Biggest Loser or 10%?

Losing weight has to be one of the most common New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, it’s one that most people fail to achieve.

Often, companies, friends, or co-workers set up the biggest-loser type of weight loss competition, thinking this will help. But unrealistic expectations combined with vague goals of losing a certain number of pounds result in unsustainable weight loss or simply giving up.

If you have clients or employees who want to lose weight, steer them in the right direction with our 10% Weight Loss poster. Instead of the biggest loser competition, encourage them to set a reasonable goal to lose 5-10% of their body weight. The 12 Lessons of Wellness and Weight Loss can be a great program to keep them on track all year. Best of all you can use the code NYEAR to get 15% off all products through the end of November.

Here are some ideas to get them started:

  • Help people calculate how many pounds they need to lose to achieve a minor weight loss of up to 10%.
  • Emphasize the many health benefits of modest weight loss.
  • Remind them that even if they want to lose more, up to 10% is an excellent first step.
  • Ask them to write down why they want to lose weight and refer to this whenever they get discouraged.

Everyone wins with a 10% weight loss!

Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

Fiber: More Than a Handful of Benefits

Are you looking for a way to brighten up your office, hallway, cafeteria, or waiting area for the new year? Start with our High Five to High Fiber poster.

Nobody can walk past this beautiful poster without stopping to take a closer look. When they do, they’ll see colorful photos of high fiber foods arranged in the shape of a hand giving a high five.

Why a high five? Because dietary fiber has more than a handful of health benefits. In fact, you can’t even count the number of benefits on one hand. A high fiber eating pattern is worthy of a high five!

Here are a few ways to expand on the High Five to High Fiber poster with your audience:

  • If you have a computer or TV nearby, play the 10-minute fiber movie that comes with with our Fiber DVD/CD set.
  • Offer a class or webinar using the Fiber PowerPoint show that includes speaker’s notes, a leader guide, handouts, and the 10-minute fiber movie.
  • Use the High Five to High Fiber poster as the center of a bulletin board display that also shouts out some of the benefits of dietary fiber and a high fiber eating pattern:
    • Blood sugar control
    • Cholesterol-lowering power for heart health
    • Weight loss/weight maintenance aid
    • Foundation for a Mediterranean-style or plant-based eating pattern
    • Gut health and regularity
    • Saves money when you eat more beans and lentils instead of meat

Educating your clients, students, or employees about a high fiber eating pattern puts a healthy eating strategy right into their hands!

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

 

Time for a Flu Refresher?

Seasonal flu activity is high all over the country. Do your students or employees need a flu refresher?

Teach everyone how to avoid getting or spreading the flu with these flu education materials:

Start with our Stay Home When Sick poster:

  • Based on recommendations from the CDC and World Health Organization
  • Attention-getting with bold colors and simple icons
  • Information is presented in five blocks for readability
  • Emphasizes the importance of staying home when you’re sick

Make an even bigger impact with our Prevent the Flu PowerPoint show:

  • Two presentations:
    • One for adults – perfect for parents, teachers, caregivers, employees, and older adults
    • One for kids – appropriate for elementary through high school
  • Quizzes pop up throughout the show to keep your audience engaged
  • Speaker’s notes and handouts make it easy for you to offer a timely class or webinar
  • You can even edit the PowerPoint shows to meet your needs

Here are a few ideas you may want to use in your flu education:

  • Teach students to check your state’s flu activity on the CDC’s flu map
  • Ask your audience if anyone they live with is especially vulnerable to the flu (remind them about high risk groups: babies, young children, the elderly, pregnant women, anyone who is immunocompromised)
  • Flash back to the beginning of the COVID pandemic when everyone chose a song to sing while washing their hands – it may be time to choose a new one!

Speaking of handwashing, don’t forget about our Wash Your Hands poster. Lots of people seem to have gotten out of the habit of washing for 20 seconds. Remind them about this important life-long habit!

Free Handout: Wash Your Hands

Working Workouts into Your Workday

Whether you’re back in the office or working remotely from home, it can be a challenge to fit exercise into a busy day.

