GIThrive: A Great Benefit for Employees!
I’ve been thinking a lot about my health lately, as well as retirement and what I want to do when that time comes.
My dad is my inspiration. He retired at the age of 62, and he enjoyed collecting his retirement money for over 30 years until he passed away at the age of 95. He walked every day and had a very healthy diet that did not include junk food or soda.
In last month’s edition of The Blade, there was a full-page article highlighting a County benefit called ‘GI Thrive’. This article spoke to ME! I really am trying to improve my health, lose weight, and feel better than I have for the last 10 years. This past year, I used a program that helped me lose weight by eating their products and making one meal a day on my own. However, as soon as I quit using those products, I found it difficult to maintain my weight loss and I returned to some of my old habits. The program was also an additional financial burden. There are many alternative prescription methods of weight loss and a host of other products we get inundated with, but I really wanted a process that is healthy. I wanted a path to health where I don’t have to rely on a specific product line or prescription, and one that is truly sustainable and scientific. You know, old school.
As soon as I learned about this free benefit, I signed up for it and scheduled a meeting with a dietitian through the GI Thrive app. I connected with the dietician, and we discussed my goals and reasons for wanting to learn more about my gut health. She had me do some of the exercises in the app and log my food intake for several days so that she could get an idea of a base line. I sent for the microbiome kit, did the test, and sent if off to be evaluated.
Before I even got the results back, I had a second phone call with my dietician. I was able to ask her specific questions to better understand my weight loss journey. Questions like, “What does my body need in the way of probiotics or prebiotics? What are good macros to shoot for? How much of the not good for me but yummy food and drink do I need to give up,” etc. She explained the human body’s process of metabolizing food and how it varies with activity. She considered my age, weight, current level of exercise, and suggested a daily caloric intake target and some macronutrient goals. Previously, I had been using My Fitness Pal without the knowledge of how to set my goal numbers, but her suggestions made more sense now in what targets I should be hitting. I guess if I decide to start marathon running, those numbers will need to be adjusted (LOL, not likely to happen!).
My results are now in for the gut health checkup, and I will be reviewing those findings with the dietician during our upcoming appointment. In the meantime, my plan is to log my food and drink intake daily, hit my calorie and macro targets, walk for 20 minutes after dinner, and do my light strength training and stretches consistently.
I have a standing/adjustable workstation, so I plan to stand up for at least 2 hours during my workday. I read where just the act of standing up helps improve digestion and circulation dramatically! While I am standing up, I can also do some calf raises and knee bends. On my work breaks I will go for short walks, limit my caffeine intake, and diversify my food choices. I tend to eat the same 3 or 4 fruits, the same type of carbs, and the same protein sources. I learned if I could diversify my food a bit more, I can diversify my gut biome which will aid my overall health.
There are many, many components to the GI Thrive program which I will continue to explore because I plan to be at the peak of health when I retire so I can collect that retirement check for a long, long time!
By Kathleen Curtis-Ames, SLOCEA Director and Member
