North Carolina Health and Community Leaders Issue State Challenge to Lose 10 Million Pounds

On Thursday, April 18, at 9:00 a.m., NC SPIN will host a press conference featuring state leaders from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, NC State Board of Education/Department of Public Instruction, NC Department of Commerce and the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. The press conference will announce the launch of a new, statewide public health education campaign and challenge called “A Healthier NC.”

The “A Healthier NC” campaign and challenge provides free health journaling tools and access to a clearinghouse of North Carolina health resources and educational materials at www.ahealthiernc.com. “A Healthier NC” has four key themes: “What does ‘healthy’ mean?; What is our responsibility for improved health?”; “What are smarter ways to access care?”; and a statewide challenge to engage 1 million North Carolinians in 15 million hours of activity to lose 10 million pounds.

According to Tom Campbell, who is the creator and producer of NC SPIN, the organization that initiated the “A Healthier NC” campaign, "A Healthier NC is about more than just weight loss—it’s about transforming lives. It's an appeal and call to action for all of us to be active participants in our own health. It's encouraging one another to make smarter choices about what we eat, how active we are, and how important it is to take care of ourselves and the ones we love. We are grateful to the sponsors that have stepped forward to make this statewide campaign a reality.”

The campaign is sponsored by leading North Carolina health and community organizations, including the NC Academy of Family Physicians, NC Medical Society, NC Office of Rural Health and Community Care, the AARP Decide.Create.Share campaign, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC.

WHO:       NC SPIN, NC DHHS, NC DPI, NC Department of Commerce, NC Conference of the United Methodist Church

WHAT:     Press Conference to Announce Kick-off of “A Healthier NC Campaign and Challenge”

WHEN:     Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 9:00 AM

WHERE:   NC Department of Health and Human Services, Adams Building, 101 Blair Drive, Raleigh, NC

Featured Speakers:

Tom Campbell, Creator and Producer of NC SPIN

Robin Cummings, MD, Director of NC DHHS Office of Rural Health and Community Care

June Atkinson, Secretary of the State Board of Education and State Superintendent of NC DPI

Sharon Decker, Secretary of NC Department of Commerce

Hope Morgan Ward, Bishop of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church

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Susan lost 140 pounds: I want to save others from their own Live, just because someone did for me

Name: Susan Anderson
Age: 41
Height: 5'7"
Before Weight: 320 pounds

How I Gained It: I was always heavy. My mother was a great cook, and I took full advantage of that. As a child I was the heaviest kid in class and was teased relentlessly. I learned how to use food as a coping mechanism after my parents divorced. It became my comfort when I was ignored and teased in grade school. By the time I went to high school, I was well on my way to 300 pounds. My addiction to food continued into my 20s and 30s. I went through two divorces and was left with low self-esteem. I hated who I saw in the mirror. I was suicidal and felt ugly, hopeless and unwanted by anybody. The cycle of self-soothing with food continued. I ate whenever I was not occupied by something else, even in the middle of the night. I would wake up and go to McDonald's in my nightgown and hide in the car to eat. Eating the food would feel euphoric at first, then deep depression would set in afterwards.

Breaking Point: My journey started in my doctor's office. He basically told me I was in a life-or-death situation: "If you don't do something about your weight, you are going to die very soon." At 34 years old and a mother of three daughters, I was a borderline diabetic, on various blood pressure meds to control my extreme hypertension and very depressed. I was indeed headed toward an early grave. I will forever be grateful for his stern words that jumpstarted my life.

How I Lost It: The words from my doctor served as my lightbulb moment. Shortly after, I joined a gym, and began to walk into a new season of my life. I did a complete overhaul of my diet, exchanging fried food for veggies and soda for water.

I had not been used to moving my body at all really. I was winded when I would walk up a flight of stairs, or walk to my parked car. I started going to a women's gym called Curves. The trainer there really helped me out of my embarrassment of working out in front of people. For the first month or so I could only work out for about 15 minutes at a time, then slowly as my endurance increased I found I could do about 25 minutes. It was painful, but little did I know then, through that physical pain, progress within my body was taking place!

I began educating myself about the foods that had made me so overweight over the years. The more I learned, the more determined I was to change my body -- and my mind began to change, too. Instead of feeling powerless, I began to feel empowered! I realized then I had to capacity to change my life.

That knowledge lead me out of my own self-imprisonment. I thank God for that gift. Over the course of a year, I not only dropped the weight, but dropped my bad eating patterns. I cut all fried foods and refined carbs from my diet, replacing them with fresh veggies, baked or broiled fish, chicken and lean beef. I adopted a high-fiber, whole-grain lifestyle that left me with energy to burn! I became a fan of water, too. I drink a gallon or more daily, which really aided in my weight loss as well.

My current workouts are about an hour, six to seven days a week, in addition to walking and Zumba. To tone, I work out with weights five days a week. My goal is to compete in amateur women's bodybuilding with the next year or so.

There is a better life for those who believe there is no hope. I want to share what I have learned and help others to apply those principles to their life. It is now my lifelong mission to help others conquer obesity and become free, not only from physical weight, but mental and emotional heaviness associated with it as well. I truly believe that my transformation was not just for my personal fulfillment but to help others with their own journey to weight loss. I want to make a difference. I want to inspire others who think they cannot make their own dreams come true. I want to help others save their own lives, just as someone did for me.

After Weight: 180 pounds

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