Eulalee Thompson - BE WELL

My first visit to Mico University College; my first meeting with Tanica Plummer, winner of the Gleaner Health section's 'Lose the weight and keep it off!' challenge. I was sitting outside the campus' Heritage Café on a stone bench under the cool shade of a huge, sprawling old tree, killing time by sending a few emails and making a few calls when Tanica arrived at our meeting spot, only a few minutes late.

Confident, smiling from ear to ear, laptop opened and grasped in both hands, iPod plugged in her left ear, I felt comfortable that the Health team had a made a good choice of the face for our weight management series.

"I am so elated. I can't believe that I emerged the winner," she said, as she sat on the stone bench. A few days earlier when Tanica was told that she had won, she screamed and came close to shedding tears of joy.

The Health section has been running this promo:

Lose the weight and keep it off! Want to lose weight in 2009? Tell us about your battle with the bulge in 200 words or less. One lucky reader will kick-start his or her battle with free consultations with The Gleaner's multi-award-winning Health section's nutrition, exercise and mental-health experts and special features.

The challenge closed February 20 and Tanica, a 23-year-old student in the first year of her secondary-education degree emerged winner. She will receive the prize of free expert consultations to start her weight loss efforts on the right foot.

"I have always been overweight, since I was a teenager; I think I overcompensate," she said.

Tanica is 5' 4 inches tall, weighs 225 pounds and describes herself as chubby, even as a child. In High School, Tanica had reached 245 pounds but, through her own efforts, she had managed, in the past, to shave off a few pounds, hitting the scale at her lowest weight, 209 pounds. But, her weight plays yo-yo, up and down, as Tanica admits that she "can't seem to get it right".

Doting father

Tanica Plummer is the winner of the Gleaner Health section's weight management challenge. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

The last child in the family, Tanica, fondly called Tanny by her dad, was always the apple of his eyes, the baby of the family. He showed his loved by showering her with food; ice cream and cake was a regular reward when Tanny's dad came home from work.

Tanica grew up in a traditional Jamaican family in St Catherine. Her mother loves to cook and prepares her meals in the way that the average Jamaican family does - lots of oil, butter or margarine and salt. Tanica says that she also loves to cook but has changed her attitude towards food.

"I no longer see food as a reward. At this point in my life, food is always important, but in the right amounts," she said.

She was motivated to enter the challenge because she saw what being overweight and obese had done to the women in her life.

"My grandmother, mother and sister are overweight. My grandmother (was) diabetic and had to get insulin every day before she died. My mother and sister suffer from arthritis and I know it is related to weight. I don't want to go that route," she said.

Her exercise routine

Tanica is active. She used to jog in the mornings, but now, for safety reasons, exercises at the school's hostel. She has, in fact, started a sort of exercise club at the hostel by convincing some of her schoolmates to exercise regularly with her. She says that they do stretches, 'floor exercises' and abdominals on most school days.

Her eating habits

Tanica is now conscious about what she eats. She has tried several of the quick-fix diets but doesn't think that they work. She eats a lot of vege chunks, tofu, gluten, chicken (hardly ever fried), callaloo, salt fish and yam. On the day of the interview she had prepared cornmeal porridge for breakfast and she said that meal 'can keep her' until about 1:30 p.m.. For lunch, she said, she tries to stay away from rice, choosing yam instead and lots of vege chunks or tofu. She cooks again for supper, usually after 5 p.m. and this could consist of a meal of yam, salt fish and callaloo. She said that she can avoid dessert and sweets most times.

Tanica is motivated to lose the weight and keep it off and is confident that she will shave off some pounds over the next three months of The Gleaner's challenge.

Eulalee Thompson is health editor and a professional counsellor. Email: eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com.

Lose the weight and keep it off!