#450: Program participant Peg Williams talks about Cooper Wellness Program

healthylivingradio's Podcast

Cooper Wellness Program with Peg Williams (Podcast)

Peg Williams, a two-time participant with Cooper Wellness Program, is interviewed by Todd Whitthorne. The Cooper Wellness Program is medically-supervised, in-residence lifestyle modification program. Since attending the program in June, 2008, Peg has lost 120 pounds.

Flying around the country for her job, Peg says she regularly saw the ad for the Cooper Wellness Program in the American Airlines in-flight magazine. While at a conference in 2008, Peg realized she was wearing her largest clothes, and they were tight! At that point, Peg made the decision to come to Cooper for help.

Peg says when she had a Cooper Clinic physical and spent a week in the Cooper Wellness Program, she knew she was overweight and that her clothes were tight, but at the time she didn’t think she felt bad. After getting a download of data during her Cooper Clinic physical and then during the Wellness Program, Peg realized she had been headed in the wrong direction. Luckily for her, all of her potential health issues were fixable with weight loss.

With weight loss as the goal, Peg focused on getting healthier. She says the key to her success has been to learn how to eat right, to make healthier choices, and to get moving. Peg learned during her week at Cooper that good food doesn’t have to taste bad. Departing a few pounds lighter after her week at Cooper, Peg started built on that success. She started watching her calories, and she started exercising.

In an exercise session at Cooper Fitness Center, a trainer told Peg she needed to get 200 minutes of aerobic exercise weekly. Peg says this number was about twice what she had hoped, but that little by little she slowly started upping her exercise time.

Between healthier eating habits, and increased activity at the gym, Peg was losing 2- to 3 pounds per week, and then it was just a matter of staying focused for the long run.

Peg travels most of the time on business, and is on a plane or in a hotel almost every week. She says the Wellness Program taught her that “this is only hard if you make it hard.” She found a couple of time things she can do all the time, and arms herself against excuses. For example, every hotel has a fitness center – it might not be pretty, but it’s there, so there’s just no excuse not to utilize them. And, when it comes to food, there are tons of choices, and restaurants are accommodating if asked. Peg says she has a list of go-to meals she utilizes when on the road.

Peg’s advice to those wanting to be healthier is to just get started. Do something and build on that. Get a little bit of exercise. And, at each meal, make one smarter choice. For example, for breakfast choose oatmeal instead of a donut. And, when ordering lunch, instead of ham and swiss with mayonnaise, order turkey on whole wheat. These are examples of small changes that add up. Success will follow!

Peg says her family, friends and colleagues all say she looks so much younger. And she truly feels great!

You can read about Peg’s weight loss in the Southern Living magazine blog http://livehealthy.southernliving.com/2009/07/lost-one-tiny-celebrity-or-the-equivalent-thereof.html

For information on scheduling a 4 or 6-day visit (and bring a friend!) with the Cooper Wellness Program, contact Cindy Bostick at 800-444-5192 or [e-mail].

Jill Turner is VP of Operations for Cooper Concepts, the company that markets Cooper Complete nutritional supplements. Jill regularly contributes information to the Cooper blog. Email [e-mail] or call 972-560-3262 with your questions and comments.

Reference Information

Cooper Wellness Program information

http://www.cooperaerobics.com/For-Individuals/Wellness-Program/Program-Information.aspx