One of our focus pillars at United Way is health, and we’re passionate about helping everyone in our community live well.  We’re also passionate about the health of  our staff, which is why our wellness program leaders decided to up the ante a little: with a healthy behavior challenge against Big Brothers Big Sisters staff!

This is an eight week challenge that seems relatively simple: each week we introduce a healthy behavior into our lives,  so over the course of the weeks we continue to build these habits.  This is week 1 and it’s all about water, we’re supposed to be getting in 64 oz a day. Next week, we start incorporating 15 minutes of exercise into our days.   Week 3 we have to include a fruit or veggie at every meal.  Weeks 4 through 8 continue to impact our diets: week 4 we have to start the day off with a healthy breakfast, week 5 we have to pack healthy lunches and week 6 we kiss the drive through goodbye with no fast food.  Week 7 we’ll be bringing our own snacks, because vending machines are out.  The final week, the challenge that got a few groans from our group, is no pop or candy.

The best part about this challenge is that the weeks serve as building blocks, allowing us to stack up the healthy behaviors as we go and make them habits.  Each week we give ourselves points for the days we were able to stick to the challenges.  At the end of the week whichever staff has more points wins, and the other staff has to buy them a healthy catered lunch.  We’re really looking forward to committing to healthy lifestyles . . . and our BBBS catered lunch!  Now, we’re not allowed to tempt each other so there won’t be any doughnut deliveries, however, we did receive a special jug of water.  Last week, we put a photo on our Facebook page joking about how we had run out of water, well BBBS sent us a refill with plenty of inspiring messages.

You can be part of the challenge too!  Try incorporating some of these behaviors into your life for a few weeks, or better yet, make a friendly wager with a friend or family member to help keep you motivated.  The easiest way to begin a healthier lifestyle is through small steps, and all of these challenges will help get you there. We’re happy to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters to keep us in check and we’re definitely fired up to put some points on our wellness board!