As you all know, Newport Hospital & Health Services is a proud sponsor of Healthy Newport’s, Fit Together! - Challenge.  The ultimate goal of Fit Together! is to encourage healthier lifestyles and improve the health of our community, one member at a time.

As a corporate participant and as the primary healthcare provider in the community we felt it important to lead by example.  So, as a means to further engage with our community, we are kicking off an internal District weight loss challenge as part of the Healthy Newport, Fit Together! Challenge

The District Lose a Ton for Health is both a name and a goal for the program.  All employees who have the desire to lose weight are encouraged to participate.  In fact, many of you have already started off the New Year with resolutions and weight loss goals.  Our goal with the District program is to assist each other to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to encourage your fellow staff members to meet their targets. 

As with almost any endeavor, it’s easier to meet a goal when you are working together as a team.  Most of us have a strong desire to get healthy, be in better shape, and make that lifestyle change.  Now is the time to drop those unwanted lbs!  There is no deadline for entering; however, we encourage everyone to sign on as soon as possible.  The program will run through the end of 2012.  

Employees are encouraged to sign up, record their initial height, weight, and collect a pedometer for tracking your steps to a healthier you. We plan to host a database to track your/our “collective” results – where you can enter by name or remain anonymous and be assigned a reference I.D. number.

You can also join Healthy Newport’s Fit Together! - Challenge as an individual or you can create a team (family, friends, and/or co-workers) to participate.  However, the Lose a Ton for Health challenge is for NHHS staff only.  For those of you who have already started your 2012 weight loss program, we will accept a known starting weight for your entry to our District Lose a Ton Challenge.

Plan to enroll early, we will be start sign-ups on Monday, January 30, from noon to 1:00pm, or Wednesday, February 1: hospital lower level, or e-mail/ MOX Nancy Shaw or Katé Lyons-Holestine.  For those interested, you can also obtain your BMI (Body Mass Index) - a BMI calculator will be available on the NHHS internet site. 

And, though this program is intended to change our lifestyle in order to maintain good health, we are not above awarding prizes for a job well done.  We will look at a number of possibilities including: meeting your target thresholds, most weight lost, highest percentage of weight loss, greatest change in BMI, or closest to the original weight loss goal, to name a few.

STAY TUNED!  There will be links on the District web-site to Healthy Newport, Fit Together! and to weight loss tips and programs to assist you to meet your goals.  We encourage participants to report their total weight loss monthly through December 31, 2012.   

REMEMBER, THE GOAL IS TO LOSE A TON - TOGETHER!