Norco family drops pounds with Get Fit program

Christina Landry is still amazed over how the United Way of St. Charles’ Get Fit Kids program changed her daughter and family.

“It was nice,” said Landry, a resident of Norco. “We loved it.”

For Caylee, the Get Fit Kids pilot program was a success, but it represented something bigger for the family as a whole, and led to them adopting and reinforcing healthier eating habits. Christina and her husband, Calvin, were already doing it as graduates of UW’s Get Fit program.

The success of Get Fit for adults is where the version for kids got interest.

United Way of St. Charles’ Kacy Kernan said the concept came from Get Fit participants loving their program so much that they asked for a program for their children. The pilot program began with 15 children, who were able to bring a parent.

Kernan said they wanted Get Fit Kids to be a family activity, which is why it’s done with a parent, and wanted it to be fun. They’d observed the trend in Get Fit United in which the spouse of many participants asked to join or the couple joined together, which made them more successful.

Landry agreed it worked for them too.

“We’ve been able to cook together and do meal prepping on the weekends,” Landry said. “The boot camps were great. We exercised together and we’re still doing that together.”

It’s been so successful that Landry put Caylee on her gym membership.

Caylee has already lost 22 pounds.

From left are Christina Landry, daughter Caylee and husband Calvin before and after Get Fit.

Landry lost 85 pounds in Get Fit and her husband, Calvin, lost 65 pounds.

With the kid program, Kernan said the emphasis is on healthy eating and habits so they don’t end up in the adult program. It included two outdoor fitness sessions a week and nutrition education. UW partnered with Ochsner Health Systems to provide the nutrition classes and Anytime Fitness Luling provided the outdoor fitness activities.

“For me, it really saved my life because I was on medication weighing nearly 300 pounds,” Landry said. “I was able to do a lot more.”

Determined to be a good role model for her children, Landry participated in Get Fit and then asked her daughter if she’d like the kid program.

Caylee loved it.

The 13-year-old was inspired to eat better by being able to participate with other children her age.

One of her inspirations from the program is a fruit-topped English muffin. She also exercises more.

[pullquote]“We were able to do stuff together with kids my own age on eating healthy” – Caylee Landry[/pullquote]

Caylee said it was pretty fun.

“The workouts were fun,” she said. “The nutrition meetings were fun, too. We were able to do stuff together with kids my own age on eating healthy.”

She discovered wheat bread tasted good. Caylee still doesn’t like vegetables, but she made headway on eating more fruit.

And it’s an important success for them as a family.

“It was lots of kids making recipes at the meetings, which was fun for them,” Landry said. “It was useful. I can’t speak enough about it. We all did it, and we all needed it.”

Fit Family