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HealthyUT – November 2017

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  HealthyUT – November 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 as they work to create a healthier lifestyle.

November Wellness Warrior Kelly Mihalik (right) after completing the Marine Corp 10K in DC in October.

November Wellness Warrior Kelly Mihalik (right) after completing the Marine Corp 10K in DC in October.

The Wellness Warrior for November is awarded to Kelly Mihalik, a corporal with UTPD. She has been a part of the UT Family for 8 years, and her favorite hobbies include watching Hallmark Christmas movies, running, swimming, biking, building Legos.

Kelly has made many conscious choices to make the healthier choices. Kelly started in 2015 with a 5k challenge and ran a 5k every month. Then she progressed into running half-marathons. She ran her first marathon in the spring of 2017 (The Knoxville Marathon) and she has run 4 half-marathons in 2017.

“I started making a change by starting with little challenges to myself.”, Kelly says about her journey. ” At first, I challenged myself to run a 5k a month for a year.  The next challenge was to meal prep for a month, and only bring my lunch to work. Then, I cut back on soda for a month.  Soon the challenges became habits.” Which is similar to Be Well’s message of Small Starts make for big changes.

Kelly says she builds her health habits, “By repeating my behavior over time, I was able to reinforce the change I wanted to see.  What started in 2015 as a 5k challenge turned into committing to compete in at least one race a month. Running turned into trying triathlons, triathlons turned into half marathons.  A simple challenge to myself started it all.”

Kelly has also turned around her dietary habits as well. She meets here exercise goals every day and her commitment and dedication to her fitness is unparalleled. She is an inspiration to many!

 

Congratulations Kelly for your nomination and 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

Got 7 Minutes?

With temperatures dropping and the holidays right around the corner, it may be time to look for workouts that cater to your need for warmth and time. Here are 12 exercises that only require a chair, a wall and your own body weight! The workout is equivalent to going on a long run and pumping iron at the gym. And did we mention it only takes 7 minutes? (*insert gasp here) More information can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/really-really-short-workouts 

Upcoming Community Events:    

Source: NYTimes

Eat Smarter

Sweets Aren’t Really All that Sweet

The holidays bring families and friends together for fun, laughter and most importantly, food. Grandma’s sweet potato pie may be the best in the land, but it’s not the best for you. Americans consume about 22 teaspoons of sugar every day. In one lifetime, that’s enough to fill up an industrial sized dumpster! Consuming too much sugar is also harmful in your health, since it may lead to heart disease, high cholesterol, and cancer among various other diseases. Sugar has no nutritional value, makes you hungry and causes wrinkles. So, although you’ve been waiting all year long for Grandma’s pie, it may be better for you to try a healthier alternative

Recipe of the Month:  Sweet Potato Pie (Light)

Source: ParTNers for Health

Be Mindful 

A Case of the Blues

Feeling upset or sad about something is okay, but if your sadness lasts for two weeks or more, you may need to speak to someone. This lasting feeling could be a sign of Depression which affects more than 19 million people in the U.S. In order to help you, or someone you may know, here are some helpful tips in recognizing the signs of depression and knowing how to properly deal with them.

Signs may include:

  • Feeling sad or “empty”
  • Feeling guilty or hopeless
  • Losing interest in hobbies
  • Lower energy
  • Loss of sleep/ sleeping too much
  • Aches or pains
  • Changes to your appetite or weight

Self-Care Options:

  • Eat healthy.
  • Avoid drugs and alcohol, which can make you feel worse.
  • Shower and get dressed, even if you’re not going anywhere.
  • Stick to a set bedtime and wake time.
  • Stay social
  • Be active
  • Get help: Set an appointment with a doctor, therapist, counselor, or other mental health professional

The safety and well-being of every member of the UT family is of the utmost importance. If you feel that you, or someone you may know, need help, please do not hesitate to call 946-CARE (865-946-2273).

Campus Resources included the follow:

946-CARE for Distressed Faculty and Staff

 

Other Campus resources:

Source: ParTNers for Health newsletter

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. 

The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee System and partner in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway.