Dana Miles: Wendy Rudnicki photoBy Wendy Rudnicki

Dana Miles, assistant principal at Rogers Middle School in Pearland, is a U.S. Army veteran, a wife and mother of three.

In October, she fulfilled another longtime goal — to become a certified Jazzercise instructor.

It was a long time coming for Miles, who had experienced a difficult pregnancy with her twin sons, which led to a weight of 245 pounds.

Thanks to Jazzercise, she now weighs 148.

Miles served in the Army for 12 years and is a Desert Storm veteran. She lives with her husband, Michael, their son Lance, 5, and twins Luke and Victorya.

A hard-fought victory

When Miles found out she was pregnant, Michael, an Army nurse, was in Africa as part of a civil service mission to set up hospitals and provide health services.

“It was rough for me because he mobilized January 19 and I found out I was pregnant Feb. 14.

“Three weeks after that I found out it was twins, and I already had a 3-year-old,” said Miles, who lives in Pearland.

During her pregnancy, Miles, 42, developed hypertension and gestational diabetes and was put on bed rest at five months and then hospitalized.

Michael Milescame home on leave but had to return to Africa and missed the babies’ birth on Sept. 4 by three days, she said.

Only days later, with Hurricane Ike bearing down on the Gulf Coast, the twins, who were still in the neonatal intensive care unit, were evacuated by ambulance to the NICU in a Humble hospital, Miles said. Her parents came from Mississippi to help her evacuate. Still recuperating from a caesarian, Miles slept on the floor of the hospital and “walked to NICU every two hours to nurse the babies.”

When she returned to work two months after the twins were born, she resumed the Jazzercise classes she enjoyed before becoming pregnant. The exercise improved her cardiovascular endurance, strength, and flexibility, helped her lose weight and “it was fun,” she said.

Michael Miles returned home in July and saw the 11-month-old twins for the first time. He is in the Army Reserve 4005th Medical Support Unit stationed at Ellington Field and works in the spinal cord injury nursing unit at Michael E. Debakey Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Houston.

With her husband home, Miles said she had more time to devote to Jazzercise, so when “a brilliant instructor,” Kandice Harris, offered to help her train to become an instructor, Miles jumped at the chance, she said.

They met several times a week and Harris coached Miles and taught her routines.

Miles advised those who want to lose weight and get in shape to commit to exercise at least four times a week for 30 minutes or more, get to bed early, and to resist the temptation to eat after the sun goes down.

“After my afternoon workout, from 5:45 to 6:45, I eat very little and I sleep pretty much on nothing. Healthy eating is not depriving yourself of things that you really like to eat. It’s about thinking smart and eating smart and not just spur of the moment.”

But the most important advice she said she can offer is this: “Spend healthy time with people and family you love. To me, exercise and fitness and a healthy life, you’ve got to share it with people that you love.”