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New dietitian uses passion as her weapon to battle bulge

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  • By Brandice J. Armstrong
  • Tinker Air Force Base Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE --  She's been there. She's done that. She knows exactly what she's talking about.
   She's Wendi Knowles, the Health and Wellness Center's newest registered dietitian. Since arriving in May, and receiving counseling credentials earlier this month, Ms. Knowles has taken on a full workload aiding military and civilian personnel with their weight-loss goals.
   "I have been doing weight loss counseling for the past four years and it's a passion of mine," Ms. Knowles said. "I love being a part of the journey, part of their success."
   Ms. Knowles said she first heard about the HAWC's dietitian position two years ago while pursuing her bachelor's degree in nutritional science from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. But, knowing officials wouldn't hold the position open until she graduated in May 2007, she said she had to let her dream job slip away.
   In December 2006, six months before Ms. Knowles graduated college, she said the job became available. This time she wasn't going to let it go.
   "I started pursuing it pretty heavily," she said. "It was exactly what I wanted to do."
   In addition to her passion, Ms. Knowles said she also has plenty of prior experience.
   Before entering the nutritional science field, Ms. Knowles had a career in human resources. There, she learned about counseling, employee relations, interviewing and maintaining confidentiality, among other skills.
   Ms. Knowles also taught Weight Watchers classes part-time for four years, she said. Furthermore, she said she has struggled with her own weight.
   "To be a teacher you have to have been through the program," she said. "I've had a weight problem my whole life. Since the age of 4, I've been overweight. I was an overweight child. I was an overweight adult.
   "I bring a perspective to it of complete understanding," Ms. Knowles said. "What I teach and what I say comes from my heart completely."
   At the HAWC, Ms. Knowles teaches a minimum of seven classes including Healthy Heart and Support Lifestyle Improvement Motivation Time program.
   Better known as SLIM Time, it is among the more recognizable programs at the HAWC. Held for an hour on Thursdays, SLIM Time is an interactive group open to active duty and Department of Defense civilians. It is designed to discuss health and weight loss through lifestyle changes.
   As fast food, large restaurant portions and sedentary activities become a way of life, Ms. Knowles said they are also the reasons why people are having problems maintaining a healthy weight. By becoming more active and adapting better eating habits, she said people have a better chance of living healthier lives at their ideal weight.
   "Typically people diet -- go on it, go off it," Ms. Knowles said. "A lot of times people have a goal and when they get to their goal the focus changes completely and they go right back to their old habits; that's where a huge amount of the mistake is made."
   Ms. Knowles said she also aides several support group and counsels individuals in a gamut of topics including high-blood pressure, gluten-free diets and disease-related nutrition.
   "Wendi loves teaching and counseling people and it shows in the enthusiasm she shows," said Karen Blackwell, Tinker health educator and Tinker's chief of Health Promotions. "She's enthusiastic, hard-working and creative."