After being diagnosed as pre-diabetic, Jay Whatcott knew he needed to make changes, but he didn’t know where or how to start. He joined the100-day Heart Challenge at Utah Valley Hospital, where he learned to exercise and eat healthy. With the support of health professionals like Traci Heiner, Jay transformed his habits and his life. But the biggest change came on day 101, when he tried some unhealthy food and realized it didn’t taste as good as he had once thought.
Transcript
Jay Whatcott: My doctor told me, "Hey, you're pre-diabetic. You need to lose weight, and you need to exercise. You need to eat better." And kind of sent me on my way, and honestly, I had no idea what to do. I hadn't exercised since high school. And so the Heart Challenge taught me how to exercise, learn how to work out. The bigger thing though, was to learn how to eat healthy, it was a great tool to me, as well as the trainer. Wendy, my wife, and I were working out almost every day.
Traci Heiner: What became your motivation over that next hundred days?
Jay: Well, there were two things: One of the other contestants said, "Hey, do you want me to let you know what prize I want? Because there's no doubt I'm going to win this." And to me and my competitive side, I was like, “Oh, okay. It's on. I'm going to win this thing.” But as time went on, my motivation completely changed. I found out how good I could feel, how my energy levels came back, and, honestly, how happy I was. My whole life changed. My relationship with my wife and my kids, my grandkids, was so much better, because I was happier. That's where the challenge changed my life. And it has been a family-wide change. I have an 8-year-old grandson that wants to run a race with me now.
Traci: I think most people realize that they can all win, even though they don't receive a prize, because of the changes at the end of the challenge.
Jay: I agree. I'd seen the contestants weekly at the nutrition classes. It was amazing to see the transformation. And honestly everybody in that room won. I mean, everybody came away healthier, and their life had changed. I was so impressed with that. It was awesome.
Traci: And what do you do when you don't have the support of your trainer? You don't have the nutrition class? You don't have somebody checking on you and reporting to each week?
Jay: I'll tell you what. The next day, we went out and got some food that we had been craving the whole time and not allowed ourselves to eat. And it just wasn't as good as we had hoped. It wasn't. For me, it was being able to get back to the things I enjoyed doing. I was able to go hiking. I enjoyed running. Never in my wildest dreams would have thought that before the challenge. And so if I've signed up for a 5k or a 10k, then that was kind of my motivation. Okay, I've got to keep going to be able to do these.
Traci: Whenever I see a past participant, when they still have that light in their eyes and they feel like they can do and be who they want to be, it's fun for me. And it's great to be able to see you again.
Jay: Well, I would go as far as to say you saved my life. You've definitely given me some longevity, and I thank you.