St. Francis Hospital | Life & Health | Fall 2018

8 N avigating the holidays with diabetes St. Francis Hospital MARYVILLE FALL 2018 Before: David Howell Before: Gary Howell After: Gina Mackey, LPN, Healthy Lifestyles nurse; Gary Howell (in same T-shirt as “before” photo); and David Howell As more and more medical providers promote preventive care, local pro- grams have been launched to serve the needs of area residents to alleviate potentially chronic problems. At SSM Health St. Francis Hospital, two programs—Healthy Lifestyles and Commit to be Fit—have proven track records of helping patients make behavior changes for improved health. In 2011, Healthy Lifestyles was launched as a local, medically su- pervised program that empowers and motivates people to improve their quality of life through nutrition counseling, education and support of lifestyle changes. Many dieters use the excuse of decreased metabolism as to why they can’t lose weight. Metabolism is the process by which a body converts what is taken in (food and drink) into energy. Calories from food and beverages are combined with oxygen to release the energy a body needs to function. In the Healthy Lifestyles program, Wellness works —continued on page 2 P R E V E N T I V E ME D I C I N E E NCOU R AG E S L I F E S T Y L E CHANG E S , E A S E S CHRON I C COND I T I ON S Two brothers, Gary and David Howell, have seen the success of the Healthy Lifestyles program first hand. Each brother has lost over 80 pounds and have made changes that have improved their quality of life. “My cholesterol is down, blood pressure is down, heart rate went down, blood sugar went down, and I have more energy,” says Gary. “And I save money because I’m not buying stuff I shouldn’t eat at break or at the convenience store.” David says, “I knew I needed to lose a lot of weight. Since I retired, I knew I had the time to do something. Healthy Lifestyles was suggested and it is covered by Medicare.” “I heard about the program from David and saw his success,” Gary adds. “I’ve tried losing weight for years—for 20 to 30 years. Our uni- forms are provided [by his employer] and I was about ready to have to get a larger pant size, and I didn’t want to have to do that. After seeing David’s success, I talked with my doctor about getting a referral to the program. It’s worked out well.” Two brothers win at weight loss 7 A re your child’s shots up-to-date? Inside