by Glendale Sports Center | Oct 21, 2022 | Glendale City News
by Jennifer Lease, RD, Senior Manager of Nutrition at the YMCA of Metro Denver
The holiday season can feel hard when you’re focused on your health. November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and whether you’re someone working to prevent a chronic disease, like Diabetes, or manage one, the holidays can bring up stress and fear around food choices.
Here are some tips to help you stay on track with mindfulness, self-compassion, and flexibility that allow you to stay present and enjoy this time of year:
Be mindful and intentional
about your choices.
This is really all about approaching your choices and behaviors without judgment, and giving yourself permission to make the choices you do. When it comes to the holidays, there’s usually special dishes with meaning for you, as well as sweets and treats you look forward to. You deserve to enjoy those! It’s important to give yourself genuine permission to enjoy those foods so you’re not left feeling badly about those choices. Even when preventing or managing a chronic disease, there’s still room for including these foods. With intention, you can choose the dishes you don’t want to miss, include them on your plate in portion sizes that feel good for you, and feel guilt-free afterwards.
Practice gentle nutrition.
You can still keep nutrition principles in mind during holiday meals, with a bit of flexibility and grace for yourself at the same time. You can enjoy a bit of everything with some balance and portion control (and you’ll feel better after the meal, too!). The basics of a balanced plate to support blood sugar control include protein, veggies, and a starch or grain. Try filling half of your plate with veggie dishes and then take a smaller portion of the others you want to try. Holiday dishes tend to be heavy on starchy foods, so don’t forget some protein (like turkey or chicken) to create balance. Remember to check in with your hunger and fullness cues as you enjoy your meal, too, so you can stop eating when you feel comfortably full.
Don’t overcompensate for the holidays — you can get right back on track.
This may sound easier said than done. We tend to overcompensate after more indulgent meals, like those during the holidays — this can look like restricting your food intake for a day or more, exercising more than usual, or even punishing yourself with negative self-talk. The ways we overcompensate can actually worsen blood sugar control and backfire. It’s important to remember that every day is a new day to reset. When you’re mindful and intentional about your food choices and practice gentle nutrition, this feels easier — you’re better able to move onto the next day, getting back on track with your usual eating patterns to support your health.
The holiday season should be a time of joy and celebration, and that includes lots of yummy food! If you find yourself feeling stress, anxiety, or fear about food as you approach holiday meals, our Health & Well-being team at the Y can help. Learn about all of our nutrition programming and our Diabetes Prevention Program at den verymca.org.
by Glendale Sports Center | Sep 28, 2022 | Glendale City News
by Eileen Eastridge, for the YMCA of Metro Denver
Eileen Eastridge, left, and her Livestrong class at the Littleton YMCA.
On June 22, 2020, (my daughter’s birthday), I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. The cancer was found in my breast, lung, and liver, as well as boney areas of my L3, sacrum, and left iliac. My L3 had broken and collapsed twice, and I was in severe pain and had difficulty walking.
My family and I were shocked and devastated at this news, but I did feel a sense of relief to finally know the reason for the symptoms I was experiencing. This diagnosis is a terminal one, which means that I will be dealing with treatment, symptoms, and side effects for the rest of my life, however long that may be. My husband and I discussed that we want the main perspective for my care to be “quality of life.”
The doctor prescribed a series of radiation treatments to the boney lesions, which was grueling, and made it necessary to use a walker. The radiation, coupled with monthly injections, provided miraculous results, and my bones and nerves have healed significantly.
I was also prescribed a hormone blocker and an oral chemo, which I am blessed to be able to take at home each day. This combination has done above and beyond what was expected and has even shrunk my tumors. Unfortunately, these medications come with side effects, including physical stiffness, fatigue, and low moods. I was getting weaker and weaker, and the sadness was becoming a real problem.
To help alleviate the side effects, my doctor gave me information about the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program at the YMCA of Metro Denver, and I joined the group in December 2021. This program is a free 12-week program for cancer survivors to rebuild health and build community.
I expected to exercise and was happy to have accountability to help keep me on track. However, the icing on the cake came in the social support I found. The LIVESTRONG group is a strong dose of the very best medicine! I found a new community of supporters who understood what going through cancer is really like.
According to research from the Yale Cancer Center and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Institute, participants in the LIVESTRONG program at the YMCA experience improved fitness and quality of life, as well as significant decreases in cancer-related fatigue. We all know that exercise can help you feel better no matter your age or skill level. However, it is especially important for people living with cancer.
LIVESTRONG at the YMCA classes teach exercise methods that are safe for people who have cancer. Over the 12 weeks of the program, the group became stronger, more flexible, and more energetic. The instructors are trained in cancer survivorship, post-rehabilitation exercise, and supportive cancer care. Survivors receive a membership at the YMCA for the duration of the program.
