Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/360011
7 Your experts, friends, neighbors. "Prediabetes." That was the news Adina Freeman of Republic received during a routine check-up with her doctor. Adina had been suffering from chronic migraines and was having difficulty keeping up with her two daughters. "I knew I needed to make some changes," she says. "I'd been unhealthy for about 10 years. I knew I was at the point that it would progress to diabetes if I didn't change my course. I was too young to be facing these health issues." Adina had been fit most of her life, but she says after becoming a mom and taking care of her children, she put her own health on the backburner. She decided to make some changes and began walking. "I started exercising because I wanted to take control of my life and my health," she says. "And I changed my diet, incorporating good food choices." After losing 80 pounds on her own, she joined CoxHealth Fitness Center in Republic and scheduled a BodyWatch session with Adam Grube, exercise specialist. BodyWatch is free with a CoxHealth Fitness Center membership. It starts with baseline measurements – height, weight, body composition and blood pressure. "I sit down with the member and discuss their medical conditions, exercise history and goals. I create an exercise prescription based on that information," explains Adam, who follows up regularly with members to check their progress and modify their exercise program, if necessary. "Adam was very helpful in the next stage of my weight loss journey. He's always been available to answer my questions and walk me through exercises," says Adina, who kept up her good progress with Zumba classes and lifting weights. Today, Adina feels like she can take on anything. She has maintained her weight loss of 180 pounds for four years. "I want to be the best mom I can be for my girls and set a good example," she says. I lost 180 pounds Adina Freeman receives a helping hand from exercise specialist Adam Grube while lifting weights.