Here’s my experience with diabetes. I’ve never been a healthy eater or systematically exercised.
When I was younger, I was the person that was always thin and energetic and could eat anything and everything in sight without gaining an ounce…you know, THAT PERSON. I turned 30, and my metabolism started to change. My husband and I also started a family, and I gained 50 pounds when I was pregnant. By the time I was 39, I had not lost any of that weight. I was tired all the time and had chronic back pain. Every doctor told me, “Change your eating habits and lose weight.” I shrugged it off and just continued down a path of comfort food and pain relievers until one day a co-worker told me about this meeting that a bunch of the employees had signed up for that was going to help everyone lose weight…you just have to be pre-diabetic to qualify and go to meetings in our conference room on Tuesdays during lunch. What’s the worst that can happen – I hang out for a meeting with people that I like, and maybe I’ll lose a pound or two along the way. I didn’t invest much hope in the YMCA of Delaware’s Diabetes Prevention Program. After all, I’m not giving up my REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups or soda – it’s just not happening.
Well, I could not have been more wrong. It wasn’t so much the 5 pounds of fat that our YMCA’s Behavior Analyst, Becky Landon, passed around the table or anyone lesson that clicked me into a new mindset, but instead a slow process that over time changed my way of thinking.
Each week’s lesson builds on the week before, and our group shared similar roadblocks and achievements that made me feel at ease with making small lifestyle changes that have turned into wonderful results, and I’m still going strong!
I’ve lost over 30 pounds since March, I’m exercising almost regularly, and I’ve started making healthier food choices with better portion control. I feel more energetic, and my chronic back pain is gone.
The support of this group has been life-changing. I’ve accomplished so much thanks to YMCA’s leadership and my coworkers. The best part is I feel better than I have in years, and I’m not done. I’m not even the best that I can be yet, and this program has given me the tools to go back to lessons that I might not be following to the fullest potential and do more to re-align my thinking.
This year I walked the Governor’s Cup 5k. My goal for next year is to jog it, and I fully believe with this new way of thinking that I can and will accomplish it. Thank you so much to Becky Landon and YMCA Delaware for this program. I’m so excited that the program has been Medicare-approved for coverage and that it will be available to an even broader audience. The YMCA is making Delaware healthier – congratulations and thank you!
— SUMMER BLACK
Download Summer Black’s testimonial about YMCA of Delaware Diabetes Prevention Program.
Are you at risk? Take a quick quiz to help determine if you may be at risk of developing diabetes or prediabetes.’
Edited by YMCA of Delaware Marketing Department.