Nature's Express to offer series of healthy eating classes

People wanting to lose weight by learning to eat healthier will soon be hitting the books in an unlikely place - the kitchen of a local restaurant.

Nature's Express, a local vegetarian fast-food restaurant, plans to offer a series of classes dedicated to healthy eating. The weekly classes will target people who have lost weight, but have difficult time maintaining a healthy weight.

"Those are the people we want to help. We want to help the people with the toughest challenges," said Dr. Carl Myers, the Yuma oncologist who owns Nature's Express.

"It has been shown that for people who lose weight, then gain it back, it is not healthy. It's actually healthier, from this perspective, to just stay heavy than to lose 50 pounds and gain 50 pounds."

Myers explained that such weight loss and regain doubles an obese person's risk of heart attack.

The classes were inspired in part through Fattest to Fittest: Yuma vs. Yakima Weight Loss Challenge. Nature's Express is one of several community sponsors.

The classes will cover topics ranging from healthy nutrition and the psychology of eating to exercise and healthy cooking. Myers' wife, Jean, will also conduct numerous cooking demonstrations. Jean Myers serves as a local cooking instructor for The Cancer Project.

Myers said a variety of approaches to good health will be taught, keeping in mind that different tips will work for different people.

"For some people it's changing the mix of foods they eat. Certainly there are people for whom understanding how environmental cues work would be helpful. For some people it might just be going to the grocery store after a meal instead of before a meal that will change what they buy."

A free informational session is planned for 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Nature's Express, 2905 S. 4th Ave. People who are interested in continuing with the actual classes can register at that time. People who can't attend can call the restaurant at 317-8300.

Participation is not limited to participants in Fattest to Fittest. The classes are open to the general public.

The cost will be $180 for 12 classes, which will begin Saturday, Nov. 14, and meet each Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Classes will run about 1.5 hours.

"It should be a lot of fun," Myers said.

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Darin Fenger can be reached at dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.