If cancer has impacted your life, this class can help. To learn more, visit denverymca.org/livestrong.
by Glendale Sports Center | Aug 26, 2022 | Glendale City News
by Elias Jacobson, for the YMCA of Metro Denver
Many people encounter times in their lives where things get really rough. My difficult period came about 10 years ago. I had lost my sister suddenly, and a short time later my brother was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, so I decided to move my life from California to Denver to support my parents. To cope with the stress coming at me from everywhere, I developed some unhealthy habits and soon found that my health and well-being had been severely impacted. In 2018 my brother passed away, and my doctor told me a Type II Diabetes diagnosis was imminent unless I took immediate action.
I realized that I needed to make significant changes in order to reclaim my physical and mental health. I yearned to get back to being physically fit and mentally sharp. I was blessed with longevity genes, if and only if, I took care of them! As a kid, I attended summer baseball camps and swim programs at the University Hills YMCA. I had enjoyed the Y’s diverse offering of programs growing up, and I made many friends. Those positive memories led me to check-out the Y’s adult programs. I knew the Y would support me in developing a long-term wellness plan with a full array of classes and staff to ensure long-lasting, sustainable results.
When I was younger, I loved long-distance cycling, so it was a great place to begin my journey back to health. The off-street trails located near my home made it a safe, easy way to ride anywhere in town. I started seeing the health benefits almost immediately, and the more I rode, the more I was motivated to continue my cycling. I also began to meet like-minded fitness friends at the Y. The camaraderie further motivated me to continue this healthy lifestyle choice, leading to my first 50 lbs of weight loss! It became easier to keep myself motivated as time went on.
In 2021, I joined the Y’s year-long Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) where participants are supported by a Lifestyle Coach and peer group in losing weight, learning about diabetes-specific nutrition, becoming more active, managing stress, and staying motivated. This program was exactly what I needed to augment my return to bicycling. The program helped me get my A1C under control, and I have maintained a healthy A1C range ever since with the great tips I learned through the program.
I also joined the Y’s Power Your Potential (PYP) program, a 12-week small group training experience. I loved that the program included an outstanding fitness coach along with super supportive teammates who, like me, were older and struggling with similar health and wellness issues. There was a strong nutritional component with this program as well. The Y’s nutrition staff is conversant with every diet obstacle you could face. The healthy tips and tricks they provide help you safely navigate the ins and outs of fast-food restaurants and grocery stores. This comprehensive nutritional support helped me reeducate myself on how to shop, prepare, and consume a balanced healthy diet.
I am grateful for the Y’s health and wellness programs, because they helped me regain my physical strength, renewed my energy, and helped give me a positive mental outlook. Moreover, they provided an accepting and comfortable place to form a supportive community devoted to staying healthy. I found the home-away-from-home I had been searching for at the Y. My Y friends are great influences and motivators. We keep each other accountable to our goals, yet we’re there to support a teammate with helpful suggestions whenever they have a setback.
When I started my journey back to a healthier, happier me, I weighed 280 lbs. Through lifestyle changes and the Y’s diverse health and wellness offerings, I’m proud to have achieved a total weight loss of 90 lbs. There were other unexpected benefits too; my knee pain slowly diminished because I wasn’t hammering my knees with the extra 90 lbs. That was a huge WOW for me! My friends who had been through knee replacement and the strenuous post-surgery physical therapy said if they could do it over they would have tried a diet and fitness approach first.
With the Y’s multi-faceted wellness improvement programs, the Y will be my “go-to” resource for maintaining the goals I’ve accomplished to date. Between the state-of-the-art EGYM, DPP, and PYP, I now find myself at the Y four times a week. I haven’t felt this good in over 10 years, and I attribute this to the ongoing motivation achieved through self-reflection, connections with like-minded people, and a sense of belonging to a community committed to lifelong health and wellness.
Each goal I completed along my path had a cumulative effect on my overall motivation — it only got stronger. It’s wonderful to know that the Y has been there for me all these years — from summer camps as a kid to helping me regain my health as a 70-year-old adult. With a wide range of activities and programs, the YMCA of Metro Denver is truly a welcoming and transformative place where any person can discover their own unique path to health and wellbeing.
Interested in the YMCA’s Power Your Potential program? There’s still time to register — visit denverymca.org/programs /fitness-programs/power-your-potential.
by Glendale Sports Center | Jul 22, 2022 | Glendale City News
by Marlana Krulish, State Director, Youth in Government, YMCA of Metro Denver
For nearly 75 years, the YMCA of Metro Denver Youth in Government program has offered local teens a transformative opportunity to learn more about our democracy and how government shapes the lives of everyone around us.
