Program Proposal

proposed by Nick Falkiewicz

7/12/17
Program Name: Triple Threat-Infusing nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness into
weight loss. The future is here. What are you waiting for?
(Krishna)

Timing: September 2017-ongoing (6 week starter pack, 12 week silver pack, 24 week
gold pack)
Follow patients for the next 6 months after surgery or after program has finished and
analyze data collected.

Purpose: The purpose of this program is to decrease total body fat percentage as well
as to improve the overall health and wellness of the patients pre and post surgery with
an enthusiastic team approach. This includes increasing daily physical activity(P.A.) as
well as increasing fruit and vegetable consumption while decreasing saturated fat and
simple carbohydrate intake. This program also aims to increase knowledge and
awareness of good nutrition, physical activity, and self-worth while decreasing the
cognitive loss that occurs post surgery (Haley, 2015) if surgery is to occur. This program
aims to motivate and engage participants while making them feel safe and comfortable.

Target Audience: Chronically obese, as well as anyone else wanting to lose weight.

Goals and Objective:

Each participant will be signing a contract that specifies each of the goals listed below to
ensure clarity of what is to be expected of each participant.

Goal 1: The primary goal is for each individual participant is to decrease total
weight in lbs every week during the program until a healthy weight has been
reached.
o Objective: Each participant is willing to put in full effort during each in-class
session and is able to make improvements every week.
o Objective: Each participant is able to take what they learn in class and apply it to
their everyday lives. There will also be take home information for an at home
workout and a healthy recipe to try.
o Objective: Each participant is honest to the instructors and to themselves about
improving their health outside of class.

Goal 2: The secondary goal of this program is that each participant has an increase
in overall physical activity and has an improved healthy diet every week during the
program and sustains these actions once a healthy threshold has been achieved.
o Objective: Each participant gains useful knowledge on physical activity and
proper nutrition and is able to practice what they have learned in class.
o Objective: Each participant is able to improve upon their physical activity levels
every week by incorporating exercise into everyday activities. Ex) Take the stairs
instead of the elevator.
o Objective: Each participant is able to improve healthy dietary habits by swapping
out one bad snack/meal for one healthy snack/meal once a week and by trying
to include one extra vegetable and fruit into the normal diet each week.

Goal 3: The tertiary goal is to increase self worth as well as cognitive function for
each individual participant.
o Objective: This can be achieved by the mental health session that will be held
each week.
 o Objective: Self worth can be increased through weight loss, reassurance and
support from family, friends, and instructors, and a healthy environment.
o Objective: Cognition can be directly affected by physical activity(Haley).
Increasing physical activity can help lead to improved cognition for each
participant.

Previous Experiences:
I was with (S)partners for heart health for my last 2 years of undergrad at
MSU as a (S)partner mentor, educator, intern, student leader, and as a research
assistant. (S)partners for heart health is an 8 week program directed towards improving
the knowledge for physical activity and nutrition for 5th grade students. The program
included pre and post intervention biometric screenings and assessments, 8 interactive
nutrition and physical activity lessons, and an online platform for students to use
throughout the program. (S)partners has been around for just under 10 years and has
had significant results almost every year. The nutrition assessments and the biometric
screenings as well as the nutrition education outline can be applied to this program
proposal.
Last fall, I was a volunteer nutrition instructor for Cooking Matters, a
nationwide non-profit organization that has been dedicated for the last 20 years to
empowering adults with the skills to stretch their food budgets and cook healthy meals
so that their families will get nutritious food at home. The nutrition education outline
from this program can be directly applied to this proposal.
As a U of M graduate student, I have access to a wealth of knowledge. The U of
M weight Management Bariatric Conditioning Program has a very well
researched and studied structure with a successful track record. The physical activity
program outline of the U of M weight Management Bariatric Conditioning Program can
be applied to this program proposal. The program results for the bariatric conditioning
program are as follows: After 6 months, the average weight loss is 14.0 lbs, the average
waist circumference change is - 2.4 inches, the average resting heart rate has decreased
by 25 beats per minute, and the average strength has increased significantly both for
males and females.

SWOT:
Strengths: These are things you know and/or can be controlled
o M-Power studio will be available for use
o Dietitians will be available for one on one counseling
o Having a smaller class size will be easier to have more control over and have less
of a budget.

Weaknesses: These are things you know and/or can be controlled

o Smaller class sizes can skew the testing results. A smaller sample size is less likely
to be representative of the whole target population.
o M-Power studio has limited space and thus limits the amount of users for the
program.

Opportunities: These are not things you know and/or can control
o Increased fitness facility use
o Development of a new program that shows significant results
o Word about McCahill Group spreads in a positive light throughout South Western
Michigan.

Threats: These are not things you know and/or can control
 o Limited time to exercise due to physical fitness level.
o Unsuccessful program can lead to termination of funding.
o Program participants unwilling to put forth effort such as coming to classes, eating
healthier, or believing that they can change with this program can lead to
insignificant results.

