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 Ralph and Erica Herwig
Their journey to better health and a better life started in June of 2009 when Erica saw a picture of herself and said out loud “Why didn’t anyone tell me I’m that fat?” At that moment she knew that something needed to change. Ralph was using a Bi-pap machine to sleep with and neither of them could keep up with their friends that lived an active lifestyle. They spent our lives sitting in front of the TV, planning our next meal out.
In July of 2009 they started Weight Watchers Online. This program worked for a while, they used the online version thinking that they didn’t need the support system of groups, and that they would save a lot of money each month by being each other’s support. What they didn’t know was that this meant that no one was teaching them how they should be eating. Ultimately they gained any weight that was lost back, plus 10-20 pounds.
In March of 2010, Erica realized her pants no longer fit and she needed to buy one size up. She told Ralph that they needed to change something. He mentioned that his doctor had recently suggested the Tamarac New You program. In May 2010 they went to the informational meeting and signed up that night! They were scared and skeptical when the program started in June of 2010. Ruth Barkel was their instructor and their group was amazing and supportive; all sharing successes and struggles together.
Ralph and Erica joined Tamarac shortly after starting the New You program. They met with Ruth to show them how to use the equipment and find out the best program for each of them. Now, they regularly attend aquatic classes with Skye and Kate, group classes with Jeremy, and Spinning classes with Todd, Nelson, and Spike.
“Losing the weight and becoming more active has opened up a whole new world to us. We now plan our vacations around what we can do and not what we can eat. In the last couple of months we have walked the Mackinaw Bridge, hiked the “Primitive Trail” between the Upper and Lower Tahquamenon Falls twice, and biked around Mackinaw Island for an entire weekend.”
Ralph and Erica finished the 20 week foundation course on October 12, 2010. Erica lost 59.5 pounds and dropped to a size 10, and Ralph lost 95.8 pounds and was wearing a size 34 pant and hadn’t needed his Bi-pap machine in almost two months.
“Because of Tamarac and the New You program, we are doing things we never thought we would, we look like we never thought we could, and we have made friends that will last a lifetime!”
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