Shane Mather with Rhodes Bake-N-Serve

Shane Mather of Rhodes Bake-N-Serv has sought to lose 30 pounds since joining the Apple Program® in order to obtain the weight he was in high school. With the suggestions and reminders round in the program, Shane has met his goal and consequently lowered his BMI. He’s now working to maintain his success and feels confident that he’ll stay on track for his annual Apple Health Assessments™ from here on out.

Shane began making changes by simply making up his mind to lose the weight and deciding to do it. His Apple Health Coach™ helped keep him on track by educating him in aspects of nutrition. “She told me what to avoid as far as ingredients in food,” says Shane. He also decided to cut back on eating in the evenings and added high fiber foods like fruit and flaxseed.

To further his progress, he incorporated regular exercise. He set the goal of exercising three times a week for 30 minutes, but often exceeded that. Although Shane has always been an active person, he’s found that losing the extra 30 pounds has added even more energy to his life. “An extra 30 pounds is a lot to pack around all the time.”

His efforts brought results, as he improved all aspects of his biometrics. Shane’s advice to others who are seeking to improve their health is to apply a quote given by Plato, “The first and greatest victory is to conquer self.” Shane says, “Just make it happen.”

Matthew Christensen with Ancestry.com

Matthew Christensen of Ancestry.com has been working with the Apple Program® to regain good health. He put on some “happy married weight,” as he puts it, and has been determined to lose the weight he gained and improve other aspects of his health. With the motivation and principles of the Apple Program®, Matt has not only lost 20 pounds, but he’s also lowered his blood pressure and cholesterol and feels better when competing in sports.

Matthew knew his family health history and understood that he was at a high risk for developing health complications, but he also understood that modifications such as losing weight and eating healthy could improve his odds of steering clear of health problems. With that in mind, Matthew began making changes in his lifestyle by planning ahead. “I try to map out my meals for the next day, so there’s no guessing or random snacking. I also plan my workouts for the week on Sundays. This program’s really taught me to plan out my days so they are healthier.”

“I’ve wanted to make these changes for some time now, but the accountability aspects of the program got me motivated. Having a coach, goals to track on a website, and rewards at the end pushed me to succeed. My coach was very positive and gave me great ideas to make my goals easier to accomplish. She challenged me to continue to build upon my goals to have more success.”

Matthew’s efforts have helped him lower his blood pressured from 142/90 to 125/78 in addition to a 20 pound weight loss and lowered BMI. He plans to continue lowering his cholesterol and weight until he reaches his long term goal. Matthew says, “I’m expecting a child in December and am determined to make sure that the baby knows the fit me and not the fat me!”

His advice to others is to create a plan and stick to it. “Have large and small goals to help you find purpose in exercise and eating.”

Dixon Bringhurst with Clyde Companies Inc.

Dixon Bringhurst of Clyde Companies has lost over 20 pounds since his Apple Health Assessment™ by implementing healthy eating habits and routine exercise. Prior to joining the Apple Program®, Dixon rarely ate regular meals and as a result his blood sugar levels were out of control. Now he has his diabetes under control and is feeling better in all areas of his life.

Dixon built up motivation to exercise by participating in hour long spin classes twice a week at a local high school. He has continually built up his strength and is using a Bow Flex machine to bring his health to the next level. Aside from incorporating a well-rounded fitness routine, he’s also improved his daily eating regimen by seeking to get in three balanced meals. Dixon said, “I used to starve myself all day, and then eat a heavy dinner. I’d be so hungry at that point that I’d often overeat, but now I make sure I get a healthy breakfast in, which often consists of eggs cooked in a little bit of olive oil with whole wheat toast, or just yogurt with fruit. For lunch, I often eat soup or grab a sandwich if I’m on the go.”

Having short term goals has helped Dixon improve his health. He reports that he’s not to his ideal weight, but is very happy that he’s now headed in the right direction. “I’ve wanted to get my health back on track for awhile now, but it’s been about 10 years since I’ve done anything about it.”

Much of Dixon’s success came with the motivation and support of his wife. “We’ve been able to work on improving our health together. We have kids and grandkids we want to be around for. And we want to be independent as we grow old, so we’re glad we’re doing things now to make that happen.” Dixon reminds others, “You have to want to improve your health. If you’re not serious about it, you’re not going to have success. Find something that will motivate you.”

Kristal Christiansen with Gerber Construction

Kristal Christiansen of Gerber Construction has made tremendous lifestyle changes in the past year since joining the Apple Program®. Not only has she lost 42 pounds, but she’s also improved her fitness and energy levels. Much of Kristal’s success came when she took part in a three month Biggest Loser challenge with her family. She began making changes in her eating habits that she could maintain not only now but for years to come, in order to have good health today and down the road. She’s now training for her first half marathon and plans to continue working on her fitness to lose another 15 pounds.

Kristal’s alterations to her eating habits included not only eating less food, but also limiting her intake of sweets. She no longer has sweets on a daily basis, but she doesn’t deprive herself either- she saves them for special occasions. She also made changes to the way she ate her food. She no longer stands while eating. Instead, Kristal sits down and makes the process enjoyable so she can remember and feel like she ate.

Kristal reports that she feels happier and more balanced emotionally than she has in a long time. “I wake up feeling great and I have energy throughout the day,” says Kristal. She adds, “Having the Apple Program® helped me organize my goals and put them on paper. Checking in with a coach regularly has also helped keep me motivated. I was ready to change and start exercising, and my coach helped me build the confidence to do it.” She’s also grateful that she’s made these changes so she can keep up with her kids.

