Randy Butler couldn't wait for his next lunch to try an avocado sandwich with lettuce and tomato on whole wheat bread and maybe a little hummus spread.

He had never heard of hummus before but a classmate of his recommended he try it instead of using mayonnaise.

Another classmate recommended he try tuna.

"Do you like tuna?" she asked.

"I eat everything ma'am," Butler said. "That's the problem."

Butler said he has struggled with his weight for the past 10 years since he stopped running because of damaged knees.

He tried cycling but still couldn't keep off the weight and reached 245 pounds.

At one point, he felt out of breath from bending over to tie his shoe and decided to join "Living Healthy!," one of the Casper Recreation Center's newest classes designed to help people understand how food affects the body and identify quality foods.

"I lost 8 pounds," Butler said pumping his fists in the air as he walked into the classroom at the center Tuesday evening.

In the three weeks since the six-week class began, Butler and his classmates have already started to apply what their instructor, Kim Goblirsch, has taught them.

Goblirsch, a certified health coach, told Butler he could lose 2 to 3 pounds a week if he reduced the amount of soda he drank.

During the goal-sharing portion of the class, Butler admitted he had two 12-ounce sodas the previous week.

Goblirsch applauded because the 24 ounces in one week was a far cry from the 128 ounces of soda Butler had been drinking every day.

Carolyn Griffith said one of her weekly goals was to work out three times.

"I worked out four," she said.

Griffith, the city recreational superintendent, said the class motivates her more than any other program or diet. Though she is not sure why, she said it makes her more conscious of her food decisions.

Living Healthy! is different from other classes offered at the center, according to Griffith.

"I think, generally, people want to be healthy," Griffith said. "They don't want to be driven by diets, controlled by diets all their lives. I hope some successes walk out of this classroom."

Nine people signed up for the class, including Griffith, and seven attended Tuesday's session on nutrition. The center hopes to hold another six-week session after the first of the year.

Students spend half of the hour-long class sharing their weekly goals, if they accomplished them and ways to improve. Each student brings his or her own experiences of dieting and exercise to the class.

Then, Goblirsch talks about a certain topic in healthy living - goal setting, motivation, nutrition, exercise, weight management, mental health - while answering many personal questions in between.

"Do I have to switch to 1 percent milk?" Butler asked during her discussion on proteins in dairy. "I can't stand 1 percent."

Goblirsch explained 1 percent milk is better than 2 percent, but it depends on how often someone drinks milk. She told Butler he probably didn't have to worry about it, if he only puts milk on his cereal in the morning.

"Healthy eating isn't about strict philosophies, staying unrealistically thin or depriving yourself of foods you love," she said. People need to look at what they eat and how often they eat it and decide if there are healthier alternatives to the foods they eat frequently, she said.

Little changes her students make each week can have a profound impact on their lives, Goblirsch said.

Planning meals before grocery shopping, reading labels, using frozen fruits to make smoothies and choosing healthy snacks are all simple changes people can make, she said.

Or eating a healthy breakfast.

Butler started eating breakfast last week. Though he has to wake up 30 minutes earlier, he said he likes the whole wheat Kashi brand cereal his classmates recommended.

"I'm over 60 and I want to enjoy my 70s," Butler said. "I am hoping this class will keep me from going on a diet that I will hate and fight every day."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.