Remembering Big Mike: Line Dance Instructor and Inspiration

By Liane Scott, on October 20th, 2017

I met Michael “Big Mike” Ballard four years ago when Grassroots DC moved into the Potomac Gardens Public Housing Complex. He made regular use of our Community Resource Center creating flyers for the dance classes he taught and using the computers and the Internet access working for his church and the nonprofit he was involved with Sistahs with Purpose. He taught at Knox Hill, Turkey Thicket Recreation Center and Potomac Gardens. He passed on October 10. He is survived by his mother Linda, sister Theresa and dozens and dozens of students and friends. He was a kind and compassionate person who will be missed. Below is an article I wrote about him in 2015. . . . → Read More: Remembering Big Mike: Line Dance Instructor and Inspiration

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How Line Dancing Helped Big Mike Save Himself

By Liane Scott, on November 2nd, 2015

Kids can be mean. Few know this better than 36-year-old DC native and Potomac Gardens resident Michael Ballard. Michael Ballard was heavy all of his life. The kids called him Fat Mike. His mother suffered from weight problems also so she understood what it was like to be teased and humiliated at school. It was only natural that they would become extremely close.

Michael continued to put on weight throughout school. By the time he graduated high school he weighed 300 pounds. Many people assume that anyone that weighs that much can’t do anything. Michael proved them wrong by going to work right out of high school. From 2000 to 2005 he worked for Goodwill Industries in housekeeping, a job he enjoyed. In 2005 Goodwill lost their contract with the Armed Forces Retirement Home and Michael went to work for Melwood, a nonprofit that creates jobs and opportunities for people with disabilities, in their housekeeping department.

At Melwood, Michael faced discrimination. His co-workers claimed that he had body odor; that he took up too much space; that he moved too slowly and was unable to complete his tasks because he couldn’t fit into the bathroom. It was high school all over again. Within just a few months Michael had left Melwood and returned to Goodwill Industries. But the stress at Melwood had caused Michael to put on more weight. He now weighed ?? pounds. He had a different project manager at Goodwill, one who didn’t know him well and he faced discrimination at Goodwill as well.

He was accused of sitting on and breaking Goodwill’s second-hand chairs. To address the problem, the Government Service Administration brought a bench to his job site exclusively for Michael to use. Unfortunately, his project manager, unwilling to find ways to accommodate an employee of Michael’s size, threw the bench into the trash.

Besides the stress of the hostile work environment, Michael developed an upper respiratory infection from working in Goodwill’s Garage. Despite all this, Michael continued to work at Goodwill from 2006 until 2013, when he was let go.

After losing his job, Michael’s health deteriorated. Due to his extreme weight, Michael had for years suffered from lymphedma— a condition that causes swelling in the arms or legs as a result of a blockage in the lymphatic system that prevents lymph fluid from draining well—on the bottom of both his legs. Michael also developed cellulites—a noncontagious bacterial skin infection—which spread from the bottom of both of his legs to his pelvis. This condition landed him in Washington Hospital for a ten-day stretch in March of 2013. From there he was transferred to Saint Thomas Moore Rehabilitation Center where he was bed bound for two months.

Two months of having to eat in the bed, having the bed made while lying in it, having his body turned and cleaned in the bed was more humiliating than years of being teased. Michael’s weight had made him a target for mockery but now it was risking his life. Michael knew that the only way to escape the derision and to save his life was to control his weight.

In May 2013, he went from being bed bound to being wheel chair ridden. Once in the chair, he was able to begin participating in physical therapy. Soon he was able to move around with a rollator. In December of 2013, Michael was well enough to move back home to Potomac Gardens but not without the use of two portable oxygen tanks.

By this time, his mother was in trouble. Being overweight herself, she had a hernia that had grown to the size of a soccer ball. In 2014, Michael’s mother had surgery at Georgetown Hospital. Terrified that he might lose his best friend, Michael’s stress levels soared along with his eating. While his mother was recovering, Michael’s weight ballooned. At 700 pounds, hospitalization was inevitable.

This time, Michael was offered the option of a sleeve gastrectomy, a procedure that removes all but twenty-five percent of the stomach and greatly limits the patient’s food intake. The operation was performed by Dr. Paul Lin at George Washington University Hospital in March of 2015. Seven months later, Michael had lost 301 pounds.

