Current Update!
Terri has so far lost 102 pounds! We are so happy for her, especially because she has done this by making lifestyle changes that she can stick with once her goal weight is reached. She has been inspiring so many of our members with her success.
Friday July 9th, we had the Bill Wolfe Memorial Fight Against Obesity (FAO) Walk/Run which turned into a major event and included several Zumba classes throughout the day and evening.
Read the coverage in the Citizens Voice. http://citizensvoice.com/news/running-in-honor-of-her-father-1.882748.
The Times Leader also stopped by and had this story:
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Walking_for_health__ndash__and_dad_rsquo_s_memory_07-09-2010.html
WBRE TV also covered the event and document Terri's final lap.
We hope you enjoy this excerpt from the Citizen's Voice - Wilkes-Barre
The story was written by Bob Kalinowski (Staff Writer) and published: March 14, 2010
 (Other stories about Odyssey follow this one.)
Terri Homeier, 29, of Plymouth has been relentlessly working out to lose weight. As an incentive to keep herself motivated, Homeier has organized a 5-mile charity walk/run at the Odyssey in memory of her father, Bill Wolfe, on July 9
Obesity killed Terri Homeier's father.
She tearfully watched from his hospital bedside as he died an avoidable death - kidney failure at age 48 from being 750 pounds.
At age 29 and struggling with obesity, the mother of three wants to avoid the same fate. When Homeier's weight surpassed 400 pounds several months ago, she vowed to change her life.
"He always said, 'If you could do one thing for me, get the weight off.' I don't want to be 48 and leave my kids," the Plymouth woman said. "Obesity took my dad from me. It's time to break the chain."
In October, Homeier enrolled at the Odyssey Fitness Center in Wilkes-Barre and changed her eating habits. She has shed more than 50 pounds and continues to knock off a few pounds each week.
"I grew up heavy. I was heavy since I was a kid," Homeier says. "I don't like it anymore."
As an incentive to keep her motivated, Homeier has organized a 5-mile charity walk/run at the Odyssey in memory of her father, Bill Wolfe, on July 9. During the event, she and supporters will circle the fitness center's track 50 times to mark what would have been his 50th birthday.
"I always told him if he made it to 50, I'd throw him a big party," Homeier said.
Homeier's struggle
Still mourning the loss of her father, Homeier's life-changing moment came last summer in Chicago. Attending a Chicago Cubs baseball game, she could not carry her daughter up the bleachers at Wrigley Field due to her size. She weighed herself when she got home: 403 pounds.
"I was heartbroken. I was going down the path of my dad," Homeier recalled.
Homeier said her father never controlled what he ate. She took after him. Obesity runs in the family and the large steak and potato meals they ate several times a week did not help. Once she got married, Homeier continued to cook red meats and fried foods for dinner. She and her husband, John, commonly would sit on the couch and finish an entire large bag of M&Ms or a bag of potato chips in a single sitting. That all ended in October when Homeier committed herself to weight loss, workouts and eating healthy, she said.
Red meats and fried food are now off the menu at the Homeier household. She's buying and serving more vegetables and fruits. Slowly, she's getting her children, Kaitlyn, 6, John Jr., 3 and Colby, 2, into healthy eating.
"I recently said to my husband, 'Could you imagine how we used to eat?'" she said.
Homeier is also making major strides at the gym. She attends five days a week, usually with the guidance of an Odyssey employee. She walks the track, swims, uses cardio machines and takes part in aqua aerobics. Little changes - walking her daughter to and from the bus stop, instead of driving - all contribute.
Losing weight then comes down to mathematics, she says. She uses an online calorie management program [bodybugg] to compare caloric intake from meals to calories burned from exercising.
"It's a numbers game for me now," said Homeier, a 1999 graduate of Wyoming Valley West High School.
Unsure of what she was in for when she joined the health club, Homeier said it's a comforting, not scary, experience.
"The people here are so welcoming. The Odyssey family here inspires me. People shouldn't be afraid to come to a gym. You're never too big to go to a gym. I want people to find the reason they need to do it," she said. "I found my reason."
Homeier hopes the memorial walk for her father will get her a few new workout partners. She is allocating the money raised to a scholarship fund to provide gym memberships for area residents who struggle with obesity.
She knows the embarrassment of being limited to searching for clothing off racks at the plus size store and hoping it fits.
"I'm beginning to walk with my head up. I was down in the dirt. My 30s are going to be the best time in my life because I will be the healthiest I ever was."
A sudden death
While Homeier's father, Bill Wolfe, had health problems from obesity, his death came suddenly. He was rushed to the hospital on a Monday and died on a Tuesday. Kidney failure brought on by obesity was the main cause but there were other contributing factors, Homeier said.
