cholesterol medicines, (and) blood sugar medicines,” he said. “We’ve gotten people off of insulin. That’s really been remarkable.”
Filosi, along with Warren Dickey, an Ideal Protein coach, were on a mission to find a metabolic weight loss plan that worked for them before coming across the program four years ago. Dickey is a retired officer from the Marine Corps. who served for 30 years but struggled with his weight while in the military.
“That’s how I got into this and that’s why I got into this because it was an absolute necessity to figure that out, or I would have been discharged from the Marine Corps. for being overweight,” he said.
Transitioning to a healthier diet was a smooth process, he added.
Carbohydrates such as bread and pasta are everyday foods, however, those in the program are taught to stay away from those food types which can ultimately turn into glucose in the body.
The coach assists with choosing the right foods as well as portion control.
Those in the program can indulge in smoothies, soups, pancakes, oatmeal, muffins, omelets, cookies, syrups, protein shakes, protein bars, pudding, wafers, clusters, sauces, and marinades.
These products can only be found in locations that have chosen to implement the Ideal Protein program as a part of their service.
“We have stuff they can eat that’s sweet, that’s salty, that covers the gamut of product ranges that you might want if you are going to partake in some emotional eating, because of stress,” Dickey said. “There’s such a wide range of foods you can eat on this program that you’re probably going to find something to scratch that itch.”
Deb Cantero was an emotional eater before she was introduced to Ideal Protein. Like many others, she used food as a crutch to deal with stress. As a nurse of 40 years, she is used to recognizing health disorders her patients may have, but in 2021 she began to become concerned with her own well-being.
Cantero suffered from high blood pressure as well as abnormal glucose and hemaglobin levels. She expressed her frustration to her practitioner, who in turn referred her to the Ideal Protein program. With the help of Dickey as her coach, Cantero has stuck with the program for a year and a half and is currently in Phase One. She has seen significant results from her labor, having gone from 246 pounds down to 173 pounds.
Cantero is still working to shed 15 more pounds to reach her ideal weight.
“This is the only program that worked and the reason it does is because of the structure of the program, and how it teaches you to view food,” she said. “You journal your food intake which is critical to success, because you have to be able to look at your calories, your protein.”
During Phase One, participants are encouraged not to do cardiovascular exercises, other than walking, as it is counterintuitive to the program. Intense exercise can cause cortisol hormone production which would put the body in a state of stress, Filosi said. What’s more, cortisol helps in producing fat.
While Cantero has always enjoyed vegetables, she has learned different ways to prepare them and make them more edible.
Dale Peterson, who started the program in late 2020, has been doing light exercises such as walking and riding his bike. He is a retired officer from the Plant City Police Department, having served on the force for 28 years. Although he does moderate exercise, he understands that the key to his weight loss success is through healthy eating. Peterson cut back on his favorite foods such as pizza and pasta and has substituted those foods with more vegetables – up to four cups a day.
While he was ready to commit himself to the program from the start, there were still temptations he had to avoid.
In recent years, the community has shown an outpouring of support to the police department by offering the very food that Peterson was trying to stay away from. At home, his wife supports his new lifestyle, preparing dishes that align with his diet. In fact, he inspired her to partake in those same meals.
“Sometimes people being in the same house and one being in the program, one not, kind of hurts people,” Peterson said. “I’ve seen that happen, but when I was doing it myself, she never hurt me, because she supported me.”
In Nov. 2020 he weighed approximately 300 pounds and by July 2021 his weight dropped to 222 pounds.
Dickey was also his coach and now he has become a coach, helping others to stay on the right track.
Ideal Protein has its own app that helps to build favorite meals and help coaches to keep track of the results.
The coaching courses are currently going through a pilot program where participants can have the option of meeting with their instructor virtually or in person.
The program is promised to benefit all who try it out, Filosi said.
“After a week or two, it becomes – I think, both simple and easy for a lot of people,” he said. “It’s just making that initial step in trying it and giving yourself permission to be healthier.”
For more information about the program, visit www.IdealProtein.com.