Wellness in the Valley- Family Wellness Program Participant

 In this episode of Wellness in the Valley, we hear from Diane, a participant in the Guin Fit Family Wellness Program, as she shares her personal journey toward better health and well-being. Diane reflects on the positive changes she and her family have experienced through the program, from building healthier habits to gaining confidence and support along the way. Her story is a powerful reminder of how evidence-based, family-centered wellness programs can create lasting, meaningful change—one family at a time. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello and welcome to Wellness in the Valley, a podcast powered by the Gwynfit Initiative at Youngstown State University. This podcast is all about real people and real stories, the partners and leaders who are helping to make healthy food, movement, and wellness easier and more accessible for everyone in our region, as well as the residents whose lives have been impacted. Each episode brings insight, inspiration, and simple ways to take small steps towards lasting change, because in the Valley, wellness truly starts with all of us. I'm your host, Kelly Frazier. Let's get into today's conversation. Welcome to today's episode of Wellness in the Valley Podcast, powered by the GwenFit Initiative. Today we are sitting down with Diana, a participant in the Gwen Fit Family Wellness Program. Hi, Diana, how are you? Hi, how are you doing? I'm doing fine. Thank you. So we're just gonna jump right in. Um, tell me a little bit about your family and what made you decide to join the Gwen Fit Family Wellness Program.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Well, I like the opportunities that they're given in the different activities and spending time with my granddaughter.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

That's valuable. What were you hoping to get out of it when you signed up? I mean, I know you said spending time with your granddaughter, but was there something else you were that resonated with you that made you join?

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Um, that mainly dealing with my granddaughter, and then uh once I got into the program, you know, meeting other parents and um with their children.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Yeah. So what was the biggest surprise or what was the biggest surprise once you started attending? What really when you started attending, what made you like, oh wow, this is different?

SPEAKER_01 1:49

The different activities, the different activities the sewing, the the different projects that they have going on. Yeah. I didn't know until all of that.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Mm-hmm. Was there a specific session or um interaction that really stuck with you? I think the cooking. Yeah. The cooking, yeah. I can definitely understand. I can see that. Um, especially when you're learning about healthier ways to to make things, healthier recipes, is one thing to say, here's a healthier way to make this. It's another thing to say, let's let me show you how to do that. You know, so this way you can see how it turns out and maybe taste it and see the difference. So that's great. So talking about your specific family's experience, how did the routine with you and your granddaughter change uh the your routines or your habits, your healthy habits change during the program?

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Learning how to cook stuff, yeah, for my health, whatnot. And and so we together, you know, try to put together a little menu. Yeah, some simple voice you could and but and then it's a learning aspect for me also to eat better and actually know what to look for, right, what not to you know, to eat and whatnot. Just toss about it, you know, eating right.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Make some changes in your life, you have to eat right.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Yes, for sure. Now, what about for your granddaughter? Was there s a shift in her that you might have noticed? Helping grandma. Helping grandma. Oh, that's good. That's good. Now, what about any barriers did you face? Was there anything that you found challenging about participating or anything challenging about any of the sessions? No. No? No. Okay. Good. So pretty much all positive. Yes. I learned a lot. Okay. So it sounds like the cooking aspect really resonated with you. Um from an education standpoint, was there something that you learned that you didn't know? Anything in the lessons that you were taught, maybe?

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Yeah, cooking how to cook it correctly. That's that's important. It's uh using different seasonings, you know, because uh I didn't know how to use the other seasonings. Right, you know, to change your taste. If you can't uh don't use salt, so you have to substitute something. Right. So yeah, I learned some stuff about that.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Yeah, that's big. I know. A lot of people use salt because that's the flavor that we're used to, but there are so many other seasonings out there, so that's really that's the seasonings are the key. If you're eating healthier, you want to keep the flavor and keep the taste. So the seasonings are definitely the key. What advice would you give to other families who are thinking about participating?

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Oh, I would encourage them to come. Because you can always learn something new that pertains to you. Yes. You know, it might be for me, you you know, not. It can be for you, you know, the other person. You know, they can grab something out that's pertaining to them and that'll be healthy for them, you know.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Um socializing. Yes, that's that's important. Did you have a favorite recipe? What do we have? What was that? Because the kids put it together. We did some juices. Oh, okay. Okay, juicing, juicing, juicing. Now, you did juicing during the program. Have you continued juicing on your own? Not really. Not really. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

But that's something I learned how to do. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Yeah. Yeah. Juicing is really, really popular, has a lot of benefits, as I'm sure you've learned. So, okay, so the cookings, the juicing, were there any specific foods that you were introduced to, you and your granddaughter were introduced to through the program that maybe you didn't? No. No. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

I didn't cook everything, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Okay. So it was just about how to do it and incorporating it in different recipes. Okay. And what about the physical activity part of it? Did you engage with that at all? Uh yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

I did the um, well, you did some dancing. Okay. Did some I forget what you call it, but they used the drums. Uh pound. Pound. Okay. And um, what else?

SPEAKER_00 6:27

It's like it was doing so many different things each week. That's good. That's good. Keeps it interesting, keeps it fresh. Your granddaughter, does she have a specific activity that she enjoyed? The dancing. The dancing. Dancing is such a hit. It's such a hit. So the program itself um was about 12 weeks, right? Yes. Okay. So during that 12 weeks, you all were cooking, you were learning, you were getting active. Um, what is something that you did in the program that you're still doing now that the program is over? Cooking. Cooking. Cooking better. Cooking better. Cooking better, yes. Okay. And what about physically? Are there any physical activities that you're both still engaging in or we're still doing the line dance? Oh great. Okay. Okay. Hey. Line dances, that's a lot of fun. So good. So you're still line dancing, you're still cooking better. Great. How would you describe your experience overall with the Gwynfit Family Wellness Program? It was rewarding.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

And I really appreciate them taking the time with you. You know, if you don't know something, you can ask questions up to overall. It was just a great experience for me.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Good. Good. Is this something that you would like to see continue to occur? We probably do more activities. Okay. Okay. And you participated in the program at TriUnity. At Triunity. Right? Okay, great. So Triunity offered this program again. Is this something that you see you and your granddaughter participating in participating in again? Yes. Okay. And encouraging other people to wonderful. Wonderful. Okay. Is there anything else from your experience that you would like to add that we may not have talked about? Nope. Wonderful. Well, I'm so glad that you both had such a great time. I'm glad that you took away some things and learned something new to better your health and adopting a healthier lifestyle. Diane, thank you so much for sitting down with me today. Have a great day. All right. Thank you.