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PowerPoint on Food Additives from the Lunch and Learn

Happy Anniversary. Happy Birthday. Happy Retirement.  Happy My-Kid-Is-Off-To-College. Happy Monday. Happy Friday.  Happy I’m Getting Married! Happy I’m Single! Happy I’m Going On Vacation Tomorrow. Happy Haircut. Happy Valentine’s Day. Happy You’re a Great Co-Worker. Happy Here is my Leftover Halloween Candy.  Happy We Met Our Goal-Let’s Celebrate!  Happy New Baby! Happy Here are my Leftovers from a Party.  Happy I Love Working With You.  Happy Weight Loss Challenge.

We love celebrating don’t we?  Many of us show people we love and appreciate them through the giving of you guessed it – treats. It seems there is always a pan of bars, bowl of treats, or tin of something sweet somewhere in the office.  Treats are not taboo in and of themselves but why do treats always seem to appear when we are trying to avoid them?

Here are some tips on how to stay on track and defend your diet when those yummy treats show up unannounced at work:

• Ask yourself, how worthy is this treat?  Is it a crummy 5-day old cookie that will be thrown out tomorrow or is it something amazing that you may never see again in your lifetime.
• Focus on what you will do instead of eating that treat, such as drinking a glass of water or going for a quick walk down the hall.
• Put up your own defense and pack your own snacks.  Keep a healthier version on hand so if you do feel tempted, retreat to your hidden healthy stash.
• If it is something you can split with a few co-workers, portion it up into bite sized pieces and share the love.  Just take one little bite.
• If you get word of treats in the break room, set your limit in advance: exactly how much will you allow yourself to have?
• If you keep a food journal, remember that you will need to enter that item in-which is fine-as long as you don’t feel guilty later.
• Remember that what treat you eat is your responsibility.  Make the choice and own it! 🙂

This Friday is National Wear Red Day. Let’s Join together to create awareness for a great cause, GO RED FOR WOMEN!

Fruit sangria (non-alcoholic) will be served in the dining room on Friday, and satellite clinics will receive a care package.

If you have been telling yourself that you can’t change your health for the better, time to snip off that “t” on the end of can’t and turn it in to I can!

With the Employee Weight Loss Challenge right around the corner, and weight loss being the #1 resolution in the New Year for most Americans, it is good to remember the concept of: slow and steady wins the race.

Trying to lose weight quickly with fad diets, deprivation, and detoxes may work for a short time, but research proves that a majority of people gain this weight back and more within two years.  I know if I spent the time, energy and money to lose weight I would want the hard work of that weight loss to last, not have to turn around and have to try something else in a year.

In order to be successful at weight loss, it might be a couple big changes that you make, or it might be a few small changes.  Strategies will be different for everyone depending on your situation.  One small step could be just keeping track of what you eat in a food journal.  Another would be committing to exercising 15 minutes each day.

Be mindful of healthy weight loss, which is about 1-2 pounds per week.

With the New Year approaching, think about sustainable changes you can make that will have a positive impact on your weight, along with your overall health.

Sometimes it is easy to forget about the fitness resources we have around us.  Out of sight, out of mind. Take a look around the organization and see what resources you can tap into that will help maintain or improve your fitness level during the winter months.

Here are a few tips:

• Use the employee gym.  This is a wonderful resource for all employees and it is FREE of charge + it is open 24/7.  It’s a breeze to hop on a bike, treadmill and elliptical for a few minutes during the day. Get a badge from the ED desk to let you in to the gym if you are working out after hours.  If you work at a satellite, check with your therapy department on their policy of using gym equipment during non patient hours.
• Walk the halls on your break and/or lunch.  If the gym isn’t your thing, take a brisk walk around the halls of the organization.  Create a loop that you like, grab a co-worker or two, and catch up on each other’s happenings while you walk.
• Use the stairs.  Go up and down the stairs a few extra times in  row or just more frequently throughout the day.  You burn more calories than walking on level ground and it also gives a little boost to your tush.