Before	After
Ramón Cruz-Lima

Ramón Cruz-Lima is getting very good at changing his life for the better.

A third-grade bilingual teacher at Edgewood Elementary School, Ramón was awarded a $1,500 gift card, the top prize in Aetna’s 12-week Fitness Challenge, during a surprise April 28 campus visit by Superintendent of Schools Duncan Klussmann and Fitness Challenge leaders associated with Aetna, the program and awards sponsor.

To earn the top prize, Ramón, 50, dropped 58 pounds, or 23 percent of his body weight, through daily exercise, online counseling, and diet. His weight loss led to improvements in other health areas, including blood pressure and cholesterol.

Now 194 pounds, he hopes to lose 14 or more pounds and earn doctor’s permission to be taken off his medication for diabetes.

“I would like this award to inspire the entire Hispanic community. Diseases like diabetes are killing members of our community and making local governments spend lots of money in health assistance programs,” Ramón said after accepting his top award on Monday.

This is not the first time that Ramón has made a new start. In 1998, this former vice dean at a Cuban university lost his job and was jailed for eight months after speaking publicly about the grim economic situation in Cuba to a Spanish television station during the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in 1998.

His 4-year sentence for voicing his public opinion was later cut short only because of international diplomatic protests. After being released on condition that he immediately leave the country, Ramón and his wife, Liudmyla, chose the United States and Houston as their new home. In 2000, he began teaching in Spring Branch ISD.

Ramón was one of eight SBISD staff members to earn gift cards in the SBISD Weight Loss and Fitness Challenge. The program began with 591 participants. By April 24’s final weigh-in, 80 staffers had completed the terms of the challenges and were eligible for prizes. Prize winners are:

• Weight Loss Participants: Ramón Cruz-Limon, Edgewood Elementary, 1st place, $1,500 gift card; Christina Driscoll, Northbrook High School, 2nd place, $1,000 gift card; Terri Doherty, Ridgecrest Elementary, $750 gift card
• Stay Healthy Participants: Joann Limerick, Tiger Trail School for Early Learning; and James Gunno and Mary Caldwell, Landrum Middle School, all winners of $500 gift cards
• Mid-contest Lottery Winners: Hilda Melkus of Hollibrook Elementary and Eduardo De La Paz of Edgewood Elementary, both of whom received $100 gift cards

The Fitness Challenge required completion of the Aetna Simple Steps Health Assessment, an online six-week Healthy Living Course and the completion of weekly exercise logs.

Nurses, teachers and counselors -- so-called Health Ambassadors -- helped motivate staff members and promote healthy living.

Weight Loss participants shed a total of more than 608 pounds, or almost 13 pounds on average per participant. Of the 80 finalists, 31 people lost more than 10 pounds and 12 people lost more than 20 pounds during the past three months.     

Carla Eggerman

There’s no magic trick to weight loss, most participants said. Eat right, exercise, reduce stress wherever possible. Special Education Department secretary Carla Eggerman was not a big prizewinner, but she was happy with her results as a program participant.

At the final weigh-in, she lost several pounds and 2 ½ inches off her waistline. “Like so many, I gained a little weight over the years. This program and the exercise logs made me motivated. I started working out three to four times a week and going to the gym more often,” she said. “This program made me more accountable.”

Gaining weight, on the other hand, has a thousand little causes. In Ramón’s case, he put on weight after two surgeries and months of required bed rest. “I lost control of my body and I could not find the motivation to lose weight again. The Fitness Challenge was the spark I needed,” he said.

He used a responsible diet, daily exercise and the Diabetes America Plan online counseling and support network to fine tune his rapid weight loss.

He did not stop eating the food he likes. “I just do it now with measure,” he said. “A spoonful of ice cream tastes better now than the pint I used to polish off in one minute.”

“You changed your life!” Aetna’s Clinical Program Consultant Sally Imig proudly exclaimed to him at the final weigh-in. Ramón considers his incredible achievement to be only a start. His “perfect” weight is 170 pounds and remains a goal for him, he said.

Third place winner Terri Doherty (third from left)

SBISD’s Director of Health and Health Fitness Rebecca Fuchs and Aetna’s Sally Imig praised all those involved with the first-time effort. A similar fitness and weight loss challenge may be offered in SBISD next year.

“The motivation of our Health Ambassadors at each worksite kept the challenge alive,” Fuchs said. “Their creativity and extra words of encouragement to each of their fellow employees was just enough to help them maintain working towards their goals.”

Both Ramón and Fuchs singled out school nurse Judy Cribbs for motivating staff across the campus. “Judy not only motivated the employees, but she was a huge factor behind the Family Fitness Fun Night, motivating the Edgewood students and families with a special evening of healthy activities, healthy snacks and healthy prizes,” the Health Fitness Director said.

“Congratulations to all the participants and all the helpers from SBISD who served at the initial and final weigh-in sessions,” Imig said. “A special thanks to Rebecca Fuchs and to John Harris for their tireless commitment to the cause of helping people live healthier lives and the positive example they are setting for their fellow workers and the students they teach and serve.”

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posted 05-02-08