Worksite Wellness and You

Despite the name Worksite Wellness, it doesn’t mean getting a facial and pedicure at work, a gourmet lunch and a nap, although that does sound pretty good, if you know of said workplace, let me know, I will update my resume.

You may have heard the term “Worksite Wellness” bantered about. One of the goals of offering wellness programs in the workplace is to help employers reduce skyrocketing health care costs. Did you know that 20% of the population is using 80% of health care? Well, it may sound a tad mercenary to you, but look at it this way, wouldn’t you rather have healthy staff and spend the money on hmm, pay raises or bonuses or other perks rather than on the one co-worker who is always out sick due to uncontrolled diabetes or persistent colds due to smoking. And, how do you feel when you are the co-worker who takes care of her/himself and has to pick up the slack when said person is missing work on a regular basis. I have been there and I know I didn’t like it. I worked with a woman who called in sick at least once a week, her absenteeism affected us all.

Here are some easy ways to participate in a worksite wellness program:
· Walking is free and you can do it anywhere. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity.
· Are you allowed a 10 minute break? Rather than sit in the break room twice a day complaining about life, get out and take a 10 minute walk, go with a co-worker, you might just surprise yourself and see the beauty around you and smile instead of gripe.
· No one to walk with? Go alone, it is a great opportunity to clear the cobwebs and think things through. I must say, some of my most inspired ideas have popped into my head while walking. I just have to remember what it was and write it down when I get back.
· A walk helps you de-stress.
· Too cold or icy to walk outside? Use the stairs, people in my building have a 3 floor loop we do!

“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking” Friederich Nietzsche (19th century German philosopher)

Healthy meetings. “Healthy meetings” you say? An oxymoron. Meetings- they give you fits, your blood pressure goes up and you dread them. You know there is a pile of work on your desk and now you have to take a precious hour or more to sit and think about all you have to do.

But….
o you think, ah, there will be donuts,
o I am doing so well monitoring my fat grams and if the meeting is an hour that might mean 2 donuts,
o the wellness angel in your office is overseeing the meeting’s food offering. She has bought fresh fruits, cut up nicely into bite size pieces, fat free strawberry yogurt dip, whole grain crackers and low fat cheese, topped off with a cup of coffee, sounds pretty good.

For more information, refer to the February 8, 2010 blog on Healthy Meetings.

· In an effort to contain costs employers are offering health screenings, paying for basic blood tests to encourage their employees to see their primary care provider for guidance.
· Even if you have to pay for the service, it is at a discounted rate than if you went to your personal physician who would send you to an outside lab for the tests, you are saving time too.

You now have your results.
· Did your cholesterol come back too high putting you at risk for heart disease? How are your blood sugars? High enough for pre-diabetes but not yet being told you have diabetes? How’s your blood pressure? Get thee to a doctor.

What numbers are you talking about and what is normal? Good question. Read on.

Blood Pressure <120/80
LDL (goals may vary) <100-129 mg/dL
HDL >50 mg/dL for women and HDL >40 mg/dL for men
Triglycerides <150 mg/dL
Total Cholesterol <200 mg/dL
Blood glucose-fasting <100 mg/dL
BMI <25 KG/m2
From: http://www.goredforwomen.org/know_your_numbers.aspx

Does your employer offer disease prevention or disease management programs? Smoking cessation? Free and confidential health coaching? Take advantage of these programs, the benefit to you is improved health.

Now, let’s say your employer doesn’t offer any wellness programs but you have finished reading this and are quite interested in getting something going in your place of work. Look no further. Worksite wellness programs are growing in Montana. For more information check out: http://montanaworksitewellness.org.

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up”
Vince Lombardi

Corned Beef and Cabbage, a low fat version

From Weight Watchers site

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

1¼ pounds corned beef, trimmed of all visible fat
1 small head green cabbage, cored and cut into 6 wedges
18 baby carrots
6 small purple-top turnips, peeled and halved
1 cup pearl onions or small pickling onions
6 small red potatoes, scrubbed and left whole

1. Bring the corned beef and enough water to cover to a boil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until almost tender, about 1½ hours.
2. Add the cabbage, carrots, turnips, onions, and potatoes to the pan; return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables and corned beef are fork tender, about 45 minutes.
3. Transfer the corned beef to a platter and carve into slices. Lift the vegetables from the broth with a slotted spoon and serve with the corned beef.

Per serving (1/6 of dinner): 320 Calories, 12 g Fat, 5 g Saturated Fat, 60 mg Cholesterol, 790 mg Sodium, 36 g Total Carbohydrate, 7 g Fiber, 16 g Protein, 117 mg Calcium.