In August 2017, Brittany
graduated as an LPN and began
working at the Vidalia Children’s
Center the following month. “When I
started working at Vidalia Children’s
Center, I had to get a wellness exam
for insurance purposes,” said Brittany.
“I kept putting it off until I couldn’t
anymore.” In March 2018, she finally
went for her exam and learned that
she was borderline diabetic. Now,
it was no longer simply about what
size pants she wore but about the
condition of her health.
The diagnosis was a wakeup
call. But instead of shame or
blaming bad genetics, Brittany
took an honest look at her own
sedentary lifestyle and bad eating
habits. Of course, this wasn’t
something she had not done before.
But the difference was that this
time she had someone who was
willing to walk through the process
with her to hold her accountable.
“Sharon Carter was the Employee
Health Nurse at the hospital at the
time. She asked me if I wanted to
make a change. I said, ‘Yes.’ She
said, ‘Okay. If that’s what you want,
we have a program to help you.
You will come back every month
or so to check your labs and keep
you on the right path.’ In the past,
I’d had doctors tell me I needed to
lose weight. But this was the first
time I’d been offered real help with
accountability.”
Brittany’s job was also a
constant reminder of her own
childhood struggles with obesity
and the subsequent bullying she
had suffered. According to the CDC
website, “In the United States,
the percentage of children and
adolescents affected by obesity has
more than tripled since the 1970s.
Data from 2015–2016 show that
nearly 1 in 5 school-age children and
young people aged 6 to 19 years in the
United States has obesity.”
“As a healthcare worker,” said
Brittany, “I want to be a role model. I
see these kids struggling with eating
disorders and obesity. I couldn’t keep
telling others to watch their diet and
exercise if I didn’t do it myself.”
But the greatest motivation
behind this new commitment to
health and wellbeing was simply for
the sake of love. “I have two nephews
and a niece that I love. I want to be
around for them. I want to be able to
do things with them. I was so tired
of not being able to do something as
simple as getting on an amusement
park ride with them.”
Brittany joined the Meadows
Health Fitness Center and started
working out at the gym seven days a
week. “I knew exercise was important,
but it was only part of the picture. I
pretty much only ate processed food.
I wasn’t a big vegetable person at all.”
In fact, the only vegetables Brittany
ate were the occasional potatoes,
tomatoes, and onions. Even though
the thought of trying new things was
overwhelming, she agreed to Sharon’s
plan to try at least one new vegetable
a week.
“I was so tired. I was going
straight from work to the gym every
day. After two months, I wasn’t
really seeing the kind of results I’d
hoped for,” said Brittany. One of the
instructors at the gym at that time
was John McLeod. “He had come up
to me a couple of times before while I
was on the treadmill just to ask how
things were going. That day, when he
asked how things were going, I said,
‘I’m trying, but by the time I get here
after work, I’m just exhausted.’”
ABOVE Brittany's commitment to
weight loss has inspired several people
including her mother who has already
lost 40 pounds.
John suggested Brittany try drinking
one of the Herbalife protein mealreplacement
shakes the gym offered
at the time to help her with energy.
“This first one I tried was a strawberry
shortcake. I couldn’t believe how
good it tasted. I started drinking the
shakes right after my workout in
the evenings as a low-calorie meal
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