Summer Shape Up RI Introduction

Let the competition begin!

We’re excited about this second year of our summer health competition, because we have some fun new challenges for you and your team. Not only will this summer’s Shape Up RI give you the incentive to accumulate thousands of steps all around our beautiful state during the year’s best weather (and lose some weight doing so), the competition will encourage you to get healthier in several more significant ways.

First, we have added a fruit-and-vegetable tracking function to Summer Shape Up RI. The 8-week competition division are now Pedometer Steps, Weight Loss and Fruit-and-Vegetable Tracking. All during the 8 weeks of competition, you can record if you hit your goal of eating at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day. For help setting a personal goal use this tool from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). We suspect once you get going on eating more fruits and vegetables during this bountiful time of year, you’ll want to keep going!

Second, we’re adding two-week mini challenges to this summer’s competition. Every two weeks, you’re invited to participate in a health “challenge” focusing on one of four critical health areas: counting the calories you take in each day; incorporating stretching into your routine; sleeping better; and relieving stress.

Participating in these will not affect your team standings; it’s simply a way to improve your healthy lifestyle.

We have added a Summer Shape Up RI Resources section the web site to include information on our four new health topics as well as on the benefits of eating more fruits and veggies, and we encourage you to explore it.

Why Increase Your Fruits and Veggies?

Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and can fill you up, leading you to shed more pounds. Besides that welcome idea, fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals and other substances that protect you against chronic illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and stroke. Happily, controlling your weight also helps fight these chronic diseases. So we should all be gung-ho to eat more fruits and veggies, right?

We know it’s not so easy: Many Americans don’t eat the amount they need. So the idea behind our new fruits-and-veggies tracking component of Summer Shape Up RI is to help you figure out how many fruits and veggies you’re already consuming every day, and to encourage you to step it up to improve your health and manage your weight. This component will last through the entire competition. Summer is a great time to set this as a goal, because everything from juicy raspberries to luscious tomatoes will spill from grocery store and farmers’ market shelves during the competition.

How much of these healthy foods do you need? U.S. health officials say the average adult should eat at least 1 ½ to 2 cups of fruit a day and 2 ½ to 3 cups of vegetables a day (depending on gender and age). Summer Shape Up RI's goal is to have you consume at least 5 (five) servings a day, and if you do so, you put a check in the logbook box for that day. For help setting a personal goal use this tool from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control).

Our website contains extensive information on how to figure out serving sizes, what counts as a fruit or vegetable (juice and dried fruits count), and how to get more of these foods into your diet. We know it can be a challenge -- the office vending machine doesn’t usually offer apples, does it? So we’re here to help!

To go to the Summer Shape Up RI Resources here.

 

Getting started with your pedometer

Once you pull the little white tab on your pedometer, it’s ready to record your steps. Don’t forget to tie on the clip and string that comes with the pedometer. Participants tell us the clip is very helpful in preventing the pedometer from being lost if it slipped off during activities. Remember, 10,000 steps a day – about 5 miles – is considered an active lifestyle. If you need another pedometer for any reason, they’re $6.00 or $8.50 delivered. Visit our Shop to Support page or call Shape Up at 421-0608; you can pick it up in Providence or have it sent to you.

Please contact us with any questions at support@shapeupri or 401 421-0608.