Join the NEA Fitness Challenge!

Photo by Matt Ferguson

Summer's over. You've vegged on the beach, camped under the stars, trekked through amusement parks, and hosted a zillion backyard barbecues. Feeling good? Want to make sure you stay that way as the stress of the school year mounts? Well, have we got a plan for you!

by Sheree Crute

This year, NEA Today and the NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN) have joined up to launch our first NEA Fitness Challenge. We've brought together a team of experts who have designed a yearlong wellness program uniquely for you. The only thing you have to do is get psyched, join up with some colleagues, and get on board. You'll challenge yourselves to eat better, move more, and incorporate anti-stress techniques into your school day. You'll even be able to chart your progress, chat with your colleagues, and get your health questions answered on a special Web site. And those who push the hardest can win money for their schools at the end. (Nothing wrong with a little competition, but more of that in November's issue!)

Why do we think this is so important? For starters, more than 60 percent of American adults and nearly 20 percent of our children are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rates of obesity among teachers are actually higher than the national average, making many of us even more vulnerable to related diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. And stress--we don't have to tell you about your risk of that. Yet many of us don't realize how insidious its effects are, says R. Hayman Kite, Ph.D., a specialist in stress reduction in the classroom. "It does its damage slowly," he says, making it not only tougher to do your job, but also damaging your heart and sapping your energy along the way.

But enough bad news. The good news is that when it comes to feeling better, the little things can mean a lot. "If you can lose just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight, you can gain tremendous health benefits," says Christie M. Ballantyne, M.D., of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Ballantyne's research on obesity and the impact of moderate weight loss has shown that you can dramatically cut your risk of heart disease and diabetes by dropping 10 to 20 pounds, no matter what you weigh when you begin. And by adding light to moderate exercise, you immediately begin to address the stress.

So let's get started. Find out what to do first (see below). Then turn the page to kick off your year of healthy living. We'll be checking in with you in November.

The Nutrition Challenge

Don't say diet! "This plan is designed to help you develop lifelong healthy eating habits," nutritionist Molly Gee says. But it will also put you in complete control of your effort to maintain a healthy weight or achieve the Challenge goal of losing 5 to 7 percent of your body weight by May. That's the magic number for avoiding Metabolic Syndrome (see "Obesity: Avoiding the Risks").

Week One

• Get psyched. Think about why you want to lose weight or just feel better. Having more energy and living longer are surely two goals that will help you stick it out.

• Seek support. Pick a Challenge team member or other friend who can help you when that pint of Häagen-Dazs beckons.

• Take Control. Clean out the cupboards, and jettison fatty snacks. Be sure you have non-stick pans, measuring spoons, and cups. Slim down family recipes. Cutting 1/3 of the fat and some of the sugar will be barely noticeable. Stop frying foods.

• Take stock. Look at your portion sizes. How much salad dressing are you pouring on? How big was that burger? Learn how to recognize a 4-ounce portion of protein (about the same size as the palm of your hand).

Week Two

• Count 'em up. Using your calorie counter and journal, make a list of what you eat every day for a week and see how many calories you're eating each day. Don't be surprised if you hit 3,000 or more.

• Learn to graze. Try to have a small meal or healthy snack every four to five hours. It will help speed up your metabolism and keep your appetite under control. Be sure to close the kitchen after dinner.

• Take your time. Eat slowly, over a 20-minute period, so that your body has time to let you know you've eaten enough before you wolf down extra calories.

• Plan ahead. Always shop from a list. Sit down and think through your meals for the week and make sure you have plenty of healthy foods on hand. Oh, and never hit the supermarket when you're hungry.

• Pick a multi. Take a daily multivitamin. Women should invest in a good liquid calcium supplement that gives you at least 1,000 mg a day.

• Cultivate color. The more colors you eat--red, green, yellow--the more fiber and nutrients you're bound to get.

• Rein in restaurant habits. If possible, when dining with others, order your meal first. It helps set the pace for the table. Ask your waiter to split oversize portions and pack up half to take home before he serves your food. Take all butter, sauces, and dressings on the side.

• Count and cut. Use your journal and calorie counter. Record your daily calories and plan to cut 200 calories a day from your diet, each day. You can start the following Monday.

Weeks three & four

• Begin to trim. Reduce your calories by 200. If you normally eat 3,000, for example, you should now eat 2,800 calories a day.

Week five

• Cut back another 100 calories, to 2,700.

Week six

• Cut back another 100 calories. Now, you can stay at this level until November 1.

Quick tips: Trade chips in for pretzels. Ask the school to stock baked chips. Pack a piece of fruit, a low-fat yogurt, pre-packed baby carrots, or even a low-calorie snack bar. Meal replacements are not bad for days you're too busy to eat a regular meal.

The Walking Challenge

"This walking program will make it easy for Challenge team members to work out together on school property," says C.B. Yelverton. It starts out nice and easy, but it's guaranteed to whittle away fat, pounds, and inches. Be sure to drink eight, 8-ounce glasses of water each day and get 8 hours of sleep each night for the best results.

If you're more advanced, walk ahead, but pick a pace that accommodates everyone. It's distance and endurance, not speed, that take off the weight.

Stretch It Out
Don't ignore these! They will help you guard against injury. Use them to warm up and cool down, before and after your walk.

• Hip circles: Stand with feet hip width apart and knees slightly bent. Circle the hips to the right four times and then to the left four times. Repeat three times.

• Quadriceps Stretch: Stand erect. Hold onto to a wall for support. Bend knee, reach around and grasp your foot. Pull foot toward your buttocks until you feel the stretch in the front of your thighs. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch.

