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Goodbye to Tortillas and Pepsi: New Mexico Teammate Rose Gonzales

Drops Pounds by Changing Eating and Exercise Habits

Being of Hispanic descent, and a New Mexico resident, May 2016.
Rose Gonzales, Care Management, did not think she could Since January of this year, she has lost 11 pounds. And
ever stop eating multiple tortillas daily as well as being a the trickle effect has been positive—her fiancée has lost
“Pepsiholic”—drinking a couple at work and a Big Gulp on seven pounds by slowly getting on board with her new reg-
the way home. imen as well. Some of the changes
“That’s all I’ve ever known— in her diet have involved learning
beans, tortillas, and Pepsi,” Rose how to adapt recipes to be health-
said. She explained that she has had ier. For instance, she used to love
a good metabolism for a long time, chili dogs. Now she makes a health-
but that about seven years ago she ier version of them without bread.
could tell it was starting to slow “I never thought I could do this; I
down. Two years ago she also had am not a diet or exercise person,”
knee surgery. “I had started feeling Rose said. She recalled taking the
weight on my knee, and I wasn’t Vitality Health Review (VHR) and
comfortable in my clothes,” she discovering her Vitality age, which
said. She also had started to have was higher than her actual age, due
bad liver pain on occasion from to factors such as body mass index
drinking so much Pepsi. She would (BMI). Now, eating healthier and
flush out her system with water exercising have become part of her
Rose Gonzales before, in April 2017, and since
when this used to happen, but she losing 11 pounds, in August 2017. life. When she takes her youngest
still continued drinking Pepsi. daughter to the park, rather than
When the New Mexico market launched the Vitality well- sit like she used to, she walks around the park. “I go out of
ness program this year, Rose decided to join. “I wasn’t my way to do things to be a little healthier,” she said,
feeling very good about myself. I thought, ‘I’m just going adding that her occasional knee and hip pain, which are
to try this.’” By doing some research on her own, she not as severe as before, do not stop her.
wanted to first tackle her eating and drinking habits. She She is almost at her goal of losing 15 pounds total. An-
quit drinking Pepsi cold turkey in June, and has had a Diet other reason she is happy with the changes she has made
Dr. Pepper twice in 90 days. She hardly ever eats tortillas, is because high blood pressure and cholesterol do run in
and stays away from starchy breads in general. her family. She wants to stave these things off by being
She has learned a great deal about portion sizes and proactive now.
does not eat as many snacks. She also has started to exer- Her advice to others is to start off slow. “If you have
cise—her initial goal was 2,500 steps a day and now she cheat bites or even cheat meals, don’t beat yourself up
averages 5,000 t0 6,000 daily steps. “I also forced myself about it. Just start over the next day,” Rose said. “We are
to start taking the stairs, and park further away to walk our own biggest advocates, but we are also our own worst
more,” said Rose, who has been with the company since critics. Be good to yourself.”

All information in the Vitality program is HIPAA protected. Members have chosen to share their personal health accomplishments.
For more information about Vitality, visit www.powerofvitality.com. Contact Janet Galli for further program information.