Celia Grise, a former elementary school teacher, was ready for a change. Despite her previous efforts to become a healthier version of herself, she found it hard to accomplish this alone. Celia recognized the necessity of professional guidance to reach her health goals and enhance her overall well-being. She was eager to find someone who could assist her in setting comprehensive health goals and guide her toward a healthier lifestyle as a part of preventive care.
In February of 2023, DCMH Chronic Care Manager, Darci Myers, recommended Celia join the DCMH Weigh Beyond program hosted by DCMH Dietitians Whitney Dunagan and Melissa Yake at DCMH HealthConnect. Celia quickly fell in love with how the dietitians ran the program and the advice they gave to the members. The program focused on establishing healthy eating behaviors and encouraged balance in many other wellness areas, such as meeting physical activity standards, getting adequate sleep, managing stress, and more. Once she could focus on the dietary advice, the next target was to become more active. While at the YMCA, Celia sought personal training to determine the best workouts and exercises to achieve her impressive yet specific fitness goals. With her time ending in the Weigh Beyond program, she did not want her health and fitness to fall off track. She began seeing Melissa for one-on-one dietitian consulting in the optional Phase II Weigh Beyond program. This maintenance program allowed for a regular connection between Celia and Melissa, which fostered accountability, addressed setbacks and worked on setting SMART goals, which further created a solid foundation for her health journey.
More than a year later, Melissa continues to support Celia in her health journey, consulting on her diet and nutritional needs. The pair set objectives to improve Celia’s health, focusing on weight loss and nutrition. In a short time, the goals felt within reach and manageable. One of the practices instilled in the Weigh Beyond program involves meal tracking, documenting what one eats for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Even after her time in the program, Celia continues to track her meals throughout the month in a journal, allowing Celia and Melissa to view her food choices. At each appointment, Melissa evaluates her choices and gives recommendations about things Celia could add more of or incorporate less of in her diet. This has been a great tool to identify areas that could still use modifications and identify healthy, established diet patterns that have contributed to her success.
The DCMH team ensured that Celia was not overly restricted, never telling her to eliminate something, especially if it was important to her; a diet soda here and a treat there can all fit in moderation when in appropriate portions. One of the biggest things that Melissa recommended in her diet was to include adequate lean protein sources with meals, focusing less on beef and pork and more on chicken, seafood, and turkey. Melissa also advised her to up her fruit intake and work on portion sizes. Added sugar was something that Celia cut down in her diet, which has reportedly contributed to her feeling better and more energetic. By creating a healthy, balanced diet, Celia never has to remove a food group or particular food item altogether. She has been able to implement the idea of moderation, which makes her food plan sustainable and enjoyable. While this adjustment to her diet seemed challenging initially, Celia noticed some significant changes in her health and wellness, making it all worth it.
As a result of her commitment to her health journey, Celia began to experience significant improvements in her overall well-being. She noticed that she slept better at night and had a newfound confidence. Her hard work is paying off; she has lost 22.4 pounds and 22.875 inches from her entire body. Her blood work also showed drastic improvements, and she felt noticeably stronger. Her body fat decreased from 54.9 percent to 51.9 percent, improving muscle tone in her arms and legs.
In addition to maintaining a healthy, balanced diet, Celia decided to continue staying active at the YMCA and joined a challenge inspired by the Indy 500. Participants who took on this daunting challenge were tasked with completing 500 miles quickly by completing activities like running, swimming, and biking. No one who participated in the challenge reached 500 miles; however, Celia was ecstatic to hear she had achieved first place by coming the closest to 500 miles, covering 197 miles. Because of her significant accomplishment, Celia became the YMCA Member of the Month. Her decision to join the 10-week Weigh Beyond Program turned into a life-enhancing health journey. Accountability throughout her journey is crucial to Celia, noting how much it has assisted her in losing weight and gaining strength at an incredible pace. Celia recently created a contest with her friend to see who could lose the most weight, enabling those close to her to also have a place in her journey. Accountability also came in the form of personal training sessions with Deena from the YMCA twice weekly. Melissa Yake commends Celia, reporting, “She has done a remarkable job improving her health outcomes. She is a testament to how motivation and commitment to a cause can drive positive change. Hopefully, Celia can be an inspiration to others that small changes do payoff in the long run, and making progress is achievable if only one is truly ready for change and commitment. Whitney and I are pleased to share in the successes of those we can guide down the right path and feel honored to be part of the journey.”
Celia Grise is now thriving and healthy, experiencing an overall improvement in her well-being. Throughout her journey with the DCMH Dietitians, she has become stronger and more toned and is sleeping better. Celia’s advice is a testament to her journey, “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” she states. “Allow yourself some grace; you can do things in moderation and still be successful.” She emphasizes the significance of a strong support system in health improvement, and the exceptional DCMH Dietary Team played a pivotal role in that, ultimately helping Celia achieve her essential goals.
For more information about the Weigh Beyond Program and other Nutrition Programs at DCMH, call 812-663-1341 or visit dcmh.net/nutrition-services