Inspiring Wellness Success Stories 14

Our latest story of success during and following one of our corporate wellness programmes describes how a willingness to experiment with simple lifestyle changes has led to a virtuous circle of increased energy levels and decreased stress.

Yet another great example of how including wellbeing initiatives on a leadership programme can improve the professional and personal lives of participants for years.  In this case 5 years and counting of life simply being better.

Here’s how this was achieved.

The date of the programme you attended

•       Autumn 2008 

The lifestyle changes you made during programme :

•       I attended yoga classes for the first time
•       I changed my habit for breakfast
•       I drank more water and fewer fizzy drinks
•       I ate nuts, fruits during the breaks
•       I did some meditation
•       I took care about myself by having some fun with friends, by going out, I let go of some stress

The lifestyle changes you made following programme

•       I have attended yoga classes, once a week ever since the programme
•       I found the energy to address stress levels
•       I am jogging twice a week
•       I drink more water and green tea
•       I eat more fruit, vegetable and fish
•       I eat more times during the day but eat smaller portions
•       I eat less chocolate and drink less cola
•       I have a healthy breakfast
•       I pay attention to getting to bed on time and relax before
•       I manage some free time to do sport, music, read, relax 

The secrets of your success with wellbeing

•       The willingness to apply changes and experiment with wellbeing 

The biggest benefits of making your lifestyle changes?

•       Getting more energy to act and make change happen (a virtuous circle)
•       I am now able to manage my stress and balance private and professional life 

Read the previousinstallment of our Inspiring Wellness Success Stories here

Order your copy of “Successful Corporate Wellbeing Programmes: How to create a dynamic, energised and engaged workforce and boost business results” from our website today.

Image by Flickr: Oscar D

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3 Simple Ways to Boost Energy

There are moments in any working day when things can feel tough.  Getting the food routine right can really make a huge positive difference for everyone when it comes to how you feel able to cope with any challenge.  

Here are three key things to think about:

1. You've heard it many times but that's because it really matters.  Eat breakfast.  Choose porridge with blueberries and a sprinkling of nuts or seeds.  A great way to kick-start your day for maximum energy.  Oats are high in calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, B vitamins and protein.  So as well as helping improve your skin, oats are brilliant for those suffering from tiredness.  Blueberries are high in vitamin C and antioxidants to boost your immune system.

2. When you need to top up the energy levels, reach for fresh fruit with a spoonful of low fat, low sugar yoghurt and a sprinkling of seeds.  The protein in the seeds and the yoghurt will slow the energy release of the fruit keeping you going for longer.

3. A perfect energy boosting meal is wholemeal rice with oily fish and vegetables.  The vegetables will provide plenty of vitamins and minerals to help your body function effectively. Brown rice also provides great energy while cleansing your digestive system to help you process all food efficiently and turn it into effective fuel.  Oily fish helps keep your brain alert and sharp.

These options require minimal planning but can increase effectiveness and enjoyment of the entire day.  As an added bonus, a day of eating well will also help you sleep better and boost your energy for the following day.

Image by bro0ke Flickr

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Inspiring Wellness Success Stories 4

Improved, energy, mood and productivity.  How the right mindset and celebrating success can ensure wellness benefits last for years.

Next up in our series, a lady who we first worked with in 2009.  She had an extremely busy work schedule then and although the time pressures haven't changed much, her ability to get more done and do it well has gone from strength to strength.

• The biggest benefits of making your lifestyle changes?

Improving my wellness makes me feel better as a human being;  energy levels are more under control as are my productivity and ability to achieve more; moods and emotionally energy is also more balanced.

• The date of the wellbeing programme you attended

2009 / 10

• The lifestyle changes you made during programme

Re-incorporated exercise into my life (on a regular basis) as opposed to “panic exercise” after gaining a few pounds.  

Learned how to manage my energy levels.

• The lifestyle changes you made following programme

Continued exercise even if only a few times a week as it is a major factor in wellbeing (even on a physiological / psychological level) as it helps clear the mind and control stress levels.  