Over the course of three days, 60 kids from middle schools and high schools across the state of Colorado gather at the State Capitol to take part in a mock legislative program. Participants get to experience what it is like to be a legislator, lobbyist, judge, or journalist while gaining the skills, confidence, and connections to become the future leaders of our community.
The Youth in Government program kicks off with a pre-legislative session where attendees collaborate with their peers with similar assigned roles and meet their nominated presiding officers, including — Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, Attorney General, Chief Justice, and Editor-in-Chief. A local judge then makes it official as each member is sworn in at the start of the first official day of the General Assembly.
Over the course of the next three days, students debate the bills and vote on their respective committees before going in front of the full voting bodies of the mock legislature. Participants learn about the Colorado State Constitution first-hand as they apply it to every decision and aspect of the process while meeting the professional standards expected of real-life lawmakers and stakeholders.
Each year, one of the highlights of the program is the YMCA National Youth Assembly held in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the Student Governors elected in each state, the event provides a platform for connection as participants from across America meet other youth leaders, share knowledge, and adopt new ideas to take back to their respective home states.
The return of the in-person National Youth Assembly in June offered a unique opportunity to Colorado students Robert Erickson and Marcus Centeno from Gold Crown Clubhouse in Edgewater. Recognized for designing a tool for Colorado Children’s Hospital to better serve special needs patients with distance learning, Robert and Marcus became the first Denver YMCA beneficiaries to receive the Changemakers Grant from Amazon, which gave them the opportunity to attend this year’s event.
Although the practical knowledge that Youth in Government provides is invaluable, what makes the program so impactful is the community that it creates. Despite being too young to vote, teens that have a passion for making a difference in their community have a place where they can come together and connect with other future changemakers.
To learn more about the YMCA Youth in Government program and the upcoming session on November 20-23, 2022, at the Colorado State Capitol, visit www.denver ymca.org/yig.
by Glendale Sports Center | Jun 26, 2022 | Glendale City News
by Sue Glass, President & CEO, YMCA of Metropolitan Denver
body, mind and spirit word abstract in letterpress wood type against grained wood
This spring, I marked my 50th birthday, and I declared to the world my intention to complete an IRONMAN to commemorate my milestone birthday. It has been a couple of months now, and my training is in full gear. In the last 30 days, I completed 2,160 exercise minutes (36 hours!). My longest distance ride was 41 miles, run 9 miles, and swim .71 of a mile.
Why would I subject myself to such insanity, you might ask? The answer is simple, yet complex.
Throughout my life I have faced many hardships and life-altering circumstances. Looking back, I never expected to be where I am today, leading a committed team at one of the most inspiring organizations in the world. Those grueling, painful, lonely, and harrowing circumstances I endured produced in myself grit and determination to overcome obstacles. They taught me how to push through pain and discomfort, to rise above the challenges, and to not be defined by my circumstances but be defined by my God-given purpose. It was a long faith journey — filled with pain and forgiveness, perseverance and resilience, healing and self-acceptance.
Reflecting back, my journey was incumbent on three interdependent critical factors: my faith, my mindset, and my physical health. My spiritual journey led to my physical and mental transformation. That is why I’m passionate about the mission of the YMCA, which is all about developing healthy spirit, mind, and body.
Wellness is a full integration of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Today, we are in the middle of a mental health crisis. Over the past 10 years and during the COVID-19 pandemic, people have experienced high levels of isolation, grief, and a shift in their normal routines. The Y can be a transformative place where we can learn and practice resilience, as well as adapt and cope despite tough and stressful times. We can practice connecting with ourselves and others, and learn new coping skills that help us thrive.
To support the mental health of people in the Denver metro area, the Y is investing in programs and creating caring spaces to help our community spend time together, have fun, and feel connected to something greater than themselves. These “third places,” a place to belong in addition to home and work, are so essential when navigating the ups and downs of life!
So, what does all of this have to do with IRONMAN? The journey to the IRONMAN parallels our life’s journey: it is grueling, painful, and in some respects lonely. Yet going through the training, we learn skills to push ourselves out of our comfort zone, face our own insecurities, overcome failures, test our resilience, push our limits, and test our physical and mental state. And when the race is complete, we emerge triumphant, stronger, more confident, and limitless. The key is caring for our spirit, mind, and body. The Y is there to support your journey.
I encourage you to check-out the YMCA Metro Denver’s offerings (denverymca.org) to see how our programs can benefit you both physically and mentally. Beyond our numerous fitness class offerings, the Y also provides many programs to help individuals develop and maintain positive mental health, helping to enable individuals to cope with stress, be productive, and contribute in a meaningful way to their families, workplaces, and communities. The Y is here for you!
