This weekend, the YMCA-YWCA of Saint John and Canadian Mental Health Foundation - Saint John Branch will partner to host Saint John X-Weighted. This two-day event will help Saint Johners make a pledge to fitness and develop a realistic plan for shaping up in 2010.
Participants will be able to attend seminars on topics including good nutrition, eating for weight loss, managing stress, dealing with emotional eating and mental health. There will also be grab bags, website access, seminars on mental health, nutrition plans and healthy eating tips, an obstacle course fitness evaluation, measurement and a six-month tailored fitness plan from Y trainers.
Participants will also get to mix and mingle with the special guest Paul Plakas, host of weight loss television show X-Weighted.
"This is really an awareness event," says Shelley Rinehart, who, as a member of the board of the Saint John Y and was previously involved with the Canadian Mental Health Association, is helping to organize Saint John X-Weighted. "Our main goal is to increase awareness of the issue, which is that Saint John is one of Canada's fattest cities, and the different educational services and programs available through both Canadian Mental Health and the Y."
We are all guilty of overindulging during the holidays, but as one of Canada's fattest cities, Saint John's issue goes beyond too many yuletide treats. This event will arm participants with tools that will help them become proactive and accountable for their own health and progress, while highlighting the many services available in our community to help people address and overcome the challenges to good health and overall happiness.
Many of the 400 available tickets have already been sold, and event participants will be coming in all shapes and sizes, from armchair athletes whose health is at-risk to fitness fanatics looking to shake up their routine in the new year. Participants will be motivated to stick with their commitment by way of a three-month check-in event in March, as well as a final weigh-in at the end of the six- month program.
Getting fit in the new year may seem like a cliché New Year's resolution, but only because it is often the first change to go by the wayside. However, there is no better time to adopt a new lease on life, especially since it is coupled with the chance to support two great community organizations and to take advantage of the counsel and services they offer to help you obtain your goal.
Tickets are $100 and sponsored tickets are also available. Money raised will be used to provide sponsorship to the event and to support programming at both host organizations. Tickets are still available for Saint John X-Weighted, hosted by the Saint John YMCA-YWCA and the Canadian Mental Health Association - Saint John Branch, taking place on Jan. 9 and 10. To buy tickets, call 634-7720
Claire Ryan works with MT&L Public Relations Ltd. and is a member of the FUSION Saint John board. Her column appears on Tuesdays. She can be reached at cryan@mtpr.ca.