• Calf Stretch: Lean forward into wall, holding yourself with your arms. Bring one leg forward and bend knee. Extend other leg behind you and press heel down. Keep back straight. Hold 15-30 seconds. Repeat with other leg.

• Achilles stretch: From the calf stretch position, bend the knee of your back leg, keeping the heel on the ground. Then switch legs.

After Walk Crunches

These will help you tighten flabby abs as you slim down, and improve your posture and walking stance. Start with three sets of 10 to 20.

• Basic Crunch: Lie on your back with knees bent. Put your hands behind your head and slowly curl up, holding abdominals in, until the upper back is off the floor. Never curl up all of the way and do not pull on your neck.

• Side Crunch: Lie with back flat and knees bent, slowly curl, twisting up toward the right thigh and and back down. Continue on the other side, alternating as you count.

Walking Schedule
Pick your track. Use the indoor gym, outdoor track, perimeter of your school, or all three. Get together before school, at lunch, or after classes.

September's Goals (begin week two):

• Complete all stretches.

• Shoot for 20 to 30 minute walks three times a week. Keep a continuous pace; it's not a race walk.

• Abdominals: three sets of 10 to 20 basic crunches three times a week.

October's Goals:

• Complete all stretches.

• Walk: 30 to 45 minutes, three to five times a week.

• Abdominals: Do three sets of basic crunches and side crunches, 15 to 25 a set, four times a week.

Tip: Keep track of how much time you walk and take your measurements at the beginning of the program. Don't forget to log this information in at the Challenge site.

Sheree Crute is a freelance writer specializing in health. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.

What To Do First

• See your doctor and get his or her OK to start the program.

• Invest in good running shoes. The padding is generally better than shoes for walking. Best buys under $100 (suggested by Consumer Reports) are the New Balance 715, $78, or the Adidas Supernova, $90 (great if you pronate).

• Buy a small notebook that will be your food diary and an inexpensive paperback calorie counting book that includes carbohydrate and fat content, fast and prepared foods; and a tape measure.

• Pull together a Challenge team (of at least two!), because support is critical. Then pick a team reporter to record hours walked, pounds and inches lost.

• Register your team on our new Web site. Click on www.neahin.org/challenge to register your team and get directions on how to chart your team's progress, follow your "competition," chat with others taking the Challenge, calculate your obesity risk, count calories, and get answers to your health questions from the experts. Here, you'll find a storehouse of information on health, so make this your friend!

Your Dream Team

A personal trainer, nutritionist, stress reduction expert, and even a meditation teacher--our experts are not only at the top of their fields, they have firsthand knowledge of the problems educators face daily.

C.B. Yelverton, M.S., an expert in exercise physiology. Yelverton taught in the New York City Schools for 17 years and is now a featured trainer at Eastern Athletic Clubs and owner of Movement Matters, a fitness center in Brooklyn, New York.

Molly Gee, M.Ed., R.D., a registered dietician in the Department of Nutrition of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Gee is an expert in moderate weight loss programs.

R. Hayman Kite, Ph.D., a former teacher, principal, and dean of the school of education at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Kite now designs and teaches courses on managing classroom related stress for the Teacher Education Institute in Winter Park, Florida.

Devya, founder of Devya & Associates, trained at the Himalayan Institute of Yoga, Science and Philosophy and has taught meditation for 15 years. She taught in the New York City schools for seven years.

Obesity: Avoiding the Risks

Wondering if you're medically "obese"? It doesn't take as much to hit the target as you may think.

If you're 5'6" and weigh 186 pounds, or 6'1" and weigh 227 pounds--you're there. So find out for sure. Doctors say most people who are obese develop something called Metabolic Syndrome (MS), a cluster of risk factors that mean you are on the fast track to developing cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes. Protecting you from MS is the focus of the Fitness Challenge.

To determine your risk, calculate your BMI. If it's more than 30, review the MS checklist below with your doctor to see if you have three of the five risk factors. To calculate your BMI: Multiply your weight in pounds by 703, then divide this number by your height in inches squared (height x height), or just go to our Web site at www.neahin.org/challenge. You are overweight if your BMI is 25 to 29.9 and obese if it is 30 or more (180 pounds, if you're 5'5").

The Metabolic Syndrome risk factor CheckList

Waist measurement
40 inches and up for men
36 inches and up for women

Triglycerides
150 mg

HDL cholesterol
Less than 40 mg for men
50 mg for women

Fasting glucose
110 mg

Blood pressure
130/85

Your Stress Buster

The Challenge plan just wouldn't be complete without advice on managing classroom and job-related stress.

Experts say you can beat work-related stress by addressing it in two ways. As a group, "one of the best things to do is talk to your colleagues," says Irvin Schonfeld, Ph.D, M.P.H., who studies classroom-related occupational stress. "Share advice on difficult students and administrative problems," he advises. Make your workplace a supportive environment.

On a personal level, a variety of easy, anytime exercises can help you reduce your stress levels every day. One of the most effective methods is meditation. Several studies have shown that practicing meditation can lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk of arteriosclerosis, even help you deal with depression and get a better night's sleep.

Over the next few months, you're going to learn lots more about keeping stress under control with meditation and other tools. For now, Devya, a meditation teacher, offers this quick tension taming meditation to do whenever you have your classroom or workspace to yourself.

The 20-Second Cool Down

1. Sit still and quiet.

2. Now, inhale, then exhale and count "one" (in your mind), with your exhaled breath. Keep inhaling and exhaling and counting on each exhale, until you reach 10.

3. Reverse the count. Keep inhaling and exhaling and reverse the count (10, 9, 8...1).

4. If it's a really crazy day, start with 20 or 30.