Round One Results Are In!
- So far the average Shape Up & Go! participant has lost 2.1 pounds, exercised for 471 minutes, and walked 119,255 steps--that's 60 miles! Are you up to the average? If you are, I challenge you to pull your team even further....
- Together, Cleveland Clinic employees have lost 4,475 pounds, exercised for 1,198,828 minutes, and walked 382,330,654 steps (about 200,00 miles, which is 8 times around the earth at the equator!).
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Dear Friends,
The results are in from Round One of your competition. Did your team do it? Our "Actives and Amazings" were truly hindered. Jim Jadallah, an amazing athlete on our team who runs 8 miles faster than I can sprint for 100 yards, didn't count any steps from his 5-plus miles of hard running every day 'cause he thought the pedometer would weigh him down! He's taking good actions, but some of them just hurt our team standings! (Told you I would make an issue of this, Jim...)
Hope you are excited to see your amazing progress. As the numbers above demonstrate, CC-ers (sshh...a new name not cleared with anyone!) are achieving remarkable results. Even though we are just getting started on this journey, CC-ers are making real lifestyle changes already and progressing toward goals. Can you feel the difference?
CC-ers--and hopefully you--have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. The exciting part is that this is just the beginning. Keep up the good work and let's keep making healthy strides together.
Yours In Health,
The Cleveland Clinic Employee Wellness Team
support@shapeupandgo.org
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Frequently Asked Questions
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 If I exercise while wearing a pedometer, can I also count that toward exercise minutes?
Yes!
Any moderate intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking,
jogging, running and playing sports can count toward your exercise
minutes--even if you are also wearing a pedometer and counting it toward
your pedometer steps total.
Can I convert other activities into steps?
You should only count walking, running and other activities that you can do while wearing your pedometer toward your pedometer steps total. If you participate in activities like swimming, where wearing a pedometer is not feasible, you should count that time toward your exercise minutes total. Since there are no common standards, we ask participants not to convert activities into pedometer steps.
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Laughter Is The Best Medicine
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Best Jokes Submitted (and a tip of the hat and thanks to Diane Woods!)
Remember, you can submit to me at YOUDOCS@gmail.com. (We wanted to make the jokes fun to read...keep in mind these were judged by a weird panel, so don't blame me alone!)
What do you think your mom and dad have in common?
Both don't want any more kids.
--Lori, age 8
Is it better to be single or married?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
--Anita, age 9 (bless you, child)
How would the world be different if people didn't get married?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
--Kelvin, age 8
And the #1 Favorite is ........
How can a stranger tell if two people are married?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
--Derrick, age 8
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Tips for Eating Heart Smart
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With more than 30,000 items filling the shelves of the typical grocery store, you may feel confused when trying to select heart-healthy choices for your family.
That's one reason why Cleveland Clinic started Go Foods! These have low saturated fat (below 4 grams per main dish, less than 2 grams per side dish or appetizer), no trans fat, 100% whole grains and low added sugar (less than 4 grams per main dish, less than 2 grams per side dish). So, when you spot the Go label, you'll know it's a healthy food. Go Foods! are in Cleveland Clinic cafeterias and one local grocery chain, Heinen's, has added them to their shelves. (Thanks to Kristin Kirkpatrick, Julia Zumpano and Carol (Cindy) Moore and their teams from Wellness, Preventive Cardiology, Dietetics-Nutritionists for their great detail work on making this happen.) Soon you'll even see the Go label at a major sports stadium! (Thanks to Jim Perko for his efforts to make this happen.)
But if you happen to eat or shop anywhere else (you don't like Trader Joe's, do you?), next time follow these tips:
Eat Greens... 
