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Riverside resident Delois Terry, 75, is a proud married mother of 4 with 9 grandkids and 14 great-grandchildren. Today, she has one more thing to be proud of…she reversed her dangerously high diabetes numbers to below the diabetic range and her once sky high blood pressure is consistently within the healthy spectrum. How did she do it? She is a member of Brand New Day (a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug health plan with a contract with Medicare) that works in conjunction with the team of family doctors from Lifestyle Medicine Solutions to help those with diabetes and hypertension improve their lives by embracing a healthier lifestyle. “I have suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure since I was in my fifties,” recalled Terry. “I tried various diets and sometimes I would lose the weight but invariably I would pack on the pounds again. Most recently, I tried Weight Watchers for the second time and though I lost a lot of weight at the time I started gaining it back. It was hard to stick to. I never felt satisfied. “Thanks to my primary care doctors from Lifestyle Medicine Solutions, I actually learned about the Four Pillars that aims to help people like me change how I look at food, exercise, managing stress and socializing,” she said. “The lifestyle changes have not been hard to stick to. I eat a lot of beans, vegetables, fruits and spices. I look for healthy foods that taste good. For example, in my group session this morning we talked about cauliflower pizza which I love. It's satisfying and makes me feel good.“ Terry says that her family has a long history of diabetes and her son was recently diagnosed with the disease. “I’m concerned for him and really want my whole family to take stock of their lives and commit to making some healthy changes,” she said. “One challenge is that I have to prepare healthy food for myself separate from what I cook for my family. The way I am wired is to take care of other people and put my needs second. We do lots of family BBQs, and it was tough. But I’m learning that I first have to take care of myself in order to take care of my family.” In addition to diet, exercise is an important facet of the Four Pillars program. “Before enrolling in Brand New Day, I didn’t have much use for exercise. I was tired and working out was the last thing on my mind,” she recalled. “Since having my diabetes under control, I have much more energy and look forward to exercising and that has really helped me turn my life around.” Terry says that socialization, also one of the pillars, takes place in the group meetings. “Coming to the meetings is great fun and I always learn something new as we love sharing tips with one another,” she said. “For instance, I just learned about turmeric, a spice commonly used in curry. I discovered that it is a natural anti-inflammatory and it has worked wonders easing my knee and back pain.” The fourth pillar is managing stress and Terry says spending time with her children and grandchildren bring her enormous joy and free her mind from the worries of the day. “Thanks to my embrace of the Four Pillars, I have gained a new lease on life,” said Terry. Brand New Day is the Medicare product name of Universal Care, Inc., a privately held California Knox-Keene Healthcare Service Plan licensed by the California Department of Managed Health Care and contracted with the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services as a Medicare Advantage contractor. Established in 1983, Universal Care, Inc. is owned and operated by an experienced group of managed care executives and physicians. For more information, visit BNDHMO.com or call (866) 255-4795.