Rivendell's Health Buzz
From the 10th of September, Staff and Service Users from Rivendell commenced a new health initiative in the centre, similar in format to RTÉ's Operation Transformation. The team have chosen to call it “Lighten-Up" Rivendell. The challenge, which is 3 months long, will see all Staff and Service Users focus on motivating and encouraging each other on a daily basis to make healthy food choices and incorporate more exercise into their daily routine.
As Rivendell are already a group who enjoy maintaining their fitness and health - we have no doubt that they will rise to the challenge over the next 12 weeks and we wish them the very best of luck!
So, how will it all work you might ask?
Staff and Service Users will be weighed every Friday and their weight loss will be measured and recorded as a percentage, instead of in stones, kilograms or pounds. All weight records will be confidential, and at the end of the 12 weeks, the Staff and Service User with the highest percentage of weight loss will be awarded the grand prize.
Since the initiative commenced 3 weeks ago, the Rivendell team have been working extremely hard on further educating the Service Users in relation to building upon their existing healthy eating habits by focusing on making small changes and adaptations each week.
The Service Users have embraced the initiative and have also shared their own inputs with regard to some of the changes they would like to see occur in their own lives over the coming weeks. For example, some Service Users would like to increase their daily water intake, while others would like to increase their daily step counts and allocate more time in their day to focus on planning and preparing their meals with Staff.
Introducing anything that improves our overall health and wellbeing is fantastic and has huge benefits for our mental health, productivity levels and overall happiness. The team aim to encourage and promote healthy lifestyles, whilst delivering a high standard of care across the service. "By taking on this initiative, we hope to encourage other Staff and Service Users into participating in their own centres, and you never know - we might even set a trend!"
During "Lighten-Up", Service Users and Staff will be awarded certificates for reaching key weight loss milestones
such as 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% weight loss. It's not only important to acknowledge and recognise this hard work as and when it occurs, but it's also important to share that great sense of achievement, whilst ensuring everyone remains motivated and on track.
On completion of "Lighten-Up", all participants will be given a Certificate of Congratulations, with the overall winners being announced on the 13th of December.
We look forward to sharing our updates in the next three editions of the newsletter so you can all follow our progress. NO PRESSURE!!
Aine
Well done to everyone in Rivendell. We wish you the best of luck over the coming weeks and can't wait to hear more about it next month.