Mississippi
msapostille.Com

Year after year, when gifts are unwrapped and Christmas hams are reduced to leftovers, most of us begin crafting a mental or tangible list of New Year's resolutions.

And year after year, the No. 1 resolution is always the same - lose weight, exercise more, be healthy.

Twenty years ago, Rochelle Culp of Ridgeland made that resolution, but not at New Year's. Driven by the untimely death of her father at age 36, Culp didn't want her life to end abruptly as well.

Her resolve helped her shed more than 90 pounds, and her story led to her induction into NBC's Today show Joy Fit Club.

"What you were born with is your gift from God. What you do with it is your gift to God," said Culp, 47, project director for the Mississippi Tobacco-Free Coalition, an affiliate of The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi. "Health and fitness is a part of my job as well as my ministry in life."

Culp, a native of Durant, also is a certified fitness instructor, personal trainer and wellness coach at Fitness Lady Health Clubs, and owner of Ro-on-the-GO, a firm educating and motivating communities to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Many would say Culp is facing an uphill battle in Mississippi, ranked the most obese state in the nation. Culp prefers not to dwell on that title, instead focusing on the small steps that can be made toward a healthier state.

"Yes, we're the No. 1 most obese state, but guess what? We didn't get any heavier," Culp said, explaining this year is the first time in a decade that Mississippi's obesity rate hasn't grown. "I think that's something to celebrate."

When it comes to being fit, Culp believes small changes make a big impact. In her travels through Yazoo, Madison and Holmes counties for the Partnership, Culp has met Mississippians who've changed their lives as a result of small, but effective choices. It's those on-the-job stories that keep her motivated, stories of youth vowing to never smoke, stories of longtime smokers who breathe better and feel better after kicking the habit.

"When you hear stories like, 'I don't have to take my blood pressure medication anymore ... I don't have to have a shot anymore ...' I could go on and on, but these are the types of testimonials that go way beyond the paycheck," Culp said.

Those stories also inspire Culp, a champion bodybuilder and marathon runner, to push herself. She wants to cross one goal off her bucket list in 2012 - climbing the Empire State Building.

Her hope for those striving for fitness in the New Year is that they will focus on the big picture. Could something else aside from diet and exercise be a barrier to healthy living? Career? Finances? Spiritual life?

"The changes you make today will pay off tomorrow, the next day, 10 years, 20 years from now," she said. "My mission is to show others that it can be done, no matter what environment."

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