HealthMiles Blog

Get Moving 10 Minutes at a Time

You know you need to get moving and you're working to hit at least 7,000 steps a day, but are you having a hard time getting starting?  Try breaking up your activity throughout the day. 

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says:

10 minutes at a time is fine

We know 150 minutes each week sounds like a lot of time, but you don't have to do it all at once. Not only is it best to spread your activity out during the week, but you can break it up into smaller chunks of time during the day. As long as you're doing your activity at a moderate or vigorous effort for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Try to take some time throughout the day to get all your steps in. Instead of spending your lunch hour at your desk, use that time to walk a few laps.  You'll see the effort start to add up on your GoZone and reach that next level in no time!

Member Spotlight: Alma S.

Since starting on the program in March, I've lost almost 35 pounds. I still have about 80 pounds to go. I've done EVERY diet out there but none of them emphasize exercise and activity. That has been my success this time. I'm doing Weight Watchers along with the Virgin HealthMiles program and it hasn't been the struggle that it has been before. Adding walking into my plan has helped in the journey. I wear my pedometer everywhere, everyday. It has helped me become more conscious of moving.

My sedentary life was killing me. I'm 44 and on 5 different medications for Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol and Hypothyroidism.

After just 2 months of walking and because of my weight loss at that point, my hemoglobin A1C [the measurement of your average blood glucose control for the past 2 to 3 months] had dropped to almost normal and my doctor cut one of my diabetes medications in half. My cholesterol was under 200 - the first time in years! I go back to the doctor in October for my next check up and I'm hoping to be taken off one or more medications.

Another victory is that I have signed up to walk my first mini-marathon in October. And yes - my pedometer will be on me that day!!

Good luck Alma, from all of us at Virgin HealthMiles. We know you'll keep at it and reach your goals for a healthier you!

Post a comment for Alma

Member Spotlight: Toni Q.

On March 26, 2009, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I had been in denial about my health for many years; I was living a sedentary life, eating the wrong foods and watching my weight grow higher and higher. After my diabetes diagnosis, I was determined to do something about my situation. I’d been determined before; I have battled with weight problems my whole life and I’ve tried every kind of diet and nutrition plan there is only to fail after a few months.

But this time it was different. I had a different motivator. I didn’t want to lose my feet, my vision or have a heart attack. Immediately, that day, I started my new lifestyle and have not looked back.

I follow a diabetic diet and along with medication and I’ve lost over 50 pounds. The Diabetes Food Pyramid diet works because you learn how to eat balanced meals throughout the day by making the correct choices.

I also discovered Virgin HealthMiles and now not only do I eat correctly but I lead an active lifestyle which I thought was gone forever.

I started my walking program in March 2009 but I wasn’t able to walk 3 miles at a time until June 2009 when I joined Virgin HealthMiles.I don’t know why, but the pedometer motivates me to walk. I never thought I would say that, but it does. You are so concerned about getting those 7,000 steps a day that sometimes you find yourself running in place at night to get those last few hundred steps to make it to 7,000. What an accomplishment you feel when you get there!

Since joining Virgin HealthMiles I have walked 2,537,498 steps (1,195 miles) and have worn out 3 pair of walking shoes!

For those of you just beginning a walking program, please start out slow at first to avoid injuries. It’s important not to overdo it at the beginning. The important thing about walking is getting your heart rate up and trying to do it every day. It doesn’t matter if you walk it all at once or break it up into three smaller walks a day (10 minutes at a time until you can work your way up) you will benefit from the activity and lose weight. Of course, it is very important to drink a lot of water.

Since last year when I began my lifestyle change, I have:

• Walked in four 5Ks (bettering my finish time with each walk)
• Won a bunch of great prizes from the 2009 Frankfort’s Chamber of Commerce’s Biggest Loser Contest (came in 2nd place!)
• Joined the Wellness Program at work and our team won a wonderful prize
• Joined Fit-Time-for-Women’s gym
• Enjoyed the many new beginnings in my life: I’ll be turning 50 this year and am actually looking forward to it because I feel better than I have in years!

Needless to say, my life has changed and I am enjoying all the opportunities that this change has brought me. I’m not stuck to my couch, in front of the TV, eating and wasting my life.

I know how hard it is to get started. I was very depressed at first. I had lost my best friend – Food – which was how I normally coped with stress. I now try to use walking and my diet to help with stress. My friend Food has become a way for me to eat to live instead of living to eat. If I can do this, you can do this – one step at a time!!

