250 & Fit: Power in Numbers

It’s six weeks into the New Year, time to rev up those resolutions to stop smoking, eat healthier, exercise more. Weight loss seems to have been on my agenda for as long as I can remember. I figure I need to lose at least 50 pounds to be healthy. This feels overwhelming until I talk to Jim English.

When his weight reached 280 pounds about six years ago, English knew that something had to give. He’d managed to drop 50 pounds several times before, but the weight always came right back.

5 x 16 =Success
But things changed in 2002 when Highmark gave its employees pedometers and challenged them to walk 10,000 steps each day. English, who is director of web portal maintenance, says that this “little piece of plastic” brought out his competitive nature. Each day he’d try to do more steps than the day before. That led to other healthy changes, like fixing what he calls “atrocious eating habits.”

Within five months he dropped 80 pounds. In eight months he walked a half marathon. A month later he ran his first 5K. Five months later he ran a whole marathon and has completed six more since. “I couldn’t lose 80 pounds,” he says. “But I could lose five pounds. And I did that 16 times.”

English is an inspiration. “People call him Padre because he brings people together,” says Lori Schoonmaker of Highmark who was mentored by English when she started running with the Highmark Runners several mornings a week.

If there was ever a perfect time to get healthy, 2008 is it. Why? Because there is power in numbers, people.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of Pittsburgh. At first this seems to have little to do with the extra inches around my waist, but not so fat. I mean fast. As part of the Pittsburgh 250 celebration, an initiative called Pittsburgh 250 & Fit was created to  help residents create long-term healthy lifestyles and establish Pittsburgh as a place known for its dedication to healthy living.

Pittsburghers already have a reputation for being hard workers and sports lovers. But these traits haven’t always translated into working hard for our own health. More than half of southwestern Pennsylvania residents are overweight, and half don’t get the recommended amount of weekly exercise. Three in 10 of us have high cholesterol, and one in six is a binge drinker. Plus, our region has the nation’s highest rate of pregnant women who smoke. But take heart! The supporters and organizers of 250 & Fit believe we can change all of this.

Make a Change
“250 & Fit is an opportunity to address these issues in a positive way,” says Pam Golden, senior vice president of marketing at Allegheny Conference, the galvanizing force behind Pittsburgh 250. “The idea behind 250 & Fit is that it starts now, but it’s a long-term initiative.”

John Cardone, vice president of YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, which is a partner in 250 and Fit, agrees that while there’s no quick fix, there is hope. And hope lies in prevention. “It’s not about diet and exercise,” he says. “It’s about behavior.”

You can dramatically improve your quality of life by making small but significant lifestyle changes, such as improving your nutrition and learning to manage stress, says Anna Silberman, vice president of Preventive Health Services at Highmark, a partner in 250 & Fit.  Added up, this not only reduces your health risk but also your  healthcare costs, she notes.

A Highmark study found that employees who participated in a health risk assessment program reduced their inpatient health costs (the highest healthcare cost) by 84%. Healthy employees equates to better job productivity and less absenteeism, which is good for employers and the local economy.

Will Clower, president of Mediterranean Wellness in Pittsburgh, is optimistic that we can change our unhealthy patterns, turning our health around the same way we have turned around our region. “Pittsburgh is  one of America’s greatest cities; it has a character and a sense of self that I love,” he says. “In the past, we were a dirty steel town. This year we were named the most livable city in the U.S. That’s huge!”

As a partner with 250 & Fit, Clower’s organization is presenting the Pittsburgh Pound Down. Through this program and others, Clower works to change the culture of health in Pittsburgh by implementing wellness initiatives in corporations and communities.

Chances are, your list of resolutions included something about getting healthier. After all, who isn’t sick and tired of being sick and tired? If you need help getting started, experts at Highmark recommend that you take it one day at a time, and make your own health a priority. In the end, you have the power to make healthier choices. English thinks you can do it, too. “I’m a firm believer that when it’s your time, you’ll step up and do that,” he says.

All residents of the surrounding 14 counties are encouraged to register on the 250 and Fit website (http://www.250andfit.com) for a free membership card for access to discounts and a chance to win prizes. Participants can also track their weight and Body Mass Index with an online tool.

Signature Events

One of the highlights of the 250 & Fit celebration is the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania presented by Highmark Healthy High 5. The six-day Tour de France-style event for elite international cyclists under age 25 will start in Philadelphia and roll across the state to the grand finish line in Pittsburgh.

Another Pittsburgh 250 project is the completion of the final nine miles of the Great Allegheny Passage in October 2008.  This stretch between Pittsburgh and McKeesport will be the final leg of a 335-mile continuous hiking and biking trail from Mount Vernon, Virginia to Point State Park, which is also undergoing a $35 million renovation for Pittsburgh’s anniversary.

Renovation. Renewal. It’s all good. And it’s even better when you’re a part of it.

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Jennifer McGuiggan, a freelance writer and editor, is owner of The Word Cellar. Her last article for Pop City was about sustainable land use. To read it, click here. 

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Captions:

John Cardone

Exercising at the YMCA

Pamela Golden

Will Clower

All photographs copyright Brian Cohen