Jeanne's Road to Wellness
When I went through a messy divorce and the sudden death of my infant daughter all within the same month, I lost myself. I ate, but didn't remember what. I pretended to sleep so my surviving daughter, Alice, could sleep. My life was a whirlwind of antidepressants, sleeping pills, and anything loaded with sugar and carbohydrates. Exercise didn't happen...I just didn't have the energy. I got to the point where I was over 230 pounds on my 5'3" frame. I knew I wasn't healthy and needed to do something soon, or I wouldn't be around to take care of Alice. It wasn't until we had an employee health screening here at Stanley Subaru that I discovered I had borderline high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and headed for prediabetes with a high fasting blood sugar. That was the wake up call I needed. I started walking in the morning before work, and then again at lunchtime. My energy level soared, I lost weight, and I could actually sleep at night!
In January of this year I went to a True Health Seminar hosted by Maine Coast Memorial Hospital and the Wellness Council of Maine. The True Health Program is an Employee Wellness Program and several local businesses were testing it out as a "Pilot Program", with Stanley Subaru being among them. I was elected Wellness Coach for Stanley Subaru. While at the seminar, one of the presenters sparked my curiosity. Amanda Tupper, the Wellness Coach for the City of Ellsworth said she took a group of the city employees, including firefighters, police officers, and city clerks over to try out Crossfit Acadia, on the Bucksport Road. She explained how the weight lifting and high intensity interval training worked and how incredible she felt after going. That night I went home and signed up for February's On-Ramp class, a 4-week class for beginners.
The minute I walked through that door, my life changed forever. I switched to a gluten free/dairy free diet and started going to Crossfit 3 times a week. In that time since February, I have lost 60 pounds! My blood pressure is normal, as are my triglycerides and my blood sugar! And I no longer have to take antidepressants. Some people say it is the exercise itself, but I think it is the Crossfit Community that has changed my life. The coaches and other Crossfitters have become part of my family. There is nothing more powerful than having people cheer you on while you are swinging kettlebells, doing deadlifts, and endless pull ups. On Memorial Day, I even participated in the "Memorial Day Murph", a work out tribute to a fallen military hero. This workout consisted of a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, followed up by another mile run. Although it took me an hour to complete and left me completely exhausted, I was proud to workout with 75 of Crossfit's finest and honor the ultimate sacrifices of the members of our military.
It is this intense energy and change in my health that inspired me to start a new program at Stanley Subaru. The "Every Body, Every Day Program" was created by the Wellness Council of America is a goal-oriented employee wellness program. The program is designed to inspire employees to create small goals for themselves over a 6-week period. Our employees set weekly goals for exercise and eating healthier. At the end of the 6 weeks, all the participants earn a prize for completing the program and then they are entered into a drawing to win a grand prize. Some of our employees are doing some remarkable things! Some have taken up walking every day, others have resolved to quit smoking, and still others have taken up new healthy habits like hiking, biking, and swimming. Of our 33 employees, we had 20 of them sign up for the program! A 60% sign up rate for a new program! It is amazing what a little encouragement can do for someone, and I make it a priority to encourage others in their healthy pursuits. It is my way of paying it forward for all the people who have helped me.
Follow up Note 10/12/2012: We had 14 employees reach their 6-week goals during the EveryBody EveryDay Wellness Challenge! Some walked, others made an effort to eat better, to drink more water, to sleep better, and others did 5k's and triathlons. Stanley Subaru gave each employee completion prizes and a certificate of achievement. Of the 14 who completed the challenge, we drew a Grand Prize Winner at random, and Dave Cookson in Service won an Amazon Kindle! Keep up the great work everyone, you are improving your health and wellness one step at a time. Pun intended.
For more on Wellness Council of America, visit: http://www.welcoa.org
For more on the Wellness Council of Maine, visit http://wellnesscouncilofmaine.org
For more on Wellness Council of America, visit: http://www.welcoa.org
For more on the Wellness Council of Maine, visit http://wellnesscouncilofmaine.org