Post a comment for Toni | Share your story: stories@virginhealthmiles.com

Healthy Summer Recipes

Are you gearing up for a barbecue this summer? Don't let that derail your fitness efforts! Summer is a great time to get outside and grill and there are lots of healthy options you can try. If you're looking for some new recipes to take advantage of the foods in season and the warm weather months, here are a few from fitnessmagazine.com to try

Hot off the Grill: Healthy Recipes for a Summer Barbecue

Eye on Wellness honorable mention: Beatriz Maldonado, Role Model

Beatriz Maldonado has become a role model among her colleagues at Ochsner Health System, as well as in her community for taking personal responsibility of her well-being and making necessary lifestyle changes to dramatically improve her health.

After years of failed weight loss attempts, Beatriz started her 146-pound weight-loss journey 10 years ago and has lost 67 pounds in the last two years. She has dropped 10 dress sizes, her blood pressure is now within normal range and she is no longer on calcium blockers. Beatriz

credits her success to taking a holistic approach to wellness by focusing on six angles: spiritual, mental, emotional, behavioral, physical and nutritional. She approached her weight loss as a non-negotiable goal, focusing on lifelong lifestyle changes that include health and fitness as primary motivators. Beatriz reports that participating in the Virgin HealthMiles program offered by Ochsner to their employees has motivated her to get more active. She exercises regularly and participates in a wealth of classes and activities from Zumba, swimming, spinning, drum, Booty Ballet and strength training.

Ochsner employees looking to lose weight and improve their health now seek Beatriz out for advice. So much so, Beatriz created a 45-minute presentation, "146 Pounds Lost and Counting: Lessons from My Weight Loss Journey" for Ochsner's Hello Health Seminar series. Nearly 600 participants attended her speech either in person or by teleconference. Beatriz’s advice to her friends and colleagues: focus on the benefits of health and fitness and how these directly connect to quality of life. She encourages her colleagues to recognize the personal responsibility, choice and control that they have in taking care of themselves versus waiting for the health care system to take care of them when they avoid making healthy lifestyle choices.

Member spotlight: Mary T

At 43 years of age I have never been extremely overweight, and never had to worry much about gaining weight. When I hit 35, I started seeing the weight go up but still didn’t worry too much about it.

However, last year the scale kept inching upward and upward. I was getting ready to go on a trip to Hawaii that I had wanted my whole life and I didn’t need the extra weight. I started looking through recent pictures and noticed that I was looking somewhat “pregnant” and I couldn’t believe that was me. Boy was I surprised when I stepped on the scale and noticed that I weighed 8 pounds more than I did when I was 9 months pregnant. I was not happy and knew that I was in trouble.

Then, at a doctor’s visit my blood pressure was right at the 140/90 mark and he made the comment about me getting older, about the weight I had gained and started on the lecture that I really didn’t want to hear. (As a nurse I am well aware of the consequences that the extra weight places on your entire body but I’m not the best in practicing what I preach.)

That was it! I had to do something.

When I started wearing the pedometer in October I didn’t realize this many people were using the Virgin HealthMiles program. Wearing the pedometer everyday has made a big difference. I have made it my mission to get as many steps as possible and to include all my friends and coworkers on my walks during breaks.

I also started working out with Jillian Michaels doing her 30-Day Shred DVD (I know now why they cry on "The Biggest Loser"!) 4 to 5 days a week. I talked several of my friends into working out to the DVD, and I still walk 3 to 5 days a week. The HealthMiles pedometer has been and is an incentive to me. I am in probably the best shape of my life right now and I am enjoying it. My blood pressure is back to 100-110/60-70. I enjoy trying on clothes now and enjoy having more clothes to choose from.

If there is on piece of advice that I could offer it is: be accountable to someone – a coworker, a friend, your spouse, your children. You need to have a coworker or friend ask you everyday “have you worked out?” or “have you walked today?” Being accountable to someone or to yourself will do wonders for the steps on your pedometer and for your health. By being a Virgin HealthMiles member I have taken a more active role in my health and fitness. It helps to make me accountable to my friends and to myself.

---

Post a comment for Mary | Share your story: stories@virginhealthmiles.com

Member spotlight: Linda M

I started the HealthMiles program in September of 2008, shortly after my mom had passed away from Alzheimer’s. At that time I weighed 267 pounds and was very inactive. I am 56 years old and have always had a problem with my weight. I have lost and gained hundreds of pounds and started and stopped many exercise programs over the years.

When I first started using the pedometer I had a very hard time getting to 7,000 steps! With the help of my workmates and the program, I got moving.

Between September 2008 and February 2009 I lost 13 pounds from walking only. I really didn’t change my diet. I had applied for the “lap band” procedure in November 2008, and in late December I was told by my HMO that I didn’t qualify as I had not been on a medically supervised weight loss program in the last 2 years. I was really disappointed and depressed because I thought that was my last chance. I went to my doctor and she said she would monitor my weight loss for 6 months, and then I could re-apply for the surgery. She told me to try a “low carb” diet Monday through Friday and eat some carbs on the weekend.

