STARTing a healthier lifestyle

Courtesy Photo There were 23 people who graduated in a recent START NEW Basic Training Class. The next eight-week session begins Sept. 29.

CADILLAC — For the last decade, life has been hard for Heidi Boley.

At night, her restlessness would keep her awake for most of the night — if she was lucky, she could get about two hours of sleep.

Exercising was nearly impossible for her. She couldn’t walk very far because before she’d make it two blocks down the road, her legs would give away with fatigue.

The Cadillac woman also was in constant pain — sometimes a dull throb and other times severe. For most people, although hitting an elbow can hurt quite a bit, for her the pain was excruciating. It was like she was being hit with a sledge hammer.

When it looked like someone was going to give her a hug or even touch her on the arm, she would cringe in anticipation of the pain.

“It hurt to have people touch me,” she said. “And hugs were so painful. I was constantly in pain and anything I did was debilitating.”

Although Boley went to see doctors, she was told she had fibromyalgia and there was not much that could be done except treat it with pain medications.

“I am allergic to a lot of things including pain pills, aspirin and Tylenol,” she said. “All I could do was suffer through it.”

Everything changed during the past few months for Boley. She and her husband joined the START NEW program at the Seventh Day Adventist Church and she noticed her pain had gone away.

“Little by little I learned more about healthy eating and I started cutting out meats, milk, and I went completely off of coffee and chocolate because of the caffeine,” she said. “Two weeks into the program, my pain went away.”

During the program, which is doctor supervised, participants learn about nutrition, health issues and the importance of incorporating the eight laws of health into a person’s everyday lifestyle.

“START NEW is a new weight loss and lifestyle change program,” said program founder George Corliss. “It is designed to help people discover and implement simple, easy and effective lifestyle interventions that can help you improve your mental, physical and spiritual health naturally.”

In the previous four programs in Cadillac, there have been more than 160 people participate. Through the program, Corliss said he has seen many health transformations in people.

“Never in my wildest imagination did I ever believe that this program would become what it has, and the direction it looks like it is heading,” he said. “In as little as eight weeks, we have seen people healed from their diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, arthritis, obesity and more, all through the power of incorporating God’s eight laws of health into their lives.

“The quicker they incorporate these eight laws into their lives, the faster they have recovered from these chronic lifestyle diseases.”

Corporately these 160 participants are now close to losing 2,000 pounds and many have reduced their pre-program medications and some have eliminated their medications

Anyone is welcome to attend the orientation meeting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cadillac Seventh Day Adventist Church, 801 E. Division in Cadillac. There is no cost to attend the meeting.

For more information, people can call Corliss at 825-9938 or visit www.start-new.net.

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