Group effort
By Terry Rindfleisch of the Tribune staff
David Amborn, Joe Kruse and Lisa Berekvam have found that small changes in their eating and physical activity levels can make a big difference in their lives.
The three are among 16 members of two Healthy Living teams, which were formed to motivate the community as part of the "Healthy Living - Today, Not Tomorrow," project a six-month community initiative spearheaded by the La Crosse Tribune and WXOW-TV to address the obesity epidemic.
Since the program started Sept. 26, team members have lost a total of more than 130 pounds and have significantly increased their physical activity levels. Every team member has lost some weight.
Kruse, 48, vice-president of Franciscan Skemp Medical Center, has lost 14 pounds and is only six pounds away from his weight-loss goal. He has been walking or jogging for 45 minutes three days a week and lifting weights three times a week at the La Crosse Family YMCA.
"The only time I can do exercise is in the morning at 5:30 or 6," Kruse said. "It was tough the first couple weeks, but now I'm in the groove."
He said he was surprised to find that eating healthier was not that difficult. He cut down his portions of food, added breakfast and eats four times as many fruits than he did before. "I used to snack in the middle of the morning because I didn't eat breakfast," Kruse said. "I eat smaller meals, so my volume is a lot less. I got to do this for the next 30 years.
"I do feel good, I need to buy some new clothes," he said.
Amborn, 51, executive director of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, hasn't smoked a cigarette since he started his program Sept. 26. He is exercising regularly and has lost 11 pounds.
"Ifeel empowered, and I have more energy, and I sleep better," Amborn said. "I'm feeling real good. The morning cough went away, my sinuses have cleared up, and I'm really starting to smell again. I'm surprised that I stopped smoking and lost weight."
He graduated from Gundersen Lutheran's Winning Weighs program and has been walking on a treadmill for three miles every other day and lifting weights. "The toughest part is fitting this all in with my busy schedule, but if I can do this with my busy life, then others can, too," Amborn said.
Amborn said he used to skip breakfast and lunch at times and eat late at night, but now he eats three meals a day, which includes more fruits and vegetables and more fiber and fewer sweets. "I've been highly motivated and receive so much support," he said.
Berekvam, reporter for WXOW-TV, didn't exercise before she started the Healthy Living program, but now she exercises three times a week at the YMCA using the treadmill, stationary bicycle and weight machines and does a Pilates workout at home.
A single mother with two children, Berekvam said she is eating healthier and eating fewer snacks. "The challenge is fitting in the exercise, but my changes have made a difference," she said. "I have lost 8 pounds, and I got more energy."
While she works out at the Y, her 11-year-old son, Travis, participates in the Y's fitness program for teens.
Tim McAllister, 42, a financial planner, is on track by losing eight pounds with small changes in his lifestyle. He walks, participates in a spinning class and lifts weights. "The biggest challenge is finding time to do what I want to do," he said. "I plan ahead what I do and what I eat."
McAllister said he has cut down on regular soda, eats fewer sweets and just eats smaller portions of food.
Ted Roberts, 42, La Crosse Family YMCA facilities director, walks a lot each day in his job, but he has added spinning three times a week and lifts weights twice a week. The biggest challenge, he said, is eating healthy. "I'm trying to eat good food and eat three meals a day, and I'm not trying to eat beyond 6:30 at night," Roberts said.
Roberts has lost 11 to 12 pounds, and he said his co-workers have motivated him and supported him. "I feel great, I have more energy, and my wind is better," he said. "I have lost so much weight in the past and regained it. I am really going for the small changes and changes for a lifetime. I have found this whole Healthy Living program to be helpful, but the biggest help is the feeling of accountability."
La Crosse Mayor John Medinger said he had hoped for more progress, but has lost some weight with some healthier eating changes and walking or running 30 to 40 minutes five times a week.
"I'm doing lots of little stuff, but my challenge is I never eat at home," Medinger said. "Of the 21 meals each week, I eat five or six at home, and eat a lot of dinners for meetings and other events, and I don't get to choose what to eat. But I'm trying to watch my portions. I'm slowly making changes."
Adrian Novak of Onalaska, Wis., said he is making slow but consistent changes in his exercise and eating habits. Novak, who has diabetes, said he has reduced his carbohydrate intake and eating fewer snacks. He also is working out at the YMCA. He has lost more than seven pounds so far.
"The Healthy Living program is helping me work toward a lifestyle change that I have talked about starting and needed over the last several years," Novak said. "The greatest help has been from the support that I receive from everyone. My family, co-workers, consultants, health-care team and the Healthy Living program all give me the motivation that I need. I am leaving the chunky lifestyle and going to hunky."
Patty Sesemann, supervisor of nutrition services in charge of the food service at Gundersen Lutheran, has lost 23 pounds since June and six more since joining the Healthy Living team. She joined Gundersen Lutheran's Winning Weighs program and exercises atCurves four to five times a week in addition to walking a couple times a week.
"Working around food is challenge, and when I get stressed out, I eat," Sesemann said. "I like to eat, but now I'm watching portion sizes and cutting back. I also switched from soda pop to diet pop."
She said she didn't exercise before joining the program because she was too tired when she got home from work. "But I do exercise now, and I have more energy," Sesemann said.
Holly Blanchard, a Trane Co. project manager, is focusing on healthy changes, not weight. She hasn't weighed herself yet, but her goal is to lose 10 to 15 pounds. She is eating healthier, working out three times a week and starting a strength training routine.
"The biggest challenge is time," Blanchard said. "I'm a single mom and work two jobs. But I'm trying to make changes. So far, I noticed I have gained more muscle.
