I have signed up for a 4-week nutrition and physical activity program at work! I am so excited about this program that I wanted to share it with you. It has been only a week, but I am already beginning to see a change in my daily diet and level of physical activity. So check it out, and if you want to give it a try, feel free to modify it to suit your needs.

The Program

• First, we had to select a team of 4 and register at our Fitness Center. You could do this as a family, or find a couple of friends to join you. Select an inspiring team name to make it real and interesting.
• Each team has an “empty” plate at the beginning of the week. After completing the activities assigned for the week, teams can earn “portions” to fill their plate. To get a “full” plate, each member of the team must complete these activities to a certain level.
• Teams earn raffle tickets based on how full their plates are at the end of each week. There is a bonus raffle ticket if a team earns all four full plates at the end of the program. After it is all over, they will be able to win “fun and exciting” prizes in a raffle.

The Activities

There are 6 “portions” on a plate with different goals/activities for the week:

1. Fruit – all 4 members must eat breakfast within 2h of waking at least 4 times per week
2. Meat/Bean – Complete a nutrition trivia worksheet each week
3. Grain – all 4 members must complete at least 30 minutes of exercise (or 10,000 steps) on 4 days of the week
4. Vegetable – at least 2 members must eat 7 or more servings of fruits and veggies 3 days of the week
5. Dairy – at least 2 members must eat 1 or more of the healthy food items marked with the Full Plate Club logo in the cafeteria
6. Oil – different activity for each week: complete health profile; take a group fitness class; find the nutrition fact sheet for at least 1 meal at your favorite restaurant; complete one of the 12 online program on stress management, nutrition or weight management

Why I am excited

The main reason I am excited is that I am now eating more fruits and vegetables each day! And I am realizing that it is quite hard to get 7 servings in a day – you really have to eat a fruit and/or vegetable at each meal.

Second, I am regularly eating salad with dinner, which I used to do in the past only occasionally. One trick we use is that we add some of our favorite fruits – strawberries, peaches, blueberries, mango slices, even pieces of cantaloupe or watermelon – in the salad. We also throw in almonds, sunflower seeds or walnuts! In short, everything goes, because that’s the way we can get it all in one meal.

Third, I can now mix walking with my workouts to complete the physical activity requirement. I usually go for a run or light strength building workout 3 times a week. But that is not enough since I am told we need to maintain a good level of physical activity at least 5 times a week. Now I can just go for a long walk on the days I can’t hit the gym and complete my 10,000 steps. I have also signed up for yoga once a week!

Why it works

I don’t think that winning a prize at the end of the 4 weeks is the driver for me. I think here are a few reasons it is working so well -

• Being in a team encourages you to complete your activities, after all you don’t want to “let your team down”
• The program is quite flexible and comprehensive
• It is only a 4 week program, not going to last forever
• It is educational – you need to look up nutrition information online to do those trivia worksheets
• It is fun to see your team’s plates “fill up” on the board
• It gives you something different to talk about with your friends and co-workers around the water cooler!

So wish me luck that I can stay with the program for 4 weeks and get used to the 7 servings of fruits and veggies a day!

This program is designed for adults, but I am sure you can tweak it to work with your young kids if you like. Share your ideas and opinion in comments below.

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