We have a great guest blogger this week! Roger finished the program a few months ago, and we asked him to share his challenges, triumphs, and advice to other participants with us. Thanks, Roger!
My name is Roger Brewer. I have just completed the PEIA Weight Management Program and I’m proud of the accomplishments I have made. I have worked for West Virginia University for 38 years in my position as Operations Manager for the Extension Services headquartered in Morgantown. I am 60 years old and a diabetic and previously had been morbidly obese. I currently weigh 220.
I first started the weight management program because I needed more help controlling my sugar and my weight than just a gym membership could provide. When I first started with my trainer, I realized that I really didn’t know how to properly workout and attain the goals I had set for myself. I signed up at Robs Fitness in Morgantown, WV and with the help of my trainer, Faye Meaden, I have toned up my body, lost more weight and lowered my A1C to 6.1.
My biggest challenge was learning how to eat right and take in the amount of calories I actually needed to lose weight. I had been dieting for the past 20 years but not really knowing how to do it properly. I had actually been starving myself by not consuming enough food to properly nourish my body. When my dietician Kristin explained to me that I needed more calories to lose weight it took a while to sink in. Once it did, I started losing weight!
The biggest change since I started the program is the new lifestyle I have developed for myself. Years earlier I had started college, but never finished. Since working with my trainer I have started taking classes in Fitness Management at WVU and I graduated in December 2013. I am now studying for my ISSA certification to be a personal trainer. I attribute this to the confidence I now have in myself through exercise and diet. If anyone just starting in the program runs into a roadblock, I would advise them to take it slow and easy but stay constant with their exercise. Listen to your trainer. He or she is a friend not an enemy. Take some time and explore the gym see and experience different machines and exercises. Most importantly, if you don’t know how to use the equipment ask a trainer and they will show you. Don’t be embarrassed.
That’s Roger at Rob’s Fitness Factory!
The Weight Management Resource Page 
Way to go Roger!! You are an inspiration!
So glad he mentioned Kristin! I forwarded it to her âº
Cathy Shaw, RD, LD
RD Program Coordinator
WV PEIA Weight Management Program
WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences
P.O. Box 6116
Morgantown, WV 26506-6116
304-293-6652
FAX: 304-293-4641
catherine.shaw@mail.wvu.edu
https://healthperformance.wordpress.com
President West Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
The above message and the documents accompanying this transmission contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. This information is intended only for the use of the individuals/entities listed above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or action taken in the reliance on the contents of these documents is strictly prohibited. If you received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately and arrange for the return or destruction of these documents
This is fantastic!
Nidia Henderson, MSM-PA
Health Promotions Director
West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency
601 57th St., Suite 2
Charleston, WV 25304
304-558-7850, ext. 52639
Nidia.I.Henderson@wv.gov
The above message and the documents accompanying this transmission contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. This information is intended only for the use of the individuals/entities listed above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or action taken in the reliance on the contents of these documents is strictly prohibited. If you received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately and arrange for the return or destruction of these documents.