The start to a new you

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tori Schultz
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  "This program is not just what to do, but how I incorporate this in to my life," explains Susan Haley, 6th Aerospace Medical Squadron health and wellness dietician about the Better Body, Better Life program.

"Better Body, Better Life" is an Air Force weight management program to help individuals lose and maintain a healthy weight over their lifetime. The course is five weeks long and meets once a week at MacDill Air Force Base's Health and Wellness Center on Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Nutrition, life style and exercise are three components every class emphasizes to ensure weight loss is sustainable. The class uses the adult learning model which employs a variety of teaching methods such as touch, tactical, play, audio, and visual to engage everyone.

One of the highlighted activities is a sugar assessment, where the class can see the amount of added sugar in certain foods. Each participant personally measures out the sugar content so they can visually see how much sugar they eat daily.

Another one of the training activities is the proper portions exercise. Students gather around and watch what a proper, yet health plate should look like.

"The program allows the group to work together to overcome some of the barriers they are experiencing that someone else may have already experienced and figured out a solution to," said Haley.

Military members and dependents can attend the "Better Body, Better Life" program. Contractors and civilians can attend the class as well if they are Tricare beneficiaries; if not you can sit in on the class for educational purposes.

For more information or to sign-up for the program call the HAWC at 813-828-HAWC.