Nutrition & Wellness Program

Getting healthy and staying healthy are critical to your well-being. At ECHN, we are committed to helping you on this journey by offering classes to help you create and maintain a healthy lifestyle. These classes are offered through our Center for Healthy Living. Though some programs specifically target preventing diabetes and/or managing an existing diagnosis, many other classes are open to anyone!

To learn more or to register for classes, call 860.647.6824

6 Week Journey to Healthy Living

Thinking about your long-term health and wellness? Join one of our trained lifestyle coaches for a 6-week program focused on all things healthy! You will learn how small lifestyle changes can help you prevent or reverse chronic diseases and improve your quality of life. Each week will address a different topic such as nutrition, healthy eating, getting active, shopping and cooking, stress management, importance of sleep and more! Sessions will provide opportunities for self-reflection and goal setting to gain awareness of one’s current lifestyle and ability to commit to minor changes to improve one’s overall health.

Tuesdays, May 7 – June 11
12 – 12:45 p.m.
Virtual Class (Zoom)
$60

Pre-registration is required.

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Food Is Medicine: Session 1: Vitamins and Minerals

Embark on a culinary journey with a free 4-week series throughout the month of May! Join Sarah Khan, Lifestyle Coach, MS in Nutrition, and learn the secrets of crafting flavorful and nutritious meals on a budget, all while exploring health benefits!

Wednesday, May 8
Virtual Class (Zoom)
2 – 3 p.m.
Free

Pre-registration is required.
Please sign up for each session separately.

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Food Is Medicine: Session 2: Carbs

Embark on a culinary journey with a free 4-week series throughout the month of May! Join Sarah Khan, Lifestyle Coach, MS in Nutrition, and learn the secrets of crafting flavorful and nutritious meals on a budget, all while exploring health benefits!

Wednesday, May 15
Virtual Class (Zoom)
2 – 3 p.m.
Free

Pre-registration is required.
Please sign up for each session separately.

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Working Together to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: Resources and Information

Interested in learning how to incorporate healthy lifestyle changes into your daily routine to avoid, prevent or delay Type 2 Diabetes? Join a trained Lifestyle Coach for a discussion on how to help prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 Diabetes and other chronic conditions. You will also learn about resources ECHN’s Center for Healthy Living has available to you to prevent Type 2 Diabetes, lose weight, be more physically active and many other things with the help of a lifestyle coach.

This session is not for those who have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

Wednesday, May 22
12 – 1 p.m.
Virtual Class (Zoom)
Free

Pre-registration is required.

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Food Is Medicine: Session 3: Proteins

Embark on a culinary journey with a free 4-week series throughout the month of May! Join Sarah Khan, Lifestyle Coach, MS in Nutrition, and learn the secrets of crafting flavorful and nutritious meals on a budget, all while exploring health benefits!

Wednesday, May 22
Virtual Class (Zoom)
2 – 3 p.m.
Free

Pre-registration is required.
Please sign up for each session separately.

Learn More

Food Is Medicine: Session 4: Fats

Embark on a culinary journey with a free 4-week series throughout the month of May! Join Sarah Khan, Lifestyle Coach, MS in Nutrition, and learn the secrets of crafting flavorful and nutritious meals on a budget, all while exploring health benefits!

Wednesday, May 29
Virtual Class (Zoom)
2 – 3 p.m.
Free

Pre-registration is required.
Please sign up for each session separately.

Learn More

Sweet Talk: Diabetes Support Group

Sweet Talk is ECHN’s Diabetes Support Group that welcomes anyone who has diabetes or pre-diabetes and would like to make connections with others living with these conditions every day. We welcome new members who are looking for support.

Third Tuesday of every month
12 – 1 p.m.
Center for Healthy Living at Manchester Memorial Hospital
Free

Pre-registration is required.

To learn more and to register, call 860.647.6824.

Prevent T2: ECHN’s Diabetes Prevention Program

Are you 45 years or older? Are you overweight? Are you physically active less than 3 times a week? Do you have a family history of Type 2 Diabetes? Has your healthcare provider told you your blood sugars are “higher than normal”?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be at risk of having prediabetes and at considerable risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. We have a program that can help change that! ECHN’s Prevent T2 Program can help you make lasting lifestyle changes to prevent or delay Type 2 Diabetes. Our program is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Diabetes Prevention Program and is proven to work.

CDC science based curriculum
CDC Research shows that people with prediabetes who take part in a doable structured lifestyle change program can cut their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by at least 58 percent (71% for those aged 60 and older). Through the CDC developed lessons, materials, handouts, and other resources you will learn the skills needed to lower your blood sugar levels by losing weight, becoming more physically active, managing stress and much more.

A lifestyle coach, specially trained to lead the program
Classes are led by trained lifestyle coaches who provide a supportive and fun environment to help you learn, develop, and sustain new healthy habits, encourage you to set and meet goals, keep you motivated and manage the stresses of life—all while lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

A support group of people with similar goals and challenges
With your trained lifestyle coach as a guide, you will collaborate with other people just like you who have the same risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. Together, you can share ideas and stories, try new things, celebrate successes, and work to overcome obstacles.

Only 24 hours of your life at low or no cost to you
This program is a year-long program with weekly meetings for the first 6 months, then once monthly for the second 6 months. It may even be free to you, as well as being a covered benefit in many health plans and Medicare. We offer convenient times in the morning, at lunch time and in the evening, both virtually and in person, with new classes starting every month, all throughout the year.

It’s not too late to take control of your health and prevent Type 2 Diabetes. Small changes make a big difference and can help you live a longer, healthier life. Now is the time to take charge of your health and make a change!

To qualify, you must be 18 years or older with a BMI of over 25 and have no previous diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
For specific dates and times of the program, to take a risk test to see if you qualify, or to register right away, visit echn.org/blockdiabetes or call 860.647.6842.