Weight Control Is A Comprehensive Decision

By Shannon Hicks

Studies published in the April 9, 2003, Journal of The American Medical Association offer the latest update on the ages-old knowledge that being overweight or obese is bad for a person’s health. The newest AMA studies confirm that (a) adolescent obesity is becoming a national public health problem; (b) compared with healthy children and adolescents, obese children and adolescents report significantly lower health-related quality of life including physical functioning and psychosocial functioning; and (c) after two years of trying, people who sought commercial help for weight control tended to maintain their weight better than those who tried dieting on their own.

For Charlie Brumley, this was not really news.

Mr Brumley maintains a private psychotherapy practice in his hometown of Woodbury called The Harbor Center. One of the center’s most popular programs is “Life Transformation For Permanent Weight Loss and Health,” which Mr Brumley developed. The program is offered one-on-one, and through seminars and weekend retreats throughout the region. The program combines meditation, Hatha yoga, stress management, cognitive psychology, nutrition, resistance training, and aerobic exercise into a comprehensive plan, fine-tuned for each client.

“I think the first step in making a permanent life change and beginning the process of permanent weight loss is to be honest with oneself and to become really disturbed about one’s weight and the psychological and health consequences associated with being overweight,” Mr Brumley. “A person has to become disturbed enough about the situation so that the idea that one should lose weight changes into the idea that they must lost weight for their life and happiness.

“Usually by the time clients get to me they are very disturbed about their weight situation,” he continued. “They have tried numerous diets and exercise programs without lasting success and they are ready to make life changes because they feel they must.”

Mr Brumley is a former Newtown High School psychologist; he currently works at Newtown’s Hawley School and is an adjunct professor at the University of Bridgeport, where he teaches graduate level courses on psychology. He is a practicing nationally certified school psychologist, is a yoga instructor at The Club in New Milford, and works as a personal trainer in private homes. He maintains Harbor Center offices in Newtown and Woodbury.

He has been developing his weight loss program for more than 15 years, but only put all of its facets together during the past 2½ years.

“This came about as I saw the need for a way to communicate the insights I’d developed over my years as a therapist, personal trainer, and yoga instructor,” Mr Brumley said.

The program also came about, in part, because Mr Brumley struggled with his own weight. After trying a number of approaches, he realized that “only a comprehensive change at all levels would allow me to be successful,” he said. Mr Brumley combined his efforts and lost more than 60 pounds about eight years ago. He has been able to keep all of that weight off.

According to the American Dietetic Association, one in three Americans is fighting the weight loss battle. Dieters are often told that their efforts must become a permanent change, otherwise they are bound to regain any of the weight they may have shed. They will most likely, according to statistics, put on more weight than they lost.

To try to drive home the idea that weight management is a life decision Mr Brumley has developed a video, Life Transformation, that is expected to be out this spring, and has developed a book proposal for Life Transformation for Permanent Weight Loss and Health.

There is a reason that groups such as Weight Watchers, programs like Jenny Craig, and health clubs and their programs are never going to go out of business: The American population needs help with the issue of weight management, and there are a lot of areas that need to be addressed if anyone is going to maintain good health. Charlie Brumley is hoping that his experience will help part of the population understand that this management is more than just diet or exercise alone.

“Lasting change,” said Mr Brumley, “can only occur if it takes place at all levels of our being –– physical, psychological, and spiritual. All of these ideas must be addressed for lasting change to occur.”

For additional information Mr Brumley can be contacted at 203-263-6419. The Harbor Center’s website is www.TheHarborCenter.com.