Tag Archives: corporate wellness

5 Ways to Lose Weight While You Work

By Team Best Life

Is your office job making you fat? If you’re like most Americans, you spend the majority of your waking hours at work–and that means a healthy workplace mindset is crucial to your best life. Use some of these tips to get started:

desk job

Get a head start.

Ensure a good night’s sleep by visiting the gym, preparing a healthy meal and relaxing before you hit the sack. Try to leave work where it belongs—at work. If you absolutely must get in some screen time, keep it as far away from bedtime as possible. The display light on your computer or smartphone can interfere with your body’s internal clock, and elevating your heart rate even a little can increase cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. (Learn more about the connection between sleep and weight loss.)

Dress for success.

Opt for flats over heels, and shoot for comfortable rather than couture. Studies show that folks who work in comfort move more, burning more calories in the process. (more…)

Posted on April 17, 2024 by BestLifeDiet

Wesley Medical Center and 29 Other Businesses Earn Wichita’s Healthiest Employer Distinction

“Healthy employees are happy employees” is something we heard a lot today at the third annual Wichita Business Journal Healthiest Employers awards. The annual event by the local business publication honors 30 companies who have exceptional corporate wellness plans in place. The result? Healthy, happy employees, a stronger bottom line, and ultimately a stronger company.

Wesley Medical Center, one of the city’s leading hospitals, was recognized three times during the luncheon. First as a healthiest employer amongst large employers (companies with more than 1,000 employees), then as the category winner, and finally as the overall healthiest employer for 2024.


See all of Wichita Business Journal’s Healthiest Employers

Wesley was honored by their recognition today, and told us about their passion for the health and wellness of their employees. “Wellness is part of our overall culture at Wesley,” said Carrie Mabie, PHR who mangages the Wesley Wellness program. That’s an attitude more companies should adopt.

“The end result we’re looking for is for the companies we recognized today to share best practices and ideas to help improve their workplaces,” said John Ek, publisher at the Wichita Business Journal. (more…)

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Natalie K

New Year, New Career: 5 Health Professions to Explore in 2024

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) conducted a survey and discovered that for most fitness professionals, this career was not their first job. Many had pursued other avenues only to find that the fitness industry was where their true passions lied. It assumed that many find their love for fitness later in life. Many in the business will tell you that since they were devoting the hours of a full time job to their own fitness, they decided they might enjoy getting paid along the way.

“I was in banking for 15 years before making the leap to personal training full time,” said Pamela Hernandeez, a personal trainer at ThriveFit.com. “In 2024, when the financial services industry collapsed, I was fortunate not lose my job but a lot of people I worked with did. It made me step back and realize how much I had come to dislike my job.”

She kept both jobs for a while as she she pursued her ACSM CPT fitness certifications and to ensure her passion and the clients would be there to pay the bills. As a banker, she says she hated what she was doing and how it didn’t offer any real value for people’s lives. With a full-time fitness career, she gets to make a huge impact on the lives of others. “I knew I had found my calling. I was able to quit my banking career in June 2024. I have never looked back!”

Sound like you?

Some of the most popular careers in the fitness industry include health coach, personal trainer, dietitian, spin instructor, and Zumba instructor. Before you consider taking one of these paths this year, learn more about what each profession entails. (more…)

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Lacy

4 Healthy Breakfasts You Can Eat on Your Way to Work

By Kati Mora, MS, RD

In a perfect world, eating every meal at the table would be ideal. Yet in today’s busy world, that isn’t always possible. And unfortunately, breakfast is one meal that often gets left in our daily schedule’s dust.

If you have a busy morning getting yourself, your kids, and maybe even your spouse up and out of the house, don’t let breakfast pass you by! It really is the most important meal of the day and can help you feel more energized and perform your best at your day job. So instead of missing breakfast completely, choose one of these four meal ideas that will not only quench your hunger, but travel with you as you get up and go!

Four Healthy On-the-Go Breakfast Ideas

Power Up Smoothie. Smoothies are a great way to get a lot of nutrients fast! Pick out your favorite fruits, veggies, and protein sources, hit blend, and voila! You’ve got a healthy, on-the-go breakfast you can carry with you in a cup.

Need some smoothie inspiration? Check out these four phenomenal recipes from AroundthePlate.org. My favorite is the Vanilla Melon smoothie. Just mix together honeydew melon, an apple, avocado, lemon juice, vanilla extract, almonds and ice cubes for a delightful morning treat. (more…)

Posted on September 11, 2023 by Around The Plate

The Healthiest Places to Work Demonstrate Innovative Ideas for Corporate Wellness

Sure, you may love your boss or feel great about the job you’re doing, but could your workplace slowly be ruining your health? We spend a good deal of our lives at work and many jobs are primarily sedentary, so work environments that encourage healthy living practices are a big need in America. ComPsych Corporation just released their yearly roundup of the healthiest places to work that encourage people to give up bad habits, make good ones, and learn to live life their healthiest. To be considered, companies had to submit their entries to ComPsych.

This year’s Gold Medal Health at Work Winners:

  • TE Connectivity, a Swiss-based company that manufactures electronics for automotive and communications industries (> 10,000 employees)
  •  CDW, a provider of technologies for businesses and schools headquartered in Illinois (2,501 – 10,000 employees)
  • AltaMed Health Services, a California community health center (101 – 2,500 employees)
  • Frett Barrington Ltd, an employee benefits brokerage based in Wisconsin (< 100 employees)

The awards went to organizations who demonstrated a commitment to promoting health and wellness for their employees. They were judged on the programs they’ve implemented, how many participants took place, and the results achieved. (more…)

Posted on August 28, 2023 by SarahS

Reggie L. Smith Leads Retired NFL Players Losing Weight With Retrofit

We hear about it all the time – NFL players once at the top of their game and in prime physical fitness retire and become the antithesis of health. It’s not just pro football players, it happens to professional athletes of all kinds.

