Profile of the Month
February
2008, Colleen Renaye
To everyone at EZHI -
The one
thing I really love about the MIP program is
that it is YOUR personal program, not mine, and
that’s what makes it so successful. Here at EZ,
I strive to provide the warmest, safest,
non-threatening environment in which you can
feel completely secure as you determine where
you want to be in life and how you will achieve
your goals. Because only you can make it
happen, decide when it’s going to happen, and
how it’s going to happen. You get all the credit
for your successes….no matter how large or
small. We are only here to provide the avenues
for your journey.
That said, it’s about time
we profile for you some of our great success
stories…not just in the weight loss arena but in
personal life goals. These are members you may
work out with every day, but little did you know
about their great accomplishments not just in
the gym, but in life. This month’s “Profile
Member of the Month” is Colleen Renaye. I
chose Colleen because she stands out in my mind
as someone who has succeeded in Making It
Personal.
Madge
February 2008
Meet Colleen Renaye
by Mary Jane Ganey
You may not
recognize the woman in this picture as Colleen
Renaye, but she is shown here in 2005 with one
of her “children,” LJ (Lumberjack), a rescued
St. Bernard she adopted from Kentucky. The only
reason Colleen kept this photo was to showcase
her award-winning “dog friendly” garden for the
Ginter Park Garden Tour and also to promote one
of her many passions, pet rescue and adoption.
Otherwise, before joining EZ, she had not
allowed pictures of herself to be taken in the
prior ten years.
 Today
Colleen sports a different image as she is seen
in one of her more familiar spots, working on
the crosstrainer at EZ. Colleen Renaye
started in the weight management program last
May 2007 and is currently enrolled in
continuation. Colleen has lost 85 pounds so far
and is one of our most enthusiastic and outgoing
members. With a warm smile and a big heart, you
have probably seen her lifting weights, taking a
cycling class or on the cross trainer, as she is
“fanatical” in her own words, about our program.
Colleen’s story is special and one you may
identify with because Colleen was never
overweight as a child, or as a young adult. One
of six children growing up on a farm in northern
Virginia, Colleen was a tomboy and very active.
If she wasn’t baling hay, mending fences and
doing all sorts of farm chores, she was playing
team sports such as girls’ softball, horseback
riding and swimming competitively. She continued
this lifestyle throughout her undergrad years
here at VCU in Richmond where she majored in
art, and continued at an active pace while
obtaining her masters in counseling from VCU.
Though Colleen
followed her love of the arts and pursued many
hobbies in this area such as photography
(including professionally for weddings) and
painting, her love of people and desire to help
the under-privileged led her to her present
career in mental health counseling for Henrico
County, where she has been now for 18 years.
Colleen’s career choice is extremely rewarding,
fulfilling and challenging but consequentially
stressful and sedentary. And we all know the
hazards that the latter obstacles can play on
our health. Colleen, who is single, said by the
time she was 35 she was starting to see (and
feel) the results. She was about 50 pounds
overweight then, but with too little time to
make any significant life changes. So instead,
she did what most of us have done before, go for
the quick fixes. She joined and rejoined many
local gyms, tried the widely advertised diets
such as American Weight Loss, Optifast and
others, bought every piece of equipment offered
on those 1-800 cable TV channels. Her weight and
body image were on a roller coaster.
For ten years
Colleen tried everything, with initial great
success followed by even more weight gain. But
the cumulative gains began to overwhelm her
until she said she literally gave up and
basically went into denial and believed she
would never be successful in her struggle with
obesity. Colleen even considered weight loss
surgery. She shares this with you because of the
depth of her hopelessness prior to coming to EZ.
Colleen had achieved so much in her own right as
a very intelligent, competent, accomplished
counselor with a master’s degree, also gifted in
the arts, gardening and a devoted volunteer. “I
couldn’t understand why I couldn’t get a handle
on this aspect of my life…until I realized,
there is no easy fix and even weight loss
surgery would require a drastic life style
change; 150% commitment and dedication; and,
complete surrender of old and harmful habits.”
