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Healthy Texas Week: A recap of the healthiest week of the year
With the support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, H-E-B, and partners across Texas, IT’S TIME TEXAS successfully launched Healthy Texas Week, a one-week celebration of healthy living in the Lone Star State. Together, we were able to celebrate the health of all Texans while advancing the cause of making healthy the norm in our great state!
With the dedication and support of Texans like you, nearly 800,000 individuals committed to moving more, eating better and living well during the first annual Healthy Texas Week!
School districts, large and small, incorporated health messages into their morning announcements. Teachers led active brain breaks throughout the school day and hundreds of thousands of students across Texas benefited from a school environment that prioritized health. Neighbors hosted healthy potluck dinners and joined together for neighborhood rallies, prompting entire neighborhoods to go outside for healthy activities. Businesses encouraged employees to move more and eat better during the workday, and the Texas Senate passed a resolution officially recognizing the second week of April as Healthy Texas Week and commending the initiative as an innovative and important health program.
In the end, Healthy Texas Week further united members of the Texas community in support of a healthier state, and we should be proud of this important achievement! Once again, thank you for helping us make the week of April 8-14 the healthiest week in Texas!
How to create a healthy and active workplace during Healthy Texas Week
Author, John Waterman, is the Marketing & Communications Manager at ACTIVE Life
Healthy Texas Week, April 8-14, is a first-of-its-kind initiative in which IT’S TIME TEXAS, together with its Founding Allies, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas and H-E-B, celebrates the health of all Texans. During this week, Texans are encouraged to move more, eat better, and live well.
With Healthy Texas week quickly approaching, it’s time to consider a handful of fun ways to support the one-week celebration in the workplace. Let’s look at some easy activities and practices you can do to help make healthy the norm in your organization.
ACTIVE Life team members learn about the benefits of sitting on swiss balls instead of desk chairs during a lunch break.
By now, we’ve all heard the many studies that demonstrate the harmful effects of sustained sitting. One great way to begin incorporating physical activity in the workplace is to replace one or two of your daily sit-down meetings with a walking meeting. Take a quick stroll around your building, or map out a mile or two and get your legs moving! An even easier way to incorporate more walking into your daily routine is to avoid parking too close to your office.
Converting your workstation into a standing-friendly workstation is another great way to combat the harmful effects of sitting. If your budget doesn’t support a standing workstation, a simple and very inexpensive alternative is to place your laptop on a cardboard box, so that you can stand while typing. If you don’t have boxes available, try stacking books.
ACTIVE Life team members create standing work desks using boxes, books and filing cabinets.
One more great way to support Healthy Texas Week in the workplace and a good team-building activity is to organize a healthy potluck lunch for you and your coworkers. Have each team member bring in his or her favorite healthy dish, accompanied with a recipe, which can be written or printed onto a notecard. That way, you can learn how to cook and prepare those dishes that stand out during the potluck.
These are just a few of the things you can do to support Healthy Texas Week in the workplace. For more resources, information and to begin logging your activities, visit http://healthytexasweek.com/. With your help we will make it the healthiest week of the year, and together, we can, and we will, make healthy the norm in the Lone Star State!
John is the Marketing & Communications Manager at ACTIVE Life. John develops, manages and implements ACTIVE Life’s communication and marketing strategies and assets. His professional, academic and life experiences have taught him the importance of open and effective communication and the value of sustaining mutually beneficial relationships. John earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations and a Bachelor of Science in Radio, Television, and Film from The University of Texas at Austin. To stay active, John enjoys running, playing soccer, weight lifting, skateboarding and surfing.
Nutrition Myths, Demystified
Nutrition Advice That Will Benefit You and Your Health.
In today’s culture, of tons of food and nutrition data can be instantly accessed at with the click of a mouse. And the more outlandish and obscure something sounds, the more we want to believe it must be true. In this article, I’ll take you through a few myths I hear often in my office and deconstruct them to show the truth. I’d like to pass along some true nutrition advice that will benefit you and your health.
Myth 1 » Eating after 9pm will turn all the calories you just ate into fat.
Truth » First off calories can’t tell time. As much as we want to think that calories are little creatures they are actually a measure of energy. It would be like saying if you put gas in your car after 9 pm that gas is going to turn into water in the tank over night. What should you do with nutrition at night? Because everyone has such different timing and schedules there is no blanket term or rule. I like to guide my clients to stop eating 1-2 hours before bed to help with better sleep, nothing to do with a change in the molecular structure of their food.
Myth 2 » Eating carbohydrates makes you gain weight.
Truth » Cutting carbs from your diet may have short-term water loss due to how carbs travel in your body; covered by water molecules. The body uses carbs for energy, and going too long without them can cause lethargy, muscles damage and delayed brain function.
Myth 3 » You should drink eight, 8-oz. glasses of water per day.
Truth » You should replace water lost through breathing, excrement and sweating each day – but that doesn’t necessarily total 64 ounces of water. It’s hard to measure the exact amount of water you have consumed daily in food and drink, but if your urine is pale yellow, you’re doing a good job. If it’s a darker yellow, drink more H2O.
Myth 4 »Low-fat and light foods are better for you
Truth » Low fat or fat free does not mean calorie free or more nutritious. Many times, these products are slightly lower in calories than the full fat version but this is not always the case. Usually, when the fat is taken out, sugar, other carbohydrates, and chemicals are added in to keep the taste. The next time check out the ingredients of regular natural peanut butter vs. a reduced fat peanut butter. The addition of chemicals and additives can cause problems in our bodies because our bodies do not know how to process naturally.
In all, nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated. When something sounds too far out there or too good to be true, it usually is. Nutrition is not a mystery to be solved but a way for you to balance your fuel needs.
About the Author: Adrien Paczosa is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian practicing in Austin, Texas and the surrounding counties. Adrien’s approach to healthy nutrition is one that encourages whole-body wellness. As an IT’S TIME TEXAS Ambassador, Adrien works to spread her message of healthy living to her community. Find our more about Adrien, visit the Meet the Bloggers Page.
