Susan's Story

How a Club Red member slimmed down and got dramatic health benefits

Like many women, Susan Moniot of Staunton has had her share of diets; she counted calories—allowing herself only 1,100 a day, and she tried the Atkins™ diet. She even went to the gym regularly. Weight would come off but not stay off. Finally, she and her husband, Jerry, decided to tackle their weight issue, once and for all, so they could be healthy enough to truly enjoy retirement. On a UVA Health System nutritionist’s recommendation, the couple went to a month-long camp, mostly geared to diabetics, where they learned how to maintain a healthy weight. The answer was eating and exercising smarter.

Here’s what they learned, and continue to practice, for amazing results: 

They eat lots of soluble fiber. 

This means beans at least twice a day and no white foods (except mashed cauliflower). An excellent cook, Susan has found a way to incorporate beans into breakfast and they both love Mexican and Mediterranean meals—both great sources of soluble fiber. With a recommendation from UVA nutritionist Marylou Perry, they drink yogurt "supershots" each day; these are fortified with natural plant sterols, shown to help lower cholesterol. Never much of a dessert eater, Susan treats herself to a glass of red wine, and occasionally to a pear (another good fiber source) and a piece of good cheese. 

Their dinner is now lunch. 

They eat their largest meal in the middle of the day. This means spending morning time in the kitchen—the most onerous part of this new lifestyle, Susan says. But by cooking ahead, she now freezes meals to free up most of her mornings. 

They exercise more effectively. 

Susan and Jerry have long been regulars at their local gym. She never saw good results, however, until she got smart about how she exercises. During her workouts on a treadmill or row machine, she gets her heart rate up to 125 beats per minute (a good target for her age of 65) and then immediately lets it drop back down quickly. She repeats this over and over for 30 minutes. This gives her muscles a chance to recover, and she’s noticed that she enjoys her workouts more. She also mixes up her routine, swimming sometimes and strength training other days. 

They’ve built a long-term relationship with UVA medical experts.

To complement their new lifestyle, they keep in touch with medical experts at UVA. “When we moved to Virginia,” Susan says, “we started going to UVA’s Cardiovascular Diabetes Clinic at Northridge. My husband sees Dr. (Coleen) McNamara and Dr. (Anthony) McCall and I see Dr. (Angela) Taylor. They’ve been wonderful. The thing I like most about the clinic is that no one’s pointing fingers. They really are supportive.” 

What results have they seen with all this?

“Jerry has been able to go off all but one of his (type 2) diabetes medications,” Susan says. “I dropped a dress size. My cholesterol came way down. My triglycerides really dropped. My blood pressure has come under control. We feel much healthier.” She’s even been able to get over insomnia that was contributing to her high blood pressure--a family trait.  

She adds, “It’s a very doable lifestyle. It’s not a diet where you have to look at a menu and wonder what you can eat. Several of our friends have started eating the big meal in the middle of the day.” 

Another benefit is that she doesn’t worry so much about her husband, who in 2001, had quadruple heart bypass surgery and in recent years had two knee surgeries. With the weight off, they are now both healthy enough to enjoy their dream of traveling the world (Jerry’s poor health forced them to postpone a New Zealand trip in 2007). “We enjoy being retired,” she says, “and really want to enjoy it for many years to come.”