Colleen said there
were several “last straws” …but the final
motivation was when she realized if she didn’t
do something immediately she would have to
purchase a new scale…one that went over 300lbs.
With great determination she drew the line
there, and that is when she saw an EZ ad in her
community Ginter Park Resident Association (GPRA)
newsletter. She called and talked to Jim, signed
up and paid in full in cash, and decided there
was no turning back. She lost 30 lbs. in the
first ten weeks and has never regretted it
since. “The EZ program is definitely unique”,
says Colleen, “because of the warm, friendly,
positive supportive environment it provides
while emphasizing that you are responsible for
your own life”. EZ gave me the tools--education,
structure, moral support and physical training
guidance--while allowing me to personalize my
own program and go at my own pace. Colleen has
made many new friends here at EZ and says she
has found her “niche.” She has not only changed
the way she eats and exercises, but also the way
she manages stress. “When people ask me if I am
on a diet because they have noticed I have lost
weight, I am quick to respond, no. I share with
everyone, who will listen, that I am not on a
diet, because diets are meant to be broken. I
share that I have changed my lifestyle and that
I choose better foods and smaller portions…and
that I am active vs. sedentary. Before when I
have truly gone on diets, it was all about
deprivation and starvation…very unbalanced…and I
would not tell anyone due to fear of failure.
What is significantly different this time is
that I openly share my weight, about EZ, my
weight loss, etc…which is truly out of character
for those that really know me because I tend to
be a very private person. However, I have found
the more support and accountability I have,
which EZ provides, the more success I have
achieved. I don’t have a weight goal, I have a
BMI goal…I would like for my BMI to be in the
normal/average range.”
Colleen still
works many hours as a mental health counselor,
but with her increased energy level, metabolism
and confidence, somehow keeps on going after her
workday is done. If she is not here in the EZ
gym, Colleen devotes much of her free time to
gardening, mosaic glass artwork, and volunteer
dog rescue. A natural at gardening, she never
tried it until her Ginter Park neighbor and EZ
member, Mary Burnett, gave her some tips. Now
her gardening knowledge is sought after and her
gorgeous dog friendly backyard is displayed
every year on the Ginter Park Garden Tour.
Madge is trying to solicit her help in making
her outdoor garden resilient to Riley! You can
see the results of Colleens gardening skills on
the tour this May 17th. She will also
be displaying some of her outdoor garden art
there in the form of mosaic stained glass window
pieces. She would love to see you there!
Colleen also would
like everyone to know about her involvement in
SHARE which is the acronym for “Shelter Adoption
and Rescue Efforts. She herself has two cute
“adoptees” and has placed many other abandoned
pets (including Riley!) in wonderful homes. If
any of you are interested in adopting a pet or
would like to learn more about this good cause,
please contact Colleen at
sharepets.petfinder.com. She would love to hear
from you.
 We
asked Colleen to divulge some of the secrets to
her success, as new members are often skeptical
about results. “It would probably have to be the
EZ medical lectures.” She says she never really
understood glycemic load before attending EZ.
She now makes sure she has a fiber and a protein
with every meal. And she never knew you could
lose weight on a 1500 calorie/day diet, while
being able to eat five times a day!...she had
always made the mistake of starving herself on a
one or two meal 900 to 1000/day diet. In fact,
after attending her first lecture, she insisted
to Madge that this approach was impossible…then
proceeded to drop 30 pounds in 10 weeks. Nor,
says Colleen, did she realize the importance of
core and strength training, and the boost it
gives your energy level. She also said the food
diary was very helpful, and revealing! But most
importantly she learned to tackle her problem
not a week at a time nor a day at a time, but
just a MEAL at a time. As Colleen says, she has
“never had a bad week or a bad day, just a bad
meal,” after which she would just pick herself
up and get right back on her journey. And that’s
what EZ is all about…a journey towards the goal
of living a long, healthy, positive, fulfilling
life.
If you would like
to nominate someone you know as Member of the
Month or would like to share your own story with
your fellow EZ members, please e-mail me at
mjganey@ezhealthinstitute.com. Otherwise, I
may be soliciting you! There is no story to big
or small to share.
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