Article published July 13, 2009
Good-bye, fad diets; Heather Warner makes fitness and sound nutrition her goals
Heather Warner has lost 16½
pounds so far in the Lucas
County weight loss challenge.
(
THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
)
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By JC REINDL
BLADE STAFF WRITER
On the second Monday of each month The Blade will feature one of the participants in Lucas County's Million Pound Challenge.
Heather Warner was both puzzled and distressed the day she saw her youngest daughter, Jacy, clutch her belly and tell mommy that she felt fat.
Why would such an active, healthy, and downright skinny 7-year-old feel that way? How could she even know enough to talk like that?
Mulling over these questions, Mrs. Warner said she realized that her own behavior was probably to blame. Her daughter likely had heard the phone conversations in which her mother moaned about how fat she felt, or all the foods that she shouldn't be eating but was anyway.
It was a painful moment for Mrs. Warner, 30, of West Toledo, who had always considered herself to be a good role model for her two daughters, Sammi, 11, and Jacy.
"I realized that my girls were picking up on my negative self-image," she recalled.So Mrs. Warner decided earlier this year that it was time for significant adjustments to her relationships with dieting and food. Rather than jumping into another popular quick-fix diet ("I gained back all the weight and then some"), she wanted to demonstrate healthy and sustainable lifestyle changes.
She made fitness and nutrition the mainstays of her effort, with help from two formal weight-loss programs: the "Team Trish" weight-loss competition and Lucas County's Million Pound Challenge.
The 5-foot, 1-inch Mrs. Warner, who works as a paralegal, has lost 16 1/2 pounds since early February and is just 11 pounds away from her goal weight of 130 pounds. She has made her daughters and her husband, Greg Warner, an integral part of her fitness routine, giving the family more time together.
"They love it that mom goes walking and biking with them," said Mrs. Warner, who is July's spotlighted participant in the county's Million Pound Challenge. "Of course to them it's playing - they don't consider it exercise. And they have noticed the change in my energy. I no longer come home and have to take a nap."
The weight loss challenge is a county-wide collective effort to shed one million pounds before the end of the year. It was organized by Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop, who recruited the corporate sponsors. The Blade is a sponsor, and those who enroll may track their weight with a private journal on the Blade's Web site, toledoblade.com.
In addition to biking and walking, Mrs. Warner visits Urban Active Fitness in Sylvania Township at least twice a week. On nearly every visit she meets with a personal trainer, who leads her through a challenging regimen.
The training sessions are free for Mrs. Warner as one of three remaining contestants in the Team Trish competition sponsored by WVKS-FM (92. 5) KISS-FM and Urban Active Fitness. The competition is similar to "Biggest Loser" contests and involves monthly weigh-ins and radio interviews on her progress.
Key to Mrs. Warner's success has been smart eating habits. She does not follow any specific diet, but rather pays close attention to portion size and eats plenty of fruits and vegetables.
She believes that sensible and flexible diets are not only easier to follow over time but also set a good example for her daughters.
She doesn't believe in depriving herself to test her willpower on days she might feel especially hungry. Instead, Mrs. Warner said she will reach for a healthy snack such as carrots or a granola bar.
"I don't think of it as a diet because a diet is short term," Mrs. Warner said. "It's about eating right, accepting your body, and being as healthy as you can be."
She continued, "I want to portray a positive self-image so that my girls would pick up on that."
As this month's featured participant, Mrs. Warner will receive four tickets to a Toledo Mud Hens game, a $50 gift certificate to Poco Piatti restaurant, a one-year family membership to the YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo, an autographed copy of The Secret Code of Success by Ohio author Noah St. John, and a copy of the Linebacker Fitness manual from former Bowling Green State University star and NFL Europa player Vince Palko.
Contact JC
Reindl at:
jreindl@the
blade.com
or 419-724-6065.
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