The Medicine Shoppe hosts wellness open house

It was around lunchtime at The Medicine Shoppe and Vanessa Strohmeyer was making herself hungry the more she flipped through a catalog of recipes developed by Optavia, a “proven health program and transformational system” that will be introduced to the people of Newton during an open house Thursday afternoon.

Strohmeyer inspected the photographs of scrumptious desserts, hearty soups and other healthy eats, a handful of which she had already prepared and tasted. A clerk at the local pharmacy at 212 First St. N., Strohmeyer said she is interested in promoting healthy habits to people in the community. Adopting and maintaining those habits, she claimed, is what Optavia is all about.

“This is for optimal health,” Strohmeyer said. “We see so many drugs going through here, and that’s our business, but at the same time we want to people to be as health as they can because if they are then the medications they take are a little bit more effective, too.”

The March Toward Optimal Health open house at The Medicine Shoppe also coincides with National Nutrition Month, a campaign which serves to promote “the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits,” according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website.

Dianna Ambroson, a pharmacist at The Medicine Shoppe, knows the system all too well after participating in it five years ago and losing 25 pounds. Even more impressive, she kept the weight off for several years afterward. What sets Optavia apart from the latest fad diets, Ambroson said, is its focus on longterm healthy living and maintenance.

“You can stay on it forever,” Ambroson said, who added she will take part in the program yet again following the open house. “… It eases you into eating healthy. It’s a great kickstart to really get you going if you wanted to follow the program straight for three months or so.”

Getting the community involved and raising awareness of good personal health is, ultimately, what Strohmeyer wants to see come out of the introductory event. During the open house, Strohmeyer said an Optavia health coach will be on standby to assist and share her experience.

Cheryl Marvin, the certified health coach scheduled to appear at the event, has been using the Optavia program for eight months. She will also share her weight loss story with visitors.

“I’ve lost over 100 pounds on Optavia,” she said. “I’m still on my journey and have more to go but it’s a program that works. I’ve been overweight my entire life and I’ve even had gastric bypass surgery and didn’t keep the weight off. This has made a total difference to me and that’s why I became a health coach.”

Marvin said The Medicine Shoppe has become a client of Optavia, which means she will be working with and helping the Newton pharmacy’s patrons with the program.

“We just want to introduce folks to it,” Marvin said. “… Our goal is to educate people on what it takes to get healthy and how to stay healthy. A lot of different programs will give you a quick way to lose weight, but what happens then is you diet, you lose the weight and then you got back to your old habits. With Optavia we’re teaching you small habits (to maintain).”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com