Cut down on coffees per day and introduced teas, green teas especially more frequently into diet.

• The lifestyle changes that have stuck with you to the present day

During my very hectic work day, I now snack on apples, oranges, pears and nuts (instead of chocolate and crackers / cookies).  

Every now and then I indulge but it is now 90/10 health/unhealthy snacks vs. the  other way around.  This has been a huge change for me.

When travelling, I find a way to do a 10 – 15 minute hotel workout.  Something is better than nothing, especially when I know I am too busy to make it to the gym (which I hardly ever do when travelling).

• The secrets of your success with wellbeing

I used to be an extreme dieter and exerciser (meaning all or nothing - all chocolate then starve myself for days trying to undo the extra pounds).  The yo-yo dieting and exercising wrecked havoc on my body and metabolism.  I find it is better to exercise a 90/10 rule – try to be healthy 90% of the time and indulge 10% of the time.  It is much more realistic and keeps me from depriving myself completely which then results in overindulgence.

• What advice that you received made the greatest impact on you?

The Wellness Award that I received sits in my office until this day.  It is a constant reminder of what I have been able to achieve and keeps me focused, especially on those days when it is easy to be bad.

• Anything that got in the way of success with wellbeing

Because my career is very important to me, it is easy to fall back into old habits and to take the path of least resistance especially when under work deadlines;  I have to remember at times that I might make mistakes and allow some room to not be too hard on myself when I do, but not to allow the one mistake to turn into a pattern of bad habits.

• When wellbeing is working for you, what are the key elements that make the difference?  

Key elements are cutting out the bad snacks and substituting them for healthy snacks throughout the day (this is the highest risk bad habit area for me) as well as walking every other day which gets my blood circulation going.

Read the previous instalment of our Inspiring Wellness Success Stories series

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Why your boss should feed you well

Food and mood and very tightly bound.

Eat junk food and you feel rubbish 10 minutes later; eat healthily and you feel energized and virtuous. So is it any wonder that eating badly when you're in the office can impact on how you feel for the rest of the day and overall? You are only as good as the fuel you run on and this is something a lot of businesses can help out with if they want to get the best performance out of their employees.

So what can organisations do to make it easier for employees to stay healthy and fired up whilst in the office?


We all know what's good for us (deep down) but sometimes, getting caught out is a great excuse for eating poorly. 'I didn't have the time to get anything so I just grabbed a chocolate bar'. 'These crisps are the only thing they had in the vending machine so I'll make do till I have dinner tonight' or 'I haven't got time to go out for something so I'll just have another coffee to keep me going'.

But what if your boss made it easier for you? There's a great reason for them to do so with new figures revealing that 97 million working days are lost a year in the UK because of employees poor eating habits. Here are some ideas to feed back to them and they may just get them thinking....

1. Fruit bowl
A large fruit bowl which is replenished daily for all the office to eat - not just decorative green apples in reception. Doesn't cost the earth but send the message to employees that you care that they have a healthy option.

2. Vending Machine with variety
Don't just fill it with sweet snacks - vary it up with nuts and seeds, low sugar health bars, yogurt drinks, bottled water etc. The less temptation there is in the way, the less people will fall for it.

3. Discount Vouchers & Coupons
Offer discount vouchers for using the local smoothie bar or health food store. Its a great incentive for staff to choose healthy over their normal choice. Again, this sends a loud message out that you want them to feel good.

4. Revamp the Canteen
If the office has catering, introduce healthier options that are desirable, Gone are the days of offering a token salad or sorry looking baked potato. Make sure you provide healthy options that are high on taste and filling.

5. Practice what you preach
All these healthy moves only work if the boss isn't seen chowing down on a burger at lunch time with a bag of crisps. Leading by example is always the best incentive for staff to jump on the band wagon.

So next time you're tempted to eat badly at lunch, do it and monitor how it makes you feel afterwards - and remember that feeling. Afternoons don't have to feel like a struggle to stay awake....

photograph by cackhanded (flickr)

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