On a morning show from WRCO, Lindsay Hatfield is here, registered dietitian with the Richland Hospital.
Hello, Lindsay.
Hi, thanks for having me back.
I feel like we were just here in September, but we always enjoy coming to see you.
Absolutely, and we enjoy it too.
I mean, I learn things here too, and hopefully the listening audience does.
You're here to promote a wellness workshop that's coming up real soon.
So tell us about it.
Yes.
So we have designed this wellness workshop.
Our first rollout was back in late spring of earlier this year.
And we actually had two sessions.
They are five sessions in each wellness workshop group.
And we have gone through two different groups and had really great feedback, really awesome outcomes.
So we are excited to introduce it again this time of the fall.
It starts next week actually.
And again, it's a five series program.
So we're just hoping to reach others in the community.
Dispelling some myths or whatever the title when somebody hears wellness workshop, they may think it's something else, right?
Yeah, so the wellness workshop, even though we as dietitians are putting it on, it's more than just about nutrition.
This is about wellness, your overall health.
We know nutrition is just one piece of the puzzle.
And so we also highlight physical activity, stress management, social connection, sleep habits, all within this wellness workshop.
It's amazing how your health can be affected by
poor sleep or, uh, you know, inactivity, obviously, but stress can do a real number on a person's body.
Yes.
And unfortunately there are a lot of things out there that cause stress.
Um, so we really try to help with stress management, building healthy coping strategies, um, how to try and prevent stress from occurring or at least, um, from progressing into worse stress or worse habits, um, with those
pieces of the puzzle.
If you're doing poorly in one area, it tends to affect the others, kind of like a domino effect.
Whereas if you're doing great, you know, that again, vice versa, it tends to have a great impact on the other.
So we're not mental health specialists, but we can certainly discuss stress and kind of some general info related
to it.
Lots of times we struggle to kind of take that first step.
Why do you think that is?
Change is hard and change is also uncomfortable and so we as humans tend to
be, you know, creatures of habit.
So whether the habits are good or healthy or bad, we tend to kind of stick into this rut or routine.
And sometimes it's because we just simply don't know how to take the first step.
So not only is change difficult, but we don't know where to start or also fear fair failure too.
But we know that failure, there's always a way up too.
So that
can be a barrier sometimes for folks, um, especially if they feel like they need to have everything in place or all the right tools in order to take the first step.
And that's certainly not the case.
I think sometimes we have the philosophy.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it, you know, those kinds of things.
I'm doing all right.
I don't, you know, but, uh, it's good to make changes for our futures, obviously.
Exactly.
Um, even if you are doing some great, awesome things, um, this wellness workshop can help,
make your habits sustainable, or maybe there's one thing that you can take from it that you can help someone else with, not just yourself.
Knowledge is power too, so within these different topics, if you can learn something new, apply it to yourself, make your habits even better, or have a slight change, that's a win in our book.
What about insurance?
Cause that sometimes can be a roadblock for people.
Yes, and so we wanted to come up with a program, hence kind of the birth of the wellness workshop.
to fill that gap with those who might have insurance challenges or higher out-of-pocket costs to come see a dietician.
Unfortunately, healthcare can be a little bit skewed sometimes where they want you to have the disease before then you can see a dietician and have it covered.
So we are focusing not only on disease prevention, but also decreasing progression of certain disease risks or helping build habits around
certain diagnoses too.
So lots of times Medicare doesn't cover patients unless they have diabetes in order to see a dietician.
So we really want to hone in on the community and a broad spectrum like how can we help with general healthful info for anybody that it can apply to.
Let's talk about how it's gonna work the wellness workshop and what people can expect that day next Wednesday
Yes, so in terms of registering we would love to have you pre-register that way we have a good headcounts And it's easier for your sake So it is a program that's from 430 to 545 every other Wednesday starting on October 21st You can certainly come in through the front doors checking at the front desk and
they'll help direct you where to go.
And in terms of the program goes, we hit it hard first with kind of just an intro, starting with a baseline assessment.
In order to really make change or set goals, you kind of need to know where you're at first.
You probably already do because you signed up for this wellness workshop.
but it helps with kind of knowing what changes working.
Are you making progress?
What helps you compare, like look how far I've come from the first day.
So we always like to have that baseline assessment, including a body composition analysis, we call it TANITA, and that kind of measures your muscle mass, your fat mass, your bone density, and that can help
We take that measurement at the end as well, too.
So baseline assessment first, then we hop into the good stuff.
So that's all of some brief information.
Again, education is key.
We don't want to bore you to death, though, with just spewing out recommendations, facts, information.
We have some fun activities planned each time you come in.
whether that's in a group setting or just a personal setting.
And then also we give you strategies and how to apply this information.
to your daily life.
So then you can leave that night and try something new before you come back in two weeks.
So it's keeping it light a little bit, keeping it somewhat fun.
Yes, we certainly don't want to overwhelm with lots of information.
As you know, there's so much we can cover and just one subject, let alone the four that we're focusing on.
So we really want to hone in on, okay.
Here's the recommendations, whether it's incorporating more fruits and veggies, reducing added sugars, eating more fiber.
