GREATER JOLIET AREA YMCA

At the YMCA, we are always proud to support members as they strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reach their goals. This includes individuals like Jeannie Howell, who says she has experienced life changing health and wellness results since joining the Galowich Family YMCA in 2008.

“In 2007, a nurse that I worked with helped me make a New Year’s resolution. She said ‘Let’s exercise for at least an hour once or twice a week.’ At that point in time, I weighed 287 pounds and my knees would pop when I would go up and down the stairs. Since then, I’ve lost more than 100 pounds and I’m now off 2 diabetic medicines that I had taken for 30 years,” she said. 

Jeannie says her Y journey began with water aerobics classes and that she eventually found opportunities to explore one of her life’s passions – dance. 

“When I joined the Y, I thought to myself ‘If I start working out here it’s possible for me to become the dancer that I always aspired to be.’ It was step classes, it was line dancing, it was Zumba, it was everything. I was so winded at first because I couldn’t keep up, but my love for dance allowed me to keep going.”

Jeannie said the process of losing weight was slow and measured, but with each step she gained more confidence, eventually participating in local dance competitions.

“I saw changes along the way that gave me confidence. I was able to stay on the dance floor longer and longer. That’s when I knew everything was working,” she said. 

In addition to improving her health, being at the Y allowed Jeannie to build lasting friendships. 

“I’ve made so many connections at the Y. I’m still friends with everyone I met in the first water aerobics classes from 2008. And when I meet up with friends from Zumba classes, sometimes we end up doing the dances right in the bar when music comes on,” she said.

When offering advice to others seeking to improve their health, Jeannie emphasizes that patience has been the most important factor in her health and wellness journey.

“You can’t be in a hurry and you can never quit. Bad habits die hard and it’s never easy. You have to find something you enjoy. So try some of everything and find something that you like. It takes time but it becomes a lifestyle,” she said.