They Walked The Walk!
On May 11th, Live Well Lakewood celebrated the completion of its third annual Wellness Challenge. In weekly sessions, participants assembled at the Woman’s Pavilion for words of wisdom from a variety of speakers, then walked at their own pace distances beginning with a half-mile and building to four miles by the eighth week. The Live Well Lakewood team also swelled the numbers for the Lakewood Hospital Foundation’s Ambulance Chase—contributing 48 walkers/runners to their roster.
Following a post-Challenge assessment repeating the metrics (height, weight, BMI, body fat percentage, waist/hip ratio, and blood pressure) taken before they began the Challenge, participants stepped off for a brisk one-mile victory lap around Lakewood Park, led by Live Well Lakewood founding member Bonnie Sikes. While they walked, board member and Live Well coach Rachel Anzalone and her volunteer crew served up appropriately-sized portions of grilled chicken from TJ’s; quinoa, mesclun greens salad and beet slaw from Nature’s Bin; tabouli from Aladdin's; whole-grain bread from Breadsmith; and dark chocolate from Discount Drug Mart. As an extra bonus, Tina Dolatowski, Challenge participant and owner of Lion and Blue, awarded each participant a $5 gift certificate to her store.
The 51 people who completed the Challenge walked in snow, wind and rain; totaled a loss of 143 pounds; dropped BMI points; and saw their percentage of body fat decrease, as well as making positive changes in their blood pressure and waist/hip ratios.
A Senior Challenge ran concurrently with the Walking Challenge. At the Office on Aging and the Northwesterly, 33 seniors completed their own challenge, geared specifically toward their needs.
The star of the program didn’t lose the most weight during this eight-week Challenge, but she lost an admirable seven pounds on her long road to better health. In the 2009 Wellness Challenge, Kitti Drops, her husband, Michael, and daughters, Megan and Michelle Drops-Wolf, won the team award for the most positive changes in their numbers. Kitti Drops has continued her quest since then, participating not only in every event Live Well Lakewood has offered, but availing herself of every other nutrition and exercise opportunity she can find. As a result, Kitti has lost 99 pounds, and is an amazing testament to what a commitment to better health can produce.
The next official Live Well Lakewood event, the Drug Mart to Drug Mart 5K Historic Walk, takes place on Saturday, June 25th. Receive your walking map and start your walk at 10:30 a.m. at the west store (15412 Detroit). Walk at your own pace--you might even want to shop along the way, as that Saturday is a Downtown Lakewood Sidewalk Sale day. Grab a bottle of water and make your turn at the east store (11900 Detroit), then head back again. When you arrive, the good folks at Drug Mart will have the grill fired up, ready to make lunch for you! Get more info at http://onelakewood.com/LiveWellLakewood.
People enjoyed the group-walking aspect of this Wellness Challenge so much that there was great enthusiasm for continuing to meet informally and walk together. We’ll gather at the Woman’s Pavilion each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for a 2-mile walk. Lace up your shoes and come walk with us—you’ll be glad you did!