That’s why our Workday Workout poster is an effective education tool to remind everyone that there are ways to fit fitness into your life, no matter where or how much you work.

This the perfect topic for a workplace class. In addition to talking about the strategies outlined on the poster, you can tailor your discussion to the time of year or specific challenges your audience faces.

Here are some examples:

  1. Holidays: Brainstorm strategies to keep moving even when you’re busier than ever.
  2. Covid & Flu: Talk about how to stay safe at the gym by properly disinfecting equipment and give a refresher on best handwashing practices.
  3. Getting Outside: Encourage everyone to do some exercise outside in nature for the mental health benefits and the vitamin D boost.
  4. Staying Inside: Explore easy options for those who can’t get outside, like exercise videos on YouTube.
  5. Hydration: Remind everyone about the importance of drinking enough water before, during, and after exercise.

Even long-time exercisers will appreciate new ideas for making movement part of their workday!

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

New Handout: Workouts for Workdays

Sugar: Do the Math

Sugar can be confusing to your students or clients.

They hear lots of different numbers … percent of calories from sugar, teaspoons of sugar, and grams of sugar.

They see lots of terms … natural sugar, added sugar, and other names for sugar.

They’re bombarded with misinformation … “I can’t eat fruit because it has sugar!” “Honey is natural so it’s healthier than sugar.”

Clear up the sugar confusion once and for all with our Sugar Math PowerPoint show that comes with speaker’s notes, handouts, and clipart.

Your audience will learn how to do the math when it comes to sugar:

  • How to calculate sugar limits by calorie intake
  • How to find added sugars on the Nutrition Facts panel
  • How to translate grams of sugar to teaspoons of sugar
  • How to tally up their daily sugar intake

And they’ll learn about:

  • Foods and beverages that are high in added sugars
  • How to spot hidden sugars
  • Simple swaps to lower sugar intake
  • Why cutting down on sugar is important to health

If you want to do it yourself, why not visit the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and show how the limit for refined sugar is 10% of calories per day?

Discussion points: what is refined sugar, and what is 10% of calories per day for most people? Look at a few popular food labels and discuss how these foods can fit. Ask the audience what they would do on 10% calorie budget for their sugar intake. Do beverages make sense?

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

PDF Handout: Sugar Math

Holiday Survival Guide

Are you looking for a light-hearted way to help your clients or employees avoid holiday pitfalls?

Along with fun illustrations, our Holiday Survival Guide poster provides ten tips to handle lazy winter days, holiday comfort foods, office parties, family feasts, and more.

This Survival Guide poster also comes with a Healthy Holidays handout that provides some great tips to make traditional holiday dishes healthier and a recipe for the Best Light Pumpkin Pie!

You could create a display using the Survival Guide poster and Healthy Holidays handout. Leave out some index cards or sticky notes for employees or clients to write down one action they’re going to take to make the holidays healthier this year.

A few examples:

  • Save dessert for the official holiday (skip it on non-holidays)
  • Avoid snacking after dinner
  • Make a goal to maintain your weight
  • Take a fruit and veggie tray or a salad to gatherings
  • Decide what you’re going to put on your plate before you go through the buffet line
  • Walk for ten minutes every day

Your clients or employees will thank you when they get through the holidays without gaining weight or sabotaging their goals!

Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

 

‘Tis the Season for a Healthy Mindset

The holidays can be a stressful season of overindulging and overspending. Or they can be an enjoyable time filled with fun, family, and friends.

The difference might just be a healthy mindset.

Our Healthy Mindset poster reminds your students, employees, or clients to focus on the everyday simple habits that add up to a healthier life.

During the holiday season, you can help them tailor their healthy mindsets to account for the challenges they’ll face.

