Helping others has always been a calling for Rose Trevouledes, and she answered that call in 2016 with the opening of the Hughesville-based Live It Nutrition.
From a humble beginning, the business has an ever-growing clientele of both individuals and businesses.
“I was a stay at home mom for 20 years, and I gradually started my private practice,” said Trevouledes, a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition from New York University.
“I love the idea that nutrition and exercise can help prevent the chronic diseases that Americans face.”
Trevouledes’ “Lose Weight with 8” is an eight-week course that focuses on a wide array of health topics, including most recently, those who live in “blue zones,” or areas where the inhabitants have the longest average lifespans on the planet.
In recent years, Trevouledes has put an emphasis on bringing her preventative lessons to the employees of businesses throughout the area.
“Starting out, this was very challenging,” she said. “I knocked on a lot of doors, and went in very prepared with this approach to wellness.”
“It’s a lot of selling yourself and marketing, which I don’t have much experience in.”
Lycoming Engines and Thermal Products Solutions were two of the first businesses that opened their doors to Trevouledes in 2018 and, since that time, she has contracted with more than 15 others.
“They have been very receptive to the idea of wellness and improving their employees’ health, Trevouledes said. “They see the return on investment for them, a healthier employee is better all around.”
When asked what she attributes her continuing growth to, Trevouledes, boils it down to one word, “results.”
“The results really caused my private practice to grow because when I sent the notes back to the referring provider, and the patient lost weight and improved their blood sugar, more referrals came in.”
“You have to show that sending someone to me or bringing me into your company will produce improved health.”
And, results were exactly what were delivered after Trevouledes was invited to take part in West Pharmaceuticals’ safety week in September of last year.
“We’re concerned about employee health and safety, so we offered to pay for any employee that wanted to take her program,” explained Sonja Leone, West’s health, safety and environment manager.
In the 12 weeks Trevouledes held classes at West, several employees saw weight losses ranging from 12 pounds to 21 pounds, with four participants cutting their weight by 5% or more, and two more just shy of that goal at 4.5%, according to results provided by West Pharmaceuticals.
“One of our maintenance guys came in and personally thanked me for bringing her in, which I thought was nice, but I’m like ‘you did all the work,’” Leone said.
“His A1C used to be nine-something and now it’s down to under seven. Another of our guys in the tool room had the same results. They didn’t have a huge weight loss, but their focus was really on their A1C, and they’ve seen a significant reduction.”
“We have people today that are still following her plan, and they’re still losing weight and they feel better.”
“The thing about Rose is she cares about people and their health,” Leone said. “She doesn’t treat it like a job. She touches base with former clients and keeps a good relationship with them. It’s really nice that she has that personality.”
“The growth of my business really is helping to expand awareness in the community of how much small changes can have a large impact,” Trevouledes said.
A key feature of maintaining healthy lifestyle changes is self-accountability, an area of expansion she has begun toying with.
“I just started experimenting with a support group,” Trevouledes said.
“Anyone who’s taken my class or who I’ve worked with individually can come in, weigh-in, and then we sit in a big circle and just talk. A lot of clients have asked for it, and so far, it’s going very well.”
“The support group is important because it continues that accountability,” Trevouledes explained. “They know they’re going to come and get weighed, they’re going to get support, and then they also talk with others, and they like that.”
“Sometimes patients will cry or get stressed, and now they’re in a safe environment where there’s total support and non-judgement.”
An exciting new venture of its own, Trevouledes, who works with the city to provide health guidance, will soon begin working with county employees.
“I thought this would be a logical fit to partner with our Lycoming County Partnership Health Center, so I connected Rose with our Health Center,” said Matthew A. McDermott, director of administration and chief clerk for Lycoming County.
“Once we had all the details of the program and the results the city was observing, the commissioners approved sponsoring those Lycoming County employees that were interested in the weight loss/nutrition program.”
“I work with college students, young girls, 100 pounds overweight that have PCOS and they’re concerned about their fertility down the road; I work with 50-year-old contractors who have fatty liver, and now I’m working with seniors in their 70s and 80s,” Trevouledes said.
“It’s nice to see that, at all levels of the age spectrum, we have the opportunity to improve our health.”
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