Team feels good 134 pounds later
By Terry Rindfleisch of the Tribune staff
Holly Blanchard struggled for almost five months as a member of the Healthy Living Team.
Blanchard, a Trane Co. project manager, ate healthier and walked more, but her biggest challenge was time. She had trouble getting into the groove and fitting exercise into her daily routine. She felt she was not making much progress in the “Healthy Living Today, Not Tomorrow” community project.
While others on the 14-member Healthy Living Team were reporting success, she didn’t have much to report. Then she decided she had to change her daily schedule if she wanted to work in regular exercise.
She now gets up at 5:15 a.m. and walks on the treadmill at home and works out to exercise videos for about an hour.
“I’ve been consistent for seven weeks, and it’s really working,” Blanchard said. “I’m so energized in the morning and at work. I feel so much better. It’s the routine and pattern that works for me.”
Blanchard lost up to four pounds, one inch around her waist and 1 1/2 inches around the hips.
Healthy Living Team members, who acted as motivators and leaders of the six-month community project, will talk about their experiences at the final Healthy Living Town Hall meeting on Monday, April 12. The Town Hall meeting will be broadcast live on WXOW-TV Ch. 19 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center on the UW-L campus.
The Healthy Living Team lost a total of 134 pounds for an average of 8 pounds per person. Most members lost 2 tro 3 percent in body fat and increased their aerobic capacity.
“These are pretty good results for a group that exercised and tried to eat healthier on their own,” said Leigh Watson, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse graduate student in adult fitness and cardiac rehabilitation who has coordinated testing for the Healthy Living Team.
“The small changes they made added up, and they learned what it takes to live healthy, and the importance of exercise,” Watson said.
Tammy Addleman, an exercise instructor and director of the YMCA branch in Holmen, Wis., shed 18 pounds in the Healthy Living project and lost 6 percent in body fat. She now has lost a total of 23 pounds and has increased her exercise intensity.
“This program was a huge value to me,” Addleman said. “Six months was a significant amount of time, and it kept me thinking about healthier eating and working out more.”
Her sister, Tonya Mihalovic, lost 23 pounds in the program, along with a 3 percent reduction in body fat. Mihalovic and his sister often worked out together.
Mihalovic said she learned to do everything in moderation and eliminate the “all or nothing” attitude.
“If I make a wrong or unhealthy choice, I have to make sure I do not make wrong choices for the rest of the day or week,” Mihalovic said.
Joe Kruse, Franciscan Skemp vice-president, said he and his wife, Barb, took the suggestion of Karen Gibson, a Viterbo University dietetics instructor, who sits down with her husband on Sunday night and plans their week, including how to fit exercise into their schedule.
“I felt throughout I was making progress and I was feeling better,” Kruse said.
Kruse had lost 22 pounds since trying to get back into shape, including 13 pounds during the project. His combination of walking, running and weights boosted Kruse’s physical-activity level.
Betsy Bloom, a La Crosse Tribune reporter, said despite Krispy Kreme’s best efforts to divert her from her goal, she lost 25 pounds, had a 9 percent reduction in body fat composition and improved her aerobic capacity.
“I’m fitting into clothes’ sizes I haven’t tried in a long time,” Bloom said. “But mostly, I learned control — on what I eat, how much I eat, how much I exercise. I can’t say I always made the right decisions, but at least I thought about it instead of just acting from routine or reflex or just boredom.”
Ted Roberts, La Crosse Family YMCA facilities director, walks on a treadmill and outside for at least an hour a day. “I’m still eating better than before I started the Healthy Living program,” he said.
Roberts said he learned that support is important. “If the support wasn’t there for me, I wouldn’t have done it,” he said.
David Amborn, executive director of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, still has not smoked a cigarette since he started his program Sept. 26. He lost some weight at the start of the program but ended up with no weight loss.
“Stopping smoking was my No. 1 priority, and my cholesterol numbers now look good, but I had a hard time fitting in exercise, and I still have to make that a priority,” Amborn said. “But I’m much stronger and I can now walk without puffing.”
Pat Boge, community relations coordinator for the La Crosse Public Library, lost two pounds and dropped her body fat by 2 percent. Boge added walking poles to her walking routine. “I can feel the upper body strength and my clothes fit better,” she said.
Lisa Berekvam, WXOW-TV sales and traffic assistant, lost 10 pounds in the program. She walks and bikes 45 minutes to one hour, four to five days a week.
“I’m exercising more and eating healthier,” Berekvam said,. “I feel great. I’m down two to three dress sizes.”
Chris Baldus, La Crosse Tribune’s region editor, lost 15 pounds and bought jeans for the first time in years. His biggest change was giving up regular soda. “I dropped the six-cans-a-night-Coke habit and found solace in Diet A & W,” Baldus said.
Baldus started a jogging program, first running for 10 minutes and then working up to three miles in 30 to 35 minutes.
Dr. Todd Mahr, a physician specializing in children’s allergies and asthma at Gundersen Lutheran, said he lost some weight by watching his food portion sizes, adding more fruit, eating healthier snacks and making better food choices. He is still trying to fit exercise into his busy daily routine.
“Finding the time for exercise I think is one of the hardest things for many people,” Mahr said.
La Crosse Mayor John Medinger lost eight pounds and continues to walk or run for 30 to 45 minutes five to six times a week. “Generally I’m pleased at where I am at, especially with how much I eat out for meetings and other events,” Medinger said. “But I could be a lot better.”
Adrian Novak of Onalaska, Wis., lost 12 pounds even with an injury that kept him from regular exercise for several weeks. Novak said he tried to continue eating the right food portion sizes.
Dr. Margaret Grenisen, a physican at Franciscan Skemp’s Center for Women’s Health, had lost 20 pounds before starting the Healthy Living project and lost a few more pounds in the six-month program.
“I wished I had lost a little bit more weight, but I do have more energy, I sleep better and my clothes fit better,” Grenisen said.
Grenisen now exercises at least five days a week and has worked swimming into her routine.
“Getting into a routine was a challenge, but now my exercise routine has become a habit,” she said. “This project was very good because it created awareness in the community and people talked about getting more exercise and eating healthier.”
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8227.
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