We all fall down in our journey to becoming healthier people, including yours truly…over the past year I have lost a total of 48 pounds, and was able to keep it off successfully, because my weight loss was gradual and accomplished in a healthy way (with exercise and healthy food). However, since starting my new job 3 months ago, I have unfortunately gained a few pounds, but I’m not giving up!!! I just have to make changes to stay at a healthy weight, maybe try something new to make up for my different schedule…we all fall down, because we’re all human, what makes us successful is not staying down, I won’t give up if you won’t…keep going!!!

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Good Afternoon fellow bloggers,

It’s been such a long time since I updated this blog, and I apologize to anyone who was following at one point, I definitely let it get away from me, what with the overall development, promotion, and success we’ve experienced with FIT body & soul, it has kept me and my co-workers pretty busy, what with putting together events, teaching classes, and going to countless meetings about how we can continue to expand and improve FIT body & soul.

For those of you who might be new to the site, or have never heard of FIT body & soul…it is a diabetes prevention program, in which we use a curriculum called Group Lifestyle Balance to teach/foster/promote healthy eating and increased physical activity in order to lower the risk for/or help manage diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and other diseases that often correlate with unhealthy eating and being overweight.

The Group Lifestyle curriculum was derived from the Diabetes Prevention Program a study which focused on diabetes, and the best way to prevent and/or manage. In this study researchers wanted to compare the use of diabetes medication to help control blood sugar with healthier eating and exercise, and what they found out, was that healthier eating and exercise was much more effective in preventing or managing the effects of diabetes on the body than was medication.

That being said, FIT body & soul’s goal is to teach members of the community to develop and maintain healthier eating habits and increased physical activity…we want to give you the tools necessary for living a healthier lifestyle, and we want it to be come apart of your daily ritual, by creating healthier habits to help break unhealthy ones.

FIT body & soul teaches the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables and less salt, sugar and fat, we help you count calories, read labels, and portion your food. We don’t want to deprive you of the foods you like, we just want to teach you to moderate them, and balance the things you love, which may not be as healthy, with some of the things you need like more fruits and vegetables, protein, and other vitamins in minerals.
We also teach the importance of physical activity…Ever heard the expression “use it or lose it”? Well, it’s not just an expression, and should be taken seriously when it comes to caring for our bodies. Being active should be part of everyone’s daily routine, the body needs exercise/physical activity to function properly, and without our bodies would become weak and brittle, making us more susceptible to injury and disease. Exercise can help build muscles, especially the heart which needs strength to pump blood through the body, just like lungs need energy to pump oxygen through the body.

FIT body & soul is a free program offered to anyone who is interested…it spans over a period of six months, with 12 weekly classes that will provide you with the tools necessary to live a healthier lifestyle, followed by by 10 maintenance classes, which occur bi-weekly to help you stay on track in the long-term…

My name is Jenna, and I am a project coordinator for FIT body and soul, if you have any questions or are interested in learning more about the program and/or joining our next cycle feel free to contact me:

email: Jenna.Calderon@cogicfamily.org
phone number: 413-733-1032