The Live Healthy Iowa program returns for a 10-week run in 2017, encouraging UI faculty and staff to organize teams “Just for the Health of It.”

The 2017 program starts Jan. 23 and runs through March 31. Staff and faculty can form teams (two to 10 people) with their co-workers, friends, and family. Participants track their physical activity and/or weight loss over the 10-week program. Teams that use the LHIUIOWA group ID when registering will be recognized as a University of Iowa team and will have access to on-campus promotions like motivational presentations, prizes, and a dashboard to see how your team is doing compared to other University of Iowa teams.

The registration fee is $20. Participants receive:

• A challenge T-Shirt
• A personal online dashboard
• A one-year magazine subscription
• The ability to sync with Fitbit devices and the MapMyWalk app
• A $10 discount for statewide LHI 5K events
• Weekly motivational emails

All participants registered by Jan. 27 using the group ID LHIUIOWA will be eligible to win a Fitbit from Live Healthy Iowa. One winner will be selected from a random drawing of all eligible registrants.

How to register:

• Form a team of two to 10 people.
• Log into www.livehealthyiowa.org and use LHIUIOWA as your Group ID.
• Enter your teammates’ names and email addresses.
• Each teammate will receive an email to complete their registration.

On-campus programming to support teams is provided through liveWELL. Live Healthy Iowa is a program of the Iowa Sports Foundation.
 

Health series unwraps the science of sugar

The Un-Wrapping the Science of Sugar series, offered by liveWELL in January and February, will discuss how sugar affects your body and will help participants distinguish between natural and added sugar, find hidden sources of sugar, and develop strategies to reduce sugar intake.

UI staff and faculty in a 50 percent or greater regular position can enroll at no charge. Priority will be given to those who have not participated in health coaching within the last 12 months. Register by Jan. 20; the series begins the week of Jan. 23.

Ilona Lichty facilitates the series. She is a registered dietitian with 25 years of experience in individual and group counseling in nutrition and lifestyle modification. Lichty is a Wellcoaches-certified Health and Wellness Coach at liveWELL.

Growing scientific evidence indicates that eating too much added sugar over time is linked to major health problems, including obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease.

According to research published in 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine, drinking just one 12-ounce soda daily or seven sodas per week can increase your risk of dying from heart disease by almost one-third. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar to no more than 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 teaspoons per men. (One 12-ounce soda has 9 teaspoons of sugar.) With added sugar present in nearly 80 percent of food items available in the market, it’s not surprising that the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day—that’s 350 calories with zero nutritional value.

Spotting added sugar is challenging because it isn’t listed on product labels—a new food nutrition label coming in 2018 will correct that—and manufacturers currently list added sugar under at least 60 different names. More information about the series can be found at hr.uiowa.edu/livewell/group-health-coach-service.

Course offers guidance for caring for elderly relative or friend

Are you caring for an elder relative or friend? Do you anticipate doing so in the future? UI Family Services is excited to partner with Iowa State Extension and Outreach to offer the Powerful Tools for Caregivers course, which will begin later this month.

Powerful Tools for Caregivers (PTC) is a series of classes designed to empower family caregivers of older adults to take better care of themselves, including helping them reduce stress, improve caregiving confidence, establish balance in their lives, communicate their needs, make tough decisions, and locate helpful resources.

PTC is offered on six consecutive Monday evenings, Jan. 23 through Feb. 27, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in University Capitol Centre. The course is offered at no cost to UI faculty and staff. Register by emailing familyservices@uiowa.edu. Space is limited.

A recipe for personal wellness success

This is not your typical cooking recipe. In over a decade of working with UI faculty and staff, Health Coach Erin Litton has devised a “recipe” for personal wellness success. It may have some familiar ingredients:

• One part planning
• One part reflection
• Add a dash of support
• Sprinkle with accountability
• Mix all ingredients in a bowl of flexibility
• Bake with kindness of self

Planning exercise and healthy choices into our work day and personal life can bridge the gap between gym sessions and grocery store visits. Think of your day as a whole and look for opportunities. For example, if you have a meeting across campus, choose to walk briskly instead of driving or busing. If you have an evening activity, can you move before, during, or after the event for 15 minutes? Bring a few pieces of fruit to work to partner with a quick lunch or dinner after work.

Reflecting on your daily efforts allows for celebration and opportunities for improvement. Adding minutes of activity up each day or week can inspire you to take the time to work out more formally when it is available. Tracking food choices allows you to budget calories and be confident in the choices you are making—or when to choose something different next time.

A good support system may include a walking buddy, someone who will eat healthy at lunch with you, or someone who notices the efforts you are making. Whatever the support, identifying someone to encourage a healthy lifestyle contributes to long-term success.

Accountability keeps you on track. Knowing that others care about your efforts makes everything seem far more important. Accountability can come in many forms: a weekly meeting, a social platform, email, or a text message.

Flexibility is imperative to success. No two days are the same, and unexpected things often arise. Creativity counts, and planning for the unexpected can turn a good day bad.

Most important, kindness of self enables long-term success. Wellness is not perfection and perfection is not wellness. See the bumps in the road as learning opportunities: “Next time I can do this better.”

This recipe is not magic, but sometimes guidance can help when preparing this dish. The liveWELL Health Coach Service is here to support your success and help you write your own recipe for success.