Kathy Daniel is feeling energized and ready to tackle the Health First Center’s 6-week summer challenge.

“I’m going to get out there and exercise and try to make myself healthier,” she said.  “If I want to live a long healthy life, I’ve got to take care of myself.”

Daniel, 53, said she wanted to be involved for the sake of her health. Daniel has diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and she’s overweight.  She is also hereditarily more at risk for heart disease and stroke.

“I just want to feel better and breathe easier,” Daniel said.

Three years ago, Daniel and her family moved to the area from Ocean Isle Beach.  In looking for ways to improve her life, she discovered the Health First Center and the Fitness Plus Center at Catawba Valley Medical Center.

Since then, she’s participated twice in Walk Catawba Valley, but she wanted to do something more — mix things up a little bit.  That’s when she heard about a 6- week fitness challenge and decided to give it a try.

“I enjoy the little extra things they do,” Daniel said.  “It’s good little incentives, but it’s also good for your health.  It’s a win-win situation.”

The 6-week challenge began Sunday with each participant picking up a log sheet from the Health First Center on the first floor of Valley Hills Mall to keep track of exercise, fruits, vegetables and water intake.

Each participant is instructed to eat five fruits and vegetables each day, participate in 20 minutes of resistance training at least twice a week and exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes at least three times a week. They must also drink 64 ounces of water each day.  

“It seemed so easy to get involved in this,” Daniel said.

So far, Daniel said she feels confident she can stick to her plan.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Daniel said she attends classes at the Health First Center where she’s learned a lot of physical fitness, food choices and diets.  On Mondays and Wednesdays she takes advantage of the yoga class and water aerobics courses when she can.

“The yoga helps with my balance,” Daniel said.  “I think that’s made a difference.”

Water aerobics classes satisfy the resistance training part of the challenge while daily one-mile walks around Valley Hills Mall or the walking track at Catawba Valley Medical Center.

“I would like to get up to two miles a day every day,” Daniel said.

Already one week into the program, she feels like it’s making a difference.  She said she feels more energized and she also sleeps better at night.

She said one the hardest things for her is making sure she’s drinking plenty of water and eating the recommended number of fruits and vegetables.

“It’s not as hard as it once was,” Daniel said, adding, I really want to do this to improve my health and get me in the habit of doing these things naturally.”