"I have included my dog in my healthy-living plan," she said. "He weighs 116 pounds and should be closer to 100 pounds. We both are walking more, and I have cut done on the amount of dog food and people food he eats. Betsy Bloom, a La Crosse Tribune reporter, said her biggest challenge has been exercise, but she has tried to give up an hour each day to walk two miles. That helps her get 10,000 steps on her pedometer.
"Since I'm single, I've also found it tough to cook or prepare meals in smaller portions," Bloom said. "The up side of being single is I can easily control what comes into the household food-wise, so nothing too tempting is lurking in my fridge or cupboard."
Bloom said she tries not to consume more than 1,200 calories a day and has added more fruits and vegetables in her diet. She has lost 13 pounds so far.
Chris Baldus, the Tribune's assistant city editor, is riding the stationary bike, walking on the treadmill 15 to 30 minutes four times a week and lifting weights. Baldus has lost several pounds, but wants to lose 20 to 30 pounds and get back into his football playing shape.
The main change he has made in his eating is switching from regular pop to diet soda. "I've also sprinkled more fruits and vegetables into my diet and try to avoid eating out," Baldus said.
Dr. Todd Mahr, a physician specializing in children's allergies and asthma at Gundersen Lutheran, said he is watching his food portion sizes, adding more fruit, eating healthier snacks, and drinking more water. He has a weight-loss goal of 25 to 30 pounds and has lost 10 pounds.
"My schedule is very busy, and it's hard to get a routine going, but I'm trying to get in more exercise, mainly walking," Mahr said. "I also trying to do other healthy things. I got my flu shot and my tetanus booster shot."
Patricia Boge, who works at La Crosse Public Library, always has been a walker, getting up every morning at 6 to walk, but she and her husband,Jerome, a community member in the Healthy Living project, are focusing on eating changes.
"We're trying to change an entire lifestyle, and now we're more aware of what we eat and how much we eat," Boge said.
She said she has added more grains and fiber to her diet, along with eating more vegetables and watching food portions. She has lost a few pounds on her way to a goal of losing 10 to 15 pounds. "My husband is losing weight a lot faster," she said."We try to reinforce each other."
Dr. Margaret Grenisen, a physician with Franciscan Skemp's Center for Women's Health, started a weight-loss program in February and lost 20 pounds before starting the Healthy Living program. She has lost another five pounds. Her goal is to lose another 10 to 15 pounds.
Grenisen said she tries to work out 30 to 45 minutes a day at the YMCA. "The challenge is the time to get in the workout," she said."It's almost become stressful; it's one more thing to I have to do. But I'm glad I'm doing it."
She has been on the Atkins diet. "I'm continuing with that diet," Grenisen said. "Being a committed carnivore, I've found it quite easy to follow the diet, and it seems to work for me."
Tammy Addleman, an exercise instructor and director of the YMCA branch in Holmen, Wis., joined the Healthy Living team with her sister, Tonya Mihalovic an exercise instructor and director of the YMCA branch in Holmen, Wis., joined the Healthy Living team with her sister, Tonya Mihalovic. They have been very successful together.. They have been very successful together.
Both women want to lose 40 pounds. So far, Mihalovic has lost 18 pounds and Addleman has lost 17 pounds. Besides teaching dance and fitness class, Addleman exercises five times a week. She and his sister enjoy tap dancing together and walk together and climb the Hwy. M hill.
"Tonya and I are not at the same fitness level, so it's a lot harder for her because she had not exercised," Addleman said. She said she tries to plan meals ahead, and when she is busy, she grabs healthy foods. She also does eat late at night.
"I believe the biggest factor for success will be mindset," Addleman said. "When you have a hectic schedule, it is easy to reward yourself with good food or a cold beer at the end of a long day. This has become a routine for both myself and my husband.
"Breaking old habits and finding new ways to reward myself, like a massage or a new pair of jeans, will require me to modify my thinking and break the old habits," she said. "My husband has jumped on board and would also like to lose 40 pounds so we can support each other.
Mihalovic said he has reduced her body fat by 10 percent. "Fitting exercise into a busy schedule is still a challenge," she said. The biggest changes in her eating has come with choosing healthier foods, limiting portions and cooking healthier. Her husband, Eric, also has lost 10 pounds.
"The breakthrough for me has been figuring out that it is healthy living for life," Mihalovic said.
Fitting in Fitness During the Holidays
The holidays are here, time is tight, and often the first thing to fall by the wayside is your fitness routine. When there are parties to attend, dinners to make, cookies to bake and presents to buy, it's tough to squeeze in an hourlong workout. At the same time, exercise is the best remedy for the added stress and anxiety that the season can bring. Here are some tips to fit exercise into your busy schedule:
Holiday events often are in the evening. If you usually exercise after work, switch your routine for a few weeks and work out in the morning or during your lunch break.
If you know you won't have the chance to fit exercise into your day, take the dog on an extra long walk or walk to the grocery store to pick up last-minute items.
Even if you usually can't stand them, find an exercise tape that you like. When bad weather hits or you don't have enough time to commute to the gym, you won't have to skip your workout.
Add exercise to your "to do" list, and give it the same importance as your other errands.
Maximize your time. Use your lunch break to walk to a nearby shopping center to do holiday errands.
Focus on fitness during the weekends. Get outside for an hour or more of hiking, skiing, snowshoeing or sledding with your kids. A 150-pound person will burn more than 400 calories by hitting the slopes for an hour, or nearly 450 with an hour of skating.
Shoveling snow and chopping wood are all great workouts. You'll burn calories doing either task - just make sure to protect your back.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8227.
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