Drop The Pounds For Good

If you’re trying to lose weight and improve your eating habits and you’re struggling to keep up the momentum, the YMCA has the perfect program for you: Drop the Pounds. Even if you started strong in the New Year, your good intentions may have started to falter. But all is not lost; you can still succeed with a little help! Stop by the Express Y and talk to Aileen Sutton, the new Healthy Living Director about our Drop the Pounds weight loss program. This 8-week weight assessment program combines workouts with education about nutrition and exercise strategy, so you don’t just achieve your weight loss goals; you keep the pounds off. Personal trainer, Jen Pate, who is a certified weight-management specialist, will lead participants in a small-group setting. Aileen says, “Each person’s goal is different and we want to be able to connect with people where they’re at.”

After determining your starting point, you will learn how to change your habits for the long-term. This will not only help you stay healthy, it will improve your quality of life and set you up for success. The Drop the Pounds program combines nutritional education with workouts which is the best strategy for a healthy lifestyle. During the program, you will learn simple exercises that target each muscle group with an emphasis on safe exercise form.

But what if you’re already exercising and eating clean and feel you’ve hit a plateau? Jen will help you pinpoint stresses and will show you how to move forward. If you’re facing setbacks, she will teach you how to push through those setbacks and the small-group setting means you will have the full support of other people facing similar challenges.

Jen says, “You need to change your mind-set in order to change your habits,” and adds, “A lifestyle change is a lifelong choice.” She wants people to take ownership of their nutrition and exercise habits.

We all want to be healthy and have a good quality of life and, because the YMCA is all-inclusive and non-judgmental, you should feel good about yourself from the moment you walk in. You don’t even have to be a member to join Drop the Pounds, but we are confident that once you become a part of our community, you won’t want to leave.

By Carole Wirszyla
Freelance Writer,
children’s picture book author, and blogger
[email protected]