Employee Health & Well-Being
Inspirations
INSPIRATIONS
Many people have favorite quotes that guide their lives, relieve sadness, provide a laugh, or put life into perspective. Here are some favorite quotes provided by Miami University Employees:
The future depends on what we do in the present. – Mahatma Gandhi
Things turn out best for those people who make the best out of the way things turn out. – Art Linkletter
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors and let every new year find you a better man. – Benjamin Franklin
Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are. – Forrest Church
Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. – Confucius
If you have a quote you would like to share with your colleagues please send it to healthandwellbeing@muohio.edu! Please consider the appropriateness of the quotes
HEALTHY DEPARTMENTS
Ed Butch, Office of Residence Life
Stephanie Acheson, Office of Residence Life
By: Brooke Harris, Senior, EHWB Student Intern
When Ed came to work at Miami he decided that he needed to make his health a bigger priority in his life. With this drive and his love for the Biggest Loser television show, he came up with the idea of putting together a Biggest Loser competition of his own for the Residence Life department. The Biggest Loser program started out as strictly a weight loss program during its first run. At the end of the program, they had a huge success story. One of the participants lost almost 40% of his body weight and has kept the weight off to this day. The next year, Stephanie Acheson approached Ed to see if he would want to run the program again. The second time around, the competition was geared more toward a healthy lifestyle instead of strictly weight loss and opened up to all staff in the Student Affairs department. The program started right before Thanksgiving break, a great way to stay motivated to be healthy during the holiday season. Each participant bought into the program for $10 that would eventually be used to award the winners at the end of the competition. The program ran for 14-weeks, right up to Spring Break. Ed volunteered his time once a week to the weekly weigh-in at a central location. While people came every week to weigh in, the program only required that the participants weigh in on the “official” scale for the first and last weigh in. At the end of the program, three awards were given out. The first prize was the highest percentage of weight loss, the second place prize was for camaraderie, and the third place prize was for the second highest percentage of weight loss. The camaraderie category was developed by Stephanie and was used as a way to emphasize the importance of healthy lifestyle rather than just weight loss. Points were awarded to people who e-mailed out healthy recipes, organized events that were physically active, and also those who brought in healthy snacks to meetings, among other things. The winner of the camaraderie category started a blog where she would track her progress, post healthy recipes and encourage others. At the end of the program, they had 17 people weigh in for the final prizes! Overall, the program was a huge success!
Amy Lorenz, University Honors & Scholars Programs
By: Brooke Harris, Senior, EHWB Student Intern
Amy is an Employee Health & Well-Being Wellness Captain for the Honors Department. She is doing wonderful things to motivate her co-workers to lead healthy lifestyles. She hosts various wellness activities for her co-workers on Mondays around lunchtime. Amy has organized a Wii boxing tournament, intellectual word game activities, and mini-personal training sessions on stretches and strength exercises (i.e. lifting weights while sitting on a stability ball, yoga poses that have a strength component). She sends out a weekly email to her co-workers that includes a wellness tip, healthy snack recipe/idea, and reminders about EHWB programs. She also posts the Traveling Bulletin Board in her department. Keep up the great work Amy!
SUCCESS STORIES
Frank Page, Chef, Housing Dining Guest Services
By: Kelley McCormick, Junior, EHWB Student Intern
Having grown up in a household with parents who both smoked, Frank, a chef for Miami University’s Housing, Dining, and Guest Services, was introduced to cigarettes at an early age. He smoked for the first time when he was 15 years old in the Red Lobster parking lot where he worked, and continued for the next 25 years of his life. His concern about the example he was setting for his children and the anxiety he felt over his recent health problems, compelled him to make the decision to quit smoking for good. A variety of components enabled him to reach his goal including his strong dedication and the social support made available to him in both the workplace, as well as at his home.
In the workplace, Frank utilized the “Freedom from Smoking” tobacco cessation support group, offered by Employee Health & Well-Being. The program consists of a small group to ensure that everyone receives personalized attention and support. In addition to the vital social network of co-workers he gained through “Freedom from Smoking,” Frank also shared his journey with his wife, who also used to smoke cigarettes. Quitting smoking together strengthened their resolve and ensured their success by instilling a mutual sense of accountability; not only were they quitting smoking for themselves, but also for one another and their children.
Frank has been smoke-free since his Quit Day on July 17, 2008. Quitting smoking has not only improved Frank’s physical health, but it has also taught him about himself and given him confidence in his abilities. In giving up cigarettes Frank ended up gaining so much more: his health and the health of his family, the additional money otherwise spent on cigarettes, the positive example he is setting for his children, and the feeling of empowerment he and his wife have gained from accomplishing the ultimate goal of being smoke-free.
HEALTHY HOBBIES
Lady Distance Classic 2011 MU Employees
Back Row: Amy Carito, Linda Simmons, Andrea Bakker, Kathy Dudley, Amy Lamborg, Barbara Roberts, and Stephanie Dawson.
Front Row: Molly Heidmann, Sue Sepela, Jessica Toglia, and Jen O’Brien.
Monday Night Running Club
Andrea Bakker, Jason Sprague, Kathy Dudley, Molly Heidemann,
and Sarah McNitt
By: Karli Dutton, Junior, EHWB Intern
This group of runners met eachother through Team Miami! Last January they completed the Red Brick Run 5k after 12 weeks of training together. After this event they all continued to meet every Monday after work. When asked what keeps them motivated they all agreed that having each other has helped push them to keep going. They normally meet at Millet to run but have started to meet at the trails off of US 73 since the weather has gotten warmer. They encourage others who need motivation to work out to find a buddy and start meeting on a regular schedule. They say running with others helps them keep motivated because if they do not show up they feel like they are letting the others runners down.
Dr. Mike Zmuda, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Systems Analysis
By: Kelley McCormick, Junior, EHWB Student Intern
Swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running a full marathon of 26.2 miles are all difficult endeavors separately, but when combined to create a single race, the intense competition known as The Ironman is created. Athletes from all over the United States assemble to compete in the physically, as well as mentally, demanding triathlon. This past August 2009, Miami Associate Professor of Computer Science and Systems Analysis Dr. Mike Zmuda completed the Ford Ironman in Louisville, Kentucky. The events leading to this incredible achievement began simply with Mike becoming more aware, and subsequently, more proactive about his personal health practices and choices.
Prior to his decision to compete in the Ironman, he decided to make physical activity a part of his lifestyle. He incorporated exercise into his daily routine as well as continuing to eat well nutritionally. Excited about the positive impact that consistent physical activity had on his health and fitness, he decided to sign up for the Ford Ironman. In preparation for the race, Mike began training about a year before it was held, around October 2008. Despite the minor injuries and fatigue he often encountered throughout the year, he stuck with his original plan and completed the Ford Ironman.
In completing the Ironman, he made an important realization; throughout his training, and even while he was completing the Ironman, Mike acknowledged that he was no longer competing with others. He was setting goals and achieving them for himself, not for the benefit of anyone else. This has led him to embrace healthy practices as a part of his everyday life; setting and ultimately completing his goal has empowered him in regards to his personal health, and reflects a positive attitude concerning health that will continue to benefit him throughout his life, whether he completes another Ironman or not.
Contact EHWB if you have a success story or healthy hobby you would like to share!