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"Making Tyler a FIT CITY one step, one bite and one health-conscious decision at a time" |
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Glenna Tryon says her grandchildren sometimes call her the Energizer Bunny because she can keep going and going and going.
“There is a world of difference in what I can do now and what I was doing,” says this retired school teacher. “Now I can keep up. I can keep going. Sometimes I even outlast the grandkids.”
This was not always the case.
About this time last year, Mrs. Tryon was concerned. She had put on too much weight. She was often tired and, worse yet, her balance was becoming wobbly.
Mrs. Tryon needed help to get up and down bleachers of football stadiums and to get in and out of chairs.
“It was scary for me.”
She was becoming discouraged because most of her life she had been fit and active. As a teenager she was a twirler and drum major. While a student at Kilgore College, she was member of the high kicking Kilgore Rangerettes.
When she retired two years ago, Mrs. Tryon found herself with much less to do.
Mrs. Tryon turned to Juanita Blake, a personal trainer and owner of the Ladies First studio in Tyler, for help to get moving again.
Ms. Blake put her on a program designed to improve balance and to restore her strength. Mrs. Tryon began using light weights in controlled movements and gradually progressed. On her own, Mrs. Tryon began taking long walks to increase endurance.
She also reduced the portion size of foods she ate and made sure not to overindulge.
Months later and 35 pounds lighter, Mrs. Tryon is still at it. She says she looks forward to her workout sessions with Ms. Blake who she says is an endless source of encouragement.
As far motivation goes, she says her 10 grandchildren provide all the motivation she will ever need.
“They keep me very busy.”
