Page 30 - HCPVitalityChronicles

Healthier Lifestyle Choices Lead to Positive Changes for Andrea Gomez

The coworkers of Andrea Gomez, General Office Clerk 1, Arca- Her conscious attention to watching her diet and walking reli-
dia, can probably recognize her from a distance. Every single giously over the past year has resulted in a loss of 22 pounds.
day at lunch time, she puts on her sunblock and hat and goes “It has had a really positive impact on my life,” said Gomez, 64.
out for a 35-40 minute walk. These “I’ll be 65 soon, my husband is 60,
steps add up to the 12,000 to and we are still active, no disease.
14,000 steps she does per day, We keep going.”
while wearing her FitBug.
At first her husband didn’t think
Gomez started with the Vitality pro- there was anything wrong with
gram when it was first offered to their diet and that there was no
HealthCare Partners employees, need to change. “In the beginning
and over the past couple of years it was hard to change,” Gomez
she has become more active and in- said. “My husband used to say,
volved with the program. Through ‘Milk is milk.’ Now we use 1% milk
the encouragement of Vitality instead of the heavier kind. Now
champ Vivian Matiossian, Gomez he reads articles about healthy
started to read food labels and she Andrea Gomez puts on music when she is at home so she’ll eating or healthy recipes and
keep moving.
took some nutrition classes. Being shares them with me.”
from Mexico, one of the things Gomez started to change was
the very heavy breakfasts she had been used to eating. All of the little changes add up to a healthier lifestyle. Gomez
has lowered her cholesterol, and her husband’s blood pressure
“We used to eat a lot of tortillas with breakfast,” explained has also improved because of eating better and walking. She
Gomez, whose husband Marcello also came on board with Vi- recently purchased a FitBug for him as well.
tality at the end of 2012. “Now we buy wheat bread, and a lot
of fruits and vegetables. My husband is a pastor so sometimes Matiossian is proud of Gomez’s accomplishments. “She has
we have to eat at the gatherings over the weekend, but on been a dedicated Vitality member from the beginning,” she
Mondays, we start over.” said, “and she participates in all of the walks.”

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.