The Wellness Wednesday Newsletter is a bi-weekly release in which Be Well will share events, information, and resource to support healthy lifestyles. It will serve as our communication with our campus community as we try to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Be Well Party by the Pool Event!
The Be Well staff would like start off by thanking everyone who helped with the Party by the Pool! event. Also, thank you to all the faculty, staff, and family members who attended, making the event that much better!
On Friday July 8, the Be Well staff threw its first party for all university employees and their families in the plaza space at the Student Aquatics Center (SAC) and the Tennessee Recreation Center for Students (TRECS). The Party by the Pool! was an event dedicated to family fun in the sun with board games, inflatables, educational demonstrations, free food and prizes, and of course SWIMMING! The event was scheduled from 4-7 pm; however, inclement weather crashed the party around 6:15 leading to an abrupt halt to the festivities. If you were unable to attend, there were two educational demonstrations that encouraged healthy lifestyle behaviors, specifically being active and eating better.
Move More
Get ready to stretch, flex and tone all over. Join the Head to Tone Challenge from the ParTNers for Health Wellness Program and enjoy fun, random acts of fitness any time, anywhere you are. This six-week challenge leads you through a complete head-to-toe workout, one body area at a time. The goal is to help you move more and feel good.
Questions?
See the FAQ flier for more challenge details.
Eat Better
Energy balance is the relationship between the calories from foods or beverages an individual consumes with the amount of physical activity an individual performs. If an individual’s energy intake is not in balance with the amount of energy they burn through their physical activity, the individual gains weight. If the individual performs more physical activity in relation to their energy intake, the individual will lose weight.1 Consider the time and effort it would take with exercises just to burn off the calories from an unhealthy food (double cheeseburger) versus the calories from a healthier food (medium apple and 7” banana).
Added sugars have become a major source of added calories in the American diet.2 Added sugars are not naturally found in foods; they are added when foods are processed or prepared and can get in the way of individuals trying to balance their caloric intake/outtake. Added sugars include ingredients such as syrups, confectioners’ sugar, granulated sugar, etc. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) recommends only consuming 10% of daily calories from added sugars.3. Information on identifying added sugars and total calorie in packaged foods can been easily identified with the new Food and Drug Administration’s Nutrition Food Label.
Be Mindful
Our body language is an important factor, that is often ignored, when talking about mental health and wellness. Because body language makes up nearly 55% percent of communication, it can be a powerful tool that shapes how other perceive us and also how we perceive ourselves. Walking into a room with confidence in your steps will make you feel more comfortable and in control of the situation. It will also send a message to everyone in the room that relays the same information. In the following Ted Talks presentation, social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows as the power of “Power Posing.” Standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.
References:
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Healthy Weight Basics: Balance Food and Activity. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/healthy-weight-basics/balance.htm Accessed: July 7, 2016.
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American Heart Association: Added Sugars. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Added-Sugars_UCM_305858_Article.jsp#.V4UcrNIrK70 Accessed: July 7, 2016.
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S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture.2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for American. Key Recommendations: Components of Healthy Eating Patterns. 8th Edition. December 2015. Available at http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/