We Believe In Giving Back.

Collins Wellness Center and our own Holistic Practitioner Health Advocate Diane Collins strongly believe in giving back to the community. Through our Collins Wellness Center programs, we promote healthy eating, physical activity as well as work with the Black Women Health Imperative using the CDC’s Diabetes Prevention Program to promote Health & Wellness thru our 501c(3) non-profit Soul So Good Healthy. We encourage you to test your own diabetes risk and do everything you can to prevent this awful disease. More information can be found on our Soul So Good Healthy website or contact us by using the form below.

 

Meet our National Diabetes Prevention Program Participants

Helen

Helen is a success story of the National Diabetes Prevention Program.  She was able to recognize areas where she needed to change, make the necessary changes with the help of the program, and regain control of her health!  She has continued her success through using the knowledge the program has equipped her with.

Anthony

Anthony is a small business owner who often felt sluggish and very fatigued while working day to day. At 5’9 and 260 pounds, he was tired of feeling much older than he is.  He was exited to learn about the Change Your Lifestyle, Change Your Life (CYL2) diabetes prevention program. “I felt I had a community working with me.”  Anthony started to change his diet, incorporating whole foods, watching his portions and serving sizes.  After a few healthy cooking demonstrations, Anthony incorporated those ideas into his routine.  He has lost 39 pounds an still going strong!

Aaronese

Aronese has lost 18 pounds and is eating healthier and implementing more physical activity.  Over the past 16 weeks, she’s learned the importance of NOT skipping meals.

She says, life can be hectic and oftentimes I become so busy, that at the end of the day I  realize that I haven’t eaten. Of course by then I am really hungry and looking for anything to put in my mouth including fast food. Not skipping meals keeps me full and healthy. Since I’ve decided beforehand not to skip a meal, I prepare my food and choose my healthy snacks. It’s a healthier choice. Since I’m not getting really hungry, I can wait to get home and eat whole foods and fresh fruits.

Clearly this program has changed the way I think about food.  Before my thoughts were “well that’s good for me” but now my thoughts are “yeah, it’s good for me but how much fat is in it?”  I’ve learned to budget my daily fat intake. Limiting fat intake controls my weight as well as how I feel.

Another benefit of the program is that it encouraged me to increase my physical activity.  My thoughts about “exercise” was another obstacle to overcome.  But now I know that I have to be intentional and also plan for time to exercise. It’s like anything we plan to do, it gets done.  Exercise is the habit and the habit is a good one.

What I’ve learned in this program is “I CAN DO IT”.

Art

When Art started with the program he weighed about 257 pounds and had an A1C of 6.4. At the end of the program he weighed 217 and plans to lose more. His mother currently has type 2 diabetes and his father also had it before he passed. As a result, his mother encouraged him to enroll in the class but she was concerned about Art actually completing it.

He says, based on what I learned in the classes, I changed my diet from fried oyster po’boy sandwiches and all kinds of fried foods to much healthier choices. I bought a Magic Bullet and now I love to make vegetable and fruit smoothies. I make 1 or 2 healthy smoothies every day and I watch what I eat and how much. I also started taking a photo of every meal so I would remember what to put on my food tracker andalso see where I needed to make more changes. Gradually I began to change from high fat high calorie foods to more healthy choices. I attended the classes faithfully and I want to be an example to my family by taking care of myself. I look for nutrient rich foods and I can really tell the difference when I don’t have time to prepare my smoothies or when I go off of my program.  I always feel much better when I get back on track.  Because of a bad knee injury, I had a very serious challenge initially when it comes to exercise but going to physical therapy helped me increase my physical activity.  Like many others, financial challenges also made it difficult at the beginning to make healthy food choices but he was able to find a way to make that work as well.  It really is about making good choices not only about what you eat but what you spend your money on.

 

Monk

When Monk joined our all men’s group he weighed in at 324 pounds. It was clear to his Coach that he was committed from the very beginning and serious about making some major changes.  Monk was excited to get the information shared, not only from the Coach, but from the other participants as well.

He began immediately changing his eating habits, taking advantage of everything he was learning.  He also began working out, increasing his physical activity every week. Once he started losing weight, his family and friends began noticing and complimenting him, which encouraged him even more to make the changes he needed and wanted to make. As a result of his hard work and participation in the program, Monk has lost 49 pounds.