The family wellness makeover: Part 2

In the October issue we introduced the Morfidis family (George, 40, Despina, 42, Ria, 14, and Stefi, 11) of Bowmanville, Ont., as they started a yearlong health makeover program with Canadian Living Magazine. Working with dietitian Fran Berkoff, personal trainer Sue Forest and life coach Cassandra Gierden, and with a thumbs-up from their own physician, Dr. Suzanne Buchanan, the family identified individual and family health-and-wellness goals. Then each coach provided information and a regular helping hand.

Talk about a new, healthier lifestyle. For a four-day vacation in Niagara Falls, Ont., between visits to the Maid of the Mist and other area attractions, the Morfidises swam in the hotel pool and worked out in the fitness room -- Despina on the elliptical machine (which mimics walking), George on the weight machine, Ria on the treadmill and Stefi on a mat doing her conditioning program. Despina, feeling more confident than ever before about her body, even climbed up the three-storey waterslide and slid down. "I've never done that before," she says. The Morfidises walked everywhere -- including the long hill leading up to their hotel several times a day -- and no one complained. Not once! (In the past, Despina was always exhausted by such activities.)

At the breakfast and lunch buffets, George filled up on healthier choices before selecting a few sweet breads (which he never finished); Despina tried not to go up for seconds and avoided cheese altogether. They snacked on fruit, granola bars, bottles of water and their own homemade nut mixture. At dinner the girls ordered their favourites (pizza and pasta) while George and Despina asked for extra vegetables instead of rice or potatoes and didn't look at the dessert menu. To cut calories from wine ("I love my wine"), Despina switched from red to white-wine spritzers.

It's a far cry from the family's lifestyle four months earlier, when Despina didn't exercise at all, George ate whatever and whenever he wanted and the girls weren't as active. There have been hurdles, but life has changed for the Morfidises: Despina has lost 18 pounds and George has lost 14 -- and the family is well on its way to better health and wellness.