One week into 10-week program,
TAB team shares how it got motivated
Jan. 1 carries high hopes for the masses. It’s the time to cash in on all those well-meant promises of marathon running and organic-food eating, not to mention dropping 30 or 40 pounds.
But then comes Jan. 2 and life happens.
The office reopens. The stress is back. The new year’s to-do list nudges out exercise, and the leftover Christmas candy overflows the break room table.
Ah, well. It was good while it lasted.
So how do you live healthy for real? And how do you make it last? Four employees of The Alabama Baptist decided to figure it out in 2008, and it’s a journey they’d love for you to join them on.
Janice, Wanda, Julie and Haley recently formed a team for Scale Back Alabama (see story, this page), a 10-week weight-loss program that encourages each member of a four-person team to lose at least 10 pounds to compete for cash prizes.
“We named the team TABescent, which means ‘dwindling away,’” Julie said. “We wanted to have a name with ‘TAB’ in it for The Alabama Baptist so that worked great.”
For Julie, the struggle is finding time to exercise. For Haley, it’s fast food. For Wanda, it’s stress eating. And Janice is a self-proclaimed chocoholic.
So over the next 10 weeks, they will let readers in on how they are combating those pitfalls day to day.
Making it happen starts with setting three goals, according to ScaleBackAlabama.com:
– Food-change goal
“The goal needs to be realistic but at the same time, challenging enough to make a difference,” the Web site says.
Some possible changes it notes are cutting sweets back to one time a week, eating fruit instead of snacks from a vending machine and limiting fried-food intake.
– Behavioral goal
“Sometimes people eat when they are not hungry because they are bored, lonely or under a lot of stress,” the Web site says. “Other behavioral factors could include eating in the car or in front of the TV.”
It says some examples of altered behavior include eating at the table rather than in front of the television, putting the fork down between bites and eating nothing four hours before going to bed at night.
– Physical activity goal
Get moving but check with your health care provider before beginning a weight-loss or exercise program, the site says.
As of Jan. 16 — the end of its first week — TABescent had lost 16 pounds collectively. A ticker on this page each week will note team members’ individual progress in pounds lost. (TAB)
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