The new year always brings in the desire to create a healthier lifestyle and work on taking health seriously. The United Food Bank of Plant City is once again partnering with the Florida Department of Health to make sure the community has the opportunity to improve their health.
In July, the FDOH started a Diabetes Prevention Program in Plant City at the food bank. Led by Gregory Champlin, seven local residents began the journey to change their lifestyle and attempt to prevent themselves from developing Type 2 diabetes.
It’s been a little over five months and the results have blown Champlin away.
“This class is definitely my star class, for sure,” Champlin said. “In five months they’ve lost a total of 66 pounds for the class. Another goal of the class is to lose five to seven percent of your body weight. Of the seven people, five have already reached that and we’re not even halfway through the course.”
The year-long program teaches attendees that making minor changes to your lifestyle can make a drastic difference in your body’s well-being. Though weight loss is a result of the program, the ultimate goal is to get attendees’ blood work in a better place.
Meal prepping, learning to make multiple affordable meals with one recipe, minor exercise changes and other alterations can help prevent someone from becoming a diabetic.
Debra Mezen, 56, joined the class because her husband wanted to learn through the program but didn’t have time to attend. She, too, fell in the pre-diabetic range and dove headfirst into the material.
She said her husband was at the point where he needed to make a major change or he would soon be on insulin, an option he refused to allow become a reality. Mezen herself has a family history of diabetes, and she hopes others will sign up to start the life changing program.
“There’s a lot of really good informational material in there,” Mezen said. “They really need to give it a chance. It’s definitely worth it. It can be hard but it’s not impossible, people need to just stick with it.”
The success of the class encouraged Champlin to expand the program. In 2018, he will be offering two new classes starting in late January and early February.
“I was just blown away by how great this class has gone,” Champlin said. “The hope is more people will come to the next classes so they can start working on changing their lifestyle. Preventing diabetes is so important because it comes with so many other symptoms. Diabetics have the number one rates of amputation, they have heart disease, peripheral neuropathy, the list just goes on and on.”