Author Archives: Nancy.Wozniak@stonybrook.edu

About Nancy.Wozniak@stonybrook.edu

My passion is the Science of Learning and the desire to design lifelong, integrative learning habitats for ALL learners.

Healthier U Presents Weight Watchers at Work!

Rank #1 Best Commercial Diet by U.S. News

Rank #1 Best Commercial Diet by U.S. News

Weight Watchers, ranked #1 by U.S. News,  is coming to Stony Brook!

Tracey Ledger of Non-Invasive Cardiology and Melissa Shampine of Cardiac ICU, Cardiothoracic ICU, Cardiac Acute Care Unit, Cardiothoracic Step Down & Telemetry are Weight Watchers At Work liaisons who would like to let you know about some exciting news for 2015.

They are offering a new series of Weight Watchers at Work (WWAW) starting on Feb. 5, and are hoping current members will continue their quest for good health & wellness through weight loss in 2015. To that end, A WWAW Open House will be held from 12:00-1:00 pm on Jan. 29 in the Cafeteria Club Room.

Tracey and Melissa also have a new weekly meeting spot. It is centrally located for those who work in the hospital and Health Sciences Towers. Meetings will be held every Thursday from 12-1 pm, in the Cafeteria Club Room*, which is located between the main cafeteria & deli, Hospital Level 5.

Anyone interested in joining can start at this week’s meeting (fees will be pro-rated as they are finishing up their current session), so please feel free to bring your lunch, your colleagues and SPREAD THE WORD!!!!

· The 17 week series is $186 min 20 members – includes 19 weeks of free etools

· The 12 week series is $156 min 15 members – includes 14 weeks of free etools

(*In the event of a location change an email will be sent out to members & notice will be posted prior to meeting time)

Payment can be made in Cash, Check, Major Credit Card or Money Order

Tweet Your Walks at #SBUWalks!

Today, Wednesday, September 10, is the big Kick-Off for the Healthier U Walking Programs, Walk on Wednesdays and Walk to Win.  Remember to tweet your walking accomplishments, selfies, or team usies at #SBUWalks.  Let’s cheer each other on!  Post challenges to other Walk to Win teams.  For locations of today’s Kick-Off go to www.stonybrook.edu/sb/healthieru/walking.html.

Did you know?

You can participate in the SBU Walking Program WITHOUT being limited to Wednesdays at lunchtime on campus.  Walk to Win is the flexible sibling to Walk on Wednesdays and starts next week, 9/8/2014.  The KICK-Off Celebrations take place on all SBU campuses on Wednesday, 9/10/2014 at noon.  See the Healthier U website for campus locations.  (NOTE: Taking part in the Kick-Off isn’t necessary for the Walk to Winners, but is a great way to meet the rest of the SBU Walking Community)walkingfeet Walk to Winners must walk with a minimum of 2 total people, you and 1 other person from your team.  There is NO maximum number of walkers per team, just walk in pairs.  Only team leader(s) should report mileage for each walk. You can walk any place, any day, any time as long as you have at least one team member walking with you. This is perfect for faculty and staff that want to participate, but are committed to department meetings, classes, and other activities on Wednesdays during the lunch hours.  For more information go to the Healthier U website and register for Walk to Win.  More Questions?  Email healthieru@stonybrook.edu.

Want more competition?  Get your team together and challenge other departments or programs.  Losing team buys the winners a smoothie or another beverage!  After you register, post your team members and challenges here.  Walking on the weekends?  Invite other teams to join you.  So, why do you walk?  Encourage others to join in our Walking Community.

Nancy Wozniak
SBU Healthier U Promotions and Social Media Committee

Is Sitting the New Smoking?

The latest craze with fitness in the workplace.

The latest craze with fitness in the workplace. Photo from Tim Sanders article, Sitting is the New Smoking.

CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, Mo Rocca, reports on the growing concern for the office worker’s sedentary lifestyle.  Is sitting the new smoking in regards to causes of elevated health risks and related diseases?   The latest trend in wellness and increased productivity in the workplace seems to be walking and working behind a treadmill desk during office hours.  Treadmill desks are the latest craze for fitness enthusiasts in the workplace.  Instead of sitting behind a desk, folks are answering phone calls and returning emails as they walk at 2 mph on a treadmill with an attached desktop.  Health and fitness experts report that exercise sends endorphins to the brain that stimulate thinking, collaborative engagement, and productivity.  An office worker spends an average of 5 hours and 41 minutes a day sitting behind a desk without moving.  British researchers say this adds up to 5 years of sedentary sludge with the health risks to an average office worker’s life. View the CBS Sunday Morning piece at http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/is-sitting-the-new-smoking . 

I can tell you that a treadmill desk wouldn’t fit in my work area and is a bit over the top for most of us.  I’d probably keep falling off.  However, Walk on Wednesdays and Walk to Win kick off the 2014 fall season on Wed., Sept. 10 at noon.  Bring your fitness shoes to work, form a team, and join this vibrant SBU Community of Walkers. See the SBU HealthierU website for more details ,locations, and registration.  Let’s go SBU!

Comments?  Suggestions?  How do you keep moving at work? 

The Best Office Party of the Summer

Here’s the event that’s a perfect fit for our Healthier U community. Now you can take part in a 5K run/walk that contributes to your health and well-being while helping Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. 
Known as the “Best Office Party of the Summer,” the evening begins with a 5K run/walk through local streets and ends inside Bethpage Ballpark for a celebration that includes music, food and fun. Registration (at www.corporatefunrun.com) is $40 per person, with 10 percent of that benefiting Stony Brook Children’s. Additional fundraising by teams or individuals (via http://corporatefunrun.stonybrookchildrensevents.org) will further support Stony Brook Children’s.

Run Fast. Raise More …Next steps:

1.  Visit www.corporatefunrun.com

2.  Click on the Long Island 5K Bethpage Ballpark / Join Team button.

3.  Select Stony Brook University Healthier U team (or create your own team)

4.  Register following the prompts

5.  Then, visit http://corporatefunrun.stonybrookchildrensevents.org and raise even more for Stony Brook Children’s. You can solicit pledges from co-workers, family members and friends, or make your own donation.

All monies raised at the run/walk for Stony Brook Children’s will be matched, dollar for dollar by an anonymous donor to support the hospital’s new state-of-the-art building.

Walking isn’t only on Wednesdays!

What’s holding your back from participating in the Healthier You Walking Program?
Walk for Wellness … Walk to Win … Walk Whenever – Did you know, You don’t have to walk on Wednesdays to participate in Healthier U’s walking program?

If you’re looking to add that competitive spirit and walk at any time, then Walk to Win might be right for you. Be sure to have two other SBU Employees walk with you and report the distance walked to your area walk leader. The campus location with the most miles walked per person will win a healthy reward sponsored by Healthier U.  You can also participate in Walks for Wellness. Join your coworkers for a healthy walk around campus every Wednesday at noon between March 19 through June 4. Register to walk once, indicating your preferred walking location. You will be assigned a group leader and then the fun begins! Start earning Healthier U incentives after you walk six times.Get all three incentive prizes if you walk 10 out of 12 weeks!http://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/healthieru/walking.html

Let’s discuss what holds us back and prevents us from getting up and walking?  I gamified my walking and use a Fitbit.  Had to giggle at this article that shows how to set up a treadmill at your desk.  http://chriskresser.com/how-to-walk-10000-steps-a-day-if-youre-a-desk-jockey  What do you do to move throughout the day?

 

10,000 Steps A Day?

10,000 Steps a Day is the latest mantra to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and reducing high blood pressure and glucose levels.  There are many articles on the web that promote this campaign.  Google it.  In her article, The Truth About 10,000 Steps (Live Science, March 2014), Rachel Rettner points out that there isn’t any scientific research that pinpoints 10,000 steps as being the mark for obtaining a healthy life.  Experts agree that any amount of increased activity helps to reduce the health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle.  She points out that 10,000 Steps  is merely a marketing campaign for the sales of pedometers and activity tracking devices.  So, is that deceitful marketing?  If you benefit from it, I don’t think so.

Walk on Wednesdays

Stepping out on Wednesdays at Stony Brook.

As a diabetic, I know I need to add exercise to my daily routine.  I have a sedentary job that causes me (out of my passion) to work, at times, beyond 7 or 8 hours a day and some weekends.  I plan daily exercise time, but things come up and there’s always tomorrow.  Tomorrow turns into weeks and weeks into months.  I get determined and start a routine, but it doesn’t last.

I recently purchased a Fitbit activity tracking device with a web monitoring system for steps, activity, sleep, water and food intake, and weight.  I invited my friends with Fitbits to join in on the website so we can encourage one another. Fitbit awards badges for fitness and healthy lifestyle achievements. We created a stepping and activity community.  My stepping goal is 10,000 steps.  I check my steps throughout the day.  Yesterday, I saw that I was at a mere 3,000 steps.  I pushed away from my desk and walked up 5 flights of stairs in the Melville Library.  I walked the 4th and 5th floors, saying hello to my colleagues in the hall.  After 15 minutes, I returned to my desk and worked.  I added 2,000 steps and logged high activity moments.  YAY!  My glucose levels have come in around 90.  Double YAY!

The success goes beyond tracking steps and activity.  It’s gamification.  Gamification is the use of design elements characteristic for games in non-game contexts…making routine challenging and fun.   You set a goal and establish rules (fun and flexible), take on a problem solving mindset with the challenge, allow for positive feedback (community), and go for the epic win (reward…results).  Badges of Achievement are proven motivators for reaching set goals.  Include them.  Think gamification, again, Google it.

I also joined in with my two daughters and their friends in a private Facebook group, Clean Eating and Hard Training.  We trade healthy recipes, post “sweaty selfies” of ourselves after a workout, and cheer each other on.  I post my Fitbit numbers.  My daughters always comment on how proud they are of me and I’m proud of them.  We give each other Shoutouts and badges of achievement…gamification.

I’ve long advocated with faculty to gamify their learning activities in the classroom to enhance student engagement.  I’m putting my money where my mouth is and gamifying my goals for achieving a healthy lifestyle.  Is 10,000 Steps a marketing ploy for companies selling their tracking devices?  I truly don’t care as long as it helps me gamify my fitness activities and achieve my healty lifestyle goals.  I want results and I’m getting them.  I’d like to know your thoughts on 10,000 Steps and gamifying your fitness routines.  Share your positive steps to a healthy lifestyle. Post a reply.

Spring is here! Let’s Walk!

Walk on Wednesdays is back! Come join coworkers for a healthy walk around campus every Wednesday at noon for a total of twelve walks beginning March 19th through June 4th. Register to walk once, indicating your preferred walking location. You will be assigned a group leader and then the fun begins! Start earning Healthier U incentives after you walk 6 times. Get all 3 items if you walk 10 out of 12 weeks! Looking to add that competitive spirit and walk at any time? Then Walk to Win might be right for you. Be sure to have 2 other SBU Employees walk with you and report the distance walked to your area walk leader. The campus location with the most miles walked per person will win a healthy reward sponsored by Healthier U. For more information visit stonybrook.edu/healthieru. Register using the link below.
https://docs.google.com/a/stonybrook.edu/forms/d/1tK2y52EHp0AO7SUg27KdCltr9A6R265omPoOGS8vgjQ

Get Ready to Walk Your Way to a Healthier You

Healthier You Walking Program

The Healthier U walking program kicked off in November 2011 with a series of walks at five locations. The kickoff series was a success, thanks to all of you! In 2013 the program doubled the number of walks from the previous year and expanded to seven locations. For more information, visit the Walking Program page by clicking the tab at the top.

Participating in the SBU Walking Program? How’s it going? Update us on your progress. Share your success and suggestions with others.