Weight Loss isn't Far Away with TeleMOVE!

Using technology can be a (weight) losing proposition

A Veteran exercising at home, safely Are you a Veteran looking to improve your health through diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes but live too far away from a VA Medical Center? Using popular technologies, Veterans can now participate in the TeleMOVE! weight management program without leaving home.

Participate at home

TeleMOVE! is one of VA's Home Telehealth Services in which Veterans are matched with a VA clinician or Care Coordinator and with at-home health monitoring technologies that best fit their needs. It combines the very successful MOVE! Weight Loss Program with tools of telehealth, like video and teleconferencing. It's a 90-day program that focuses on nutrition, physical activity, and behavior change. Participation in TeleMOVE! along with a healthy diet and activity changes may also help improve health conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, COPD, and depression.

"The TeleMOVE! program was a great success for me. The idea that I had to weigh in and the results were being recorded was motivation for me. I had a personal goal of losing the required pounds to have my hips replaced. I was able to use this program versus having gastric weight loss surgery," said Veteran Charlie Twine.

There are currently 9,000 Veterans participating in the TeleMOVE! program from their own homes.

Get started with SMART goals

To join the program, just let your VA Primary Care team know that you are interested in TeleMOVE! They'll have you complete the MOVE!11 Questionnaire at your local VA medical facility or online. This will help you and your health care team set goals specific to your needs. These SMART goals should be:

  • Specific

  • Measurable

  • Action-oriented

  • Realistic

  • Time-base

For example, if you want to cut calories, your goal may be to reduce the number of soft drinks consumed weekly from seven to three throughout one month. "SMART goals for me means getting your life in order," Veteran Thomas Bulla says. "You stop doing a lot of things that got you where you didn't want to be and start doing a lot of things that are going to get you where you want to be."

Technology options

There are many home telehealth technology options available. Once matched to your VA Care Coordinator, you'll choose your technology option and which monitoring items you need based on your health and what you may or may not already have. For instance, one may be provided if you need a scale or blood pressure monitor. Depending on your health conditions and goals, you will track vital signs, such as:

  • Weight

  • Pulse

  • Blood pressure

  • Blood sugar

The next step is to report this information to your VA Care Coordinator using your technology option. This will help you and your VA Care Coordinator monitor your progress, health status and determine treatment decisions together.

Keep in contact

A screenshot of TeleMOVE! Veterans enrolled in TeleMOVE! can report information to their VA Care Coordinator in various ways, including over the telephone, through a secure internet website, video technology, secure internet website, video technology, or a home device. They can also stay in contact by using the MOVE! Coach mobile app. Veterans with a Premium My HealtheVet account can also use Secure Messaging (sign in required) to send non-urgent questions or comments to their care coordinator and other members of their health care team.

Created February 26, 2019