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Challenge includes lifestyle changes

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Maria Furmek and Meghan Porteous (front) work on their abs during a Wednesday Wedding Warriors workout.

Panorama and the Peninsula News Review’s Wedding Warriors are well on their way to firming up for the big day. We caught up with Meghan Porteous — our bride to be, and Maria Furmek, whose fitness plan includes dealing with type 2 diabetes.

Growing up on the Saanich Peninsula, Meghan was familiar with many of the activities at Panorama, including ice skating and swimming. A former dancer, Meghan attended the Canadian College for Performing Arts and performed in several shows in Sidney. With that background she never had to give a second thought to her activity level. “Now I work at a desk job. Not as active a lifestyle as previously,” she said. But all that has changed with her Wedding Warrior regime. “I’m really excited that I’ve started to see some real changes, not only in the way that I look and how my clothes feel, but how much more energy I have every day from the time I get up in the morning to the time I go to bed.”

Meghan said one of the most important things she has learned so far is how to use food more as a source of fuel for her body, rather than just something to fill up on until the next meal.

“Getting the proper amount of protein, and healthy fruits and vegetables in my diet makes all the difference. In the past I have always felt so unsuccessful when trying to lose weight, and I see now that the reason I was making no progress was because I wasn’t combining healthy eating, with exercise. I was always doing just one or the other,” she said.

Meghan now works out six days a week alternating weight and strength training with cardio.

“I walk six kilometres every Sunday, and make sure to take one day (usually Tuesday) to rest. The evening of my day off I cook my meals for the next three days. If I am well prepared and all of my food is pre-packed for the week, there is no chance of failure, for example snacking on cookies and processed foods because I haven’t packed enough food for the day. I pack lots of fresh food in a cooler that I take everywhere with me,” she said.

“Of course I still have sweet snacks on occasion, because I know I deserve it after all the hard work I put in during the week. It would be unrealistic for me not to eat any carbs or sugar, because I know then that it’s not going to be long term. I want to set my self up for success for the rest of my life, not just the next three months so I can feel good in my wedding dress.”

Meghan said she used to pack a lot of snack bars and high-carb snacks for work, but since starting the program she packs fresh fruit, cottage cheese and yogurt.

Maria’s story is slightly different, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 27, several months after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with her first son.

“Several months after I had my son I was retested and diagnosed with my type 2 diabetes, during this time frame and the remainder of my two months of pregnancy I was on insulin shots,” said Maria. “I hated giving myself shots and decided I was going to find a way to not have to take shots for the rest of my life.”

She began educating herself on the disease by reading and through the Canadian Diabetes Association.

“The best book that helped me was The Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index —The Groundbreaking Medical Discovery, this has helped me figure out what foods to stay away from and what foods help stabilize blood sugars. I was walking a little more everyday and lost the weight and got off insulin. Getting the weight off really effected my blood sugars in a positive direction. Being diabetic has changed my lifestyle for the good, it truly is how we should be eating anyway,” she said. Now Maria bakes and cooks all the food for her family, using almost no processed foods and as much organic produce as possible.

“Being part of a group and having the weigh-in helps me stay on track,” said Maria. “The tips Michelle (Bourgois, trainer) gave us from the start helped me to simplify my eating. I thought I was pretty good at eye balling measurements — I was wrong. My husband has been so supportive, he bought me a digital kitchen scale so that I could measure the food easier. He has also been helping me with cooking my meat for the week. The Bodybugg and keeping a food log has opened my eyes to how many calories I was putting into my mouth and how many calories I burn doing activities and doing nothing. It is great to have the variety in trainers, they are all great,” she added.

The Wedding Warriors group is training with weights in the gym, learning to use a variety of cardio machines and is run through a circuit of muscle-building exercises in a Saturday morning class. They have also been exposed to both spin class and TRX suspension training, just two of the many fitness classes available at Panorama.

Are you wedding ready? Get with the program by going to www.crd.bc.ca/panorama/program/wedding-warrior.htm and start down your own road to fitness.