Participants cheer YMCA's diabetes program
CRANBERRY TWP — As Joyce Collins entered the community room of the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA Tuesday, she held up a sign letting those inside know she no longer needed blood pressure medication.
The display was met with applause and congratulations from the other participants in the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program, which recently completed its first year with a cohort of 10 people.
Those 10 participants lost a total of 190 pounds, learned ways to live healthier lifestyles, and found a support group for continued success.
According to Mary Lee Majewski, a trainer who helped lead the program alongside Laurel Sutterfield, participants were sought who met certain criteria, including age, family history of type 2 diabetes and physical activity. The program is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, with the instructors presenting tips for being active and eating better.
According to Sutterfield, lessons included everything from stress management to eating healthy while traveling. The program also required participants to get 150 minutes of exercise each week. Each meeting started with a weigh-in and healthy snack, and offered discussions on what was working for the group.
That camaraderie was perhaps the biggest takeaway for many, and Majewski said many participants indicated they would keep in touch after their program ended. Both Sutterfield and Majewski said they were confident all participants learned the skills to continue to be successful moving forward.
“They were all strangers; no one knew each other,” Majewski said. “They've become a very cohesive, strong, supportive group for one another. It's wonderful.”
For Collins, of Evans City, the program helped produce a number of positive results. She said when she joined she did not consider the work would help her get off blood pressure medication. After losing 20 pounds, her doctor told her she no longer needed the daily dosage.“I think I have more energy,” she said, adding that she's able to put that energy toward gardening.Majewski said before Tuesday's final meeting that the group had lost 8.8 percent of its body weight — above the 5 to 7 percent recommended by the CDC. She said she is hopeful the success will help the program get covered by Medicare moving forward. Officials hope to enroll a minimum of 20 more people for the group that is starting in July. For more information, contact Kathy Hensler, healthy living director, at 724-452-9122, Ext. 226, or jkhensler@bcfymca.org.
