Former SJO teacher Williams making a difference

Larry Williams wants to help people live a healthy life.

Eight years ago, Williams and his partner participated in Christie Clinic Transformations Medical Weight Loss Program.

Together, they lost a total of 115 pounds. Seven years ago they started leading group meetings for Transformations.

Now Williams, who retired from teaching at St. Joseph-Ogden High School in 2017, is a Health Coach at Christie Clinic Transformations Medical Weight Loss Program.

In his role as a health coach, Williams meets with Christie Clinic physicians and staff to promote the program, coaches clients and conducts informational meetings about the program.

“The maintenance portion of the program is critical,” he said. “We don’t want people to lose weight and then turn them out into the world not knowing how to keep it off.”

Williams said a healthy lifestyle is important to him.

“As we get older, it’s not just the number on the scale that matters,” he said. “It’s how your labs look and what you put into your cart at the grocery store that matter as well. I want to be in the best shape I can be to deal with whatever life throws at me.”

Williams said the program has taught him that food prep is a critical part of a healthy life. When Williams goes to the grocery store, he tries to have all the vegetables prepped within two hours of getting home from the store. He also uses his time off to cook and prep for the week by grilling extra or multiple items at once.

“It’s all about planning,” he said.

Williams said the program has taught him that everyone makes mistakes in every aspect of their lives. When a client has had a bad food week or faced challenges, he wants to help them overcome the obstacles and look for the triggers in their lives and help them figure out what to do when the occasion arises again. 

“So much of this is psychological,” he said.

Williams said he uses his teaching experience when working with his transition clients.

Williams and the client meet weekly for a 20-minute coaching session. Williams compared it to a one-on-one tutoring session.

“Teaching has definitely paid off when giving presentations to potential dieters,” he said. “I also love doing the WCIA Food Facts segments; it’s the demonstration process speech from speech class, just on TV.”

Williams said the most rewarding part of coaching is watching people reach their goals, overcome obstacles and help educate them while seeing his clients take pride in their accomplishments — which were all the aspects he enjoyed about teaching.

“I never dreamed I’d be doing this,” Williams said, “but it seems so right.”

If people are interested in the program, they can call the office at 217-366-7460. They may also visit the website, Christie Clinic Transformations Medical Weight Loss Program, https://transformations.christieclinic.com/