Christine Dorsey isn’t new to Cornwall. She’s been around long enough for a local restaurant to name a salad after her. But when she mentions her business, people seem puzzled until she tells them that her weight loss clinic (Your Ideal Body) is across the road from DeCicco’s Market. “Oh,” they respond, “you’re the place with the sign.”
The sign, which resembles a sandwich board, has attracted attention. It recently informed motorists and pedestrians that Mrs. Dorsey’s clients have lost a combined total of 10,000 pounds. “I feel like I’ve been rooting for those people,” a woman in the neighborhood admitted.
The 10,000 pounds wasn’t shed overnight. The clinic, which opened four years ago, has serviced 285 people. Arithmetic suggests that the average client has lost 35 pounds. But each case is different. And Mrs. Dorsey advises people who come to the clinic not to set a goal. “Keep an open mind,” she tells them, “and if you reach a point where you feel great that’s where we’ll stop.”
There’s logic behind that suggestion. New customers may remember what they weighed when they got out of school. They may want to return to that weight, but it may not be practical at their current age. On their first visit, Mrs. Dorsey has them step onto a Tanita, a sophisticated scale that’s hooked up to her lap top. The device indicates their weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and hydration. She then provides them with Ideal Protein meals to which they can add lean meat, four cups of select vegetables, olive oil and sea salt. She encourages them to drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day.
People return weekly to pick up more food and get back on the scale, The weight loss is gradual, with men tending to shed pounds a little faster than women do. If someone is discouraged by a small weight loss, their coach shows them a blob-like mold on her shelf. The mold, which seems massive, weighs exactly a pound. It helps people visualize what they’ve accomplished.
As clients continue with the program, they eat fewer Ideal Protein meals until they are weaned off them entirely. By that time they have learned to eat properly, Mrs. Dorsey says, and should be feeling more energized. Some of them have come off medications and others have reduced their allergic reactions.
Most clients stay with the program for six or seven months and then return once a year to go through the protocol. All sessions are one-on-one. “When people come back,” Christine Dorsey says, “they feel like they’re coming to see their coach.”
