"Overall, no amount of surgery, pills or fad diets will be the answer to weight loss. It will take a lifestyle change to create the healthy person you want to be."
......Donna Norwood, Wellness Champion
We are pleased to highlight Donna Norwood, IP Southern Region in Oklahoma City, as our first Fiserv Wellness Champion! As Donna graduated from daily walks around their building to walking half-marathons (losing 124 pounds in the process), Coy George, the AVP/Center Manager for Oklahoma City/Tulsa marveled, "Donna has shown her fellow employees that anything can be accomplished if you set your goals and keep focused on the task at hand. She has been an inspiration to several people in the Oklahoma City office to lead more healthy lives. Personally, I saw what she has accomplished and decided that it was time I took steps to improve my own health." Read Donna's inspirational story about her journey to wellness below.
Donna is employed by IP--Southern Region in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Here is her story:
At the age of 19, I weighed over 264. The year was 1979 and stomach stapling was the trend for weight loss. I lost weight but was also able to gain it back. Between 1980 and 1984 I tried many diets including the Cambridge liquid diet. I weighed 158 lbs. in 1984 when I got married. Along the way, I had two children and developed a sedentary lifestyle.
I had promised myself I would never weigh over 200 pounds again. Then came the Fen-Phen craze during 1995 to 1997. I tried that as well and did reduce down to 160 pounds, but when the big scare came, I stopped the pills and gained weight. In 2003 I knew my weight was again over 200 pounds, 238 to be exact. I had heard several co-workers trying Atkins, and thought I could at least give up sugar. So that year for Lent, 40 days of fasting, I decided sugar would be the item I would give up. After I saw the difference it made, I gave up sugar for the next two years and decided to try Atkins. It worked well for me but didn't seem to be enough, so on July 26, 2004, I started walking and eating healthier.
The first organized fitness event in which I participated was Central Oklahoma Turning Point’s Walk This Weigh in early November, 2004. I was introduced to running on Thanksgiving Day, 2004, and I was hooked. Walking and running is now an everyday part of my life. I joined a gym that December and weighed in at 176 pounds. I couldn't believe I had lost so much weight. I
spent the next six months working out and walking every day. I have found that running works for me the best in getting my heart rate up and boosting my metabolism. This is not meant for everyone but has worked wonders for me.
After reaching (and surpassing) my goal of 155 pounds, on June 26, 2005, I was informed by my doctor that I would need major surgery. About that same time, I was asked to be featured as a Wellness Champion. I thought, "What would people think? Here I have spent the last year trying to be healthy, and now I have cancer!" What bothered me the most was that others would think, "Why should I try to be healthy only to get sick?" Of course, those were not my thoughts. I said to myself, I'm going to fight this no matter what. In fact, the day of surgery came and all I could think to ask the doctor is how soon I could get out of bed after surgery.
I knew moving as soon as possible would speed up my recovery. His reply was, the next day or as soon as I felt like it. Surgery was at 10 am on a Monday morning and I was out of bed and sitting in a chair by 8 pm that night. I was walking the halls the next day as often as possible and checked out of the hospital on Thursday. I have been blessed with many friends and family who prayed for me during this time, and the doctor found no sign of cancer!
By the end of the second week following surgery, I was walking 1½ miles per day. I'm now back to 3 miles per day and ran/walked my first 5K race since surgery on August 20, 2005. My time was not as good as I wanted, but it still was better than my first 5K. I'm currently maintaining my weight at 140 lbs. I no longer need medication for high blood pressure or depression. I enjoy walking/running in competitive races and have received numerous awards and medals. At these races I look around and see the various age groups that participate. One couple stands out: he is 81 she is 74. I think, "That's what I want to be doing when I'm their age!" Although I know that I will never be an elite runner and win first place, I do have the satisfaction that I have completed what I started. My current goal is to recondition myself back to where I was before surgery and start training for the Oklahoma Memorial Marathon in April 2006.
Overall, no amount of surgery, pills or fad diets will be the answer to weight loss. It will take a lifestyle change to create the healthy person you want to be.
Wish Lemons, at age 87, still participates in races. Here's a quote from him that I really like: "No matter where I finish, I beat everybody who didn't get up off the sofa and run." His theory is we need to keep moving and I believe he's right.
UPDATE 3/17/2006
I have been able to maintain my weight between 136 & 138 lbs. I'm in training for the Oklahoma Memorial Marathon on April 30th but due to the move to Atlanta on March 1st 2006, I have been uable to maintain full training. I will however participate in the 1/2 marathon should I not be able to participate in the full. I still believe that running and my active lifestyle has help me to maintain my weight and energy level. I will be needing that energy too, I just found out I'm going to be a grandmother for the first time the middle of June. I still continue to believe that my story will someday help another person/persons that are currently in the same situtaion I was 3 years ago. I realized one day a few weeks ago, that I am almost half the person I was 26 years ago. Reminder: It only takes one step at a time!
Donna Norwood FCN SettlementSupervisor II Fiserv Southern Region Atlanta/Norcross, Georgia Donna can be reached at houseoflight@hotmail.com