Husband, wife support each other through 300-pound weight loss

Thursday, Oct. 19, 2006

Glenn Mossy had been overweight since childhood. His weight led to some serious health problems and he believed eventually, his weight could even lead to a premature death.

High cholesterol and diabetes were noted on Mossy’s medical records, and he couldn’t sleep through the night without the assistance of a breathing machine to control his sleep apnea.

‘‘For 20 years I’ve been so out of shape,” Mossy said. ‘‘I couldn’t imagine being a healthy 70-year-old and being active.”

The 43-year-old Ijamsville resident said he simply couldn’t imagine the skinny person inside himself, until about one year ago.

In October 2005, Mossy and his wife, Kathie, joined Frederick Memorial Hospital’s New Direction program, a medically monitored rapid weight loss program for obese men and women with more than 40 pounds to lose.

A year after the Mossys began their weight loss journey, Glenn has shed 160 pounds and Kathie has lost 146 pounds. The high cholesterol and diabetes that plagued Glenn have vanished and sleep comes easier now. Kathie, 44, is no longer considered to be borderline diabetic.

The New Direction Program started 15 years ago at Frederick Memorial and now includes 300 patients.

After a complete physical and consultation with doctors, weight loss patients begin a diet of meal replacement beverages and participate in weekly behavior modification classes to make lifestyle changes. In addition, doctors and nurses monitor patients’ progress with weekly medical checkups. On average, the cost for 12 weeks of the program is nearly $1,000.

According to Tammy Hutchisen, New Direction’s program manager, many men and women come to the program because of serious health problems and doctor referrals. The majority of patients, she said, are women between the ages of 41 and 50.

New Direction expects patients to lose three to six pounds each week. Using nutritionally complete meal replacement beverages allows severely overweight adults to see results quickly, Hutchisen said. The separation from solid food also gives them greater awareness of the food choices they make.

Kathie Mossy said she gained a lot of weight staying home with her twin daughters, Annie and Amelia, 11, and New Direction wasn’t her first choice. At first she wanted to undergo gastric bypass surgery, but in order to have the procedure approved by her health insurance, she said she had to show six months of other weight loss methods.

‘‘Frankly, I was just going in to [New Direction to] show my six months,” Kathie Mossy said.

She found New Direction through a diabetes education class, she said, and joined Oct. 8, 2005. Glenn Mossy started the program one week later.

Before the Mossys found New Direction, they tried different weight loss programs including L.A. Weight Loss, Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. None of them worked as well as New Direction, they said. What made it successful this time around, they said, was being able to go through the program together and having a personalized team of doctors.

Still, there’s no substitute for hard work and motivation, Glenn Mossy said.

‘‘No one can lose weight instantly. It takes small goals a little at a time,” he said.

The hardest part of the program was during holidays and business meetings, they said.

While others dined on turkey with all the trimmings during Thanksgiving and Christmas, Glenn and Kathie Mossy drank a vanilla or chocolate shake.

One year later, Glenn Mossy is slowly moving away from the meal replacement beverages and replacing them with nutritious and healthy solid food. For Kathie Mossy, the transition has been slower; she still relies on the meal replacement beverages.

Life for the Mossy family has changed, and Glenn and Kathie said they are living life again with confidence. They still attend New Direction’s weekly classes on nutrition and behavior modification and incorporate the lessons learned in their daily life. Their daughters are more aware of healthier choices, too, and the family makes it a point to go on bicycle rides and be active together.

They don’t worry about their weight breaking chairs or making it more difficult to sit in a cramped airplane seat or amusement park rides at Disney World. Instead, the Mossys have taken up rock climbing, ballroom dancing and cycling.

‘‘I consider my life totally changed,” Glenn Mossy said. ‘‘I have a new chance at life.”