HealthyUT – April 2017
Wellness Warrior
The Wellness Warrior Award is given to individuals across campus who are nominated by their peers for leading by example and inspiring through action to create a healthier lifestyle.
April Wellness Warrior Winner- Whitney Rumsey
The recipient of the April Wellness Warrior Award, Whitney Rumsey, is dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle and encouraging those around her to do the same. Whitney is a graduate student in the Masters of Public Health Program and the Graduate Assistant for Fitness with RecSports. While that is simply a title, she dedicates herself to not only managing the fitness staff that promotes a healthier lifestyle for all students, faculty, and staff, but also incorporating a healthy lifestyle with the staff. She has been known to led a 15-minute cycle workout at the end of staff meetings. She also knows that a healthy lifestyle is not just about fitness. She dedicates time on Sundays to cooking and prepping healthy meals for herself for the week. Whitney wants to devote her life to promoting a healthier lifestyle for society as a whole through the management of healthcare organizations and through policies that structure the world that we all live in.
Her nominator describes Whitney as, “not only an incredible friend to have but she is also an inspiration for people to see that you can be dedicated to a healthy lifestyle and a healthy social life too. She will not judge you for eating something unhealthy or even starve herself of indulgences, but she will joke that the Girl Scout Cookies we are all eating can be worked off through our flag football team. Whitney is a Wellness Warrior.”
I have always loved exercising and eating healthy! When I was a sophomore at the University of Kentucky I found my passion to teach group fitness classes. As a group fitness instructor, I have been able to inspire others to live healthy lifestyles while motivating myself to do the same. When I moved to Knoxville for graduate school, I realized how difficult it was to balance school, work, and health. Through meal prepping, organization, and time management I have reached several health goals and now live a healthier lifestyle than ever before. Wherever my future takes me, I know I will always love to teach group fitness and continuously work on improving my health inside and out!
-Whitney
Congratulations Whitney! Thank you for being such a motivating model of health and wellness.
Making the healthy choice is not always the easy choice. To nominate someone who you feel is deserving of the Wellness Warrior Award please fill out a nomination form.
Move More
Why not get double the credit for biking and walking? Now you can! In addition to your participation in the Be Well program, you can also earn points with Smart Trips when you commute to work or school, make business trips, or run personal errands by biking and walking. Do you bike to work sometimes? Walk to a business meeting a few blocks away? Bike to the grocery store or farmer’s market? Walk to lunch? All these count, and you can log all of them on the Smart Trips website or app!
Smart Trips is a free, online program that encourages alternatives to driving alone to ease traffic congestion and improve our region’s air quality. We are part of the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization and our goals are to improve quality of life, promote health benefits, and help participants save money. It’s an incentive based program in which participants log their clean commutes (biking, walking, carpooling, vanpooling, riding transit, working flex schedules and telecommuting) on our website or app (for Android and Apple users) and are automatically entered to win prizes. If you log an average of at least one clean commute per week, you’re entered into our quarterly drawings for $50 gift certificates. If you log three or more clean commutes per week, you’re entered to win $100 gift cards.
For more information, contact Ally Ketron at ally.ketron@knoxtrans.org or at 865-215-3234.
*While we encourage you to make a green trip any time you can, there is an exception. Biking and walking solely for exercise or recreation is a great choice, but not one we can give you credit for. Remember, it only counts if your commute keeps a car off the road!
Upcoming Community Events:
The Second Annual Run and Walk for Mental Health Awareness – April 23rd
Eat Better
Even with regular exercise, food still has a big impact on our body’s health. Food is not only the source of nutrients and fuel, but it is what provides the basic building block for what makes our bodies. Here are some healthy food tips from the American Heart Association.
- Slow down on the sodium, limit fast and processed foods: Americans eat more than double the daily amount of sodium recommended by the American Heart Association. Too much sodium increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and other health problems, but this excess isn’t just from salting at the table. Americans get most of their sodium — 77 percent — from processed foods. If you choose these foods, compare the labels and look for lower-sodium versions.
- Pile on the fruits and vegetables, get variety and eat a rainbow: Choose all kinds of fruits and vegetables — fresh, frozen, canned, juiced and dried. Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Look for fruits and vegetables of many different colors. Then try a “healthy sauté” using a small amount of liquid to cook vegetables. Need a quick, healthy weeknight dinner? Try a salad. The American Heart Association has tasty recipes packed with such items as tofu, broccoli, mushrooms and much more.
- Get the skinny on fats, not all fats are bad: Learn how to substitute good fats (mono and polyunsaturated fats) for bad fats (saturated and trans fats). For example, try canola oil or olive oil instead of butter. Choose lean meats, poultry without skin and fish instead of fattier cuts of meats. Enjoy heart-healthy fats in moderation and remember this tip: 1 teaspoon equals 1 serving.
- Cook at home. Cooking at home is not only a great way to make sure the ingredients are healthy, but portions are correct. Try using a smaller salad-size plate instead of a big dinner plate, as well.
Be Mindful
Summer is finally here…or at least it feels like it. As the bright green color returns to tree tops and flowers bloom, take this time to enjoy the great outdoors that surrounds our campus. Knoxville is home to some of the most beautiful local parks. These gems are hidden throughout the city and surrounding area waiting to be explored. During this time of the year, Knoxville also becomes home to many festivals and events which can be fun for the whole family. As part of our new program, Be Well Weekends, we will highlight an event through our social media accounts and a park each week that can be fun for the whole family to explore. These events not only provide an opportunity to explore our city, but they also promote getting out doors and moving more. Walking and physical activity have huge positive impacts on mood and mental health. Research has shown that if physical activity is incorporated into daily routines and becomes part of our lifestyles, then we are well positioned to reap the long term benefits.
Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with Be Well Weekends and all of our other events.
The HealthyUT Newsletter is a monthly publication where events, information, and resource to support healthy lifestyles will be shared with the UT Knoxville Community. It will serve as our communication with our campus community as we try to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Be Well.