Health Promotion Begins At Home

Like many people, I knew that I needed to do more physical activity, but found that I had little to no motivation to do it. I also knew that some of those closest to me, my amazing immediate family, could also afford to make more time in their days to keep active and get moving. This had been a frequent topic of conversation for my fiance and I - and about 2 months ago I found a device that proved to be very handy to our goals!

While out for dinner, an old manager showed me her Fitbit - I had heard of these of course, but had dismissed them as a glorified pedometer. What my boss showed me however was the mobile application that went alongside it - and the option to compete with friends in weekly challenges.

My actual app activity today - probably not my actual weight - I don't own scales! 

Again, like many people, I have a competitive streak, and knew that my family did too, and as I turned this over in my brain, I began to develop a plan to keep us moving, and thus, Wit-Bit was born (a play on Fitbit and the family name!)

We are about to run our first Wit-Bit challenge in the month of May. Each player contributes $30 for the month, and prizes are awarded for the most steps at the end of the four week period, first prize is a $60 A-Mart Sports Voucher to purchase new active clothing and shoes etc, and goes down to the lowest performing competitor who receives only a $10 Boost gift card. This is based on a 'sweep' type competition, similar to those held for the Melbourne Cup (though this a game of skill!)

The sick-as runners I am going to buy myself when I win

I can see competitions such as this having a multitude of applications, most particularly in workplaces. Rather than employers shelling out money for incentives and awards for keeping their employees moving, it comes from within - it really gives the individuals something at stake - Can they win? Can they beat Shelly over in Human Resources? Will they get their money back, double it, or lose it? As we know from our old mate, the Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change (my favorite) this type of activity can assist in moving individuals from precontemplation and contemplation stages to preparation and action stages - this might be the trigger they need to act upon to make changes to their health.

My willingness to give up jam donuts sits somewhere between the number 1 and the word precontemplation. Which is to say I will not give them up. Ha.

So far? I am averaging 10,000 steps a day - and I go out of my way to top my steps up when I have slow days. My Mum is comprehensively beating our collective asses, jumping on the previously un-used treadmill and racking up 6000+ steps before I even put my tracker on.

What health promotion initiatives have you started at home with your friends and family? How did it work? Did you see changes? I would love to hear from anyone who had, and of course, I would love to hear from any future employers too!