About
What to expect from the Freed Programme
5% weight loss in just 2 weeks
Freed is focussed on having fun but also taking responsibility for managing your weight. It's a 12 week programme of education, exercise and diet that aims to leave you at least 5% lighter and much more knowledgeable about how to manage your weight. It is targeted at people with a body mass index >35kg/m² so we're talking about some serious weight loss here of 1-2 stone in just 2 weeks.
Eating your favourite foods
The magic happens in just 2 weeks when you eat nothing but your 14 favourite foods. You will find out how the foods you love give you the nutrients you need, i.e. protein, fat and carbohydrate and will learn how to make up any shortfall in vitamins and minerals. You will learn about the metabolic control or energy balance and the role of insulin, leptin and ghrelin in controlling what you eat. You will also be introduced to the mysterious world of your gut microbiota, which is probably more instrumental in controlling your weight than you are. If you suffer from IBS you may find a side effect of this programme is an improvement in your symptoms.
Empowering you to make the right choices
Unlike most weight loss programmes, you will spend the first 6 weeks preparing yourself for the 2 weeks 'on a diet'. You will learn about psychological models of learning and managing change and put them into practice when you delve into your history of dieting and unpicking your previous experience of 'going on diets'.
Exploding diet myths
The 2 weeks on the diet will challenge your relationship with food. You will be encouraged to eat mindfully and become more aware of your hunger cues. You will learn how to manage cravings and hopefully begin to find strategies to control what you eat when you start to eat normally again.
Keeping the weight off for good
The final 4 weeks will focus on maintaining the weight loss you achieve in the 2 weeks on the diet. You should be well prepared for this but you will nonetheless almost certainly face the challenges that have corrupted your weight loss attempts in the past. Did you know that 95% of people who lose weight regain it all and often more. At the end of 12 weeks you should be armed with the knowledge and skills you need to manage your diet for the rest of your life.
Having fun
I'm not going to pretend it's not going to be hard work because if you want results you have to be prepared to make the effort, but it will be fun. You will be working with people in the same situation as you and sharing experiences in a light-hearted and supportive way. Even though it's serious business we don't want you to take yourselves too seriously. The activities have been chosen so you can have a laugh while trying something new. Nobody will care if you don't know your left from your right or your arse from your elbow, this is a place to relax and achieve something special that will impact your whole life forever.
Course format
- Weekly sessions lasting 2 hours
- 1 hour of learning how to manage your weight with a specialist obesity dietitian
- 1 hour of exercise in your chosen activity with experts in the field
- Small groups of not more than 12 people
- Action learning using group experiences to solve your problems
- Focus on preparation for and maintenance of weight loss to optimise outcomes
- Just 2 weeks of active dieting to achieve dramatic weight loss
- The opportunity to sign up to ongoing activity programmes when the course ends
- A photographic record of your achievement with before and after pictures by a professional photographer
Optional Extras
- Upgrade to a Tier 3 weight management programme
- One to one sessions with the dietitian
- Psychological assessment and interventions with an obesity specialist psychologist
Join
Select an activity from the list below and sign up!
Street Dance with Shannon Tella
29th May - 14th August 2019
7.30pm - 9.30pm
Marlborough Science Academy St Albans
Cost £250
Introduction to running with Frances Nicholls
15th June to 31st August
1pm - 3pm
Cost £250
Introduction to running with Frances Nicholls
28th September to 14th December
1pm - 3pm
Cost £250
T'ai Chi with TBC
Programme Leader
Julia Pentelow
Julia Pentelow
Dietitian
Julia is an HCPC registered dietitian with a passion for obesity management. She specialises in
treating people with a body mass index > 35 and has worked in tertiary weight management centres
at Guys and St Thomas', Homerton and Luton and Dunstable Hospitals. As a dietitian, Julia can
accept clients with other medical conditions. Julia also has a special interest and expertise
in diabetes and irritable bowel syndrome. She is FODMAP trained.
Partners
Dancebuzz
Ballroom and Latin Dance
Dancebuzz is central London dance school for adults specialising in beginners. We provide courses
in a wide variety of styles from partner dance classes such as Ballroom and Salsa to solo classes
such as Street Dance and Ballet.
Shannon Tella
Street Dance
Shannon is a Personal Trainer and Fitness Competitor with a wealth of experience working in the fitness
industry over the past 4 years. She is from a professional dance background and has trained in various
styles of dance from ballet, tap, jazz contemporary and street dance. Shannon is so passionate about
showing others how movement through exercise can positively change your body and your mindset. She believes
that fitness should be fun and be used as a tool to empower people to become a healthier and happier version
of themselves.
Frances Nicholls
Introduction to running
From taking part in the first 5-10k Athena group and motivated to encourage other ladies to run in a friendly
un-pressured environment, I qualified to lead my own groups. While my first beginners group were starting their
0-5k journey I was training for my first Half Marathon. Since then I've run over 15 half marathons, qualified
as a Coach in Running Fitness and won both the St Albans City & District and the Herts County ‘Female Community
Coach of the Year’ award. In 2018 I launched my own running group for men- Mettle Milers. I’m really looking
forward to meeting you and helping you achieve your running goals, whatever they are!
Dr Sara Rassool
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Sara is an experienced Consultant Clinical Psychologist with 10 years experience of working in
specialist weight management and bariatric surgery in the NHS. She is experienced in both physical
and mental health taking a holistic approach to her work. She is passionate about empowering people
to make positive changes.