Eglin's faces of fitness Published July 24, 2008 By Marilyn Leggett, RN Civilian Health Promotion Service EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Eglin's Civilian Health Promotion Service (CHPS) met its' first customer in March 2005 as the program, across AFMC, kicked off. Following the recent wrap-up of AFMC's second Team Lean Challenge (TLC), CHPS wanted to find out what progress Eglin's civilians have made toward a "healthy, fit and ready workforce" which is a program goal. Two of the recent Team Lean Challenge participants offered insight into improvements they have made in the past year or two. Shannon Paradise, with the Air Armament Center, states that she has made exercise "part of my lifestyle now where I used to only work out periodically". "It's like brushing my teeth, it's just become a part of what I do every day." She says she has not always had consistent progress, "Things come up like holidays or TDY's, but I have just learned to get right back on track. I think people tend to give up too soon on their healthy goals but there is no 'quick fix'." Shannon's energy has increased and her weight has become healthier, a goal that she started with the first Team Lean Challenge. "A lot of my co-workers, mostly women, were just talking about getting more fit when TLC came along, so we signed up." She says that, at first, trying to arrange fitness time into her busy schedule was a challenge, but now she reports that her stamina and energy are improved, eating healthy "feels good", and her performance at work has benefited from her healthy new lifestyle. Another success story is Dave Preston, a quality control specialist with 96 LRS. He also got serious with healthy changes during the first TLC. He has continued to increase his exercise and is very careful about eating reasonable amounts of nutritious foods. During TLC 2007, Dave lost about 20 pounds but had gained some of it back by the time TLC 2008 kicked off in March. He also began having some blood pressure problems so decided to get serious and lose the weight. He says his new habits have become easier; he still has to remind himself to forego late-night snacks like ice cream but also allows himself to have reasonable portions of his favorite foods. Dave says that he began losing weight and getting fit because "my clothes were tight and I got out of breath trying to do activities I enjoy like yard work and woodworking." Recently, Dave has started playing competitive table tennis once or twice weekly and his competitive nature has made staying active important. He is more alert and energized throughout the work day now and says that his supervisor encourages the 3-hour civilian fitness program "as long as work gets done first." He also notes that verbal compliments, like commenting on his weight loss, given by his supervisor have been helpful. Shannon and Dave offer this advice: Decide that you really want to make some changes and then set small goals to start. If you fail one day don't worry, just get back on track. Cut back on sweetened beverages like iced tea and drink water; minimize fast food as much as possible. Keep trying and avoid looking for 'quick fixes'; progress comes over time. Shannon advises to "be really honest with yourself." Dave reminded, "It's like 'eating an elephant', you can only handle little pieces at a time!" While CHPS, a partnership of AFMC and Federal Occupational Health, is most known for free cholesterol testing to Eglin civilians, the program mission is to support the health, safety, and productivity of the federal workforce. The program services are voluntary and individuals participate during duty hours with supervisor approval and based on mission needs. Watch for more "faces of fitness" and for more information call 883-8024.