Linda's healthy new life: She read all about it!
Over the years, Linda Snider tried to shed extra pounds. But, every diet she found online – each "flavor of the month" – ended the same, she says. "I would lose a few and gain a few back."
It was a constant struggle. But, then, just shy of her 60th birthday, Linda – a UnitedHealthcare member from Ohio – began a life-changing journey to greater health and happiness.
And, she says she did it with the tips and inspiration she found in UnitedHealthcare's e-newsletter, Healthy Mind Healthy Body.®
A reader becomes a doer
In January 2012, one of Linda's co-workers mentioned a weight-loss contest that was being developed for their workplace. Linda thought maybe this was it – she'd be both inspired and accountable. She signed up.
When the competition kicked off, Linda began watching what she ate and exercising regularly.* "I had to start gently," she says. "So, I started walking." She lost some weight that first week. "I felt so good. I thought, 'Maybe I can do this!'"
At the same time, Linda began putting many of the lifestyle tips she read in Healthy Mind Healthy Body into action. Each month, she discovered new and practical ideas she could work into her busy days.
She appreciated that the articles weren't extreme or negative – they were about feeling better and living a healthier life, she says. And, the advice felt personal, like it was written just for her. "It became a part of me," Linda says.
For example, Healthy Mind Healthy Body gave her tips on everyday ways to move more. So, during trips to the store, Linda started parking farther from the door. And, she tossed her sneakers in her bag – and took up walking during her breaks at work.
At her grandson's soccer practices, she used to read a book in the car. Her new habit: She walks around the high school track while she waits. "One lap is a quarter mile," Linda says. "By the end of his soccer season, I was doing four miles an evening."
And, she remembered reading this tip: Celebrate your fitness and weight successes with non-food rewards. So now, she treats herself to a manicure or a pretty new blouse whenever she wants to congratulate herself.