Marketing Plan:
Event Start End date Details
date
Flyer 9/11 9/25 Scented oil flyers for bulletin boards/ wellness stations,
and doctors offices Online social media flyers will be
available as well. This is a sensory marketing technique
that has been proven to work by many famous
agencies(Krishna).
Weekly 9/25 Continuous Weekly updates from the previous week, and
News announcements for challenge winners.
E-mail 9/18 Continuous E-mail reminder to sign up for class, and reminders for
reminder class times, and information learned for participants at
the beginning of each week.
Program marketing can be recurring quarterly for the 6 week program, tri-semesterly for
the 12 week program, and semesterly for the 24 week program.

Budget: For 6 week starter pack

Budget Needs area Items Needed Budget Needed for 6 week program
Staffing instructor/dietitian/ mental $55/session/instructor= $1320
health professional
Marketing flyers w/essential oils $100- $150
Supplies Goodie Bags $30/participant
Incentives Able to have surgery/ $0
enjoy a healthier life
Total $1540- $1590 with 4 participants
3 participants for the are needed to break even, and 6 are needed to reach 50% profit
of total revenue.

Pricing:
Tiers Number of Sessions Price per session Total Price
6 week starter 3/week= 18 $30/session $549
pack
12 week silver 3/week= 36 $26/session $949
pack $144 in savings for
participant
24 week gold 3/week= 72 $21/session $1,499
pack
 $648 in savings for
participant

Program Overview:
Each participant will be given a journal to log food and exercise outside of class
regardless of the pack that they are in. A platform option should also be available for
participants who find it more convenient. Each pack will include private or group
sessions. As systematic reviews of weight loss programs have shown that self-efficacy
and self-regulation of diet and exercise were significantly higher than individual sessions
(Sandon, 2017), group sessions will be highly encouraged for all 3 packages. Lona
Sandon and her team also found that attendance was highly associated with weight loss
(Sandon, 2017). Due to these findings, attendance for both sessions each week will be
highly recommended and attendance for at least one session per week will be
mandatory. Participants that do not abide to these conditions may be subject to
exclusion from the program.
The starter pack program will be composed of 3 one hour sessions each week for
6 straight weeks. Each session will be composed of 30 minutes of education and 30
minutes of exercise. According to Frontiers in aging Nueroscience, Dr. Chapman and her
team have found that short term aerobic exercise can significantly facilitate
neuroplasticity to reduce both the biological and cognitive consequences of aging to
benefit brain health in sedentary adults (Chapman, 2013). So this is why I have
arranged that the learning sessions will be paired up with exercise sessions. It has also
been shown that repetition on learning material helps solidify a foundation for recalling
that material over a two week gap. So, the education will be broken up each day to look
like this; 20 minutes of education, 30 minutes of exercise, 5 minute education recap,
and 5 minutes for questions. On days 1 and 18 (first and last days of the program),
there will be both a nutrition assessment and a physical activity assessment. A healthy
cooking demo held once a month is also a possibility and can go hand in hand with the
nutrition aspect of the program. There will also mindfulness aspect of the program that
will take the place of the nutrition education and will be held at the beginning of each
week. This way, any progress made over the 6 week period will be monitored. The pre-
test assessments will also be useful when assessing how out of shape individuals in the
program are as well as how low or high their understanding of nutrition education is.
The silver pack will be composed of 3 one hour sessions each week for 12
weeks. The sessions will be structured the same way as they are for the starter pack,
however, the nutrition education content will be more in depth than it will be for the
starter pack as this pack is twice as long. Again there will be a mindfulness aspect at
the beginning of each week. There will be 3 assessment days for the silver pack, all
separated by 6 week blocks.
The gold pack will be composed of 3 one hour sessions each week for 24 weeks.
Again, the sessions will have the same structure as the previous two packs, but the
nutrition education content will be even more in depth than the silver pack and the
mindfulness component/class will delve more in depth as well. There will be 5
assessment days for this pack, each one being separated by 6 week blocks.
Starter pack class Schedule: September- Ongoing
Week Dates Content

Week 1- Day 1 PA ASSESSMENT- Treadmill/Elliptical, wall squats, etc.

NUTRITION SURVEY ASSESSMENT
Weigh-in, Goodie bag pick up (Goodie bag contains
intro. pack, meal plan suggestions, recipes, nutrition
information, exercise information, Journal for logging,
measuring cups, and a cutting board)

Introduction to mindfulness and confidence training

Day 2
Cardio(elliptical) /core

Nutrition- Introduction to healthy nutrition

Day 3
Cardio (treadmill) /upper body (back)
Week 2 - Day 4 Mindfulness and confidence training
Leg day (bosu ball squats, wall sits, fire hydrant circuit)
Weigh-in
Day 5 At home: Nutrition- Fruits
Cardio(elliptical) /core

Day 6 Nutrition- Vegetables

Cardio(treadmill)/upper body (chest)
Week 3 - Day 7 Mindfulness and confidence training
Leg day (bosu ball squats, wall sits, fire hydrant circuit)
Weigh-in
Day 8 At home: Nutrition- Whole grains
Cardio(elliptical) /core

