JUNE 1, 2005
Smoke Signals 5
ii i:i r t r l :a
nv r
v I
Tribal Members And Employees Take
On A New, Healthier Lifestyle
The lifestyle balance program helps Tribal members and
employees balance nutrition and exercise.
By Angie Sears, Tribal Mentee
It's been 14 years since 39- year-old
Donna Todd, X-Ray Technician
at the Health and Wellness Medi
cal Lab, nearly lost her life and her left
leg in an automobile accident.
At the time of the accident, Todd was
physically fit and into body building. To
day, she still struggles with the weight
gain she endured during the long recov
ery from her injuries.
"Three years ago I was at my heavi
est weight," said Todd. "I realized
with my injuries something had to be
done." At that time she did some re
search and began a series of yo-yo di
ets and failed attempts to lose the
weight and keep it off.
She has tried the Atkins and South
Beach diets only to be disappointed. "It's
so confusing," said Todd. "I was so over
whelmed; I didn't know what to eat."
That's when she knew it was time
to make some life changes, to get back
to the basics, watch what she eats, cut
down her fat intake and begin exer
cising again. She was on her way to
healthy weight loss, but she lost sight
of things over the holidays and began
to gain the weight back again.
Physicians and staff at the Health
and Wellness Center recognize that
this is a problem far too many people
face today. In their efforts to find a
way to educate patients about proper
nutrition and exercise, they developed
a program that would promote a
healthy lifestyle.
Tracy Biery, Health Promotions Spe
cialist, and Linda Mann, Dental Hygien
ist, attended a Native American fitness
training seminar sponsored by Nike and
The Northwest Portland Indian Health
Board where they learned about health
and fitness training programs.
Biery and Mann used the information
obtained from this seminar to devise a
16-week Lifestyle Balance program that
is meant to educate people about
healthy eating habits and exercise. The
program follows the curriculum of a na
tionwide Diabetes Prevention Program.
Mann said her goal is to help partici
pants of the program lose seven percent
of their bodyweight and reach a body
mass index (BMI) of 21-23. To do this,
she encourages 30 minutes of exercise
five times a week, and a low fat diet.
"Everyone here has a measurable
goal," said Mann. "People in the pro-
wholesale prices and possibly more
shoes too.
Mike Watkins, Executive Director of
Health & Wellness, says he would like
to get more casino employees involved
with the program, as there is currently
only a couple staff from the casino's
Human Resources Department par-
gram keep track of their own weight
loss, and well be checking at the end
to see if they've met their goal."
The group meets every Monday for
lunch from 12 to 1 p.m. After lunch,
Mann and Biery present something
new and interesting about the impor
tance of healthy eating and exercise.
They provide hand-outs full of
facts and figures about nutrition, fat
and calorie intake, portion control,
the effects of sugar, and the impor
tance of cardiovascular exercise.
The program has focused mainly on
nutrition and healthy eating habits so
far, but will be looking more closely
at proper exercise techniques in the
weeks to come. They also offer many
incentives to motivate participants
and keep them on track.
"Every week we give out a prize," said
Mann. "So far we have given water
bottles, measuring cups and cook
books." Participants of the program
were also able to order Nike shoes at
wholesale prices.
Mann didn't want to give away any
surprises, but said they would be pro
viding other exciting incentives. She
also said they may be offering an oppor
tunity to purchase Nike apparel at
ticipating in the program.
"Everybody was doing their own
thing," he said. The casino, the Tribe,
and the clinic were all trying to imple
ment their own program. The idea,
he said, was to combine each
department's efforts and develop one
program that would benefit everyone.
Watkins said they will be offering
Linda Mann
a six-week aerobics class three
times a week beginning in mid
June. Surveys have been completed
to learn what people want, (i.e.
dates, times, level of impact, inten
sity, and child care). Dates and
times are pending.
"My goal is to someday have a sched
ule seven days a week that would offer
health and wellness activities for a
range from children and Elders to the
healthy person," he said.
He would also like to see programs
and activities involving the entire
community, such as softball tourna
ments during pow-wow weekend. He
believes the Lifestyle Balance Pro
gram is a step in the right direction.
Tracy Biery and Linda Mann have
done a great job at putting this program
together, and in making it fun and in
teresting," said Todd.
Todd believes the program is a per
fect idea and says it has been essen
tial in keeping her on track.
"I've lost five pounds in the few short
weeks that I've been involved in the
program," said Todd. "My goal is to
be more educated and come away with
the right tools to make better and
healthier lifestyle.
J 1 ! I W
p-
V J!
Reaching For Health Tribal members and Tribal employees do a little
stretching as part of the Tribe 's effort to promote a new, healthier lifestyle. Bend two
three. Stretch two three. OK. OK. Time for a break.
.1