Countdown to Summer Wellness

By Mary Ellen Walsh

It is the dead of winter. The trees are bare, the sky is gray and everyone is longing for…summer!

We hear you. That’s why we are kicking off our Second annual Countdown to Summer Wellness Series now. If we all start making positive changes in our mental and physical makeup now, we’ll be ship-shape by summer. And this year, you’ll have plenty of support as you exercise, shed pounds and stock your fridge with healthy foods, because in this issue we introduce the winners of our “A Chance for A New You” contest.

Dianne Vitucci, Vivian O’Mara, and Ben Carenza, Jr. under the guidance of a fitness trainer, nutritionist team and life coach (volunteering their services, valued at thousands of dollars in personal one-on-one customized attention) will spend the next several months working to improve their overall health and wellness. We will track their progress and share their strategies with updates in every issue. And when our Countdown to Summer Wellness series concludes with the July issue, all three participants will be treated to a day of pampering, compliments of Maximus Spa and Salon.

Meet Our Winners

Dianne
Vitucci

Forty-seven year old Dianne Vitucci, from Deer Park is a pre-school teacher at Park Shore Nursery School in Dix Hills. Married 26 years to husband Nick, a truck driver, they have two children, Nikki, 25 and Steven 22. Vitucci has always spent time tending to everyone else’s needs. In her winning letter, she stated that she had tried other diets before. “Nothing worked for me. I am not willing to accept failure.”

A deeply spiritual person, Vitucci says she had just finished reading the inspirational book, The Secret. “I really feel the law of attraction thing,” she explains. “I knew help would come and I was going to be in the right hands. I need to put my own health at the top of my list.”

ADVISORY BOARD
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Exercise: Fitness Trainer Jane Petix suggested stepping up Vitucci’s cardio regimen on the treadmill and elliptical machines at the gym she belongs to.

• Diet: Vitucci filled out an extensive food/lifestyle questionnaire supplied by nutritionists Lauren Slayton and Caren Tishfield revealing that she is a “carbohaulic.” They suggested better carb substitutes like whole-wheat pasta and whole grain bread.

• Lifestyle: Life Coach Lori Snyder spoke with Vitucci about her workplace dilemma: to take a job promotion or not, which was weighing heavily on her mind and effecting her food choices.

VIVIAN
O’MARA

Vivian O’Mara, 57 of Garden City, was literally watching the television show, The Biggest Loser, when Wellness Editor, Marie Wolf called with the news that O’Mara was one of the three winning entrants.

“I felt like it was a good omen,” says O’Mara. Along with her 26-year-old son Douglas and her sister, O’Mara designed her creative winning entry: her photo on a milk carton that read, “Missing Person, Please Help Find Me. I was last seen slender and energetic in 1981…with your help I can find the hidden me.”

O’Mara, a teacher aide at Strafford Elementary School in Garden City, wants to become healthier to enjoy kayaking and playing tennis with her husband of 31 years, Mark.

ADVISORY BOARD
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Exercise: Petix advised O’Mara to clear her clothes off the treadmill and start using it every day.

• Diet: Slayton and Tishfield suggested Vivian cut back on the convenient, preservative-loaded “packaged” meals and go shopping for less processed foods.

• Lifestyle: Snyder coached O’Mara on trying to embrace the idea of making a change in her life.

BEN
CARENZA JR.

Ben Carenza Jr. from Lindenhurst is a 42-year- old Business Agent for Local 237 Teamsters Union, representing the Town of Babylon. Carenza is always on the go. He wants to use his on-the-job motivational skills to help himself become healthier. Carenza works long hours and tries to balance his time with his three daughters Kaitlin 17, Krystal 15 and Krystina 10. “I want to get back into better shape to be able to enjoy watching my daughters grow up,” he says. Carenza told his wife of 20 years, Stacey, that he knew he was going to win when he entered the contest. In his winning letter, Carenza wrote, “I get personal satisfaction out of helping people and seeing things through to the end. Pick me and you won’t be disappointed.”

ADVISORY BOARD
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Exercise: Petix suggested that Carenza start walking and getting re-acquainted with using the machines at his gym properly to maximize building muscle.

• Diet: Nutritionists Slayton and Tishfield found Ben to be a classic on again, off again dieter. They discussed portion control and advised that he cut back on butter, bacon, cheese and fried foods.

• Lifestyle: Snyder counseled Carenza on not feeling guilty about dialing down work to create a balance in his life.

Meet Our Advisory Board

Jane Petix

Petix is a Fitness Trainer, certified in CPR and personal training who combined her passion for fitness, nutrition and exercise with her background in counseling to create a unique personal training experience for her clients. Petix teaches high-energy spinning classes at Gold’s Gym in Northport and LA Fitness in Farmingdale.
Starting Tip: get moving slowly with walking first. Join a gym or re-start your membership if lapsed. If you can’t get to a gym, then buy a fitness DVD and try cardio movement 30 minutes daily.

Lauren Slayton, MS RD & Claren Tishfiled. RD

Lauren Slayton, specializing in weight management and sports nutrition, created Foodtrainers‘ in 2001. After meeting in graduate school at New York University, she teamed up with Caren Tishfield. Tishfield counsels patients with, or at risk of, cardiovascular disease, syndrome x and obesity (as well as clients with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and compulsive over eating.) After reviewing the food journals of many of their clients who liked to order Take Out, they created Mindful Menus-The Guilt-Free Guide to Ordering In. In keeping with the philosophy of Foodtrainers,‘ Slayton and Tishfield bring practical applications to every day life instead of mapping out a strict rigid approach to nutrition.
Starting Tip: Begin with little steps. If you are a carb-lover like Dianne Vitucci don’t swear off every single carbohydrate. Eliminate bread, cereal, rice or potatoes from one meal a day. Cut down on pre-packaged foods like Vivian O’Mara and be mindful of fatty food choices as Ben Carenza, Jr. will do.

Lori Snyder

Snyder, of Image Coach is a Life coach who counsels her clients by asking them to map out a life plan of action in order to attain goals. “Clients honestly ask themselves, what do I really want out of life? And create a mission statement. Where do I want to go and how can I take those steps incrementally?”
Starting Tip: Sit down and write up weekly goals. Set yourself up for success by building one step at a time.

specialevent

They lost 125 lBs!

Come meet our 2008 Countdown to Wellness winners at NAVEL EXPO, Sunday, Oct. 26, from noon to 12:45pm, at the Huntington Hilton in room F. The 3 winners will share their healthy lifestyle tips and answer your questions. No registration required. Visit navelexpo.com for more information.

Enter the 2nd Annual Countdown to Summer Wellness 2009 contest.

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