Success Stories

Our 6 Weeks to Wellness Challenge Success Stories:

I didn’t lose incredible amounts of weight, I wasn’t cured from any major illness, and I didn’t even get my six pack back during the six weeks, but I improved in ways that I didn’t even expect to. When I was laying on the back table in the Tempe office reading about the wellness challenge my first thought was that it was going to be a healthy eating and weight loss challenge. I was excited to become a part of it because, truth be told, I was laying on that table feeling pretty pathetic. I had stopped at the McDonald’s just east of your office on Baseline and pounded an unhealthy amount of McDoubles on my way to the appointment. I felt like the challenge would be exactly what I needed to find the motivation to start eating healthy again! AND IT WAS! BUT, to my surprise, the healthy eating and giving up soda and caffeine was not the most notable of my improvements. I really made an effort to be successful in every aspect of the challenge, and I am so happy with the results. I started praying every day, twice a day at least (sorry to get religious with this) I have rediscovered a relationship with God that I was unaware I was missing.

I have been so thankful these six weeks for the blessings that I have received from the power of prayer. I can see God’s work and blessings in my life and that has helped me to become so much happier. I wanted to improve my social life too. More specifically, I wanted to improve my relationship with some of my coworkers. I made it a point to tell whoever I was partnered with at work every day that “it was an absolute pleasure to work with you today, I had fun.” I tried to find good in those who I really didn’t care to work with in the past. Something pretty incredible happened, I really look forward to going to work, most days, now. I have been able to find good in those around me, in my environment, and be positive while at work.

I can look back on these six weeks and notice a difference. Maybe my day one picture in the mirror compared to my week six picture only reflects a minor change. But the picture as a whole would show something pretty amazing. With or without a money prize, I feel like I won. I want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of this, and for supporting and encouraging me. My semi-regular headaches are gone. My negative attitude at work is gone. And my day isn’t done until I kneel in prayer and give thanks to my maker. Thanks again, I hope all is well.

~Tanner

 

Over the past 7 years I have continued to improve my diet by cutting out processed sugars, flour and nearly all meat (you might be surprised to know that the articles I read in your office while on the massage table are what encouraged me to do more research and change my diet). I generally eat more fruits and veggies and drink more water (since I don’t drink soda) than the average person and I have what I consider a very “clean” diet. On the contrary, I have always hated indoor exercising and while I have maintained a well-balanced diet for many years, I have always struggled with getting enough physical exercise as a result. I know that my clean diet has kept me thin, but I know that diet alone will not keep me healthy.

Over the past 6 weeks the Wellness Challenge has stimulated me to make physical activity a part of my daily routine. I started going for walks on my lunch breaks during the week and then would walk even more immediately after work. Without realizing it, I was starting to plan dinner one day in advance based on what we had in the fridge from the weekly veggie co-op that we participate in so that I could eat dinner right away after work and then go for a long walk before it got too dark outside.

I started enjoying the outdoor walking so much that I began looking at nearby hiking trails that I could take advantage of to mix things up on the weekends or after work on the weekdays. I hadn’t been hiking in over ten years, but I was enjoying being outdoors so much during my daily walks that I knew I wanted to make hiking a part of my regular fitness routine as well. I started hiking at least two times a week (often more) to help meet the steps goal in the Wellness Challenge. Hiking has become one of my favorite things to do and I’m constantly thinking about and planning the next hike. I have no intention of stopping the daily walks/hikes now that the challenge is over and I have set a new goal to become physically fit enough to hike Havasupai Falls near the Grand Canyon within one year.

An added benefit is that I soon recognized that after becoming more physically active through the daily walks and hikes that I was more motivated to do physical exercise at home as well and have observed a significant improvement in my blood pressure (I have low blood pressure). I look forward to finding more outdoor adventures that will keep me physically and mentally fit and cannot express how grateful I am for the Wellness Challenge and the motivation is has presented within me to become more physically active. Thank you for encouraging nutritional and physical wellness in your patients and providing me with all the success stories as motivation.

~Alex

 

I may not be the most improved, but I think I managed to overcome some mighty hurtles over the last few weeks to keep up the diet and exercise. Here’s my story: My workout routine did not start at the beginning of this challenge. It began last year around early September, when I entered the Air Force ROTC program. Their physical training was intensive and long. I began to lose weight with the large change in activity. So, in all honesty, I started out with strong motivation in the physical area. Make no mistake though; it was hard. I hate running, but I still force myself to do it. One of the more enjoyable workouts I do regularly is rollerskating. Now, the real improvement shows itself in the vegetables and sleep area.

Before the challenge, I was not forcing myself to eat vegetables. I’m a picky eater, and forcing myself is just that: forcing myself. With this challenge, I had to research some vegetables and super fruits that I might like. And, at first, I didn’t do well. The same held true for the hours each night I spent resting. I was extremely negligent and would sleep anywhere between 4 and 7, 8 if I was lucky. The challenge made me look more closely at how much time I was giving myself to sleep. When I realized at the end of the 2nd week that I was not succeeding naturally in getting enough vegetables and sleep, I upped the ante. I made, and succeeded in keeping, a goal of getting exactly 8 hours of sleep each night and at least two veggies per day, plus any fruit I might want. That alone would have made me proud of my progress in this challenge, but that wasn’t all I was fighting.

At the end of Christmas break, I caught the flu. I thought it would catch and leave quickly. Instead, it caught and held on by leaving a loving legacy of severe bronchitis and walking pneumonia. I am still recovering from another dose of acute bronchitis. Fighting this sickness throughout these six weeks while also succeeding in getting the proper amount of rest was like jumping hurtles I could not even see, could only feel.

My progress in this challenge, my improvement, was good, maybe even great, and surely there must have been one or two others that began with a bar much lower than my own and rose drastically. However, I have fought tooth and nail through the last six weeks to keep improving despite the fact that all I want to do is let myself lay down and never move again.

~Sarah

 

Over the past 6 weeks not only did I increase my weekly score week over week but I lost 8 pounds (would have been more but I’ve been drinking A LOT of water!) During the entire challenge, I didn’t drink any Coke (or any other soda) which contributed to the decrease in restlessness I had been experiencing in the evenings. I also cut down my fast food intake during the 6 weeks to only 4 total meals! I felt that my dramatic increase in my daily intake of fruits and vegetables assisted in my digestive process as well as increase in energy and decrease in fatigue.

~Jason

 

During the wellness challenge, I was able to take the strategies and share them with my class of 10 year olds and emphasize to them the need for an active body and healthy eating. Four of my students, and particularly two overweight girls, purchased their own pedometers and wear them each day. Students who have the class pedometers for the day (kindly donated by Dr. Reed) have competitions with each other to see who can get the most steps in a 24 hour period. I have had multiple students tell me that they woke up early enough in the morning to run on a treadmill or exercise so they could get more steps. Though my body hasn’t experienced great change (despite my effort it rarely does), I have potentially helped to improve not only my own life but the lives of 20 others!

~Amy

 

 

These are just some of our patient success stories.  Over the years people have made profound changes in their health and these success stories are proof.  Please read through these success stories and ask yourself, do I want to make a change?  If so, you could be one of our next success stories.  If you want to read more success stories from our patients, check us out on yelp or google.