“I just want to do what’s best for my health. Enara Health is amazing for that. The changes I’m making are long-lasting life changes and they are sustainable. I can make the meals and eat with my family and they are all making better choices too. That was really, really important for me,” Amy Ziegler says.
In February 2024, she was unhappy with the way she was feeling physically and mentally. Her oldest of three daughters was getting married and she decided: “Let’s do this. I wanted to be healthier.”
“I got to the point that I thought people would judge me by the way I look. In my head, that was how I felt because I was so unhappy with the way I was looking and feeling,” Amy says.
Offered by Mankato Clinic and covered by most insurance, Enara Health is a weight care program that brings together a medical provider, nutrition specialist and exercise specialist to offer support and expert care to help people lose weight and keep it off.
In the last two years, Amy has lost just over 60 pounds and cut her medications to control blood sugar in half. She has a lot more energy. She walks a couple of miles five days a week and works out with weights three days a week.
Amy, a lifelong resident of Janesville, and her husband Brian own a family business, Cleaner Air Solutions, where she runs the office. No matter what her size, Brian loves and supports her.
“I feel like I’ve tried everything out there where you do shakes for two meals a day, where you do low carb. I’ve lost a good amount of weight on some of those and you gain it right back,” she says,
Enara Health is different. She’s done the work, but she also credits her care team who give her support, knowledge and accountability. From her nutrition specialist, she learned she was eating out of boredom instead of hunger.
“I’ve really learned to think about it before I reach for something. Am I really hungry or am I just snacky or does something sound good?” she says.
When she goes out to eat, she looks for a protein and vegetable on the menu. She avoids sandwiches and pulls up the menu online so she has a game plan going in. She doesn’t cut out any foods and if she slips up, she knows the next day is a new day.
“Don’t let it flow into the next day. Make the plan that you’re going to do better,” Amy says.
The Enara Health phone app connects members to their care team 24/7. Easy and convenient, Amy plugs in photos of her meals, workouts and daily weight. A quick look at the dashboard shows her progress. Most of her visits with her care team are virtual. In addition, Enara members go to Mankato Clinic for in-person visits for diagnostic tests and body composition scans. Data points include muscle mass and body fat percentage.
As part of her journey, she took a break from weight loss. She spent five months building and sustaining muscle. Her exercise specialist sent her workouts with video demos of each exercise. Working out with weights was new to Amy and she found she loved it. She was working out five to six days a week.
“When I would get a new program, I thought there’s no way I will be able to this. Then, Oh my gosh, I really can do it. I’m making progress,” she says.
Amy’s advice: “Take the chance. Do it!”
Learn more about Enara Health. The personalized program combines medical care, nutrition and exercise and may include weight loss medication.