We're getting the New Year started with a resolution that's always at the top of the annual list: losing weight.

With a growing number of people severely overweight or obese, it can be a daunting goal but a new program in the heartland is helping people drop the weight and improve their health.

Linda Dempsey made it into her 60s without ever exercising but that changed after she spotted something in her chart during a doctor's visit.

"Seeing that word "obese," no one wants to see that connected to them," she says. "It's always someone else, so that was really the motivator."

That motivator led Linda to a new program at Immanuel Medical Center's Weight Management Center where food logs and weekly meetings are just part of a plan designed specifically for people who need to lose 50 pounds or more.

Dr Louis Violi has firsthand experience with the program and says, "If I could do it, if I could change, I think just about anyone can."

Dr. Violi lost 200 pounds six-and-a-half years ago with the plan. He knows personally and as the Weight Management Center's Medical Director, what dropping pounds means.

He says, "People are able to get up and do things they want to do. They can enjoy life. It's an overall sense of well-being, an overall reduction in medication needed and that can translate into a longer, happier, healthier life."

It has worked for Linda Dempsey. A change in diet, exercise, and sheer determination helped her lower her cholesterol, get off one blood pressure medication, and shed 58 pounds in three months. Not bad for a grandmother of five.

While being able to avoid temptation is huge, it's nothing compared to how she'll feel visiting the doctor who called her obese.

"I can't wait to go back this year," she says. "I'm going to say there are a couple of pages back I want you to adjust."

The program is for anyone 16 and older, and available at Immanuel and Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs. The cost generally runs $120 to $200 a week. That includes medical checks and food. Once dieters lose weight, they enter a maintenance program to keep the pounds off.

For more information, call 572-2333.

Bergan Mercy Medical Center	Immanuel Medical Center
Lakeside Hospital	Midlands Hospital
Mercy Hospital	Alegent Health Clinic