Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 1, 1 January 2016 — Becoming healthy one pound at a time [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Becoming healthy one pound at a time

Kūlana Hawai'i opens new branch; program reports more than 2,800 pounds lost by Native Hawaiians

By Aukahi Austin Seabury, Ph.D. Kūlana Hawai'i is a health and weight management program that was developed here for Hawai'i. Our unique approach to weight management combines expertise in nutrition, heahh psychology and fitness with an understanding of our culture and the stress of the modern lifestyle. We provide motiva-

tion and support to help people reach their heahh and fitness goals. We are proud to say that over the past four years, we have helped Native Hawaiians lose

over 2,800 pounds overall. In fact, our program has had many positive impacts on our participants' lives including: • Increase in exercise (an A average of one hour more m per week)

• Reduction in weight and blood pressure • Improvement in overall functioning including less stress and improved sleep This year, we have expanded our weight management program to Leeward O'ahu to extend our reach and make services more accessible. We are very fortunate to be partnering with Leeward Community College's Hālau 'Ike o Pu'uloa to bring Kūlana Hawai'i to their campus. Members of the Leeward community as well as students on campus will be able to participate in our program. While anyone ean join the program and access our services, the program has been free for Native Hawaiians for the past four years through the support of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. At Kūlana Hawai'i, you learn about heahh, nutrition, stress and fitness, get coaching and individualized support, and sweat in our exercise classes all while laughing and having a great time with an awesome group of people. We take our participants out to hike, do service projects at community gardens and lo'i, and make nutrition fun and doable through cooking demonstrations and fieldtrips to the grocery store. When we ask our participants to describe Kūlana Hawai'i, they say, "It's really a family." Our participants have

created a community of support for one another because they really understand and ean relate to eaeh other's experience, no matter how different their lives seem. Kūlana means "stature, how you carry yourself." To help people get to healthier living, we don't just focus on the pounds. We focus on the small changes a person ean make to live healthier overall and then help them to keep the changes they've made. We understand that when you ean feel good about yourself because you're living healthier, you walk taller, feel more powerful, and make better choices for your heahh. That's really the key to weight management and more importantly to a long, healthy, happy life overall. Change is hard. It turns out that most people already know some of the things they could do to live healthier. The challenge is doing those things consistently. An even greater challenge is getting a change started. The most difficult parts about starting a habit of daily walking are the first two steps away from the eoueh. At Kūlana Hawai'i, we understand about competing demands and how hard it is for folks to keep their own heahh in their top five priorities eaeh week. Our heahh psychologists, dietitians, and fitness instructors ean be there with you eaeh step of the way, whh support, encouragement and sound advice on the strategies that are most likely to work for you so that you get the biggest bang for your buck out of the effort you put in. "I'mnot getting scoldings for not doing something. We problem solve to help me fix it." said Linda, a program participant. Whether you're thinking for the first time that you want to change your heahh, or you've been trying for years to get healthier and lose weight without long term success, we ean help. Even folks who just want to stay consistent whh the good habits they already have ean find the support they need within Kūlana Hawai'i. Kūlana Hawai'i is open for enrollment, with our next round of classes beginning in January. This year, join the hundreds of folks who have already started living healthier. Get started with us at Kūlana Hawai'i. For more information or to join the program in Leeward or Honolulu, eall us at 808-525-6234, email at info@iolalahui.org, or visit our website at www.iolalahui.org/kulana. In Honolulu, our new office and gym are located in the Ala Moana Building at 1441 Kapi'olani Blvd., Suite 1802. Kūlana Hawai'i is a program of I Ola Lāhui, a 501(c)(3) Hawai'i nonprofit corporation. ■ Aiikahi. Aiistin Seahury is the executive director of I Ola Lāhui.

HEALĪH

Professionals offer individual support and nutrition expertise to Kūlana Hawai'i participants, as well as group exercise activities. - Photos courtesy: Kūlana Hawai'i