Round One Results Are In!
- So far the average Shape Up & Go! participant has lost 1.4 pounds, exercised for 445 minutes, and walked 115,592 steps--that's 58 miles! Are you up to the average?
- Together, Cleveland Clinic employees have lost 2,139.4 pounds, exercised for 818,273 minutes, and walked 281,466,793 steps (about 140,733 miles, which is 5.6 times around the earth at the equator!).
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Dear Friends,
The results are in from Round One of your competition. How did your team do?
We hope you are excited to see your amazing progress. As the numbers above demonstrate, we are achieving remarkable results. Even though we are just getting started on this journey, Cleveland Clinic employees are making real lifestyle changes already and progressing toward goals. Can you feel the difference?
We 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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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 Tips for Outdoor Exercise
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Get fit "naturally" outside in state parks:
http://ohiodnr.com/tabid/21384/Default.aspx
Ohio State Parks general site with upcoming walks and other events:
www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/
Cleveland Metroparks Hiking page:
www.clemetparks.com/recreation/hiking/index.asp
General metroparks page with "Get Out and Get Active" listings: (including walks, hikes, etc.)
http://www.clemetparks.com/
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