By Lindsay Gorby
July brought the heat, so we brought the health! In the past month, the Live Well Be Well team, Total Health Labor Lead, and Mobile Health Vehicle Staff, accompanied the Total Health Tour to six separate locations throughout the Baltimore service area, and we are excited to bring the Total Health Tour to more locations in the coming months.
Although one of the goals of the Total Health Tour is to share information about how Kaiser Permanente is striving to create a culture of health in the workplace, much has also been shared with us in the form of personal experiences. One especially impactful story is that of Delilah Johnson from Towson. Not only was she willing to go above and beyond to promote Towson’s Total Health Tour, but it quickly became evident that her enthusiastic motivation and energy stretched beyond the workplace. In just 20 weeks, Delilah renewed her commitment to her health and lost 40 pounds (and counting)!
Delilah attributes her success to a transformation of her lifestyle and it shows. Along with maintaining a daily “step count” goal that she can track on Go KP, she frequents the free Zumba classes that FX Well has in Towson every Monday. Regarding her diet, Delilah credits a few things: to help her maintain a calorie deficit, she made the switch to black coffee and plans her meals ahead. To curb hunger, she snacks throughout the day on low-calorie, nutritious items. While we talked with Delilah about the concept of health and wellness, Delilah was emphatic that everyone should know eating healthy does not mean being hungry. She has managed to enjoy satiety through nutrient-packed, flavorful meals, and knows that her coworkers can do the same.
At another successful Total Health Tour stop in White Marsh, Ginamarie lauded FX Well for its ability to help her and her friends stay motivated by giving them a platform to send each other fitness challenges to keep each other accountable. Seeing other people log their activity, she said, was a good “push” to get active too. Another White Marsh employee managed to stop by and get her health checked before heading off to the gym after work. On her way out, she showed off her packed lunch as a way she has committed to living a healthier lifestyle.
Over the past month, we have met so many inspiring people, and it has been extremely rewarding to watch coworkers support each other in pursuit of better health. As the region works to improve the lives of our members, we must also continue to take time to focus on our own wellness. With such positive feedback about the Total Health Tour thus far, we cannot wait to see how this energy continues into August!
