Two Johnson County women were recognized for their journeys to a healthy life and inspiring others along the way.
United Healthcare and the American Heart Association partner each year to recognize seven Indiana residents with the Real People, Real Change award. The award is a way to honor individuals who have changed their lives by committing to healthy lifestyles.
The seven winners become health ambassadors for the two organizations in 2018 and 2019
Winners of the award can be nominated by friends, family or coworkers. These recipients are recognized not only for changing their lives, but also being role models to those around them.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
“In today’s world, it’s easy to pick the models or the health buffs, you know, people you’d maybe want to be a picture perfect representation of health,” said Tim Harms, senior director of communications for the American Heart Association.
“We wanted to demonstrate to people that everyday people, no matter what you are, that you can make positive changes to your health.”
Taking control
For Susan Little, achieving a healthy lifestyle was a goal she set early on in her life.
Little, a Whiteland resident and nurse at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, struggled with weight-gain and body image since she was a child.
“My whole life, like literally since I was 9-years-old, I have gained and lost weight,” Little said. “I don’t know that there’s a diet out there that I haven’t tried and lost weight on and gained it all back.”
She had consistent weight gain as she got older, and she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during both pregnancies. She knew her weight gain and lifestyle was putting her health at risk, she said.
“I’ve had all kinds of different labels, whether it be pre-diabetic or metabolic disorder or type two diabetes,” Little said.
Last year, she decided it was time for a change.
“I was just to that point where I was uncomfortable in my skin,” Little said.
One goal Little had for a long time was to participate in the Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon. She and her friend decided to start training for the marathon in the fall of 2017, she said.
“We started walking darn near every day,” Little said.
They walked different places in downtown Indianapolis and eventually started a trend on Facebook. Other people wanted to join them on their walks, Little said. They started a Facebook page called Gossip, Giggles and Jiggles.
“Our coworkers, friends, family members would meet us out there,” Little said. “It was so much fun because we could talk while we were getting our exercise in.”
As she continued walking in preparation for the marathon, Little decided she wanted to do more to improve her health.
“I want to do more. I need to be faster. I need to be doing other things besides just walking,” Little said.
She started doing what she called, a “slog,” or a slow jog, and then she joined a gym, she said. She continued running, swimming, group fitness classes and more.
For the marathon in May, Little had one goal in mind. She wanted to finish.
“I ended up jogging the whole thing,” she said.
Winning the Real People, Real Change award this year to Little was recognition of the hard work she put into changing her life, she said. She’s lost 63 pounds.
“It’s telling me that I can do this and holding me accountable to keep doing it,” Little said.
Little has since come off her diabetes and cholesterol medications, and she hopes to use to her change to inspire both her family and her patients at Methodist Hospital.
“I talk to them a lot about how to make modifications in their lives and it felt a little hypocritical to be like you know, you’ve got to follow this kind of diet when I wasn’t doing it myself,” Little said.
“I can say to my patients, I can say to my family members, look at this, I have reversed these diseases and you can too.”
Making a change
With plans for a family in the near future, Jessica Carothers knew something had to change.
Carothers, a Greenwood resident, said she had wanted to start being healthier, but never had the time. Her previous lifestyle included working all day and coming home at 9 p.m..
"We would come home sometimes and we would eat cereal or eat bad food late at night," Carothers said.
She started out slow, she said, only working out for a limited number of minutes a day. She increased the difficulty and length of her workouts as time went on, she said.
"I started small with 30 minutes and then as my body got used to what I was doing, I just added more to it, so I bumped it up to 45 minutes, and then I did an hour," Carothers said.
Carothers works as a health coach for WebMD Health Services in Indianapolis. She said she constantly gives health advice to people, but she wasn’t taking her own advice.
"I knew what I should be doing, but I wasn’t myself putting it into action, and so once I did start to put it into action, it clicked," she said.
She’s lost 50 pounds.
Not only does Carothers want to be a role model for her clients but also for her family. Not long after she started changing her lifestyle, so did her husband.
"Once he started seeing my progress and what I was doing, he was like, ‘Hey I’m going to start meeting you at the gym,’" she said.
She and her husband are expecting their first child within the next month.
After being honored with the Real People, Real Change award, Carothers said she hopes she can be someone who inspires others who are in the same position she was.
"The reason I’m a health coach is because I’m passionate about helping other people with whatever they want to focus on," Carothers said.
"To just be somebody in the spotlight to where I can maybe inspire other people. I’m so happy if I can just inspire somebody else."
