“I am so grateful for incentives like this, they truly helped encourage me to eat healthier this past few weeks. I feel so great after walking on my lunch hour every day. Just knowing that a healthier lifestyle is supported by my employer makes eating right and exercising less stressful.” ∼Anonymous
“With so many distractions filling already busy lives with elections, holidays, changing seasons, etc., the needle for changing my less than healthy habits into better ones moves into the extreme zone this time of year. I know it should be done. I know it could be done, but the how? Enter the 10 Minute challenge, right smack dab in the middle of it all.
This little exercise of filling in a log for 2 weeks, taking a few minutes to read some new tips and ideas, and the charge of the expectation of receiving the prize at the finish, worked for me. I was a fun way to focus on my goal of better choices. Maybe I can’t rearrange my schedule to get to the gym right now, but I can take small incremental steps towards healthier habits 10 minutes at a time!
Thank you for the invitation to participate. I will take this reminder with me now that the challenge is officially over, to continue to make healthy choices even if only for a few minutes at a time.” ∼Cynthia, Enrollment Management
“This Wellness Challenge came at just the right time for me. Having had pretty serious knee surgery in August, I’ve been relatively inactive for the past couple of months, and I’m just now getting back to the point where I can even walk semi-normally. I had been a pretty active person, going to the gym most days after work and participating in outdoor activities with friends, so the lack of activity had really been getting me down. Most days at work, I sit at my desk hooked up to my cold therapy machine, and I’m especially sore and unwilling to get up and move around on days after physical therapy. The first day of the Wellness Challenge I took a 10 minute walk with my coworkers since we were all doing the Challenge and it was good for us all to take a break during a busy day. For some, a 10 minute walk across the bridge near our office would be no big deal; most people would make that walk every day just to go get coffee. But for me, walking the full 10 minutes was such an accomplishment. While I was sore and admittedly limping a bit, it felt good to know I could do it. Little bits of movement every day have helped me feel that much better during my recovery, and I’m amazed at my progress. Looking forward to continuing these healthy habits after the Challenge is over.” ∼Meredith, Greenberg House Washington DC
“I consider myself as being an active person on a regular basis. In fact, a week before the 10-minute challenge began I completed my first full marathon. As I was letting my body recover from the many miles I ran I also let myself indulge in some not-so-healthy foods. I thought why not treat myself for burning all those calories! Well, I started to abuse my privilege in indulgence and would eat donuts for breakfast, candy for snacks and greasy-savory foods for dinner. Once or twice won’t hurt but when it became a habit I knew something needed to change. I know myself and my eating habits so I went to the grocery store and strategized meals for the rest of the week that I could prepare and bring to work with me. This helps me stay away from buying fast food and spending unnecessary money.
At the office, my co-workers and I challenged each other to a hydration competition. We make it a point to fill our water bottles up at least three times per day. In addition to hydrating we took some of our informal staff meetings outside while walking around the block. We tend to stay at our computers all day but a change of scenery and fresh air was a total game changer! I believe taking time out of our busy work schedules to find something that eases our minds from the daily grind is essential to total wellness. Whatever it may be, identify that activity and practice it daily!” ∼Skylar, Greenberg House Washington DC
“I’ve been going to Weight Watchers (WW) for five years. Although I have several good daily habits, I enjoy challenges like the 10-Minute Challenge because it helps me refocus and think about wellness from a different perspective. Lots of small healthy habits can add up to one healthy lifestyle.
During the Challenge, I was committed to tracking my food on the WW app. I also wear an Up24 fitness band, and was committed to tracking my workouts. The fitness app syncs with the WW app – even a 10-minute walk earns me two WW activity points. My weekly goal is 40 – during Week One, I earned 75 fitness points and during Week Two, I earned 73. Since March, I’ve tried several new exercise classes, and continue to participate weekly: private-instruction Pilates, Aqua Spin, Aqua Yoga, Aqua Fusion, Aqua Barre, Aqua Pilates, Aqua Circuit, and the SkyFit class at the SkyZone trampoline park (that one was extremely challenging!). I drink 64 ounces of water daily.
As a staff, we coordinated two health & wellness events for alumni – a kids cooking class at Wegmans in Alexandria, VA and an adult alumni workout, a TRX Super Circuit. We have two fitness-focused events on our event schedule for spring 2017.
I commute from Baltimore to DC, 40 miles each way, and am in my car at least three hours daily. The commute is challenging physically and mentally which is why fitness and nutrition is an important part of my life.” ∼Mary, Greenberg House Washington DC