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kara
kathleen
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vernita

Real Women, Real Stories

About Zulema

Occupation: Teacher

Zulema's goals include: Being healthy by the time she becomes a mother, and being a role model to inspire her students.

Height: 62 inches

As of February 2007

As of May 2007

Weight:

165 pounds

153.8 pounds

Body Mass Index:

30

28

METS:

6.9

9.0

Average Daily Steps:

5,652

9,000

“Learn steps I took to lose 12 pounds in 12 weeks!”

new year, new you

It's another new year. I know it's a new year because every commercial break reminds me to go to the gym, start a new diet, keep resolutions and be a “new me in the new year”. I’ve been a new me for a while now, thank you very much. There will always be diets and gyms. The hardest (and simplest) thing to remember is that I don’t need either one to keep being the new me but it sure helps if I want to keep it up. Well, I don’t mean the fad diets as much as I mean the gym.


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HERE I AM: EATING IN MODERATION! NEW YEAR'S EVE DINNER WITH MY FRIEND EDNA AND MY BOYFRIEND SERGIO.


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Boredom is a pattern, not a reality.

Summer is a time for me to put my life on hold. I use this season as an excuse to stop living my regular life and just turn into a vegetable. This year I was not a vegetable all summer long. This time I chose to dig myself out of my vegetable state of mind.

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home "sweat" home

Yey! I am finally in my new home and hooked up to the internet. Next week I will rent a truck to bring in the last of my furniture. In the meantime, I have been getting my home and myself together. I have found new ways to sweat too.

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It's that time again...

Working summers helps me keep a routine. Routines are great for people like me. When there is a change in my routine, I will sleep all day. I will wake up after 12, be lazy the rest of the day, and worse, I will get bored. That’s dangerous. When I get bored, I get hungry (or at least I think I’m hungry). This summer I chose not to teach summer school. I don’t have a routine. I’m a little scared.

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10,000 steps (a day) for mankind

Twelve weeks ago I had no idea what success would mean. I imagined myself losing two pounds a week, sweating like crazy everyday, and getting everyone around me interested in this movement to live a healthy life. Did I fail?

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Who says I HAVE to eat-all-I-can-eat?

I’m choosy with dessert because I know I only get a little and I savor it slowly. It’s all about tasting the food, not gulping it down.

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I didn't expect a miracle...and then it happened

I stumbled a few times (more than I wanted to) but I never fell off and gave up completely on myself.


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burgers, fries, and lemon pies, oh my!

In a moment of weakness, I drove to a fast food place and ordered a burger, fries, and a lemon pie. The fries and burger were satisfying. I felt so guilty eating the pie. What a week!

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I'm with the boys now.

Thanks to having someone with me at the gym, I was able to do something I wanted to do for a while.


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Getting a work out thanks to the www.

Surfing the world wide web can be a time killer, time consuming, and even addictive, but when you have a purpose, you can find so many things that exist within your community.

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Expert Advice!

Expert Doctor

Choose To Move: A Community, A Way of Life

At the end of any journey, it’s always nice to reflect on the experience and enjoy the exhilaration that comes with accomplishment. During the past 12 weeks, seven real women have opened their hearts and minds to women across the country. They’ve revealed struggles, shared empowering messages, offered valuable tips and served as genuine advocates for this program.

During the Choose To Move challenge, these women not only engaged in physical activity, they discovered a community of women who share a common goal – increase physical activity in order to develop a healthier lifestyle. Their success is a direct result of determination, commitment and the support they received from those in the Choose To Move community.

From a mom with three kids to a full-time college student to women in the workplace, our real women take on many important roles. And as women juggling multiple responsibilities, we want to be the best we can be - a common thread among women in America. However, in order to be the best for our families, we must do what’s best for ourselves. Our seven real women did exactly that! Each woman, in her own way, learned how to make time for physical activity and develop better eating habits!

For Ruann, Kara, Lisa, Melanie, Vernita, Kathleen and Zulema, the 12-week challenge has come to an end. However, the ultimate reality is that their life-long journey to maintain a healthy lifestyle has only begun. No matter where you are in this journey, I encourage you to rely on women in the Choose To Move community, as well as those around you. Take advantage of the Choose To Move program and turn this challenge into a way of life.


Recent Comments

My total chol. is 184
HDL is 46
LDL is 106
Trig. is 184

I have been on a low fat, low carb diet since Sept (NutriSystem). Should I be concerm about my Trig?

Comment by on February 12, 2008 2:54 PM

Dr. Mieres,

I'm very much an internet girl. As soon as I found out I had high blood pressure, I found this site. After going through all the 'choose to move' selectees, I chose Vervita, for the reason that she update often and replied to those that posted comments.

Well here we are, 6 months later, most of those chosen have yet to update.

Considering these are all busy and accomplished women, perhaps some slack should be cut. Ok.

The forums are worse. I have had to hunt and peck to find true posts, some of which should be answered by a professional, not a jr. high social studies teacher.

I'm sorry to be so negative. In truth, AHA diet and recipes have made it possible that I may be coming off meds next week. My diet plan has been based on your cookbooks.

When I called in my numbers today, to get a refill, the office called me back and said the doctor said when I want, to stop meds for 4 days and make an appointment for the 5th. If bp is in the 100-120 range, we'll stop the meds. Woo hoo! Diet and exercise may pay off!

Comment by on June 12, 2008 8:17 PM

Dr. Mieres,

I'm very much an internet girl. As soon as I found out I had high blood pressure, I found this site. After going through all the 'choose to move' selectees, I chose Vervita, for the reason that she update often and replied to those that posted comments.

Well here we are, 6 months later, most of those chosen have yet to update.

Considering these are all busy and accomplished women, perhaps some slack should be cut. Ok.

The forums are worse. I have had to hunt and peck to find true posts, some of which should be answered by a professional, not a jr. high social studies teacher.

I'm sorry to be so negative. In truth, AHA diet and recipes have made it possible that I may be coming off meds next week. My diet plan has been based on your cookbooks.

When I called in my numbers today, to get a refill, the office called me back and said the doctor said when I want, to stop meds for 4 days and make an appointment for the 5th. If bp is in the 100-120 range, we'll stop the meds. Woo hoo! Diet and exercise may pay off!

Comment by on June 12, 2008 8:17 PM