Day 9 Nutrition- Overview

Cardio(treadmill)/upper body (back)
Week 4 - Day 10 Mindfulness and confidence training
Leg day (bosu ball squats, wall sits, fire hydrant circuit)
Weigh-in

Day 11 At home: Nutrition- Nuts/legumes

Cardio(elliptical) /core

Day 12 Nutrition- Animal proteins

Cardio(treadmill)/upper body (chest)
Week 5 - Day 13 Mindfulness and confidence training
Leg day (bosu ball squats, wall sits, fire hydrant circuit)
Weigh-in
Day 14 At home: Nutrition- Dairy/alternatives
Cardio(elliptical) /core

Day 15 Nutrition- Overview

Cardio(treadmill)/upper body (back)
Week 6 - Day 16 Mindfulness and confidence training
Cardio(elliptical) /core
Weigh-in

Day 17 Nutrition overview of entire class

Cardio(treadmill)/upper body (back)

Day 18 PA ASSESSMENT
NUTRITION SURVEY ASSESSMENT

Silver pack class schedule: September- Ongoing

Week Dates Content
Week 1 Assessment, Weigh-in
P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training
P.A., nutrition
Week 2 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 3 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 4 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 5 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 6 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
P.A., Overview
P.A., nutrition
Week 7 Assessment, weigh-in
At home: P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training
P.A., nutrition
Week 8 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 9 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
 P.A., nutrition
Week 10 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 11 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 12 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training
P.A., Overview
Assessment, Weigh-in

Gold pack class schedule: September- Ongoing

Week Dates Content
Week 1 Assessment, Weigh-in
P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training
P.A., nutrition
Week 2 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 3 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 4 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 5 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 6 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
P.A., Overview
P.A., nutrition
Week 7 Assessment, weigh-in
At home: P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training
P.A., nutrition
Week 8 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 9 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 10 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 11 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 12 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
P.A., Overview
P.A., nutrition
 Week 13 Assessment, weigh-in
At home: P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training
P.A., nutrition
Week 14 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 15 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 16 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 17 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 18 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
P.A., Overview
P.A., nutrition
Week 19 Assessment, weigh-in
At home: P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training
P.A., nutrition
Week 20 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 21 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 22 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 23 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training, Weigh-in
At home: P.A., nutrition
P.A., nutrition
Week 24 P.A., Mindfulness and confidence training
P.A., Overview
Assessment, Weigh-in

Evaluation:

According to the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical

Activity, trials with weekly weigh-ins that included accountability had significantly greater
weight loss compared to the trials with self-weighing (Madigan, 2016). For this reason,
in-class weekly weigh-ins will be held at the beginning of each week in order to hold
participants accountable and to encourage healthy choices over the weekends. By doing
this, I hope to obtain a consistent loss of weight as each participant gets into a weekly
routine.
Physical activity and nutrition assessments will be held at the beginning of each
program and every 6 weeks following the initial assessment. So, the starter pack will
have 2 total P.A. and nutrition assessments, the silver pack will have 3 total P.A. and
nutrition assessments, and the gold pack will have 5 total P.A. and nutrition
assessments. Having assessments every 6 weeks rather than just at the start and finish
of each program will not only help to show trends in the future during the analysis
phase of this program, but it should also help encourage the participants in the silver
and gold programs to stay on track with their physical fitness and nutrition goals
throughout the program.
In the future, a randomized control trial involving a control and an intervention
group would be a good evaluation to measure the effectiveness and strength of the
program (Habicht, 1999). Due to the fact that we know that exercise and healthy dietary
habits can result in weight loss, we cannot ethically leave people out of the study if they
want to join. Therefore, the control group will be composed of individuals that do not
want to participate in the study, and individuals who drop out of the study.

References

Chapman SB, Aslan S, Spence JS, et al. Shorter term aerobic exercise improves brain,
cognition, and cardiovascular fitness in aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
2013;5:75. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2013.00075.
Habicht, JP.,Victora, CG., Vaughan, JP. (1999). Evaluation designs for adequacy,
plausibility and probability of public health programme performance and impact.
International Journal of Epidemiology, 28(1):108.

Haley AP, Alosco ML, Gunstad J. Surgical and Non-Surgical Interventions for Obesity in
Service of Preserving Cognitive Function. Psychosomatic medicine. 2015;77(6):679-687.
doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000203.

Krishna, Aradhna. Customer Sense: How the 5 Senses Influence Buying Behavior.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print.

Madigan C, Daley A, Lewis A, Aveyard P, Jolly K. 'Is self-weighing an effective tool for
weight loss: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis': Erratum. The
International Journal Of Behavioral Nutrition And Physical Activity [serial online].
December 2016;13Available from: PsycINFO, Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 1, 2017.

Sandon L. Pilot Study: Effect Of A Worksite Weight-Loss Intervention And Social

Influence On Self-Efficacy And Self-Regulation For Eating And Exercise [e-book]. US:
ProQuest Information & Learning; 2017. Available from: PsycINFO, Ipswich, MA.
Accessed August 1, 2017.