Green equals good in more than just those rectangle-shaped bits of paper with Lincoln's picture! And for excellent reasons: The nutrients in kale and collard greens (not with lard, please), broccoli and other green vegetables (whether it's the vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, flavenoids and/or polyphenols--see, I do know big words that mean nothing if they weren't representing good green stuff!) all seem to be disease-fighters in a variety of ways. When it comes to your heart, vegetables can help keep your blood pressure and your weight under control, and they may help keep your arteries younger. That's even more the case when they are consumed in place of lower quality foods (think white food that isn't fish or cauliflower).
...Then Add More Color! 
Greens are great for sure, but it's even better to go for a variety of colors when choosing vegetables. Dark green and orange veggies are a wonderful combo, and you can learn how to make them taste fantastic together. Easy way to do it: Munch on fresh vegetables dipped in a light dressing of peanut butter (the real stuff only!) for a mid-day snack. For lunch, fill a whole-wheat tortilla with turkey. Top with organic spinach leaves, shredded carrots and cucumber slices. At dinner time, no need to make a separate side dish. Toss vegetables into your favorite red non-meat pasta sauce, casserole, omelet, soup or whole grain pilaf.
Choose oils wisely.
Various oils, including olive and canola, are powerful when it comes to heart health. Their mono and polyunsaturated fats help keep your lousy cholesterol lower and healthy cholesterol higher! More recent evidence suggests that these heart-healthy fats may actually help control the fat around your waistline!
So even when total fat content is kept equal, those who consume a higher proportion of fats from canola oil, nuts and olive oil, and fewer unhealthy fats (especially artery-clogging trans and saturated fats) may actually see their body fat drop-especially around the waistline.
Easy way to do it: Use canola or olive oil in your cooking. Instead of relying on commercial salad dressings, whisk up a healthy version using a dash of olive oil, a good shake of vinegar and your favorite herbs.
Be smart about low-fat and fat-free foods.
Low-fat and fat-free foods that are high in calories aren't worth squat. Despite the fact that grocery shelves are overflowing with fat-free cookies and reduced-fat potato chips, many people ignore the fact that they are high in calories, continue to consume them and (surprise!) gain weight. This eventually gets turned into stents and bypasses, which we all see as higher insurance costs. Don't be suckered into these foods--they're just as bad for you as one of those recent Ponzi schemes!
 Easy way to do it: In the dairy aisle, reach for non-fat choices--select non-fat milk; non-fat, no sugar added yogurt and non-fat cheese. And in the snack aisle, choose nuts and fruit, whole wheat crackers with non-fat cheese, or hummus with vegetables.
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Weekly Employee Wellness Update
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 Take The Stairs!
No time to exercise? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, taking the stairs is a good way to include physical activity in daily life. We often go out of our way to avoid stairs. Using them as part of your daily exercise is a great way to lose weight and improve fitness.
Cleveland Clinic supports employees taking the stairs instead of elevators whenever we can. Using the stairs requires little additional time, no wardrobe change, and few additional costs because building code requires stairs. If your building, community hospital or family health center has a staircase, why not start using it now?
NEW: 2009 Stair Log
Have you always dreamed of climbing Mt. Everest? Now you can--virtually! Cleveland Clinic wants to encourage employees to take the stairs to increase physical activity in our daily lives. It adds up!
New participants: click here for the new 2009 stair log and see how far you can go.
2008 particpants: Click here to continue using your 2008 stair steps log
Cleveland Clinic Recommended Stairs on Main Campus:
· Miller Rooftop: Take the stairs from the lobby up the 7 flights for a beautiful view of downtown.
· Walker Building: Take the beautiful atrium stairs to or from the third floor and take the elevators the rest of the way.
· Crile Building: Take the stairs from ground floor to second floor (other stairways - to basement or to 3rd or 4th floor faster than the elevator.
· Lerner Research Insitutue stairs are open air on the northeast side of the building. including the library stairway.
· E. 100th St (BB) garage stairway.
· Southwest stairwell in the JJ garage (located nearest the elevators).
· Central main campus: G1 Stairwell, G2 Stairwell, H5 Stairwell, M2 Stairwell, TT1 stairwell.
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