THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 3, 1996 TAG: 9512300119
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: EARNING A LIVING IN VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: BY LORI A. DENNEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
There's nothing like a brand new year to work on a brand new you.
Whether it's eating better or exercising more, Myong Chong and her business, Healthy Ways Ltd, can help make the determination that comes with a new year last all year long.
Chong has made it her business to educate people about nutrition and exercise. She has devised several information programs for the corporate world and individuals wishing to make a change, however small, in their lifestyles.
``This is a product people aren't familiar with,'' said Chong, 26. ``It's not pills. It's not meals. People always ask, `What exactly are you selling?' I answer, health and empowerment.''
Chong teaches the basics of nutrition. She includes a 45-minute lecture and 15 minutes of questions and answers. Chong goes over things such as making small but significant changes in diet, reading nutrition labels, diet pills, meal buying plans, how much people should eat and even where they should eat.
She also gets into the basics of exercise where she discusses how to choose realistic and healthy goals, how to come up with a plan of exercise and how medication or pre-existing health conditions are factors in an exercise routine. Chong also talks about burning fat and losing weight, toning muscles and the misconceptions of scales.
Lecturing is a big part of her business but it's not the only part. Using the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines, Chong also devises fitness plans for individuals and groups. She addresses each person one on one to find specific needs and even does a personalized work sheet on a person's goals, including caloric intake and exercise goals. Her lectures can be one-time events or ongoing, depending on what the customer wants.
Her business is geared toward corporations that want to improve the overall health of their employees. However, she's also more than willing to work with the individual on a private basis.
In fact, her first client when she opened in July was a woman who wanted a plan for exercising with a wrist injury.
Chong's charge depends on the size of a group and the need. Corporations pay a contract price that also varies according to the program presented and the length of time Chong is needed.
``I like the corporate world because I'm not only reaching the adult. The information I provide trickles down to the children, too,'' said Chong. ``My job is to listen to you and what you like to do and set an exercise guideline from that.''
Currently, Chong works part time with Ford Motor Co.'s fitness center. Working with Ford employees and educating workers about nutrition and exercise really amounts to preventative medicine, she said.
Chong, a Korea native who lives with her parents in Brookfield Crossing in Kempsville, graduated in 1992 from the University of Michigan with a degree in kinesiology, the study of human muscular movements in physical education.
She's also a graduate of Kempsville High School, where she was active in field hockey. Today, she plays on a field hockey team with some of her former coaches and she helps coach junior varsity field hockey at Princess Anne High School.
She also practices what she preaches. She sticks to her own exercise routine and healthy eating seven days a week.
When she's not promoting her business through various women's networking groups, she's teaching friends and family about fitness and nutrition.
Chong said she's already laid the groundwork for her business to grow. Her investment to start the business wasn't huge but her determination to succeed is.
``I believe in the American dream,'' said Chong, who says she'll marry when she meets someone she loves as much as field hockey.There's nothing like a brand new year to work on a brand new you. MEMO: To reach Healthy Ways Ltd., call 467-5787.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
``It's not pills. It's not meals,'' Myong Chong, 26, says of her
business, Healthy Ways Ltd. ``People always ask, `What exactly are
you selling?' I answer, health and empowerment.''
by CNB