December 10, 2013
Jackie Johnston (left)†presents Will McWhorter†with a fruit and†vegetable†gift basket for being named NTCC?s Fittest Employee†of the Month†for December. To receive this award, an employee must†be caught practicing†overt wellness behavior and attitude.†
†
The Wellness Committee is on the lookout for a January recipient!
Here are a few words about Will's†personal wellness plan?
I have always tried to find time to incorporate exercise into my life, but as I have gotten older it has become more and more difficult.† I have found it challenging to balance family time, work, and wellness into a regular routine.† My wife is currently a full time nursing student and we have a two year old daughter, so finding the time to work out is not always an easy thing to do.† Back at the beginning of the semester in August I stepped on the scale and was shocked to see the number staring back at me.† I was about ten pounds over my normal weight and fifteen pounds over where I would like to be.† It was clear to me that the occasional jogging I had been doing over the summer was not the best wellness plan for me.† I had settled into a routine of eating chocolate syrup covered ice cream every night and watching too much television.† I needed to make some changes to both my diet and exercise plans.
We had already made some health based food changes such as substituting ground turkey for beef and eating more salads.† The biggest dietary changes I have made this semester are trying to consistently eat less, cut way back on the desserts (I have only had ice cream a couple of times this semester), and eat more fruits and vegetables.
I also decided to devote more time to exercise this semester.† I?ve always enjoyed running but have usually stuck to distances of around two miles.† I knew I needed to increase my cardio activities so I gradually increased my running distances.† David Rangel had mentioned running in a couple of 10K races so I decided that would be a good goal for me to set as well.† Earlier in the year, my wife and I completed the Azalea 10K Run in Tyler.† Training for the 10K gave me more confidence that I could actually run those longer distances.† Now, I?m actually thinking about running a half marathon next year.† To satisfy the nerd in me, I?ve been using the Nike+ Running App on my smart phone.† It uses the phone?s GPS to keep track of run distances and uploads results to my Facebook page.† I try to do a long run on Fridays and a couple of shorter runs during the week.† I have a nice six mile route I do on the county roads around my house.† Here at the college I like to run on the road that goes by the rodeo arena.† Did you know that it?s half a mile from the Baptist Student building to the intersection with CR 4660?† I usually do a few of those for a good 3-4 mile run.† In addition to running this semester, I?ve been lifting more weights.† On Mondays and Tuesdays I usually go to the Fitness Center here at the college and do the weight machines.† We also have a complete set of dumb bells at home that I found on Craigslist.
During the winter break I plan to continue my fitness efforts and might do more hiking.† About a month ago I completed a 23 mile weekend backpacking trip in Oklahoma.† It proved to be both fun and physically challenging.† My wife bought the Insanity Fitness DVDs earlier this year so I might give those a shot over the winter break as well.
I believe my wellness efforts have made a difference this semester.† I have lost about eight pounds, my clothes fit better, and I feel better as well.
Will McWhorter, Ph.D.
Department of Computer and Information Science
Northeast Texas Community College
