Hooper Women Lose Combined 380 Pounds

Hooper women lose combined 380 pounds with Help Everyone Lose Pounds

By Mary Le Arneal/Tribune Correspondent

The village of Hooper has lost two people these days.

Well, not really, but a group of women there have lost 380 pounds; that would equal two, 190-pound people, during the last year.

The women began as a group of friends who gathered for coffee every morning in Hooper. When a number of them expressed a desire to lose weight or get their cholesterol under control, they looked to each other for motivation and support.

The result was the organization of Help Everyone Lose Pounds, H.E.L.P.

On April 23, 2003, the women began meeting weekly to weigh in and support each other. Today, seven of the original 10 members are still coming to their weigh-in; six other women have come and some gone; three have met their goal weight; every one of the women has lost weight from 20 to 80 pounds.

Donna Golder, 62, has lost 50 pounds in the last year and serves as the record keeper for the group.

“It’s a change of lifestyle, not a diet,” Golder said. “I feel better. I have more energy.”

Mary Ann Bliemeister, 76, lost 50 pounds in 10 months but had to quit the group when her vision deteriorated. Group members are quick to point out that Bliemeister has been able to maintain her weight loss.

“I always enjoyed meeting with the girls,” Bliemeister said.

She joined the group for an anniversary celebration.

The group meets at 5:30 p.m. each Wednesday in the Parkview Apartments community room in Hooper to weigh in and have a short program. Members take turns presenting the programs; it might be a book or article review, new exercise tape, or something new someone learned from their doctor. They also share recipes, new finds from the grocery store and new hints they have found. Along with recipes, group members exchange clothes as they lose weight.

Lorane McManigal, 78, has lost 50 pounds and has another 10 pounds she would like to lose. Last Thanksgiving, the mother of 13 visited family in Colorado and they were amazed how good she looked.

“I feel a lot better,” McManigal said. “When I first started, I could hardly walk four or five blocks. Now, I walk two miles a day, no problem.”

“The neat thing about it,” Golder said, “is that other people in town have seen us walking and they see the results, and they are walking, too. We have a lot of people walking in Hooper who were not walking before.”

Barb Geisler, 59, appreciates the support she gets from the group.

“I’ve lost 20 pounds,” Geisler said. “It’s coming off slowly but surely.”

Pegge Hertzfeldt, 60, has reached her goal with a 30-pound weight loss since the group started. One benefit she has seen from her weight loss is increased stamina when she and her husband go dancing.

“I had lost weight before the group started,” Hertzfeldt said. “That may have been one of the motivators, or at least one of the pushes for me to encourage the group to get going. I knew I needed some support. If I was going to be miserable, I wanted everyone else to be, too! I have met my goal, but I am struggling to maintain. The weekly weigh-in is a big motivator.”

The women do not follow any specific diet, but try to eat sensibly. They each exercise, many of them walking together at whatever time fits their schedule. In the winter, they might have a walking videotape at their meetings.

Each person pays $1 when she attends the meeting to help pay for the use of the meeting place. If they have gained weight, group members pay an additional dollar. They used to have a stuffed pig that would be given to the woman who had gained the most weight, but the pig has since retired to the closet; the shame of the pig is no longer necessary to motivate the women.

“The comments and compliments you get from the people seeing you walk around town have really been encouraging,” Hertzfeldt said.

Living in a small community, the group has had the support and recognition of the citizens of Hooper. Karen Wagner, owner of the Main Street Diner in downtown Hooper, is also trying to lose weight and caterers to the dieters

“She is good about trying new things,” Golder said. “I guess that’s the advantage of living in a small town and going to one place often enough that the person knows you and what you like and need.”

These women, along with Kay Livingston, Sandra Magill, Joyce Woerman, Jan Blomendahl, Connie Havekost and Bev Thomsen will continue to meet and lose … helping each other along the way.

“I’d never believe we’d do as good as we did,” McManigal said. “Three hundred and eighty pounds in a year. That’s two people

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