Skip to main content

Meeting on the Move

Finding time in our busy days to stay active can be difficult. What if there was an easy way to fit in exercise and be more productive with your time? Walking meetings may be the solution.

Why a walking meeting?
Physical activity has long proven benefits including helping to control your weight, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, reduce your risk of some cancers, strengthen your bones and muscles and increase your chances of living longer overall. So what does this have to do with walking meetings? Physical activity can also help to improve your mental health and mood and can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp. Perfect for more productive meetings! Walking meetings are also less subject to distractions because it is hard to sneak in an email or text when you need to watch where you are going. Add in a little fresh air and change of scenery and walking meetings may even encourage more creative thought.

How to hold a walking meeting
Walking meetings will be new to a lot of people, so a little planning can go a long way. Give enough notice so that your participants can plan to have the right shoes. While walking is safe for most people, not everyone may be able to do a walking meeting. Giving notice allows people to express any concerns they may have. Consider walking the path you plan to take ahead of time to make sure there aren’t any unexpected surprises like missing or broken sidewalks or loud construction. Choose meetings where you don’t need to take or read a lot of notes and if you do, use the voice record function on your phone. Keep the group small or break into teams so people in the back or front aren’t left out. And of course, with weather being unpredictable, it is a good idea to have back up plan for bringing your walking meeting indoors.

Beyond work
The same benefits you get from taking your work meetings on the move can apply to almost any setting where you are chatting with someone. Want to catch up with a friend? Meet up and walk while you talk. Working on an event? Get the committee together and walk while you discuss ideas. Including people that you enjoy spending time with while you are being active can help to keep you on track, so give it a try in any setting.

REFERENCES:
1. Rizzo, Nico S. et al. Nutrient Profiles of Vegetarian and Nonvegetarian Dietary Patterns. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , Volume 113 , Issue 12 , 1610 - 1619

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD.
February 2016

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4 Tips To Avoid Stress Eating During Finals

It's the week of finals and suddenly there's so much to do and not enough time to do it. With projects, papers, studying, all-nighters, and early wake-ups, indulging in your favorite (and maybe not so good for you) foods seems like the perfect way to relieve some of that finals stress. When we turn to food to relive stress, it tends to be food that comforts us and makes us feel good, which a lot of times is a carton of ice cream, a slice of pizza, or your favorite piece (or bag) of candy. The truth is, finals may not only be a stressful time of the semester but a time where weight gain occurs in stressed out students. The combination of a large amount of sedentary time studying and test taking, little to no exercise, and stressful or late-night eating is a recipe for weight gain. Another truth is that we may not even recognize that we are in fact stress eating due to being completely preoccupied. So how do we avoid this stress eating before it takes place? Here are four tips to...
Post a Comment
Read more

To Juice or Not To Juice?

Depending on who you talk to, juice is either part of the latest health trend or on the list of things to avoid. Understanding what juice does and doesn’t offer can help you decide if it is right for you. The Up Side: Fruits and vegetables offer a variety of health-promoting nutrients, many of which are still available in the juice squeezed from them. Juices can be a convenient and tasty way to get those nutrients. Juices also offer a way to get fruits and vegetables that you may not usually eat in the whole form. For example, cranberry juice is a popular alternative to whole cranberries and a great way to get some important antioxidants. People who don’t normally eat spinach may find that when juiced with other vegetables and fruit, they enjoy it. The Down Side: With about 50-115 calories per cup, fruit and vegetable juices are not low calorie drinks. For that reason, drinking a lot of juice could potentially make weight management more difficult. Research suggests that people who dri...
Post a Comment
Read more

Plant Forward

A New Way of Eating There’s a relatively new term buzzing around the food world that you may or may not have heard of, plant forward. What does that mean you ask? Plant forward focuses on more vegetable centric dishes with meat playing more of a supporting role. Think blended burgers, stir-fry’s or grain bowls where meat is almost like a condiment. Flavors are bold and it’s all about the dish’s deliciousness whether it happens to be vegan or vegetarian, or not. Diners aren’t interested in completely removing meat from their diets so embracing a diet that is mostly plants with some meat here and there provides a comfortable middle ground. The Challenge with Red Meat Conventional animal agriculture is resource intense and less than stellar for the environment. Ruminant animals release methane gas into the atmosphere which is about twenty five times more intense than carbon dioxide. Let’s face it, our country’s enormous appetite for beef is not so great for our health and the heal...
Post a Comment
Read more