I love a bargain. I particularly love the “Buy one-Get one free” deals at the grocery store when they showcase berries or other healthy food choices. This success story is more like a “Buy one-Get TWO free” deal and those are worth shouting about!
I met Connie Adkins when I started teaching a Transitions Lifestyle System Class at the Perdue Farms Agribusiness complex in Salisbury Md. Connie works in the Perdue Wellness office as a medical assistant and she and a group of Perdue employees signed up for the Transitions class to see if they could address some of their health and wellness issues. In Connie’s case she wanted to lose weight and learn how to make better food choices. She is very busy with her full-time job at Perdue plus, she lives on a nearby farm with her husband Ralph with a multitude of animals and she has a dog grooming business on the side. Add to that a large extended family and a mother-in-law who lives with them on the farm and you have a very busy life.
When Connie started the program she explained that her husband Ralph was going to be supporting her in this venture and part of his duties involved doing the family cooking. So she passed on all the info to Ralph on what foods would be appropriate in transitioning to a Low Glycemic Eating regimen. Connie and Ralph decided that this would be a good experience for both of them since Ralph also wanted to lose a “few” pounds.
Ralph’s mom was not a happy camper. At 84 she had lots of favorite junk foods and was reluctant to change her lifestyle but she also had health issues. She was pre-diabetic, overweight and had high cholesterol. Connie and Ralph felt she could benefit from this new program. So Ralph decided to prepare meals for himself and Connie and his mom was just going to have to get on board.
Transitions is a great name for a program that helps people “transition” into a new lifestyle. It takes time but if everyone takes small steps it becomes easier and easier to incorporate healthy choices into a daily regimen and before long new healthy habits are formed. That is what happened with Connie and Ralph. By the time Connie finished the 12 week training program she had lost 20 pounds and was well on her way to reaching her goal. Ralph had lost over 40 pounds! He never even took part in the classes but as a family “satellite” participant he reaped the rewards! But the family story doesn’t end there! In addition, Connie’s cholesterol and trigliceride numbers improved by over 100 points so she was truly a wellness and weightloss success. Ralph’s mom visited her doctor and at the age of 84 she had lost 10 pounds and all her numbers were now in range! Her doctor was pleased because she said the she always tells people to change their eating habits but most of them don’t bother
So kudos to the Adkins family. It only took 1 person, Connie, to decide to make a change and it led to 3 people benefitting from it. Kind of like a “Buy one-Get Two Free” promo. Never underestimate the power your decision might have. The positive vibes may just be contagious.
