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The New Canaan YMCA will offer a Healthy Balance program this summer to members of the community who want to develop a long-term healthier lifestyle. Informational sessions will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, and 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 30, at the YMCA.
Healthy Balance is about making lifestyle changes, shifting current mindsets and getting people to put their health first. It is not a diet program, but instead integrates exercise with healthy nutrition habits to create a long-term lifestyle change, not just a quick fix. The program was developed by Dr. Jane Pentz, the owner of Lifestyle Management Associations, a company dedicated to providing the highest quality of nutrition education. According to Pentz, the reason the diet industry currently has a 95 percent fail rate is that the only way to lose fat permanently is by developing an adjusted lifestyle based on healthy eating and exercise.
Diane DiBella, YMCA Assistant Wellness Director and trained Nutrition Manager Consultant for the Healthy Balance program, commented, We decided to bring the Healthy Balance program to our community as it is one of the only programs that integrates nutrition and exercise. Many people start off with one or the other, are looking for a quick fix, and dont learn how to keep the weight off. The goal of this program is to create permanent lifestyle changes, which will benefit our participants for the long-term. We also expect that through the program participants will create a healthier lifestyle for their family, bringing the healthy habits they learn back home.
DiBella and Bridget Philipp, the Ys Senior Director of Wellness and Health Enhancement, have become certified by the American Academy of Sports Dieticians and Nutritionists in order to offer the Healthy Balance program at the Y. Several program options will be available for participants. A group program is open to New Canaan YMCA members and non-members and includes eight weekly group meetings that focus on nutrition, dealing with stress and learning the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and the skills to achieve one. Each week, participants set short-term goals and explore different topics. Participants in the group program also receive three one-on-one sessions with DiBella that include an initial assessment to identify what manageable changes should be made, set individual goals and create a tailored nutrition and exercise program for each participant. The second one-on-one meeting will be spent creating a personalized menu plan. The third will take place half-way through the program to review the participants status and progress. The fee for the group program is $200 for New Canaan YMCA members, $360 for non-members.
Individual programs are also available to New Canaan YMCA members and include five private sessions featuring the same nutritional, exercise and lifestyle content as the group program, but in a more condensed manner. The fee for the individual program is $300. Participants may also choose to add 10 personal training sessions to this program at a discounted rate of $500, bringing the total cost to $800. The individual program is designed to last 12 weeks.
For more information, attend one of the informational sessions on June 28 or June 30. For additional information or for those who cannot attend an information session, contact Diane DiBella at (203) 966-4528, ext. 123, or send an email to ddibella@newcanaanymca.org.
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