I started doing this and to my surprise the weight started coming off! I started walking more and more weight came off! In January 2010, my dad passed away from colon cancer. During the whole weight loss experience I had been keeping my dad in the loop on my progress. Telling him every week how much I had lost. He was happy to see the improvement. He saw me lose 65 pounds!

I no longer qualify for the lap band procedure because I don’t need to lose that much weight. Both my blood pressure and cholesterol medicine have been cut in half and I hope to get off of them altogether. I continue to walk on a regular basis and get over 12,000 steps on many days.

Here are some little things I can do with ease that were hard before. They may seem silly, but if you were in my shoes, you'd know how it feels:

• I can fit in restaurant booths
• I can go up stairs and talk at the same time
• I can make the bed up against the wall without killing myself
• I can fit in an airline seat with room on the seat belt
• I can go up and down the stairs at Dodger stadium

I want to lose 36 more pounds, be able to shop for clothes in any store, and I would like to be able to run one day. I can’t wait to tell my dad that I did it, I lost 100 lbs! I know he’ll hear me, and he’ll be proud.

This is the only activity program that I have stayed with. It has been 18 months and I still strive to do better.

Post a comment for Linda | Share your story: stories@virginhealthmiles.com

Member spotlight: Ron V

In December of 2005 I became ill with Viral encephalitis. By the grace of God I recovered but still have to deal with periods of confusion and memory loss. At the end of 2006 I went on disability leave after 36 years as a United Methodist pastor. (When I went on disability I was senior pastor of a 1300 member church in Indiana). In order to control the periods of memory loss and confusion my neurologist put me on medication.... I immediately gained 45 pounds.

In June of 2009 I was introduced to Virgin HealthMiles and begin to take two walks a day averaging 12,000 to 20,000 steps a day.

When I started your program I weighed 235 lbs. Having made it through the holidays, I now weigh 191 lbs.

I feel so much better. The scaring tissue on my brain will always be there, so the medication is a fact of life but Virgin HealthMiles has given me a way to respond and find new hope.

Post a comment for Ron | Send us your story: stories@virginhealthmiles.com

Member spotlight: Susan B

I joined Virgin HealthMiles because it was a benefit of my health insurance. I had lost 45 pounds using Weight Watchers Online and met my goal weight. I didn't feel I needed to keep that enrollment and it was expensive for me but needed a way to keep active. I had changed to a less active job. I began caring more about my health when I received an unfavorable medical report. I needed to lower my cholesterol and blood pressure. I knew that learning what I could eat at my age and keeping active were the keys. I have lost weight in the past but always put it back on. I was counting on my new knowledge [of how to eat right] and level of activity to help me remain healthy.

With my weight loss and increased exercise I cut my blood pressure medicine [dosage] in half and my cholesterol returned to normal. Most important of all I felt terrific! I had to get a whole new wardrobe (Hospice stores and flea markets are great for that) and enjoy getting dressed every day.

I started this program 9 months ago because I wanted to continue my new life and attitude. So, I clipped on the pedometer and have kept walking. I love the challenges, they seem to come at just the right time. If I am in a slump of being very busy and feeling like I am not in control of my life with other responsibilities, the challenges give me something I know I can accomplish. It is like someone saying "good job" when I need it most.

My husband and I got a rescue dog named Tigger. He was very thin and submissive because of abuse. He had been scheduled for destruction. I really wanted to go walking with him but he was afraid and I could not even get him to go with me to the mailbox. After about three months he got more healthy and trusting. One day I finally got him to go to mailbox and then down our road. It was a miracle! So now, he waits for me to come home from work so we can go for our walk. On weekends we walk twice a day and he is relentless in his nagging until we go. So between the Vigin HealthMiles and Tigger I think I can remain healthy, enjoying life, and feeling great for a long time.

Post a comment for Susan | Send us your story: stories@virginhealthmiles.com

Member spotlight: Linda M

My mother passed away last year and my father wanted her ashes taken home to Northern Ireland, where I was born. It was a very emotional trip for me, but also very rewarding. One of the highlights was a day trip to the Giant's Causeway. The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is quite a hike down to the Causeway and then back up, as you can see by my pedometer reading:

 

Since starting with HealthMiles in September 2008, I have lost a total of 57 pounds! I have changed my diet and exercise more than I ever have my whole life! Thanks, HealthMiles.

Post a comment for Linda
Send us your story: stories@virginhealthmiles.com