Photo By Marcy Sanchez | Staff with the Fort Bliss Army Wellness Center pose for a photograph as they feature...... read more read more
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Twenty five years after retiring John Fleenor, a retired MedEvac maintenance officer, knew he had to make a lifestyle change. At 218 pounds, Fleenor was at the heaviest weight he had ever been.
“After I retired, (Fleenor’s wife) wanted to pursue her own career so she went into teaching and became an assistant principal. I took over taking care of the house,” said Fleenor. “When she retired, I had already ballooned up to 218 pounds which I had never been before.”
Being an assistant principal, Sieglinde Fleenor’s only exercise was walking up and down school hallways. She wanted something that burned more calories. After her retirement, the pair started working out regularly at their gym, but saw little to no results after a few months.
“We knew we had to get fit again because we had both gained a lot of weight,” said Sieglinde Fleenor. “We started going to the gym but nothing was happening even though we were eating what we thought was healthy.”
A chance encounter during a health fair on Fort Bliss, Texas, led to the change the couple was looking for. A display attracted the couple to the Army Wellness Center, which introduced them to the program.
“(Working out at a gym) wasn’t doing anything until we came to the (Army Wellness Center) where they gave us the tools to work with,” said 70-year-old John.
The Fort Bliss Army Wellness Center, or AWC, introduces service members, families, retirees and Department of the Army civilians to standardized primary prevention programs and services designed to build and sustain good health and improve the overall healthy lifestyles.
The AWC's six core programs include health assessment review, physical fitness, healthy nutrition, stress management, general wellness education and tobacco cessation, and can be modified to achieve individual goals toward healthier holistic lifestyles.
The Fleenors’ main goals were to gain control of their weight, but found the AWC’s approach was anything but a traditional diet.
“It does take a little dedication but just watching caloric intake,” said Sieglinde. “If we run into a setback I can just call and ask for help and I’ll know it’s there.”
Using evidence-based techniques, health educators assist clients in addressing the problems from stress and sleep to strength training and recovery.
For Sieglinde, who is a stage III breast cancer survivor, taking in the prescribed daily caloric intake proved to be harder than most clients due to a restricted diet.
“A lot of foods that are healthy, I couldn’t eat because I was allergic,” said Sieglinde, who mentioned wheat, apples and tomatoes as some examples. “It was a lot of foods I couldn’t eat, but (health educators) assisted me in finding a way to meet my caloric goals without sacrificing nutrition.”
Not only was eating the right food a challenge for Sieglinde, her bout with cancer, 12 years ago, had also taken a toll on her overall health, according to her husband.
“It was a whole lifestyle adjustment for me,” said the 59-year-old former educator.
To assist with changing lifestyles like the Fleenors did, the AWC recently added two health promotion technicians to the team.
“I thought the AWC was basic knowledge of nutrition and exercise and wasn’t familiar with all the tests,” said Cristina Muñoz, health promotion technician, who joined the Fort Bliss AWC team recently. “I’ve always liked helping people, reaching out to the community. That’s what we do here: help people. Help them improve lifestyles for healthier future and longer life expectancy.”
Muñoz isn’t the only new face at the AWC. Matthew Sanner, a U.S. Navy veteran, also joined the ranks of health promotion professionals at the AWC.
“I expect to get people to understand what the world and society is coming to now. Obesity is very prevalent, 4 out of 10 people are obese,” said Sanner, a Philadelphia native. “Through diet, exercise and overall awareness, we can bring that number down. Education is very important beneficial for Soldiers, family members and anybody who can get added value.”
Currently the AWC is staffed with two health educators, who consult, test and interpret results for clients, and the two newest additions, whose main duty is educating clients on nutrition, exercise and overall wellness.
“Our job is to raise awareness about healthy and unhealthy foods, addressing rumors, myths and putting a stop to them,” said Muñoz. “The best thing about the AWC is we’re not just helping the Soldiers but also helping families and others.”
AWC’s services resulted in a combined weight loss of 60 pounds along with other benefits for the Fleenors.
“Psychologically we’re better because we see the change and know we can do it,” said John. “You feel better and have a better outlook on life.”
“You sleep better, you eat better,” said Sieglinde. “I feel really, really good. It feels great to be back in normal clothes.”
AWC’s services cover the full spectrum of family members from ages five and up who weigh at least 55 pounds. Services are also provided at no cost to the client.
“The technology that we have here is very good, very expensive and very accurate,” said Sanner.
The AWC opened possibilities for the Fleenors, who are now living active lifestyles in retirement with plans to one day go cross country skiing.
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2018 11:15 |
| Story ID: | 281500 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort Bliss AWC revitalizes retirees, by Marcy Sanchez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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