Here’s what a healthy holiday mindset might look like:

  • Drink Water: Make it your policy at holiday parties to ask for water with a twist of lemon or lime.
  • Sugar Be Scarce: Make a plan and stick to it. When will you indulge in a treat? How much will you have?
  • I Can Do It: Make this your mantra throughout the season. If staying healthy over the holidays is your priority, say it out loud every day.
  • Make a Healthy Plate: Keep MyPlate in mind whenever you eat. Fill your plate or bowl accordingly, with lots of fruits and vegetables.
  • Sleep Enough: Sticking to your sleep schedule will help you keep your healthy holiday mindset!
  • Never Quit: If you overindulge (it happens!), get back on track right away.
  • Try New Foods: Balance out special holiday foods with some things you wouldn’t normally choose, like extra salad, more vegetables, or fruit for dessert.
  • Move More: Fit exercise in wherever you can. Take an extra lap around the mall, walk after dinner, do crunches during TV commercials.

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

PDF Handout: Healthy Holiday Mindset

Be SMART About Goals

Behavior change is tough. It’s uncomfortable. Staying in our comfort zones is easy and feels safer.

But, like it says on our Comfort Zone poster, the comfort zone might be a beautiful place … but nothing changes there!

Help your clients or students get off the comfy couch and on track for a healthier life by teaching them about SMART goals. Here are some ideas to get started:

  • SMART goals are Specific: keep them small and simple.
    • Eat at least one vegetable for lunch every day.
    • Meditate for one minute while your coffee is brewing.
  • SMART goals are Measurable: you can’t change what you don’t measure.
    • Keep track of your progress with an app on your phone, a calendar, or a pen-and-paper log.
  • SMART goals are Attainable: that’s why making them small and simple is such a good idea.
    • Remember, small changes add up over time!
  • SMART goals are Relevant: set goals that mean something to you.
    • Do yoga because you want to be able to play on the floor with your grandchildren.
    • Walk daily because you want to hike with your family on an upcoming vacation.
  • SMART goals are Time-Bound: decide when your goal will be completed so you can celebrate your success.
    • Eat fruit at breakfast every day for one week.
    • Take a walk after dinner three times per week for one month.

New Year’s resolutions will be here before we know it. SMART goals give your students or clients a chance to keep those resolutions for a change!

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

Free Handout: SMART Goals

Can One Plate Make a Difference?

When someone is diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes, it can be scary and overwhelming. Could one plate really make a difference? If it’s our Healthy Plate for Diabetes, we think so!

For most people, learning how to eat for blood sugar control is an ongoing process. If this process ends when they leave your office or class, they’re not going to make much progress.

But when they take home the Healthy Plate for Diabetes, they’ll have a tool to help them build diabetes/prediabetes-friendly meals by:

  • Increasing intake of non-starchy vegetables, which take up half of the plate
  • Limiting grains and starchy vegetables to one quarter of the plate
  • Keeping lean protein to one quarter of the plate
  • Mastering portion control without weighing or measuring food
  • Using the Healthy Plate for Diabetes/MyPlate concept as a guide when eating mixed dishes, casseroles, sandwiches, etc.
  • Visualizing their Healthy Plate when eating away from home

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

PS: Here’s a fantastic new handout to help your clients put these ideas into practice: Diabetes Handout

Compassionate Health Messages

Do you see your students, clients, or employees struggling in these post-pandemic days? Or perhaps you are stressed out yourself trying to get back to ‘normal.’

As healthcare professionals, we’re quick to point out how healthy eating and regular physical activity can help. We want to share all our knowledge. But for some folks, this isn’t the help they need right now.

The nurse who’s exhausted, the teacher who’s overwhelmed, the older adult who’s lonely, the teenager who’s anxious – they need our compassion, shown through messages like those depicted on our I Am… motivational poster.

Messages that emphasize that health and well-being is a journey. Every step you take counts, even those you take backwards!

The I Am… motivational poster gives gentle reminders that may resonate more with your students, clients, or employees:

  1. Self-care (sleeping enough, forgiving a setback)
  2. Healthy eating (eating mindfully when hungry, loving fruits & veggies)
  3. Physical activity (moving more, exercising consistently)
  4. Hope and positivity (not giving up)
  5. Intention (planning and working to success)

Don’t forget to be compassionate with yourself, too!

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD