Well - Winter 2013 - (Page 4)

community Up to the Challenge Healthiest You Challenge motivates participants to shed weight. BY Allie WAgner T ruck Pushers was an apt name for the 2012 Healthiest You Challenge’s UNC Health Care team, because at the close of every weekly team workout, they did just that—they pushed a truck. After a grueling, hourlong workout, structured more like a military boot camp, their head coach George Wayson hopped into the driver seat of his pickup as members of his team pushed the truck around the UNC Wellness Center at Meadowmont parking lot. The Truck Pushers team was just one of the groups participating in a larger exercise and weight loss program coordinated by the Wellness Center. UNC Health Care offered employees and members of the community a chance to get in shape and lose weight with the second annual Healthiest You Challenge. “Healthiest You has been a positive and affirming experience for both the participants and the coaches,” says Jamy McGee, MA, HFS, health education director of the UNC Wellness Center. “It has also demonstrated the desire and need for wellness, fitness and physical activity for UNC Health Care employees and the greater community.” The contest took place over eight weeks. Just 64 participants were selected from 419 applicants and divided into eight teams. After the initial weigh-in, participants were weighed once a week at the Wellness Center and attended at least one contest-sponsored class or program. “My first reaction when I found out that I was selected for the challenge was absolute surprise,” says John Crawford, a member of the Truck Pushers and supervisor of the Transplant Service Laboratories in the UNC Hospitals’ McLendon Clinical Labs. Crawford also said that the weekly After every workout, the Truck Pushers team pushed their head coach’s truck around the parking lot. 4 Winter 2013 Well Marva Atkins, a member of the Truck Pushers team, participated in the 2012 Healthiest You Challenge. workouts, his teammates and coaches, and accomplishing his weight loss goals made him grateful he was one of the few chosen to participate. Losing Pounds, Gaining Motivation In an attempt to keep the teams and members motivated and involved throughout the challenge, each member received complimentary use of the Wellness Center, fitness counseling and healthy eating advice from the Wellness Center’s staff. A head coach and an assistant coach were assigned to each team to continually encourage each participant to stay on track and get fit. A weekly newsletter was also sent from the Wellness Center as a way to offer information on weight loss, weight reduction, diet and exercise, including a list of special class offerings, clinics and programs. “My hope is that other hospital employees will see the benefits of the program and be inspired to lead a healthier lifestyle,” says Wayson, director of the UNC Wellness Center. Awards were given to the top two men, top two women and the team with the greatest percent body weight loss. Losing weight, however, is only one of the many benefits of the program. Not only have members lost pounds and inches, but they also have gained friends and the motivation to continue a healthy lifestyle. “One thing I have gained from this experience is my confidence,” says Kellee Alix, a member of the Truck Pushers and a medical coder for UNC Physicians and Associates. “Participating in workouts and seeing results makes me think, ‘If I can do this, what else am I capable of doing that I never thought I could?’”

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Well - Winter 2013

Well - Winter 2013
Contents
UNC Health Care News
Community
A New Generation of Specialized Health Care
Choose to Lose
Healing the Stubborn Wounds
Nutrition
Calendar

Well - Winter 2013