Kathy Waters Featured on Channel 27

Go Red Makeover participants past the halfway point
Posted: Mar 22, 2010 11:31 AM CDT
WKOW TV

MADISON (WKOW) -- Kathy Waters knows heart disease is in her family. She watched her mother endure two open heart surgeries. With the help of the American Heart Association, and UW Health, Waters is learning how to take charge.

She and her daughters - 14-year-old twins Courtney and Alyssa - cook breakfast every day. It's a pretty new experience for them. Breakfast was a meal they often skipped. "I've learned it doesn't take much of a change in order to really improve your health, especially your heart health," said Waters.

She's learned fresh is best, cutting out saturated fats is important, reading labels is key, and exercise is critical. Her girls, are right there with her. Kathy's daughter, Courtney, says "She's changed a lot. She didn't used to work out but now that's what she wants to do, so that's what we do most nights."

In eight weeks, Kathy has lost 12 pounds and her cholesterol is down 27 points. Her blood pressure is lower and she feels great. "It is a family affair. That was one of the things I said when I started. I didn't want to have to make three different meals to accommodate the family. I wanted to be able to eat healthy and make one meal, and we've been successful," said Kathy.

That doesn't mean they like everything they try, but they are willing to experiment!

Kathy is losing the recommended one to two pounds each week, which is not as much as she'd like. But she knows it's the right way to make changes that stick. Daughter Alyssa is especially impressed. "I'm really proud of her because she's wanted this for so long, trying to make a change, but she hasn't been able to. Now someone's helping her and she's going to keep doing it to get it done," said Alyssa.

Kathy is doing it for herself, and others. "One in three Americans is affected by heart disease. 450,000 women die every year from heart disease. That's one every second. If that isn't a wake up call for people to make changes, I don't know what else would be," said Kathy.

You can follow Kathy's heart health journey by visiting her blog at UW Health's makeover site. You'll also be able to read the blogs from the other women, for inspiration.

The Go Red Makeover Reveal will be on Thursday, April 15, at the Go Red for Women luncheon at the Monona Terrace.