74 | HealthLinksSC.com A Unique Case: HER LIFESTYLE SHIFT DEFIES STATISTICS THE GINGER SCULLY STORY By Lisa Wack At 51 years old and more than 50 pounds lighter, Charleston resident Ginger Scully is shattering all odds. Only 1 in 5 adults exercise each day, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Scully can boast that she is “the 1.” A mere 23% of American adults get the recommended amount of aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity each week: Scully is among those few. Scully never considered herself an athlete who shatters the odds. In fact, for most of her adult life, she shied away from exercise, even though she struggled with her weight and knew that physical activity was an important part of getting healthy and staying that way. When she did try to engage in any sort of exercise program, she felt like she was setting herself up for failure. “I thought my only option was cardio activities,” she explained. “I didn’t like running or cycling. I didn’t have any endurance, and so I never made any progress. I didn’t know where to start.” As her 50th birthday neared, Scully committed to a new plan that would help her cultivate healthy habits through nutrition, moderate exercise and other lifestyle changes. She began setting nonfood rewards. For instance, if she achieved her initial weight goal, she would invest in regular sessions with a personal trainer. With a lot of dedication and hard work, she reached that first goal – to lose 40 pounds – and immediately signed up to work with Alicia O'Connor, an exercise physiologist and the director of personal training at the MUSC Wellness Center. “When Ginger first came to me, she lacked conditioning and didn’t have much stamina or strength,” O’Connor recalled. “A loss of muscle will typically accompany a significant weight loss. In Ginger’s case, in addition to building strength, we wanted to work on keeping her joints healthy.” Scully works with O’Connor twice a week for 30 minutes of HIST – high intensity strength training. Each day is
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