April was Alliance Architects’ Health, Fitness and Wellness Month. It was great to do a healthy living month early in the year. I’ll be carrying my good habits over for the next few months, but will probably need a refresher course come the holiday season. It’s hard to think healthy with homemade pecan pie in the oven. After last month, we are all a little more aware of our diet and exercise habits and, if nothing else, we got one month of good, clean living! Next year, we’ll have to make it even better. Mineral water buffet, anyone?
Here’s to your health! Below are some of the highlights from our first HFW Month:
Hit up the gym
Alliance Architects partnered with a full-service gym to offer memberships to any of its nation-wide fitness centers at a substantially discounted price. Get in an hour of fitness a day for better overall health with the added benefit of happiness.
Safety First
A CPR/AED certified course was offered to educate attendees on how to perform CPR and use an AED. We even learned (and practiced) how to perform CPR on a pet! Contact Ms. Cindy Lewis at heartbeatcpr.net to schedule a certification course for your office or group.
First-Time Marathoners
Many of our team members have set a goal to run in the Plano Balloon Festival Half-Marathon this September. Everyone participating will be doing this as his or her very first half-marathon. With so much time to prepare, and a few great phone apps to help track progress, we’ll be in tip-top shape come September.
In-Office Massages
Chair massages were offered two Fridays out of the month. This one was my personal favorite. Who doesn’t want to split from their computer screen to get a nice back massage? Everyone who got a massage asked when we would be doing this again. Hopefully soon!
Munchies
Everyone knows when you’re hard at work it’s easy-or necessary-to quickly grab a bite to eat from whatever’s at hand in the break room-good, bad or ugly. This month our leadership brought in snacks for us to try that were either organic, gluten-free, low-carb or socially responsible (locally grown or the like), or all of the above.
Eating Healthy and Eating Right
We are very fortunate to have a resident (or near-resident) specialist on healthy living. Sharon Reagan, Certified Health Coach, has been practicing gluten-free and organic eating for over twenty years. She’s the mastermind behind Feedback Health Coach, and now dedicates her time to coaching people how to improve their lives with healthy eating. Sharon did a special presentation on eating organic and making better food choices. She discussed what organic foods really are, why you should eat organic as well as where to shop for organic foods at a reasonable price. Did you know that some grocers markup the price of organics by almost 400%? For more info on Sharon, Feedback Health, and healthy eating tips, visit feedbackhealthcoach.com.