By Sara Potter, Centralia

Wearing a t-shirt with the slo-gan ‘shut up and sweat’ and a pair of jeans, Sharlene Hoffman doesn’t look as if a little over a year ago those jeans, now a size 14, would have been a size 22.

“The weight really snuck up on me during my pregnancy, and then even more that first year after my son was born,” said Hoffman, 40, Pe Ell. “By the time my son was a few years old I was really depressed, not about my life, but with my personal self. It was at that moment I knew I needed to change my lifestyle, not only for myself, but for my son and the rest of my family.”

Hoffman said she started with small steps, and then progressive-ly took larger ones.

“I joined the mother of pre-schoolers (MOPS) group, which gave me a mom support system to go along with my church com-munity, and social networks sup-port systems as well,” Hoffman said. “Then I started walking for 10 minutes a day and gradually added to my time, distance and intensity as I felt stronger.”

The difference in how she feels chasing her son around the yard is worth all the effort.

“I wasn’t taking a break every 10 seconds when I was with him at the beginning, and now I can chase after him instead of watch-ing him play from inside the house,” she said. “I want to be a good influence for him and give him a fair chance to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Inspiring others wasn’t some-thing Hoffman said she was look-ing to achieve, but those around her are sure happy she did.

“Sharlene is one of the most upbeat, and encouraging people I know. She has a lot of determina-tion and sets goals that she strives to meet,” said Trudi Compton, a close friend of Hoffman. “She has been a great encouragement and inspiration to me as I go through

my own journey to lose weight and get healthy.”

Hoffman said that she now realizes eating habits are learned. She sees the health struggles some of her family members have battled with and she doesn’t want that future for herself.

“My mother and sister both have diabetes and have consis-tently struggled with weight gain off and on their whole lives,” she said. “And enough was enough; I was ending that cycle.”

Sharlene’s Aunt, Gladys House, says her family has decided to take the challenge to change their lifestyle along with her.

“Sharlene has been an inspira-tion for my daughter, who has lost 84 pounds following in her cousin’s footsteps,” declared House. “I couldn’t be more proud of my niece for teaching all of us the importance of living healthy.”

Hoffman currently teaches Senior Fit at the Winlock Senior Center and says it keeps her in check and helps her stay motivat-ed.

“They hold me accountable and active,” said Hoffman. “I attribute keeping off my latest 50 pounds for over a year, without any yo-yoing, to teaching.”

Hoffman said the best advice she could give is to take the pro-cess ‘one step at a time.’

“Start off small: walk to the mailbox and back, walk to the end of the street and back,” shared Hoffman. “Then challenge yourself to cut out at least one thing that is negatively affecting your diet, and add something healthy. It has to be a lifestyle change and not just a diet.”

Hoffman will be running her second 5k in October, and says she eventually would like to write a book about her struggle in the hopes of helping others learn to live a healthy life style.

Brenda Courser, Certified Health CoachPhone: 360-425-6962

Cell: 360-430-7330Email: bcourser@msn.com

www.YouCanDoThis.TSFL.com

“In 2008, I lostover 75 lbs.!

And went from size 24 to size 8 in less than 6 months and have

kept it off almost 4 years!”

* Results will vary. Typical weight loss on the Medifast5 & 1 Plan is up to 2-5 pounds per week.

Lose Up To 2-5 Lbs. Per Week*

CH480883sl.cg

Call me! What do you have to lose?

www.mortongeneral.org521 Adams, Morton 360-496-3641

CH482073b

w.cg

“Some things are just better left between us girls.”

Call for an appointmentEsther Park-Hwang, M.D.

Gynecologist

An Advertising Supplement of

LiveHealthyLive H

ealthy • October 2012

Providing Inspiration

Sharlene Hoffman, a little over

a year ago at a size 22.

Sharlene Hoffman today at a size 14!

Sharlene Hoffman

before she ran her first 5K in

May 2012.

One Step at a Time

Plank: 1-2 holds of 30-60 secondsGet into plank position, which is also called a modified

push-up position: You’re facedown, with your weight resting on your forearms and toes, forearms aligned with your torso,

elbows directly beneath your shoulders, and your body in a straight line from neck to ankles.

hiP raise: 1-2 sets of uP to 15 rePs

Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms out to your sides. Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders.

