Life-changing steps through a life-changing class

by Airman First Class Tammie Ramsouer
JBER Public Affairs

1/8/2015 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The path to fitness is delineated by ideals, goals and aspirations. A fitness plan can help those looking to lose weight or live healthier lives navigate toward a better body. However, designing that path and getting to the goal is usually easier said than done.

The Health and Wellness Center provides the Better Body, Better Life program, which is available to military members, retirees, civilians and their family members on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The program consists of five classes with information on how to lose weight by eating healthier and learning to be physically fit.

"The Better Body, Better Life program has been around since 2011," said Lisa Schuette, 673d Aerospace Medical Squadron health educator and registered dietician.

"The Air Force decided to do trials on the program and asked for volunteers. I was one of about 10 other dieticians around the Air Force who volunteered."
During the trials, the dieticians got together to see what programs were in progress on military installations, such as the Army MOVE! program and combined aspects from each of them to greatly improve the orginal BBBL program.

"It was a long six to eight months of coming up with ideas, making sure it was consistent and finalizing it," the Michigan native said. The classes include information on portion sizes, sugar intake, hydration and stress levels as well as behavioral and nutritional changes.

The first lesson is about better nutrition, which includes information about portion sizes and calories.

"I also go over hunger scales, which is telling the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger, otherwise known as emotion cravings," Schuette said.

The second two-hour class is about carbohydrates. Schuette discusses sugars with her class and the difference between natural sugars and artificial sugars. Alcohol and how it affects the health of the body is also a part of the discussion.

"Our third class is about dining out and dealing with slips in the program," Schuette said.

In the fourth lesson, Schuette discusses meal planning, grocery shopping and looking at food labels and sleeping habits.

"The last class is all about relapse, and how to keep your body on the right track," Schuette said.

During each of these courses, the first hour and a half are discussions and the last 30 minutes are physical activity.

"This class really helps people learn about things they may never have thought about before, and having them in groups interacting with each other makes it even better for them.

They feel good learning about healthy living [in groups]," Schuette said. "We do get individuals who start in the middle of the program, but everyone is welcome because we go through it all over again when we start the next set of classes, which they are more than welcome to attend."

At each class, every individual participating is weighed and explains their reason for coming to the class.

During the discussions, individuals also write down goals for the week; for example, wanting to eat less fast food, or prepare healthier dinners.
The class impacted one Soldier's life, Spc. Adam Chavez, a food service specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 725th Brigade Support Battalion (Airborne).

"I heard about the class through my primary care physician due to health problems I was having," Chavez said. "My doctor recommended [I] come here to progressively get my health back to where it was one year ago."

Over the year, Chavez has suffered through a concussion and a car accident.

"I suffered from a severe hormonal and chemical imbalance due to the concussion I had," Chavez said. "Shortly afterward, I got ill."

Chavez gained weight, his immune system shut down, his sleeping became irregular and he experienced headaches constantly.

"My primary care physician decided to run blood tests after a car accident I was involved in because I wasn't healing like I should have been.

Sure enough, there was some kind of infection in my system," Chavez said. "Not only did they find an infection and cure it, but the blood tests showed I also had a serious depletion of vitamin D. I am now taking injections and supplements of vitamin D to get my health back to where it should be."
The class has shown Chavez what he can do to help himself get better.

"It has been really helpful for me," Chavez said. "Before the class I would have just eaten a cheeseburger without a second thought and felt horrible after eating it, but now [I know] that it isn't good to feel that way."

Chavez says he feels much better than ever, after learning simple tricks for eating healthier.

"Although this is my third class, I am able to make better choices about food and take notes from the bits of information I didn't even know before," Chavez said.

"Even as a cook, I thought I was eating healthy but [the instructor] specified there were a lot of things I was doing wrong, so my idea of healthy was not so healthy."

The class is currently available every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. for anyone with access to JBER looking for a better body and a better life.

"I highly recommend this class to anyone wanting to lose weight, or definitely trying to get into better health," Chavez said.

For more information about the Better Body, Better Life program, call 552-5029.