How did he do it? In addition to the gastrectomy, Michael started exercising with regularity and intensity. For three hours, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he does water aerobics. His real passion is line dancing, which he does from 6:00 – 8:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the . . . → Read More: How Line Dancing Helped Big Mike Save Himself

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Healthy Youth

By Carolyn Johnson, on May 12th, 2014

OBESITY IN CHILDREN

The causes of obesity are complex and include biological, behavioral and cultural factors. Obesity occurs when a person eats more calories than the body burns up. They need a change in diet.

Childhood obesity is a major public health problem. Children become overweight and obese for a variety of reasons. The most common causes are genetic factors, lack of unhealthy eating pattern and a lack of physical activity. However children are at high risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure later in life. The following is a list of common causes of obesity:

poor eating habits overeating or binging lack of exercise (i.e., couch potato kids) family history of obesity medical illnesses (endocrine, neurological problems) medications (steroids, some psychiatric medications) stressful life events or changes (separations, divorce, moves, deaths, abuse) family and peer problems low self-esteem depression or other emotional problems

How can obesity be managed and treated? Obese children need a thorough medical evaluation by a pediatrician or family physician to consider the possibility of a physical cause. In the absence of a physical disorder, the only way to lose weight is to reduce the number of calories being eaten and to increase the level of physical activity. Lasting weight loss can only occur when there is self-motivation. Since obesity often affects more than one family member, making healthy eating and regular exercise a family activity can improve the chances of successful weight control for the child or adolescent.

WORKOUT EXERCISE FOR KIDS

Kids exercise means playing and being physically active. Kids exercise when they have gym class at school, during recess, at dance class or soccer practice, while riding bikes, or when playing tag.

One of the best ways to get kids to exercise is by finding ways to get them active without making it feel like actual exercise. Thanks to video games and computers, today’s kids live a more sedentary life, so it is more important than ever to get them moving whenever possible. From fun games to trampoline tricks and even yoga, here are 10 steps you can take to get your kids to play hard and thus get exercise without even knowing it!

Create a superhero-in-training Do a hoop dance Create the Playground Olympics Jump on the trampoline Try yoga for kids Jumping Rope Using an exerciser ball Make activity flash cards Play the Wii game Play with balloons NUTRITION MEALS FOR KIDS

Nutritious meals for kids provide the vitamins nutrients and mineral needed to meet the daily dietary guideline for children.

Children use a lot of energy to maintain a high level of concentration, increased brain power and a healthy lifespan. So exercise throughout the day will prevent energy high and low. A healthy daily diet for kids should Include three meals and two healthy snacks.

Teach your child to eat a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables.

Healthy Meals for Kids

Good things come in small packages and mealtime is no exception. These healthy meals are perfect for popping into little mouths or picking up with tiny fingers. Your kids will delight in these bite-sized meals and snacks. Each meal is low in calories, provides a variety of healthy ingredients, and is so tasty even the big kids (a.k.a. Mom or Dad) will like them.

With each recipe, find suggestions for the parents to help make prep easier, to involve the children in the kitchen, or to add a unique, adult-friendly spin to the recipe. Best of all, you can feel good serving these healthy recipes to your children.

Chicken Fingers

Chickens don’t have fingers! I think the name comes from how you eat them. This part of the chicken is the loin, which comes from the breast. The loin has a little yellowish-white tendon at one end that is sometimes tough to chew. You can cut this tendon off after you wash and dry the meat, but I usually leave it on. Hey, I’m lazy!

Yields: 3 to 5 servings

Oven Temp: 375

Ingredients 1 pound(s) chicken tenders (The package might call them “loins”)Chicken Fingers:

1 cup(s) flour 1 teaspoon(s) salt 1/2 teaspoon(s) pepper 1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder 1 egg Cooking spray

Honey Baby Sauce:

1/4 cup(s) honey 1/4 cup(s) spicy brown mustard

Directions

Preheat the toaster oven to 375 degrees. Rinse the chicken under running water in the colander, and blot it dry with the paper towels. The drying part is important because the . . . → Read More: Healthy Youth

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