Her advice to others who are seeking to make changes is to, “Modify your lifestyle for you. A lot of times people want to lose weight for the wrong reasons. Do it for yourself and remember that the days all add up. You can’t lose weight in a day; you have to add the days together to see your success.” This is exactly what Kristal has done and continues to do as she trains for her first half marathon this fall!

Jon Webb with Veracity Networks

Jon Webb with Veracity Networks began his journey with the Apple Program® while in the pursuit of improving his cholesterol ratio. Initially, the financial incentive is what caught Jon’s attention, but his dedication to the goals he designed with his Apple Coach™ began to motivate him past the point of greenbacks. Now just over six months later he’s happy that he’s not only improved his cholesterol ratio from a 13 to a 5, but he’s also lost a pant size and is happy that his efforts have paid off in his triathlon and half marathon races.

Jon has participated in the Wasatch Back Ragnar, Provo Relay, Top of Utah Half Marathon, and will be doing the Kokopelli Triathlon in September, along with a 10K relay, “The Dirty Dash,” in September! He has increased his swimming ability from barely being able to swim 50 Meters to swimming 1000 meters in each work out set.

Jon’s has never had a weight problem, so he never had to watch what he ate. What he didn’t want to acknowledge was that by not being conscious of his eating habits, his cholesterol was being affected for the worse. He decided to take action by limiting fast food and sweets and having more healthy snacks including fruits and vegetables.

Jon reports, “It was helpful to have a tracking and reporting mechanism in place. Seeing my progress and knowing that I have some accountability was very helpful and motivating. Gradually, I became more dedicated to exercising and working out on a regular basis. I’ve gone through phases in the past where I would work out for a few months, but this is the longest I have stuck with exercising. Having the goal to do triathlons helped get me going in the right direction as well.”

Jon adds that his Apple Coach™ also attributed to his success. “She was motivational and took interest in what I was working on and how I was doing. Having someone take an interest in you like that helps to increase the excitement to succeed and creates some accountability for the outcome. Without the program I know I wouldn’t have had the discipline and dedication to track and improve my exercise and eating habits to the extent and duration that I have. It’s great that this wellness program has the measurement tools in place to give someone a starting point and know what they can expect to see.”

He attributes his success to the desire to be healthy and the enjoyment he has for working out and being active. It’s helped that he has rewarded himself with buying fun things like a triathlon wetsuit and gear, road bike, and mountain bike. Jon plans to continue improving his wellbeing by training for and participating in triathlons, as well as maintaining his healthy eating habits.

Diana & Mark DePriest with Hogan

Mark and Diana DePriest with Hogan Construction have worked hard to “build up” their health and improve their wellbeing. As a couple they’ve lost nearly 130 pounds and improved several aspects of their biometric scores. Mark gained much of his success by taking part in his at-work “Biggest Loser” competition. Diana followed suit and together they worked on improving their day-to-day habits and aimed to achieve short-term goals in order to reach their ultimate goals. They both report that they’re feeling better, more confident, and happier than they have in years.

Mark set a long term goal to get below 200 pounds when he first joined the Apple Program®. To accomplish that, he designed goals with his Apple Health Coach™ which included things like eating breakfast, increasing water intake, and exercising. These changes helped with his initial weight loss, but when the Biggest Loser competition began at Mark’s work, he was motivated to take action. “I have a very competitive nature!” says Mark. “I believe I got that from doing sports through school. My wife was also a great inspiration. She quit smoking three years ago and as a family we decided to give up soda, chips, and most snack foods and replaced them with healthy snacks like: fruits, vegetables, rice cakes, 100calorie packs. We also invested in ourselves and bought a treadmill which we placed right in our living room, instead of a corner somewhere, where most of our family together time is spent.”

Diana’s improvements began to accelerate as well when her husband signed up for the Biggest Loser challenge. “I wasn’t going to let him get skinny without me! I was determined to not be the fat one in the relationship!” Diana said, so she bumped up her efforts as well. She began substituting regular soda with diet, baking using low-fat recipes, and exercising. She’s since gone from a size 16 to 6 in four months!

Prior to joining the wellness program Mark & Diana were living with excess weight they slowly gained over a 10 year span. Mark said, “If the Apple program hadn't challenged me and showed me where my health scores were I probably would’ve deceived myself for several more years, believing that I was happy where I was. Without the program, I may have had success eventually but not as fast.” By working with an Apple Health Coach™, Mark and Diana were able to develop a plan for success. Diana reports, “My coach was very helpful in answering a lot of questions I had about weight loss and what was healthy and safe.” Mark says, “My coach has been a great inspiration to me by challenging me to complete small goals along the way to keep me on track. I think the reminder that it takes a daily commitment and a plan that makes you accountable for that commitment was key to getting me started.”

Mark and Diana continue to set goals for success. “My daughter and I are preparing to run our first 5K this year and might run a 10K next year,” says Diana. “I also want to lose another 13 pounds in the next two months in order to fit into my size 4 jeans I haven’t worn in ten years!” As for Mark, he plans to run a half marathon this year and next year a full marathon, something he hasn’t done since 1994. Together they plan to continue paying attention to what they’re doing and eating, to prevent health consequences from arising again.

Both Diana and Mark are happy to report they are feeling better than they have in years. “I love being able to do things I once considered myself to big to do anymore. I wish I had done this ten years ago,” says Mark. His advice for others is, “Make yourself a priority. Sometimes work becomes our only focus and we consider ourselves later, but put your health first and remember the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, so get moving!” Diana adds the famous quote by Bob Harper, Biggest Loser Trainer, “Stand up and finish what you started.”