Page 37 - HCPVitalityChronicles

Vitality Member Natalie Barker-Amos Motivates Colleagues
on the Path to Health

Sometimes it takes a scare to at work, to whom she teaches
wake up and change something portion control. She cooks veg-
in your life. For Natalie Barker- etable dishes every night—for in-
Amos, Senior Claims Specialist, stance, pasta with cabbage,
Pacific Gateway, that scare yellow bell peppers, mushrooms,
came in the form of a spike in onions and carrots, mixed with
her blood pressure, which shot grape seed oil and seasoned—
up to 193 one day at work in and brings in enough to provide
2012. She had already been di- her team members with a lunch
agnosed with high blood pres- portion of the meal. She does
sure and her doctor had told this for the team for 90 days, to
her she was borderline dia- help everyone focus on healthy
betic, and that it was all weight eating. She also suggests appro-
related. “My doctor had told priate snacks, such as two table-
me, ‘You have to get this Natalie Barker-Amos, center, has lost 40 pounds in the last spoons of nuts, a banana, a bag
year. She keeps on track by cooking appropriately por-
weight off. This is not a joke.’” tioned lunches for her coworkers, and she loves working out of carrots, an apple, or a package
Still, nothing sunk in until the with her friends. of peanut butter crackers.
episode at work.
Since changing her eating and exercise habits, she has lost
“The supervisor here at work wanted to take me to the ER; 40 pounds, meeting this goal last August. To challenge her-
the left side of my hand was numb,” Barker-Amos recalled. self and get more toned, she plans to do the 90-day Insan-
“This was an eye opener for me; I got scared.” ity Challenge soon. “The best part is I ended up with a
lifestyle partner to work out with—Andrea Harris.”
She had joined Vitality in 2011, because many coworkers
had encouraged her to do so and she knew she needed to Her own life and how she feels have changed dramatically.
lose weight. But it wasn’t until the scare at work that she “Before, going from this floor to my car, I would be out of
began her journey. She learned about healthy eating and breath,” Barker-Amos said. “Now I am not out of breath. I
how to keep her eating under control by paying attention feel awesome; I can move really fast.”
to portions. She began bringing her lunch to work as well
as walking during all of her work breaks, and adding an- The team aspect of her positive changes is what motivates
other 45 minutes to an hour of walking once she got her the most. “A lot of us here [at work] have medical is-
home. By doing this, she reaches 10,000 steps per day sues, such as high blood pressure or diabetes,” Barker-
with her FitBug. Amos said. “You can make that lifestyle change any day.
It’s not about outer beauty; it’s about inner beauty.”
But she didn’t stop there. She started her own small teams

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.