posted
by Bonnie Kipper on Tuesday, April 2, 2013
With 2013 well underway, being healthy is on the minds of many. It was definitely on the mind of Rhonda Haines, an EPI resident, who started her path to a healthier lifestyle in 2011.
She made the decision, after years of struggling with her weight, to set a goal to get down to a healthier weight of 200 pounds.
Two years later, she has reached her goal, dropping from 399 to 196 pounds! Her secret? Walking two miles a day and limiting her carb intake. She now enjoys buying new clothes that fit and stated, “Now I can walk so fast that people have to tell me to slow down!”
Rhonda’s success story is one of many at EPI. In 2010, EPI implemented Mainstay, a program that educates regarding better nutrition, mealtime habits, and streamlines menu planning. The Mainstay meal plan has been something in which everyone can participate.
Over the past year, the menus Mainstay has helped staff and persons served create, have assisted individuals in a number of ways. They have not only helped those with an unhealthy body mass index (BMI)lose weight but also aided people who needed to increase their BMI as well. Additionally, the menus helped those with a BMI in a healthy range to maintain their weight.
Over the past year individuals deceased their BMI on average by 1.23 points. The biggest change in BMI for one individual was 9.45 points!