Iolan seeks healthier lifestyle

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July 29, 2014 - 12:00 AM

Starla Cox, Iola, was ready for a change.
“I’ve been overweight my whole life,” she said. “I don’t want to be this way the rest of my life.”
In February, she began exercising and watching what she ate, determined not to get stuck in the trap of yo-yo dieting like many others she knew.
“This is the first time in my life I got serious about weight loss, and I’m sticking with it,” she said.
A friend who had participated in  last year’s The MoveMEnt suggested they try it together this year. The program has encouraged about 200 people in Allen County each year since 2009 to participate.
Damaris Kunkler, program director at Thrive Allen County, worked to rebrand the program from its original format as The Meltdown, creating a Facebook page with events that people can access on their phones to encourage more participation. Area teachers encouraged people to try new exercise programs, such as yoga and Zumba. About 250 people participated.
The goal was to collectively lose one ton of weight. Allen County residents lost about 1,900 pounds this year.
“It ended up being bigger than I thought it would be,” Kunkler said.
Cox won by losing the most weight in eight weeks —16 pounds.
“I was very surprised,” Cox said. “There were a lot of people and I know they were working really hard.”
Cox’s prize winnings included two weeks of free classes at Adrenaline and Fitness, plus a personal training session.
“You worked really hard, too,” Kunkler told Cox. “Sixteen pounds is ambitious, but not unhealthy.”
Cox said drinking lots of water and setting a routine helps. She also does a lot of reading on nutrition to learn more about what to eat and what not to, and she uses apps to help her stay on track. There’s one that helps her monitor her water intake, and another called Map My Walk that she uses to take regular walks with her son.
“Sometimes it’s kind of trial and error to find the right one, because not all of them are that great,” she said.
Map My Walk, which is free, can be used for walking, cycling and many other forms of exercise to keep track of distance, calories burned and more.
So far, her hard work has paid off. Since February, she has lost 48 pounds. Her goal is to lose 100 by her birthday next March.
“It took me a long time to get to this point,” she said, “and I’m still learning better ways to doing stuff.”

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