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Employee Wellness
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By Joshua Brown,
Ph.D., and Tonya Turner
Weight Management
and Dietetic Services
The MUSC Weight Management Center has been providing effective,
evidence-based weight management programs for more than 35 years. The
multidisciplinary staff of weight management professionals includes
registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, psychologists,
physicians and nursing staff. The center offers a full range of
lifestyle change programs—either individual- or group-based—for
patients of all weight-loss needs; whether they have a little or a lot
to lose. Regardless of the program, strong emphasis is placed on
helping people make the lifestyle changes that are so important for
long-term success. Consider these changes as the ABCD’S of lifestyle
change:
Activity changes
Exercise is crucial to the long-term success of a weight loss program.
No single exercise program is right for everyone, so it is important to
create and work towards an exercise program that is effective and
reasonable for each individual.
Behavioral
changes
Habits and behaviors are important components of lifestyle and,
therefore, weight. Many behaviors are automatic, occurring without
thought. Monitoring behaviors is one of the most important tools for
helping change lifestyle and manage weight. Regularly graphing weight
and keeping eating diaries are important new habits to develop.
Cognitive
(thinking) changes
Thought patterns are as important as behavior patterns. Associations to
food and thoughts about dieting affect the ability to successfully
monitor and manage weight. It is important to become more aware of and
change thought patterns that lead to overeating or the sabotaging of
progress.
Dietary changes
Successful long-term weight loss and overall health depend on a healthy
diet. A registered dietitian can help form an eating plan that fits
with each person’s lifestyle.
Support systems
The process of losing weight and growing accustomed to new ways of
dealing with food can be difficult. Friends, family and co-workers can
be great sources of support; they can also be harmful when it comes to
attempts to make lifestyle changes. It is important to learn how to
recognize support systems as well as those that may contribute to poor
eating habits.
One program designed specifically for MUSC employees and offered in
partnership with MUSC Employee Wellness is Lunchtime Losers. A team of
dietitians, psychologists, and exercise physiologists emphasize
lifestyle changes that can actually be sustained long after completing
the program. Program features:
- 1-hour weekly meetings from noon – 1 p.m.
- Emphasis on healthy eating, exercise, and other
healthy
lifestyle habits q $98 for the entire program (payroll deduction
available)
Located at the MUSC Weight Management Center in the
Institute of Psychiatry The next Lunchtime Losers class begins Jan. 13,
to register e-mail health1st@musc.edu.
For information on the program
e-mail shipman@musc.edu or browjosh@musc.edu or visit
http://www.muschealth.com/weight.
Experts from the Weight Management Center will be available from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 22 at the Wellness Wednesday booth outside ART
cafeteria. BMI and body composition measurements will be available as
well as information about programs and free consultation scheduling.
MUSC Employee
Wellness events
- Chair massages: Free massages are offered to
employees on
Tuesday nights and midday Wednesdays. Look for broadcast messages for
locations and times.
- Farmers market December schedule: Dec. 17, Dec.
22, and Dec. 29.
- Discounted state park annual passes: Ranger
John Phelps from
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site will be located near
Starbucks from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29 in the
university hospital selling annual state park passes to employees at a
20 percent discount. Visit http://www.charlestowne.org/
or
http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/
to learn more about the natural and
historic settings in the community and state.
- Join MUSC Employee Wellness, Sodexo Nutrition
Services and
Charleston Trident Dietetic Association for their "Food Swap" donation
event at noon on Friday, Dec. 17 at the Horseshoe. In exchange for
non-perishable food items to benefit the Lowcountry Food Bank,
registered dietitians will be providing healthy holiday eating tips and
samples of their own healthy holiday treats with recipes to help make
healthy holiday cooking and eating easy and delicious.
Contact Susan Johnson at johnsusa@musc.edu to become involved in
employee wellness at MUSC.
Friday, Dec. 17,
2010
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