July 19, 2016

Choose what works for you- Be Well Barnsley offers tailor made support.

The Be Well team share two success stories from the first 6 months of the service.

Cynthia goes from strength to strength

‘When Cynthia first came to me she explained she wanted to start an exercise programme that would improve mobility and overall fitness. She’d been very active a few years ago but after several health problems she had stopped it all. She’d lost all her confidence and was very nervous and reluctant to even attempt any form of exercise.

I managed to put her mind at ease by explaining that the exercise programme we would undertake wouldn’t hurt or harm her and that it would greatly improve her quality of life. After discussing several options we agreed she would benefit from joining a Pilates class that I had started.

Over the weeks we covered many different forms of exercise including Callanetics, Pilates, tai chi and resistance training with Dyno bands. Cynthia also picked up many different exercises that she could complete at home that would greatly improve her overall health.

Over the weeks I have seen a significant improvement in her mobility and flexibility, she also as gained strength and her overall health as improved greatly. Apart from all the tremendous physical improvements I have observed in Cynthia’s health I have also witnessed a complete turnaround in Cynthia’s confidence and a new found zest for life.

The Cynthia I know now is a healthier, happy person who is now leading a productive confident life. She determined to help others in her community to achieve the same levels of improvement and confidence that she has reached herself.

Cynthia has now become the chairperson for the Pilates group I started which has grown from 6 people to 26 people taking part every week. The group now not only helps to improve people’s health but also provides a friendly comfortable base for people to meet and organise other social activities.

The group has become the pilot for the FIT4EVER classes that we run as part of the BE WELL BARNSLEY project that we intend to run throughout the region. The FIT4EVER class continues to attract more people and to greatly improve the lives of the people in Dearne. This is due to the continuous hard work that Cynthia and the other original members of the group put in on a weekly basis.

Cynthia is also training to take over the delivery of the chair based exercise program, so she can help others with their mobility and becoming active.

I’m so proud of Cynthia’s journey and it’s a great example of how lifestyle changes can’t be ‘one size fits all’ and people have to choose what works for them.’

George uses a holiday as motivation

George, 78, accessed the service through his GP surgery for help with losing weight. His BMI was in the obese category and he understood how this could have an impact on his future health.
George leads a very active and full life, he travels often and had a cruise planned with a friend which he hoped he would be able to lose weight for. His friend was also accessing weight loss services so they were able to share their experiences and spur each other on to meet their goals.

George attended weekly appointments with a Be Well Advisor at his GPs surgery. For the first 6 weeks George completed food diaries which he would bring back to his appointments for us to review together and identify improvements he could make and set weekly goals to achieve this. As well as working on a healthier diet he also set himself goals around his daily exercise and challenged himself to increase the amount he could do over the 12 weeks

George lost a total of 8.8 kg and his BMI went from the obese category into the overweight category. He is still committed to his weight loss and attends monthly reviews. At his most recent review he has managed to maintain his weight loss which is a great achievement as he has been on an all-inclusive cruise.

What George says: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Be Well service and have looked forward to my weekly appointments. I am extremely pleased with the progress I have made and I am proud of my weight loss.

The new healthy habits I have taken up are easy to maintain and I am enjoying my new healthier lifestyle. I’m going to continue working towards losing more weight and I am looking forward to a healthy future with many more travel plans. My friend is still a bit miffed how I’ve managed to do a lot better than her! My motto when I go on my travels is “I don’t have to eat it just because it’s there”.