Lifestyle

At Work teams focus on nutrition

Posted March 12, 2017 7:00 am

By Tiffany Brandt

Johana Fonseca, from left, Gloria Corona, Cinthya Gonzalez, Pam Meehan and Astra Perrin-Dobbins from Team Thinner Winner from Waukegan Secretary of State, Driver Services. The team is prepping meals to avoid temptation and find team support is their biggest strength. Submitted by Pam Meehan

Grab your celery sticks and carrots because this week's focus is on healthy food choices.

Buck Services' two teams, Team Buckster and Team Bucketeer, went grocery shopping together and whipped up healthy snacks for the office together.

Team Wildcat from Our Lady of the Wayside challenged each other to create a salad in a Mason jar, provided by Assurance at their health assessments.

NEC Display team Adrian's Revenge team captain Polly Miller says "fruit-infused water is a great way to keep your water from becoming boring so we can keep drinking and stay hydrated."

The team members are finding that packing a smart lunch keeps bad food decisions at bay.

In addition to bringing a lunch, keeping a food journal shows the hard facts of what you're putting into your body. It might just surprise you how many calories are in items we consume regularly. There are many great applications for tracking food on your mobile device, as well.

Denise Stone from Team Thinner Winners of CrossCountry Mortgage writes out a daily meal plan, with breaks for snacks. It is important to keep your mind and body fueled throughout the day.

Team Landon's Angels from Rabine Group found a way to enjoy Mexican food without all the calories. They replaced tortillas with lettuce wraps, used ground turkey with seasoning, Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and low-fat shredded cheese.

Agitators Team Captain Debbie Diaz recommends to give away the Girl Scout cookies and that her teams "weakness is when we allow our family choices to influence us over the weekends."

A consistent theme has been replacing unhealthy snacks with fruit, vegetables and other healthy options. Drinking more water is always a great idea, plus it can chase away hunger pangs. Most of the teams have incorporated a day of the week that someone or everyone brings in mindful dishes. Overall, the teams are having early success. I won't ruin the surprise, but there are a few teams with total weight loss of more than 30 pounds so far.

Louise Dickey, from left, Donna Cooper, Amy Lauren and Nancy Kramp from Team Wildcat from Our Lady of the Wayside. The team challenged each other to create salads in a jar using Mason jars provided by Assurance. Submitted by Louise Dickey

Leticia Cortes from Team The Bucksters from Buck Services is busy making healthy snacks for her team, made affordable by Aldi. Submitted by Leticia Cortes

Rose Umana, from left, John Comastro, Jeff Parcel and Laura Miller from Team Waisting Away from Anderson Lock. The team is faced with temptation but chooses a healthy alternative. They went for a walk after this picture was taken to get their minds off the doughnuts. Submitted by Laura Miller

Chris Renkosiak, from left, Michelle Baumann, Kristie Leslie and Anne Luzeniecki from Team Helen's Heroes from Helen Plum Library. The team poses during their healthy lunch meeting which includes fruit, nuts and oatmeal. Submitted by Kristie Leslie

Stephen Baker, from left, John Brooks, Boe Heineman, Matt Mayfield and Keith Salerno from Team SlimPossible from Tempco. The team gathers for lunch after walking around a retention pond. They are walking at lunch at least once a week. Submitted by John Brooks

Brian Lichtenberger, from left, Patrick Mogge, Kevin Liebe, Pam Burkhardt and Rhonda Serafin from Team Forest Losers from Township High School District 214. The team gathers to devour a healthy grilled chicken salad with fruit, pecans, onions, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. Submitted by Kevin Liebe

Team member Sandi Hartman of Team Heavy Hitters from The Salvation Army Central Territory prepared zucchini to make lasagna, instead of noodles. Submitted by Blythe Marinelli

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