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Getting Healthy Is Family Affair
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Published: February 28, 2008
Kelly, Troy, Austin and Tanner Arias, Lithia
36, 44, 13, and 10
5-foot-1, 5-foot-7, 5-foot-2 and 4-foot-6
Starting weights: 167, 190, 117, and 104 pounds
Current weights: 125, 150, 120 and 108 pounds [Remember, the boys are growing.]
Why we did it: As parents, we decided to have our family embark on a diet and exercise regimen to build a lifestyle of fitness and health. Like many families, we found ourselves challenged by a lot of hurried and demanding activities [i.e. work, school] that took us away from caring for ourselves and our health. Convenient high-calorie food choices seemed to run hand-in-hand with this lifestyle.
We were developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol and growing waistlines. With diabetes, stroke and heart attack present in our families, changes needed to be made. Troy, who had a nagging ankle injury, started first, by riding a mountain bike. Invigorated by how biking helped rehabilitate his ankle, he added running, biking and swimming. Today, he participates in triathlons.
Kelly and the boys also saw the need to be more active. But the boys had a number of household distractions [Nintendo, X-Box, etc.] blocking their desire to exercise more. As parents, we struggled to find what would motivate them. We tried a number of organized sports with some success, but none helped us find a balance between activity and good food choices. We were challenged and overwhelmed [trying to find] what to do to better guide our children. We felt guilt and pressure to get results for our children so they would not enter a life of obesity.
How we did it: The improvement to Troy's health and his appearance motivated Kelly to evaluate how a healthier life could be achieved. In May 2007, she sought the advice of a diet doctor and was prescribed diet pills to speed weight loss. However, she quickly learned that the medications came with side effects as they attempted to alter the body's metabolism. On the medication, she became anxious, saw her blood pressure increase and had difficulty sleeping.
After a few weeks of use, Kelly chose to pursue exercise as a method to address her growing obesity concerns. Like Troy, a lack of exercise [exacerbated] past injuries and represented her single greatest hurdle. So Kelly started with a low-impact exercise: walking. She also started yoga [with a "Yoga for Weight Loss" DVD], which improved her flexibility and overall muscle strength. Kelly then started walking faster and extended her walk to 2 miles. Slowly, the weight began to come off. Today, Kelly's exercises include jogging, swimming and biking.
She also became more mindful of the need to make wise food choices and ate more whole grain foods, vegetables and fruits. Foods to stay away from [included] anything with sugar and white flour. Also, she ate a lot of proteins and substituted white potatoes with sweet potatoes.
While we worked hard at being active, our children were not. We both tried to get them to be active, especially during the summer months. Doctors kept telling us that our two boys were overweight and they needed help, too. They recommended a pilot program: Weight Watchers Family. We were very reluctant and felt we were doing quite a bit at home to teach them about food and exercise, but we went ahead and signed up for the program. We needed help!
We told the boys that we were all going to do this! They weren't excited at first. But as the program went on, we could see the kids were learning about making better food choices. Weight Watchers Family emphasized and motivated the kids about the importance of living a healthy, active life. What was nice was that they didn't need to lose weight. They needed to "grow into" their weights.
The support group was great. Not only did we learn more about different foods and what to keep in our home's pantry, but someone [always offered] ideas about getting the kids more active. The most important thing we learned was "calories in equals calories out." If you take in the calories, you better do something to use them up.
Eating out had to stop! OK, not completely, but we had to start cooking more for our family. Weight Watchers Family helped us understand that when went to fast-food places, we needed to stop and think — not about what we wanted, but what was best for us.
Getting the kids more active made us even more active. Kelly would exercise, come back and the kids joined her for more. Troy also became even more active. He would do his long training, then [join] Kelly or one of the boys for some work that was light for him, but tough for the rest of the family. We got both boys to start exercising more. The oldest one got interested in triathlons, too!
Hurdles: The most difficult hurdle was getting started. Today exercise is far easier than what the first two months presented in the form of aches and pains, fatigue, moodiness, etc. By gradually approaching low-impact exercise, which included biking and walking, it prepared us for [more difficult] exercise and built the cardiovascular engine we needed to continue.
Making time to improve our health meant compromises were necessary, such as [having] less time for social activities and overcoming the guilt of not being able to maintain a tidy household. However, we quickly learned that the guilt was nothing more than a "demon" that stole the focus we needed to reach our goals.
Also, healthy cooking is work! When you compare the energy and time that goes into healthy cooking and you measure it against the plethora of convenient choices at your disposal, you quickly learn that healthy cooking requires discipline. However, by becoming more physically aware of your body, you are able to feel the results of a well-balanced meal over that of a high-calorie convenience purchase that leaves you lethargic.
As parents, we both have felt guilty by not watching and working with our children to be active and make good food choices. But Weight Watchers Family [taught us] that keeping children motivated is not easy. Remember, the sum total of a healthy life is not the last meal or a single day of exercise
Going the distance: Our journey continues, with a number of short- and long-term goals. Kelly wants to complete a full marathon this year and expand her triathlon skills to complete an Olympic-distance event. Troy [plans] to enjoy a variety of Ironman distance events in 2008.We signed our kids up to complete a series of kids' triathlons this year. They have completed three 5k road races already.
Also, as a teacher at Boyette Springs Elementary, Kelly sees first-hand the difficulty many families endure in improving diet and activity. She started a program called T.R.A.K. (Teachers Recharging Active Kids.) Riverview High teacher and coach Larry Bass opened up the high school's track so families and children can enjoy walking and running together each week. Kelly's goal is to see this program grow throughout the community.
Best advice: Getting started is hard! However, you will adapt and your body will begin to desire both exercise and the sense of nourishment that a good meal offers.
There will be demons! Discouragement that [comes with] a bad food choice or the lack of development in your children or yourself may leave you questioning your abilities. Seeing others embark on quicker weight loss and fitness strategies also may prove discouraging. We find ourselves at times challenged to overcome our competitive nature and compared our progress to others. We learned that this can take away the joy and self-satisfaction that can be found on this journey. When this happens, stay focused on you and your goals.
And have fun! The single greatest influence you can have is maintaining the proper attitude. Seek out things that influence, draw out satisfaction and keep you motivated to go another day. That can include an early morning run, a walk with the kids or dinner with family.
Have a weight-loss plan that works for you? Tell us about it. E-mail mshedden@tampatrib.com; go to TBO.com, keyword: Lost It; or send your story to Mary Shedden, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606.
The Arias family participated in Weight Watchers Family, a 10-week pilot program aimed at helping parents and caregivers create a better eating environment so children can maintain healthy weight. The success of the pilot program has launched new sessions, which start later this month. There is a $100 registration fee that can be refunded based on participation and follow ups over the next 18 months.
Free informational meetings will be held March 5 at Gaither High in Tampa, and March 6 at All Children's Specialty Care in Brandon. For details, call (904) 686-1319 or e-mail lisa.craig@weightwatchers.com.
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