Fran Higgins | Jan 4, 2008

Just like in the schools, remove the "junk food" vending machines along with the soda vending machines from all of our facilities. If we need to have vending machines, replace them with water, juice and healthier snack options.

Anonymous | Jan 8, 2008

Removing the vending machines is a start, but there should be more structured exercise programs available with transportation included. Many consumers would love to attend exercise programs, but the transportation is not currently available.

A dedicated staff member | Jan 11, 2008

Yes, by all means, let's remove the salty and sweet snacks and the sodas from our vending machines. People have the right to buy them if they choose, but not at Westchester Arc where we promote good health and smart choices.

David Gasparri | Jan 16, 2008

Here are some tips (for all of us) from the Healthy Weight Network:

Healthy Weight Week
January 20-26, 2008
How to Celebrate Healthy Weight Week for your own Healthy Lifestyle habits

1. Live actively. Each day of Healthy Weight Week be a little more physically active than usual. Focus on the pleasure of movement and the benefits in renewed energy, fun, social interaction, stress relief and health (not calories burned). Don't overdo it. Find an easy level with activities you enjoy -- and think about keeping it up all year.

2. Eat normally. Free yourself from diets. Resolve to stop diet- and weight-obsessed thinking. Eat 3 meals each day during Healthy Weight Week, with 1 or 2 snacks to satisfy hunger. Respond to your body's internal signals of hunger and fullness. Notice how much better you feel!

3. Eat nutritiously. Choose balance, variety, moderation. Balanced eating of all 5 food groups ensures getting the many nutrients you need (breads and grains, fruits, vegetables, meat and alternates, milk and dairy). Enjoy variety from each food group. Eat moderately to avoid extremes. With sound nutrition you'll have a new zest for living, more creativity, brain power, energy, better health, and a strengthened immune system.

4. Feel good about yourself. Nurture yourself. Take time to appreciate and respect your unique self, your talents, interests and experience. Work on body image issues -- you're okay just as you are. Use positive self-talk, affirmations, and visualizations. Get comfortable with the real you.

5. Relieve stress. Take 10 minutes each day for a relaxation technique. Or just empty your mind and let your body go limp. Get in the habit of taking a 30-second relaxation break occasionally. Be sure to have some fun in your day -- get playful, laugh out loud. If you don't have a friend handy, how about a pet?

6. Feel good about others. Respect and accept people as they are. Appreciate diversity and each person's special qualities. Avoid comparing yourself.

7. Strengthen social support. Maintain positive, supportive relationships with family and friends. Build pleasant social networks wherever you spend your day. Volunteering is a great way to feel needed and get involved.

Join in celebrating Healthy Weight Week!

Andy Heugel | Jan 23, 2008

There are a few ways that we can do this:
1) Modeling healthy behavior:
We're role models to the people we work with. As staff or family members, if we're looking to have the consumers adopt healthy lifestyles, we should show them that we can make healthy choices regarding food, watch portion control, and follow a regular exercise regimen. If we participate in exercising with them and also eat healthily, they'll be more likely to do the same. I've even heard of a residence at another agency where the overweight staff and residents all went on the same diet.

2) Healthy should be tasty: It's a lot to ask for what residence counselors get paid, but all the staff who cook need to learn how to cook meals that are both healthy and tasty and learn portion control to avoid waste and/or overly large servings. And, the ingredients to do this need to be available in the residences, and their staffs need to learn how to use fresh products before they spoil, just as they must do in restaurants. Lastly, the nutritionists who make the house menus need to be realistic regarding what's available to cook with and the expertise of the staff doing the cooking.

3) Think of ways to make exercise fun: I find walking on a treadmill to be deadluy dull, and I suspect that most consumers do, too. However, most people like such things as nature walks, taking a walk down a country road, or walking through a historic site or garden where the walk is interesting. Think of creative ways to do physical activities outside!

4) Avoid making excuses: Many people are hibernating through the winter, despite plenty of fair days in the thirties, forties, and occasionally fifties. By staying indoors in close proximity to others, we share each others' germs. By getting outside and getting some sunshine and fresh air, we build up our immune systems and help to avoid seasonal affective disorder.

