Spotlight on a WISEWOMAN
Lana Hanson: It's Never Too Late to Start Taking
Charge of Your Health
....continued from the WISEWOMAN home page
Lana contacted Ladies First in the winter of 2006. A staff member came to
her house, explained the program to her, and
enrolled her in the free program. The staff member
gave Lana a Healthy Choices cookbook, information on
how to quit smoking, and other health information
that helped get her started working toward a
healthier lifestyle. A Ladies First staff member
calls Lana every week to encourage her to continue
practicing a healthy lifestyle.
Lana learned that eating healthy is neither as hard
nor as expensive as she thought it would be. Through
Ladies First, Lana has learned how to make healthy
food choices. She now grows her own vegetables, adds
different kinds of fruits and vegetables, and eats
three healthy meals a day. She cooks recipes from
the Healthy Choices: New Leaf Cookbook. “The
recipes in the cookbook are excellent. Excellent,”
she says. As a result of eating healthier meals,
Lana has lost 10 pounds. “Losing weight was not a
goal of mine. I just changed my eating habits and it
just happened. The weight loss was a big surprise.”
Lana also participated in the Governor’s walking
challenge and tracked how many miles she had walked
each day. After she had walked 50 miles in just over
three weeks, Lana
received a certificate from the governor of Vermont
for her walking efforts.
Lana was also a smoker and is now trying to quit.
Before Ladies First, she would smoke a pack of
cigarettes during the day. She now smokes one
cigarette in the evening.
Lana has great things to say about being a part of the
Ladies First program. “Since joining the Ladies
First program, I have a lot more energy and I feel
better about myself. The program also taught me the
importance of staying healthy, getting plenty of
exercise, eating right, and to quit smoking. I’ve
come a long way.”
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Page last reviewed: January 7, 2008
Page last modified: January 7,
2008
Content source: Division
for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion
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