MOVE! helps Miami Veterans stay motivated and sustain progress
VA News · · g4164138
Veterans in Miami committed themselves to healthy lifestyles with the help of the MOVE! Maintenance program.
Countless Veterans have changed their lives and improved their health with the MOVE! Weight Management Program for Veterans.
For several Veterans in Miami, Florida, progress didn’t stop when they completed their initial 16-week comprehensive lifestyle intervention. Instead, they continued to practice healthy lifestyle behaviors and support each other in the MOVE! Maintenance program.
The goal of MOVE! Maintenance is to provide continued support to Veterans so they can maintain healthy behavior changes.
Typically, Maintenance groups meet once per month, and Veterans often choose to participate to solidify their routine and healthy behaviors. In addition to accountability, MOVE! Maintenance reminds Veterans to try new activities, practice skills, update action plans as needed and take time to reflect on their progress. It also helps Veterans maintain their healthy choices in real-life situations like traveling away from home, gathering with family for the holidays or navigating challenging situations.
In April 2025, Michael Cicero was diagnosed with chronic stage III kidney disease and high-risk prediabetes. His healthcare team encouraged him to enroll in MOVE! After completing his initial 16-week MOVE! experience, Cicero transitioned to the monthly MOVE! Maintenance group. He also added weight management medication to supplement his progress and improve his health even more. Since starting MOVE!, Cicero has lost nearly 80 pounds. In reaching a healthier weight, he has experienced benefits to his general health, including significant improvements in kidney function and blood sugar levels. He has drastically reduced his risk for diabetes.
For Ariel Rivera, gaining weight accompanied his career advancement. With gradual increases in work hours, travel and dining out, he had less time for physical activity and saw gradual weight gain. To improve his liver function and overall health, Rivera’s care team recommended weight loss. Rivera was introduced to MOVE! and chose to participate in the 16-week virtual group sessions. Since starting 16 months ago, he has lost more than 85 pounds. His health has improved, and he is more physically active than he has been in years. Like Cicero, Rivera also chose to participate in MOVE! Maintenance, which has given him the opportunity to maintain his progress and stay committed to his new, healthy lifestyle through the shared experience with his peers.
Between 2007 and 2012, Larry Williams participated in MOVE! intermittently. By 2012, he had lost nearly 50 pounds, but in the years that followed, he cycled between weight gain and loss. In 2023, his journey led him back to MOVE! virtual group sessions. This time, Williams combined MOVE!’s focus on healthy lifestyle changes with weight management medication. The combination of strategies brought him the progress he sought. Even though Williams is still working to lose weight and reach his goal, he acknowledges his progress and is currently at his lowest weight in almost 50 years. He has combined healthy eating habits and medication with the support and accountability offered by his virtual MOVE! Maintenance group. He is confident he will achieve even more health benefits.
The Miami MOVE! Maintenance group relies on the expertise and guidance of MOVE! team members including Dr. Jason Dahn, health behavior coordinator, and Michele Alonso MS, RD, clinical dietitian. The two shared that Veterans found real value in getting to know one another, describing a strong sense of group cohesiveness and mutual support. While each Veteran had their own challenges to face and goals to realize, their collective effort united them.
“For so many patients, affirming their progress and helping them to calibrate having realistic expectations seems to be most beneficial,” Dahn and Alonso said.
MOVE! Maintenance is a prime example of Veterans working together with MOVE! teams to reach their goals and achieve what matters most to them.
Michael Cicero, Ariel Rivera and Larry Williams are just a few of the men and women nationwide who have achieved their goals and changed their lives with the help of VA’s MOVE! program. The support of clinicians and Veterans in MOVE! Maintenance helps them stick with their new, healthy lifestyles and keep improving. Progress is as much a team effort as it is an individual one. Each story is one of hope and triumph, and as their journeys continue, the Miami, Florida, MOVE! team will be there to help.
To learn more about MOVE! Maintenance, contact your facility MOVE! coordinator or review the MOVE! Maintenance booklet .