Guildcare Weight Management Course

Published by	Tory Lawrence Healthy Lifestyle Co-ordinator fit as a fiddle
Email	tory.lawrence@acwestsussex.org
Telephone	07901 635 033

A health trainer provided nutritional advice and healthy alternatives for members of a retirement club in West Sussex!

Our delivery partners are...

Guildcare, Luc Haverngt health trainer for West Sussex County Council, Age Concern 'fit as a fiddle', Lovett Retirement Club

We have funding and support from...

‘Fit as a fiddle' is a national programme funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund and delivered by Age Concern. It aims to improve the health and wellbeing of older people, promoting physical activity, healthy eating and developing ‘active networks' for the over-50s.

The project is located in...

Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex

The start and finish dates of the project are...

The project ran for an initial 8 sessions from January until March 2009, the project has diversified and is continuing to run.

The people helped are...

The active network is aimed at over-50s who attend the Lovett Retirement club and who would like to learn the opportunity for participants to learn new healthier styles of cooking and basic healthy nutrition tips.

What they have said is...

‘It's great, I enjoyed the taste session, where we trial healthier options of my naughty favourites, and they taste pretty good!'

We set up the project because...

To enhance the confidence of members in producing healthy nutritious meals at home
To educate the members in basic nutrition and provide healthy alternatives to unhealthy foods
It is hoped that a social and support network will develop and members will continue to meet in the future
Through group discussion, members have the confidence to ask questions and provide suggestions of their own

The difference this project makes is...

Encourage people to try healthy food options, through educational tips that have been provided during the sessions
Improve the basic nutritional knowledge of the members.
To develop a social group that can help reduce social isolation and provide support to each other.
To provide a wider range of activities, rather than just your traditional activities for older people.
Provide a springboard for the members to trial new activities together

What we did or are doing

Fit as a fiddle in partnership with Luc Haverngt a health trainer co-ordinator from West Sussex County Council supported 8 free sessions for members of Lovett Retirement Club. At the beginning of each session the member's weight was recorded, to see how they progressed with their nutrition tips and exercises from previous sessions. This provided a springboard for discussion on what was working well and what they were having problems with, it allowed suggestions to be provided by other members.

After the discussion, Luc would talk about a different topic regarding nutrition, the sessions were quite informal and the audience could ask questions at any point. One of the groups favourite aspects of the sessions, was to compare the healthy option, where the group were able to try a healthy substitute for one of their favourite unhealthy foods. There was a lot of factual information provided, however members were given handouts to take home, that included the main points as well as safe exercises to trial at home.

We chose this method because...

This method introduces basic healthy nutrition in a fun and interactive way for the members. It also provides the opportunity for a social group to be formed that can undertake further healthy activities together.

What's happened is...

As Luc is employed as a health trainer by the council, he is able to continue the sessions and the members are keen for this to happen. The sessions will be diversified to include new physical activity options such as keep fit and fun games. As part of the continued sessions, the group members make it a point to have a healthy lunch together at the end of the sessions.

What we'd do differently...

Evaluation

All participants complete a monitoring form at the start of the project and an evaluation form at the final session. A ‘Fit as a fiddle' staff member visits the group to evaluate the progress of the group, speaking with the participants and instructors.

This project helped to deliver...

The project is now...

Ongoing, and diversifying into other healthy living activities

Additional information or comments?

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Lead Organisation	West Sussex County Council
Geographical Area	West Sussex
Outcomes	Community cohesion, Improving health, Increasing participation
Beneficiary Age	Older People (Over 60)
Beneficiary Groups	General population, People at risk of mental health problems, People suffering from chronic disease or condition e.g. CHD, diabetes, osteoporosis, Socially isolated older people
Type of activity	Prevention of weight gain, Promotion of healthy weight, Weight management for overweight and obese adults
Primary Theme
Secondary Themes