Peggy Kraus Coaching 2024: Because EVERYBODY Deserves To Look & Feel Their BEST!

Delivery Rank is introducing Peggy Kraus, MA, RCEP, CDCES – a seasoned expert in the realm of health and wellness. With a wealth of knowledge spanning over 25 years, Peggy has dedicated her career to empowering individuals towards healthier lifestyles, particularly in the realms of weight loss and type 2 diabetes management. Peggy's credentials speak volumes about her expertise. As a registered clinical exercise physiologist with a master's degree in adult exercise, she brings a deep understanding of the intricacies of the human body and its response to physical activity. Moreover, her certifications in diabetes care and education, coupled with her proficiency in teaching plant-based nutrition, position her as a versatile authority in holistic health practices.

With your extensive background in adult exercise and certifications in diabetes care and education, how have you seen the landscape of health and wellness evolve over the past 25 years, and what trends do you believe will shape the future?

In the last few decades, exercise science has exploded. Every day, we learn more about the power of exercise, and we change our approaches to benefit from it.

For example, there was a time when we would limit activity in certain instances, but now we encourage it. For example, we’ve realized that exercise is beneficial for recovery from a cardiac event.

In the past, we would restrict activity in patients who had a heart attack. Now, these folks show up in cardiac rehab in a matter of weeks, ready to exercise.

Years of rigorous study have shown that exercise helps to strengthen the heart. It also keeps the blood from clotting inside the arteries, and it generates new blood vessels. All of this speeds up the recovery from a heart attack or heart surgery and prevents the next event.

Modernizing our view of exercise also includes the belief that type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease. We have learned that exercise helps put type 2 diabetes into remission. That's the medical community's term for reversing type 2 diabetes. Exercise can help move glucose out of the bloodstream. It then goes into the muscle cells, where the body can use it to make energy. Lower blood sugar translates into less eye, kidney, and nerve damage.

Exercise also rivals the effectiveness of medications for high blood pressure, back pain, depression, arthritis, dementia, and insomnia.

Insurance reimbursement for cardiac rehab has been in place since 1982. Since then, pulmonary rehab and supervised exercise training for peripheral artery disease have become covered expenses. 

Chronic disease costs are rising. As a result, health insurance companies are covering more exercise-related rehabilitation programs.

As the founder of Peggy Kraus Coaching, you've counseled numerous individuals on diet, exercise, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Can you share a particularly challenging case or success story that stands out in your career, and what valuable lessons did you learn from it?

When someone becomes inspired, there’s no limit to what they can achieve. When Evan was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, he was 41 years old and morbidly obese. He also had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea.

Evan’s first attempt at losing weight was short-lived. Following my program, he had been doing well until things in his life became difficult, and he lost focus.

Fast forward a couple of years. Evan reappeared in my office. His diabetes was much worse. His A1C had soared to 12.1%, and now he weighed 365 pounds. He told me that he was 429 pounds at his heaviest weight a few months earlier. Evan’s doctor was very concerned with Evan’s health, and THAT concerned Evan. At 44 years old, he described his life as “a mess.”

Evan told me that Lynn, his young daughter, inspired him to change.

At his breaking point, he had circled back to the guidelines I had given him when we first worked together. And he started losing weight again.

While the rest of us were binge-watching Netflix and gaining weight during COVID-19, Evan reduced his A1C to 4.8%. He also dropped his weight to 190 pounds. He threw away his C-PAP machine and all his meds. Now he feels great.

When someone hits “That's it!” moment, they can achieve amazing things. When someone is ready, there’s a way to break free of glucose meters, pills, and a future of chronic disease.

Given your expertise in weight loss and reversing type 2 diabetes, how do you approach creating personalized strategies for your clients, considering their unique health goals and challenges?

I do individualize strategies, but I also need to follow the evidence. We need to do what works, or else we’re spinning our wheels. I encourage people to use the strategies that will bring big benefits first. I call these the big-ticket items. Eating a plant-based diet is the foundation for optimal health. The side effects are weight loss, reversing type 2 diabetes, decreasing inflammation, stopping medications, and more. 

My guidelines allow some wiggle room. People who won’t make a significant move to a plant-based diet won’t realize their potential. We can work around medical history details, orthopedic limitations, and individual preferences for foods and exercise. But we shouldn't dismiss what works.

With your background in clinical exercise physiology, can you elaborate on the role of exercise in managing diabetes and cardiovascular health? How do you tailor exercise prescriptions to individual needs?

Exercise is the master signal for growth and repair. It tells your body to increase muscle and bone mass and to fix the parts of us that need repair. Exercise recycles old and potentially dangerous cells into brand-new cells.

All these things are necessary to prevent, manage, and reverse most chronic diseases.

Exercise has immediate outcomes that keep blood vessels healthy. These include lower blood sugar and blood pressure and improved metabolic function. Important things that help manage diabetes risk and cardiovascular health.

Exercise begins a cascade of events that helps to heal the vessel walls. Research tells us that 9,800 compounds are released into the blood when we exercise. Compounds like nitric oxide, along with hormones and metabolites repair the endothelium, the imaginable delicate cells that line artery walls. These cells are your life jackets for good health.

As someone deeply involved in the field of health and wellness for more than two decades, what advice would you give to individuals looking to embark on a journey towards better health, especially those dealing with weight loss or diabetes challenges?

Sometimes you can do this on your own. Exercise can be simple. Lace up your sneakers and go. Losing weight can be simple. Cut the junk food and watch the pounds melt off.

But most of the time, it’s smarter to work with a pro. You may have an accountant to prepare your taxes. Or a financial advisor to guide you with stock market decisions. It’s best to work with a health and wellness specialist to accomplish your health goals. We focus on the details of what works and what doesn’t.

Managing your blood sugar and heart health isn't easy. If it were, no one would have diabetes or heart disease.

When people have accurate information, proven strategies, and high-touch accountability, people succeed.

If you would like to find out more about Peggy Kraus Coaching, visit https://peggykraus.com/