“What happens is you have a very regimented, controlled environment (practice times, nourishment to survive the season) year after year after year. Then imagine one day it stops – no routine, left to your own devices,” described Reggie L. Smith, former NFL player and President of the National Football League Players Association in Chicago. Just this week he was also named as the new Vice President of Business Development for Retrofit Weight Loss, an exciting new nutrition and fitness program.

“We don’t had another system to go in to,” explained Reggie of himself and his peers. Like many retired NFL players, Reggie settled comfortably in to civilian life and put on an unhealthy amount of weight. But that’s in the history books now, as is his All American status at the University of Kansas. In the past year he’s lost an impressive 70 pounds, a lot of it thanks in part to Retrofit Weight Loss.

“It’s exciting,” he told us of his personal success. He found Retrofit Weight Loss when his NFLPA chapter was approached by the company. They wanted to work together to help the guys get in better shape and regain their health. That’s when Reggie says he got on the program himself, and describes the brand as a “wonderful service and product. It’s an awesome idea and they’re doing good things.” (more…)

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Natalie K

Lunch Break Sweat-Free Workouts for Busy Bees

You’ve got a crazy hectic schedule and there’s no time to hit the gym after work because of your long to-do list. You want to get a quick/decent workout in over lunch, but there’s no time for that either because you’ll need a shower. So what do you do? Try some of these sweat-free workout tricks.

With this list of workout activities, you’ll be able to develop a lunch workout regimen that you’ll be able to complete in a quick and timely manner without causing you to perspire, and in turn, needing to make time to shower. You’ll be back to work just in time for those afternoon meetings! No, you won’t be burning the calories like you would during a hard cardio session, but it’s far better than no activity at all.

Walking

Not only does walking benefit you through burning calories, but it also helps control blood pressure and relaxes the body and mind. By choosing walking as your lunch time activity, you’ve got many choices both in and outside of the office. Meet a friend at a nearby park, or if it’s hot, go to the gym and grab a treadmill or walk the track for 30 minutes. A great option for those who can’t leave the office is to walk up and down the stairs or find long hallways. Like mentioned above, anything is better than nothing. (more…)

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Danielle

3-Minute Meditation at the Office

If you don’t have the luxury of sitting for hours to contemplate the meaning of life, or the solitude to sneak in an hour or two of quiet time to realign your soul’s intention for being alive, you are not alone. In this day and age, American’s are hard pressed to chill out and enjoy the simple pleasures of being mindful.

We all know meditation offers many health benefits. If it didn’t, Medicare would not cover it under their insurance plan, nor would people like Donna Karan spearhead a movement to offer it to cancer patients in hospitals. The problem most people have is finding the time to practice.

It may not be a full-scale meditative program, but the following three-minute “time-out” can at least help you eliminate some stress and tension from your day at the office. Practice once a day to begin, and then if time permits, add another session when needed. (more…)

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Jill

Increased Diabetes Risk for Women Who Sit for Hours

Women now have even more motivation to get up and move throughout the day. According to a new study published in the American Journal in Preventive Medicine, women who spend between four and seven hours each day sitting are at increased risk of developing the early signs of type 2 diabetes. However, this research does not show the same link in men.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson Jessica Crandall sums up the problem by stating, “The reality for many Americans is that we work nine-to-five jobs and are sedentary most of the work day, increasing our risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The good news is that type 2 diabetes is preventable through maintaining a healthy weight and engaging in physical activity throughout the day, not just after you get home from work.”

The importance of getting activity throughout the day is highlighted with the fact that the risks are still significant if moderate or vigorous exercise is added in after a long day of sitting. (more…)

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Descygna

Google Ranks Health on Page One for its Employees

Even if CNN and Fortune hadn’t repeatedly named Google as one of the best places to work, they would certainly top of a list of most envied places to work. From the outside looking in Googlers have some of the coolest jobs around, and they get to do it at a place called the Googleplex. We thought our office was cool, but come on! Google has segways, hammocks, and free food!

It’s fairly well known that amongst the many, many perks that Googlers enjoy is free food. At the Googleplex and satellite offices, the company keeps its hard working staff well fed. Sometimes too well, with bowls of M&Ms suspended from ceilings and unlimited passes at cafeteria buffets, it’s like a cruise you get paid to attend.

Recently, Google made some changes in an effort to make the environment even healthier for its employees. If they’re gaming for a healthiest places to work award too, they might win. Google recently revealed some of the changes they’re rolling out.

“We’ve used some things in some offices but haven’t implemented them across the board,” Katelin Todhunter-Gerberg told us, a senior public affairs associate for Google. (more…)

Posted on April 17, 2024 by Natalie K

Texas Hospital Restricts Hiring Based on BMI

A hospital in Victoria, Texas is catching some heat for their new hiring policy. The medical center recently announced that they’ll be limiting employment to people with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 35.

Citizens Medical Center will be turning overweight people away if they apply for work in their facilities. The Citizens Medical Center Chief, Dan Brown, explained this controversial decision in a statement.

“The majority of our patients are over 65 and they have expectations that cannot be ignored in terms of personal appearance.” Many argue the validity of Brown’s statement, including attorney John Griffin.

“Patients want people who help them who know what they are doing. They really care very little about their size, their national origin.” (more…)

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Lacy