thrive! welcomes all letters to the editor. Please submit to thrive@whf.org.

 

Winter 2007 | Fall 2006 | Summer 2006 | Spring 2006 | Winter 2005

Winter 2007

We are excited to announce that all 550 children at Purdy Elementary participated in the 2006 Health Bowl! Every mile the students ran was logged. We used our Purdy Panther Striders cards to keep track of our miles. The students walked/talked, jogged/joked, or ran for fun for warm-up in their PE classes. We also had a Panther Celebration where the whole school ran together!

We logged 2,085 miles. And the kids had a great time!

Sally Smith
Purdy Elementary
Gig Harbor

 

I was much impressed with the message of the Governor's Health Bowl TV spot that I saw while I was in the gym on the treadmill about 8:30 this morning. I firmly agree with the message. I am 75 years old. I know what it is to be unhealthy, on a terrible diet. In 2004, weighing 265 pounds, I had a major heart attack. I changed my whole way of life.

I now work out with a personal trainer 3 hours a week, self-train an additional 6 hours, and walk 6.5 miles a day on the four days of the week I do not go in to Centralia for training. I am now a competitive body builder.

Keep up the good work to get us back to a healthy population. The dangers from obesity are far more dangerous than those of smoking. If an anti-obesity campaign were launched to match that of the anti-smoking campaigns, we just might beat this health issue.

Sarah Wall
Mossyrock

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Fall 2006

Over a year ago my office joined a walking program that I volunteered to head up and serve as the motivator for our office. It was fantastic, but it ended on April 30, 2006. So when I learned about the Healthiest State in the Nation Campaign, I was excited to continue what we had started. By this time, two people in our office had joined Weight Watchers. We were all seeing their progress and thought, "Wow, with the walking we have started why not join Weight Watchers as well?" Over 15 people from our office now attend Weight Watchers. We have lost over 400 pounds and are still losing or maintaining!

Seven of us are lifetime members, which means we have reached a goal weight for our height. On top of this, becoming fit has motivated me to try other activities I wanted to pursue. I took a two-week rowing class and totally enjoyed the experience! I'm also continuing to work on my goal to do a half-marathon in October.

I wanted to say thank you for this Healthiest State Campaign—sometimes even the motivator needs motivating. I love your letters of what the state is doing and am honored to be able to do my part!

Crystal Van Caster
Maloney, O'Neill, Corkery & Jones, Inc.
Spokane

 

Here at Southwest, we started a Wellness Committee and kicked off this year's activities with a "Biggest Loser" competition. Twenty-eight people in our office competed for six weeks. Our total weight loss for the office was 129.5 pounds. It was incredible to see some of the changes occur. This activity allowed people to deal with a variety of issues to allow them to become more healthy.

Our second activity was a virtual race between teams from Spokane to Seattle and back. We had three teams of participants (23 staff members). All of the participants logged their miles of activity on the WHF website, and the team to accumulate the miles of activity equivalent to the distance from Spokane to Seattle and back was the winner.

Next, we are having a bike-a-thon to raise money to buy diapers for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery in Spokane.

Your information and website have been very helpful in putting these activities and the Wellness Committee together. It is much appreciated. It is difficult to inspire people to become healthier and more active. Coming up with new ideas to motivate people is equally difficult.

Ted Etten
Spokane Southwest CSO
Wellness Committee

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Summer 2006

Many years ago, while teaching fitness classes, I remember thinking that physical activity was only one facet of being healthy—a holistic approach to fitness and wellness was needed.

Today, activity and nutrition are often combined. However, mental and emotional aspects of health are often not considered, yet are very influential in achieving balanced wellness. A wellness program is incomplete without collectively addressing the areas of physical activity, nutrition and mental/emotional fitness.

With the increase in lifestyle-related disease, along with rising health care costs, it is more important than ever to practice prevention.

I appreciate the Washington Health Foundation's approach that recognizes the equal importance of Healthy Systems and Healthy Living. These elements are essential to health—something I teach in Intelligent Wellness, a 13-week lifestyle modification program.

I am thrilled to be involved in the Washington Health Foundation's Campaign—both as an individual Champion and as a Participating Organization.

Not only do I want to see Washington become the Healthiest State in the Nation, I am on a mission to help Anacortes become the healthiest city in the state!

Terry Somers-Barnes
Owner, Quantum L*I*F*E Coaching®
(For more information about this program,
please e-mail Terry at qlciw@yahoo.com)

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Spring 2006