Nina Weeks has lost 30 pounds and her husband, Leon, a diabetic with heart problems, has reduced his cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
The Racine, Wis., couple talks regularly by telephone with “health coach” Mary Vietzke, a registered nurse who works for their health plan, Humana Inc., from her home in Green Bay, Wis.
Weeks no longer cooks with butter. She uses applesauce instead of fat when she bakes. And she’s learned to serve fish in place of beef.
“I hate fish,” she told Vietzke.
“I want you to go out and buy a swordfish steak, soak it overnight in Italian dressing and put it on the grill,” Vietzke replied.
“Boy, was that ever good,” Weeks said.
Her 58-year-old husband, a bus driver, cut his cholesterol to an optimal 115 from about 200 after Vietzke suggested he talk to his doctor about changing medications and also taking fish oil supplements.
“The end result is I’ll feel great, I hope, the better to enter my retirement and enjoy it much longer,” said Weeks, who works for Milwaukee County Transit System.
“They’ve made huge strides, both of them,” Vietzke said.
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