5) Be realistic: We're human, and some of us and many of the people we work with have physical disabilities, or are relatively old. We need to exercise within our physical limitations.

And, most importantly - feel good about yourself and have fun!!!

Anonymous | Feb 21, 2008

I agree with Andy Huegel, Staff at the residence should be trained on providing consumers with a healthy menu and choosing healthy food items at the grocery store.
Cooking class should be offered as well.

Anonymous | Mar 26, 2008

Let's be mindful of each person's situation -- before we encourage walking, do their shoes fit? Are their bunions, etc., under control? Before we encourage swimming, have they had time to work through that bad fall they took at the pool last year? Before we take them outside with temps in the 30s, is their asthma under good control? Can we even say whether their joints are arthritic or not? Before they get coaxed to Special Olympics, do they have sunscreen? Hats? And how many dozens of times have they "been there, done that?"

Andy Heugel | Apr 2, 2008

The comments by Anonymous (3/26) illustrate the safety aspect of trying to get the people we work with to exercise and improve their health. Plus, these health concerns are usually exacerbated by many consumers' poor communication skills. Whether its properly fitting shoes or dentures, many won't adequately communicate the problem to you, thus the axiom in SCIP to "think medical first" when addressing a challenging behavior. Another axiom is to know the medical conditions/limitations of the people we work with, be aware of any allergies, and remember such necessities as sunscreen, because in many cases, they won't remember.

But, beyond this, there are other complexities. Just as with the rest of us, there are consumers who are hypocondriacs, who find excuses to not exercise or watch their diet, and, there are those who will claim to have exercised, or have eaten healthily or watched their portion control, when they haven't.

One thing I do with the ones who have good communication skills is to admit that I have many of these same issues, but that it is me that has to carry around the extra flabby baggage, if I make excuses by saying it's too hot or cold, or I'm too busy, etc. to exercise. This is America, and the consumers have choice, but I remind them of the natural consequences of those choices. In the end, all we can do in many cases is remind and encourage the people we work with to lead healthy lifestyles, while empathizing that this isn't always easy and sharing some of our own struggles with "the battle of the bulge."

Mashal Gonzalez | May 7, 2008

In the Choices Program we have the privelige of working 5 days a week with teens who are becoming adults. Healthy practices every day like excersise and eating healthy make a huge difference in the quality of a teens life. Our program adopts the principal that being active as part of our communities is important and bolsters new friendships.

This helps our participants view healthy living in a positive way.

Anonymous | May 8, 2008

As a person who's been coping with chronic incurable illness (manageable, but incurable) for decades, it's really annoying to read all this "just eat right & exercise and you'll be healthy!!" nonsense. If only that would do the trick.
Also, before we push our folks out to exercise we want to be real sure that their feet, joints, lungs, etc., are up to it. Many of our folks are slow to complain about pain, and many are getting up in years.

Andy Heugel | Aug 10, 2008

Anonymous 5/8/08: There is no easy cure. Exercise is work and healthy eating is hard discipline!

As staff, as we stuff our faces, we need to think of the examples we set?! I just sat at a case conference where 300 pound lard buckets were telling a 76 year old trim consumer that he needed to watch his 1,600 calorie diet!

He was complaining that his house (DDSO) didn't feed him enough food!

Maybe the wrong people are on that diet program...?!

Anne Shaw | Aug 14, 2008

These are such important topics for us all. I think the key is to simplify. Unprocessed food, actually tastes like food and it's so much healthier than the "flavored" products they compete with. If we avoid soda and junky drinks, water returns to it's rightful spot as the original refreshing drink. How many times do we take an elevator or an escalator because it's easier than looking for the stairs. Similarly, if we avoid the parking spot right up front in favor of one that's a little further away, we can do easy things like this every day to make us healthier. I believe that we sometimes overthink these things -- if we can't join a gym or sign on for some new fad diet, we don't bother doing anything. Little things count. In my family, it's much easier to "sell" a little change than it is an entire overhaul.