Real Women. Real Change

Kim
WINNER, Self-Nominated

Kim is a mother of 16-year-old twins who always put herself last while taking care of others. 

Her cholesterol level slowly creeped over 200 and required medication when Kim decided to make some changes. Kim adopted a low-carb diet and started drinking water and tea instead of four or more sodas per day. She has lost 50 pounds in six months and has reduced the number of medications she takes.

Louisa Ann
WINNER, Friends & Famly Nominated

Louisa Ann made a commitment to healthy living many years ago and has stuck by it, inspiring her family, which includes 28 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren, to be healthy, too.

Over the years, Louisa Ann has lost more than 100 pounds. She walks five miles a day and has a diet filled with vegetables. Her changes helped her get rid of medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol and have helped her complete two mini-marathons.

Rupal
WINNER, Popular Vote

Rupal got a wake-up call about her health four years ago when her older sister suffered a stroke. Shortly thereafter, several other family members were diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure.

Rupal realized she had plenty of access to education and resources about how to live a healthy lifestyle but that she did not make it her priority between family, work and community responsibilities. She decided it was time to make some change.

Rupal joined an exercise program three times per week and started playing tennis once per week. In addition, she eliminated starchy, fatty and sugary foods, reduced portions and developed a vegetarian diet to meet her nutritional needs.

Rupal is a leader in the Asian American community and wants to set an example and educate her peers about heart disease and living a healthy lifestyle.

Real Women. Real Change. Finalists

Aida
FINALIST

Change doesn’t come easy to any of us, but that can be even truer the older we get and the more set in our ways that we become.

Aida doesn’t fall into that category though. When her husband was diagnosed with heart disease 10 years ago, Aida was the one who immediately started researching healthier lifestyles for the entire family. The changes resulted in her own reduction in high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Aida walks three miles every day and eats a healthy diet. An illness earlier this year, resulted in Aida doubling her efforts at healthy living. In the last six months, she has lost 10 pounds.

At age 72, Aida is an inspiration to her family.

Antonia
FINALIST

Antonia has lost more than 30 pounds by making healthier choices. She eliminated red meat and pastas from her diet, replacing them with fresh fruits and vegetables. She has also cut out fast food.

Antonia also exercises three times per week. These changes have helped her decrease medication for high blood pressure.

The changes Antonia has made to her lifestyle have also inspired her daughter to prepare healthier meals for her family.

Natalie
FINALIST

Natalie has made a long-term commitment to health that she sustains despite a busy schedule as an executive with a local company. She has incorporated cardio, resistance training, intervals and circuits as part of her exercise routine, and she has adopted healthy eating habits, including using tools like MyFitnessPal to keep her on track.

Natalie’s example of healthy living has been passed on to the employees around her as well as within her family.

​Patti
FINALIST

Patti has always tried to maintain an active lifestyle and do the right things to maintain her weight. In 2013, however, some life events and a job change interrupted those habits and contributed to a 20-pound weight gain.

Patti made a new commitment to healthy living by participating in on-site fitness classes at her workplace. She works out regularly, changed her diet to incorporate healthier meals and snacks, and she stopped smoking.

Patti feels better than she has in years and is an inspiration to her co-workers.

Shana
FINALIST

Shana has been overweight her entire life, starting her first diet as a fifth grader. After years of battling her weight, the final turning point came when she lost her father to a heart attack and realized that without drastic changes, she, too, would leave her child too soon.

Using her son as her constant motivation, Shana has completely overhauled her diet and lifestyle: cutting out sugary drinks and processed foods; adding in more lean meats, fruits, and vegetables; and becoming more physically active. She now maintains a healthy relationship with food, exercises six days a week, and is better able to enjoy activities with her son.

With those changes and the help of weight loss surgery, Shana has lost 175 pounds in just more than a year and has a new lease on life. Through her online blog and making connections with others who struggle with similar issues, she continues to look for ways to share her story to inspire others.

Tisha
FINALIST

To say Tisha has overcome challenges would be an understatement.

For years, Tisha led a healthy lifestyle to combat a diagnosis of high blood pressure and a family history of heart disease.

Last January, those efforts were sidetracked when Tisha suffered an injury that included head trauma, leaving her with limited motor skills and daily pain among a host of other injuries.

Tisha fought back, increasing her walking from just 300 steps per day to more than 8,000 steps per day. She renewed her focus on a healthy diet and has lost nearly 20 pounds that had been gained since the accident.

Through it all, Tisha has continued to inspire others. Professionally she runs a program that provides health coaching to women and their families, and at church she started a fitness program that has participants eating healthier and reaching as many as 20,000 steps per day.