But we then target what are you doing and maybe that's not working.
Here's a different way of doing it.
Or here's what has worked for other people, which is another great thing about the group setting.
Let's talk about how it works then.
How long can people expect to be there?
It's about an hour and an hour and a half to an hour 15, 430 to 545.
And we originally had it for an hour, but we got feedback saying, hey, we would like even more information.
We would like to extend the activities.
So we thought about an hour and 15 per session is really enough to get the information, have a fun activity, give the application and also just
talk amongst each other about what's working and what's not working.
So if I can go on the first Wednesday two weeks later, then I come in due to assessment before everybody meets or how does that work?
Yep.
So the first session come in about half an hour early would be great.
So we can get your body composition analysis.
And what's nice about this program is if you can't make it one of the Wednesdays, then you can pick up right where you left off the next week.
We can certainly get you that information that you may have missed out on.
But it's something that
you don't feel like you have to come to every single one to still get some benefit out of it.
So, and then the last session, we put you back on the TANITA to kind of rescan your body composition, see where your goals are at, what changes you've made, different things like that.
Having the support system, it's almost like positive peer pressure then, right?
It probably helps us to maybe go through this together,
right?
Yeah.
So I always think about this analogy with
this the sports I coach is, you know, it's easy to listen to your coach, like, go get on the line, we're running the sprints, we're doing this drill.
But to hear it from your captains or from your teammates, that's going to
facilitate change and motivation way more.
You're in it together with your peers.
It's not just Kelly and I up there in front of the room spewing out this information.
What really is nice is having that accountability and that support from people who are there with the same intentions, the same goals to
share their testimonies, share their experiences.
People gain a lot from that, especially in a world of technology.
This social connection is key.
So that's why we have this in-person event, because we truly believe that that helps with change and habit building and building healthier lifestyles.
Make friends.
Exactly.
You know, we certainly encourage when you sign up to bring a spouse or a family member or friends, but this is a great opportunity to meet other community members.
You know, even though we're a small community, um, we don't know everybody yet.
So, well, you might
know of,
right?
Um, so yeah, uh, we, you know, people who have participated in the past have decided to, um, do like group runs or walks together.
or sign up for a fitness class together, or have potlucks together, some fun things like that.
So you're making friends, but also it's in hindsight helping you stay on track with your goals or changes that you've created
for yourself.
So do you do some fun things along the way like potlucks and those kind of things as the year goes on?
Yeah, we are hoping to, you know, because this is only our third session yet, we want to get a year under our belts to then hopefully have, you know, more connection with these.
folks in the past, get them on an email chain to kind of introduce activities that are going around in the community, because that's also going to boost community involvement and rapport.
And then just kind of continue to send out information, motivational ideas, things like that to keep them accountable.
There's a lot of growth that happens in the course of the nine weeks, but we know that change is forever.
And so we just kind of want to stay connected.
Is it for all ages?
Yeah, I would say our population is more.
We've had people in their 30s all the way up to their 80s.
That's probably our target range.
And those who maybe go to their doctor regularly at least once a year, we won't turn anyone away.
We think this information is applicable to everyone.
We wanted to make it generalized enough, but helpful enough to targets.
people of all ages of all different health backgrounds of interest.
But that's kind of been our past groups.
Wonderful.
How can people register or sign up if they're interested?
Lindsay?
They can call the hospital phone number.
So that is 608-647-6321.
And then you can either ask for our nutrition and diabetes ed department
or its extension 2480.
And that's how you can pre-register.
We can give you even more information about the details and logistics of next Wednesday.
And then you can bring along a friend or a spouse or family member.
Yes, of course, we encourage it.
It's always fun to, one, have more people in the room, but to do this together with someone you love.
Interesting.
How's the cross-country season going at River Valley?
Oh, it's going so fast.
both literally and figuratively, I suppose.
We've got conference this Thursday, as I am sure you know.
But we've got some runners that are starting to hit their PRs or peaking at the right times, right when we're going into conference sectional and then hopefully state in the future.
So yes, we're looking pretty speedy out there.
Well, that's good.
And that's what you want to do.
You kind of taper, I think, a little bit, and then you kind of build for the postseason.
Exactly.
So that's kind of the workouts of getting
quicker but lighter.
Rest days are becoming more restful so less mileage on the legs and to get us fast for hopefully some state qualifiers.
and tying in what you do on a daily basis with your coaching.
I'm sure you go over diet because, you know, if somebody's going to eat just a candy bar on race day, that probably isn't going to work, right?
Right.
Exactly.
Especially with races, sometimes being in the afternoons or in the mornings or we have long bus rides.
Um, they probably get sick of me saying, okay, make sure you're planning ahead about the snacks you're going to bring, what you're going to have for breakfast, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Even though the weather is getting cooler, you still need to drink water.
So they definitely get that side of me too as a coach.
Wonderful.
Well thanks for what you do and anything else you want to add about the Wellness Workshop?
No, I just really appreciate you helping get the word out there.
It's a great program and we're trying to make the third one a great one.
Wonderful.
Lindsay Hatfield joining us from the Richland Hospital.
The Wellness Workshop begins on Wednesday, October 21st.