Just a week before, Wolfe was at Foxwoods Casino on a vacation. Months before, he enjoyed a trip to Disney World in Florida with his grandchildren.
"Just because he was big, doesn't mean he didn't live a life. He loved and enjoyed life," Homeier said.
Wolfe left behind five children and 12 grandchildren.
Homeier says obesity is "hereditary, plain and simple" in her family. Wolfe battled his weight much of his life, despite growing to 6 feet 7 inches tall. A chef by trade, he also liked to eat.
"He'd get in a mood and eat anything that was at his hand. He didn't have control," Homeier recalled.
As the years went by, the weight started taking a physical toll on his body. Inside, obesity was killing him as well, but he fretted ever going to the hospital, Homeier said.
"I can't imagine 750 pounds of weight," she said. Stubborn to the end, Wolfe wouldn't go to the hospital until it was too late, she said.
"He knew. He said, 'I'm checking out of here,'" Homeier recalls.
Even after death, obesity plagued the family. Grieving the loss, the family had significant troubles finding a crematory to accept his body.
Wolfe's life struggle is what Homeier says will push her toward her goal of reaching 180 pounds.
"Not a day goes by I don't use him for motivation," she said.
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055
Times Leader, The (Wilkes Barre, PA)
Making a splash
February 1, 2010
BILL O'BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com
 WILKES-BARRE - Elizabeth "Betty" Dunsavage is an aqua aerobics instructor who runs marathons. Two weeks ago, Dunsavage was at Disney World in Orlando for the annual "Marathon Weekend." In successive days, Dunsavage ran a half-marathon (13.1 miles) and a full marathon (26.2 miles). About 98 percent of the entrants in the two-day, 39.3-mile event were younger than Dunsavage. She's 64 years young and the stories of her energy and enthusiasm are countless. Shivaun O'Donnell, general manager at Odyssey, remembers last year's Steamtown marathon in Scranton. "Betty ran the 26.2 mile race and showed up the next day for work," O'Donnell said. "A few of our much younger customers that ran at Steamtown - people in their 20s - came to work out and were complaining of soreness, but not Betty."
Dunsavage has been teaching aquatic aerobics for 13 years at the Odyssey, YMCA and CYC in Wilkes-Barre. She has 30 to 40 participants in her classes - the oldest 88. "I work hard at it," she said. "And I enjoy it; it's my life every day." It wasn't until two and a half years ago that Betty decided to start running. Her son, Jason, is an ultra-marathoner who runs races in excess of the 26.2-mile marathon distance. Jason became his mother's coach. "I think I got better because Jason was coaching me," she said. "He acted as my pacer at the Steamtown Marathon." The strategy paid off for Dunsavage. Because of her excellent finish at Steamtown, she qualified for the 2011 Boston Marathon. Dunsavage said she alters her distances every day when training. She said she runs 20 miles one day and maybe eight the next. She paces herself because she has to run every day.
"Running has built my endurance, and I have improved physically, mentally and emotionally," she said. "My balance has also improved. But what I enjoy most is seeing the improvement in my class participants." Her "students" love her. They can't wait for Dunsavage to arrive and jump into the pool with them. They smile, laugh and cheer for each other as they splash about. "They're a good group," she said. "Some of them have been with me for more than 10 years." Not all of Dunsavage's class members are in poor condition - some are very physically fit and enjoy the exercise and the water. One man couldn't tie his shoes when he began, Dunsavage said, and now he has improved his condition greatly. "They make me want to stay on and continue what I'm doing," she said. Dunsavage said she does observe some dietary rules. She stays away from fats and watches her carbohydrates, unless it's race time. Then she piles on the carbs with lots of pasta. She also believes in vitamins and nutritional supplements. She said she usually eats four small meals per day rather than three larger meals.
Carol Buss, group fitness director at the Odyssey, said Dunsavage has made a special connection to the people she teaches. "They have built a social network together," Buss said. "They check on each other; it's not just about exercising." Dunsavage said she and her son may travel to a foreign country to race a marathon. "Maybe we will go to China and run their marathon on the Great Wall," she said. To those that know Dunsavage, the response is usually, "why not, it's Betty."
Times Leader February 22 2010
Indoor triathlon aids family health program Odyssey Fitness, Coal Street, Wilkes-Barre, donated more than $5,000 to Maternal and Family Health Services to support the agency’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program. The money was raised through Odyssey’s Fifth Annual Indoor Triathlon, which has raised more than $30,000 for charitable causes. Accepting the check is Bette Cox Saxton, president and CEO, Maternal and Family Health Services, from Shivaun O’Donnell, general manager, Odyssey Fitness.
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