Holiday survivor

By Paula J. McGarvey for The Montana Standard - 12/18/2007

Carolyn Moore participates in a water aerobics class at the Butte YMCA, recently. Moore, a diabetic, joined the Y’s Holiday Survivor program for some additional help sticking to her diet and exercise plan during the holidays. Paula J. McGarvey / For The Montana Standard

For Carolyn Moore, the YMCA Holiday Survivor program couldn’t have come at a better time. A diabetic hovering at a weight loss plateau, Moore was already feeling frustrated with her diet and exercise program as the holidays approached. She could see herself being too easily drawn to the dark side of the season — dark chocolate.

Moore, 49, decided to sign- up and take advantage of the added incentives, fitness challenges and tips the Holiday Survivor program had to offer.

Now in its second year, the program attracts dozens of people each holiday season.

“It helps give people the motivation they need to stay healthy during the holidays and Carolyn is a great example,” said Samantha Collier, YMCA director. Collier said that the program fee is $20 and kicks off at Thanksgiving. Participants must work out at the YMCA at least three times a week and in return they receive prizes, T-shirts and regular hints on how to manage stress, diet and exercise during the holiday season. Moore is glad for the help, especially since the role of fitness fanatic is still relatively new to her.

In February of 2006, Moore confessed that she was smoking two-packs a day and weighed more than 340 pounds. She never considered changing her lifestyle until the combination of living with obesity and a nicotine addiction began to take its toll.

“I couldn’t walk from the inside of my job to my car without sitting down to rest,” she said. A trip to the doctor in February of 2006 revealed that her smoking was seriously reducing her lung function. Frightened by the findings, she quit smoking “cold turkey.” Later that summer, Moore was plagued with eye problems. By fall, she was experiencing excessive thirst and walking around feeling like she had the flu.

“It was the lowest point in my life,” she recalled.

Back at the doctor’s office, a blood test revealed elevated blood sugar and Moore was diagnosed with diabetes. A patient at Butte’s Community Health Center, Moore was referred by her health care provider to a special program run in conjunction with the local YMCA.

“The partnership with the YMCA is one of the best things we can do in healthcare,” said Cindy Stergar, CHC director. Stergar explained that the CHC program helps patients like Moore manage physical illnesses through lifestyle changes.

“Behavioral therapists work with patients on change and provide them with passes to the YMCA,” she explained. The YMCA takes over the exercise programming and CHC practitioners follow progress at regularly scheduled visits, said Stergar.

For Moore, who was still struggling just to walk normally, the water aerobics class had the greatest appeal.

“The buoyancy of the water is great for the joints when you have extra weight,” she said. Along with the exercise, Moore worked with her healthcare providers to restructure her lifestyle and eating habits. Since her diagnosis in September of 2006, Moore has managed to maintain a weight loss of 75 pounds and has her diabetes under control.

With no plans on stopping, since joining the Holiday Survivor program Moore has added strength training to her twice-weekly water aerobics classes. She’s also looking into signing up for a spinning class. Moore said that she feels like she has found a brand new life she never realized was available to her. “It’s about being 49 and feeling 39,” she said.

For Moore and others wishing for some added exercise incentives after the holidays, the YMCA already has plans in the works for additional incentive programs in 2008.