CH

482072bw.db

Tenino

Mae NellSullivan, DPD

360.264.5500296 Sussex Ave. W. • Tenino, WA

Indications that you may need to seek the advice of your Denturist:• Excessive use of adhesive

• Dentures that slip and click

• Numerous repairs on teeth or denture base

• Weight loss of 15 pounds or more

• The “upside-down” smile when chewing

• Soreness caused by denture that lasts longer than 10 days

• Five to seven years have passed without being replaced or refitted

• Annual examination of oral tissues to check for any evidence of oral pathology

Denture Center

CH480868sl.cg

washington diagnostics

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The choice is yours. Choose wisely.

SW WaShington DiagnoSticS MRi910 S. Scheuber Rd., Centralia, WA 98531 • 360-736-0200

Our MRI Center provides you with the following benefits:• StateoftheartMRImagingandMRAngiographyinarelaxedsetting• OurworldrenownedradiologistsandscannerareaccreditedwiththeAmericanCollegeofRadiology

• Wewelcomecostcomparisons• Sameornextdayscheduling• HighFieldShortBoreScannerExtremely fast scanning and superior image quality

compared to low field open scanners and no closed-in feeling

• Pleasecallusifyouhaveanyquestions

CH480871sl.cgLi

ve H

ealth

y • O

ctob

er 2

012

The first of four books in the “The New Rules of Lifting” series came out at the end of 2005. A few years later, the authors Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove found that readers were asking for something more specific: a book for middle-aged and older people who want to continue lift-ing weights but know they can’t do it the same way they did when they were younger. The fitness gurus resisted at first, mostly because they didn’t want anyone to think in terms of their limita-tions. Schuler says, “Much better, I thought, to focus on what you can do, rather than what you can’t.”

What changed? Schuler got older himself. He’s 55-years-old now, and in the past five years he’s dealt with shoulder, knee, calf and hip injuries, and a hernia surgery. So, he and Cosgrove put their heads together and created a boomer-friendly book – “The New Rules of Lifting For Life: An All-New Muscle-Building, Fat-Blasting Plan for Men and Women Who Want to Ace Their Midlife Exams”(Avery, 2012; TheNewRulesOfLifting.com) – with a unique format: each type of exercise has a menu, with ver-sions ranked from Level 1 to Level 5 (plus modifications that

are even more basic or more advanced), and readers can choose the moves they want accordingly.

The whole point of the book is that everyone has different prob-lems and needs, but among mid-lifers, back pain tends to be a front and center concern. Here, Schuler outlines three basic, tried-and-true moves to help you strengthen this fundamental structure of muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves and bones that allows you to walk, lean over and pick up your grandchildren.

The plank develops stability in your core, the muscles responsi-ble for keeping your lower back and pelvis in a safe, neutral posi-tion. The hip raise teaches you to engage your gluteal and ham-string muscles in order to straighten your body when it’s bent at the hips. Squats engage your supportive butt and thigh muscles as a unit.

Notice that there aren’t any sit-ting exercises in this workout? That’s by design. “You sit all day at work,” Schuler says. “Why would you want to go to the gym and sit some more? If you want a strong, healthy back, you need to sit less, and move more.”

exercises for a stronger Back3 Back pain is one of the biggest concerns and problems for boomers. These three moves from the new book “The New Rules of Lifting For Life: An All-New Muscle-Building, Fat-Blasting Plan for Men and Women Who Want to Ace Their Midlife

Exams”(Avery, 2012; TheNewRulesOfLifting.com), will help keep you pain-free and active longer.

the 3 MovesThis routine takes about 15 minutes, and you want to do them three times a week.

goBlet squat:1-2 sets of 12-15 rePs

Grab a dumbbell or weight plate and hold it with both hands against your chest, just below your chin. (It’s called a goblet squat because if the weight were a cup, you could drink out of it.) Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, push your hips back, and squat as described above. Keep your eyes focused forward and your torso as upright as possible.

An Advertising Supplement of

LiveHealthy