Meet Healthy Me! Program Participant, Erika Jackson

She walked confidently into the building with her hair neatly in braids, it didn’t seem as though she was nervous at all.  Selected as one of the final six participants in the Healthy Me! Program, she was ready to begin her journey to a healthier self.

Erika Jackson moved here in November from Fort Wayne and lives with her two children, her mother and her mother’s husband. 

As an employee in the registration and checkout area in the Emergency Room at Memorial Hospital and an on-call EMT for Prompt, Erika knows how important it is to be healthy.

“They are providing the right tools for me to become healthy, I’m excited about this program,” said Erika. She couldn’t believe she was chosen for the program and almost didn’t apply, but at the last minute she decided she would never be chosen if she didn’t even apply so she reconsidered.

Since she doesn’t live alone, she finds it hard to find a balance between eating what others in the household are eating and items she feels are healthy.  And, she claims she is guilty of stress eating, turning to snacks such as snack cakes, vegetables, kale chips and fruit for comfort. Erika also is addicted to Pepsi and drinks about 40 ounces of the sugary drink each day.

Erika met with Dr. Brian Jacobs from Family Medicine of South Bend, P.C. at the end of March for some guidance on what she needs to focus on throughout the next year. At that appointment, the nurse took her vitals and Dr. Jacobs asked her some family medical background information, questions about her lifestyle choices such as how much caffeine does she drink, does she smoke, and if she had any conditions she knew of that he should be aware. 

During the appointment, Erika mentioned that she smokes about 2-3 cigarettes a day.  One of her goals will be to eliminate use of Nicotine.  Also, she will work hard to decrease the amount of regular Pepsi that she consumes. And finally, Erika hopes to lose 8-10 pounds by her birthday which is June 2nd.

Dr. Jacobs encouraged her to begin walking approximately an hour a day, and mentioned that for each mile walked, she will more than likely lose about 100 calories. According to Jacobs, a pound is about 3500 calories and if she burns about 500 calories a day and exercises 7 days a week right now, she’ll more than likely lose weight.

During the next week or two, Erika will be meeting with the Registered Dietitian, Erin Hurst, from Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center and she will have her lab work completed by The Medical Foundation.

Although she said she was nervous, Erika took the first steps to becoming healthier and throughout the next year she hopes to, “learn tools to live healthy long after the program is over,” she said.

*Photo courtesy of South Bend Tribune