Deloris Claudia Murdock

I just had to write about Deloris. She taught the arthritis class when I first started at the HealthPlex. I was in really bad shape at that time. It was before I had my knees replaced. She took me under her wing or so I thought at the time, but I found out that she took everyone under her wing. She treated everyone like they was one of her children. She had nine wonderful children of her own. She loved it when she got hugs from everyone. Deloris's husband Bob would wheel her into the pool area in a wheel chair and she would get up and walk down the ramp into the pool holding on to the handrail. She couldn't walk on dry land but in the pool she could really move. She had a lot of songs that she would sing with the exercises and had the class sing with her.

When I had my first knee replacement Deloris was not able to come and see me in the hospital so she sent one of her daughters to check on me and report back to her. Her daughter was a nurse at the hospital at the time. Deloris was probably worse off healthwise than anyone in the class but you would never know it. She never complained. She always had a big smile and I think she was where she wanted to be.

Deloris passed away on January 25th 2009 at the age of 75. She was an inspiration to everyone. We all loved her.

"On Target Living"

If it wasn’t for Chris Johnson's "On Target Living" I would probably still weigh 350 lbs or more. I’m not being paid to promote Chris Johnson’s book and I wasn’t ask to do so. I am being paid with all of the health benefits that I gained by losing the weight. The only reason that I suggest reading the book is because it helped me so much and hopefully it will help you.

I bought several other diet books before I got the "On Target Living" book and they were diet books. Diets don’t work. After reading "On Target Living," I’m not on a diet.  I have made a lifestyle change. I eat healthy, watch my portion size and exercise.

The book suggests giving up one thing at a time. Baby steps. If you give up all of the foods at once you will be craving them and it won’t work. I found that since I’m eating healthy I don’t want to go back to the way that I was eating. I just think about how it would look on my hips. The book also tells you to treat yourself every once in a while but don’t go overboard. There are a lot of good recipes in it and a lot of exercises that you can do on your own. I could go on and on about it, but the best thing to do is read it. It might sound a little grim but it was a life saver for me - I was on my way to the grave.

Keeping on Track

Last week we took a trip up to the Fairfield HealthPlex and did an Aqua Combo Plus class with Darlene.  She really worked us out!  It was a great class!

On Friday, I had to go in for an outpatient procedure.  About four years ago I had a hernia operation.  Because I have lost so much weight, I have had an issue with the permanant stitches.  So they went in and had to remove four of the stitches.  I have been a little weak all weekend and still today.  But I came into the HealthPlex to do my workout.  I did a modified version of my weight routine and I think that’s about all I can handle today.  I can’t go into the pool for at least 10 days, until I see my doctor again.  But I will still be at the HealthPlex doing what I can.

On the up side, I have lost another four pounds.  I’m well on my way to meeting my next 10 pound goal.  I am also close to losing another size in pants!  Down from a size 30 to almost a 14!

The Wellness Wheel

I have been hearing about the Wellness Wheel more and more at the HealthPlex. I think it makes sense and I want to share what I’ve learned.

Here’s what the HealthPlex website says:

ENERGIZE: "Turn the power on," stimulate and invigorate your physical and/or emotional self.

SOCIALIZE:Meet others who share common experiences and motivate each other to achieve similar personal fitness goals.

REJUVENATE:Restore and replenish to reach a healthier state, either physically or mentally. Uplift and restore yourself to a new reenergized state of being.

LEARN:Gain knowledge and understanding to help you reach your goals.

BALANCE:Create harmony and symmetry to find a state of equilibrium.


Cindy Becker, CPT, Mercy Healthplex says
From the Wellness Wheel we recommend programs/classes/ or other services that the Healthplex offers to help fulfill the five areas:

Energize- participation in ANY of the group classes; water, land, kids gymnastics, tennis, Fit For Life- to turn people on to physical and mental exercise.

Socialize- gather with other members in our coffee area, or participate in the many social events we have, ie yoga workshops, tennis socials, spinning special rides, group training and group weight management programs like "Change your Life Challenge" and "Factor Five"

Rejuvenate- take advantage of the warm water pool, sauna, steam rooms, and whirlpool. Participate in yoga, meditation, tai-chi, massage, reflexology.

Learn- take advantage of workshops offered by instructors or the nutritionist (Aaron Dorfman), learn by taking group classes, personal training, tennis lessons

Balance- we help to write out a prescription that meets all of the above and find the right fit (classes, etc) for each member


I thought that I would tell about how the Wellness Wheel applies to me and Clarence. (Energize)- We do the aqua power and the fit classes in the pool and if that doesn’t energize you I don’t know what would. Each class is one hour and both of them is taught by Sharon Whitaker and she works us pretty hard. (Socialize) - We do a lot of socializing. That is one of the things that keeps us coming back to the Plex. When we first arrive at the Plex we sit down and have a cup of coffee and greet people as they come in. Then we start our workout on the machines. That is not all work either. We have to stop and talk to other people. I give a lot and receive a lot of encouragement. In the pool the FIT class meets for lunch once a month after class, plus we have a lot of fun in the pool. (Rejuvenate) The FIT class is the last class that we do and it is in the warm water pool. It relaxes our muscles and keeps us from having sore muscles. Clarence goes into the whirlpool every once in a while when his back is bothering him and it does the trick. (Learn) - Learning could apply to a lot of things. We did go to the nutritionist and learned a lot of things about what we should and shouldn’t eat. We are going to meet with Cindy Becker soon for personal training and I’m sure that she will give us some new exercises to do. (Balance) I’m sure that Cindy has something in mind to balance out our exercise program.

Take Care of Yourself

The biggest thing that I have done for myself was to lose the weight. Before I lost the weight I could barely get around and now as Clarence would tell you, I’m a new woman.

Other things that I do for myself are getting plenty of rest, eat healthy, get regular checkups and exercise. We spend about five hours a day, three days a week at the healthplex. The time that we spend is not all workout time. We workout for an hour and a half on the machines and then we have some coffee and socialize with some of the other members for an hour or until it is time for our aerobics classes to start in the pool. We work out for one hour in the aqua power class and one hour in the fit class. Then after a shower and getting dressed it is time for another cup of coffee and some more talking with friends. We have met so many nice people at the healthplex.

Other things that I do for myself is buying new clothes when I reach my ten pound goal. Getting my hair and nails done, encouraging other people to lose weight and thanking God every day that I’ve lost the 110 pounds. These things all make me feel good.