The Staff Wellbeing Team offer a range of support helping you to eat well, including Weight Management Programmes, Eat Well seminars for supporting mood, increasing vitamin D, eating at work, for the menopause and more! Take a look below at the kinds of support we offer NUH staff.
Weight Management Programmes
Eat Well Feel Well
The Eat Well Feel Well programme consists of 12 weekly group sessions facilitated by our Specialist Staff Wellbeing Dietitian. Sessions will last around 60 mins. We use evidence-based interventions which cover knowledge for how to manage weight, physical activity and psychological elements of eating as well as goal setting and weekly weigh ins. Sessions will take place at the same time each week.
Topics include:
- How to eat well and different food groups
- Food labelling and portion sizes
- Being more active
- Staying motivated and getting back on track
- Eating out, takeaways and alcohol.
The course is designed to be educational and enable you to make personalised informed choices, rather than provide set meal plans. You will set your own weekly goals relevant to you to help you implement healthy, sustainable changes which can help with longer term goals, success and overall lifestyle.
There are certain referral criteria that staff will need to meet to be able to attend the groups. Please complete all sections of the form below to ensure that you meet the criteria. Places will be allocated according to the answers given on this form.
To be eligible for the group you need to:
- Be an NUH employee.
- Have a BMI of 30 or more or for those of South Asian origin have a BMI of 27 or above (You can calculate your BMI here if unsure: www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/
- Have no clearly defined eating disorder or history of eating disorders.
- Have no medical reasons where weight management programmes are not advised (e.g. pregnancy, undergoing oncology treatment).
- Be motivated to make lifestyle changes.
- Be committed to attend all the sessions.
If you would like more information, dates or a referral form please contact:staffwellbeing@nuh.nhs.uk.
Eat Well Get Active
The Eat Well get Active Programme consists of 8 weekly group sessions, with follow up sessions at week 10 and 12. These are led by our Specialist Staff Wellbeing Dietitian and our Exercise Advisor. Sessions will last around 60 mins.
For the groups, the NHS 12 week plan will be used to support staff as well as for additional accountability and motivation with your weight loss journey. The course is to enable you to make personalised informed choices, rather than provide set meal or fitness plans. You will set your own weekly goals relevant to you to help implement healthy, sustainable changes which can help with longer term goals, success and overall lifestyle. Within the sessions we will talk about physical activity and you will be shown examples of exercises and hints and tips of how to successfully incorporate these into your lifestyle.
Are you interested and wondering whether you are eligible to attend?
You need to:
- Be an NUH staff member
- Have a BMI of 25+ (You can calculate your BMI here if unsure: www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/)
- Be able to commit to attending the weekly group sessions
- Be motivated to make lifestyle changes
- Any good physical reason, not mentioned here, why you should not follow an activity programme even if you wanted to?
- Not have any of the exclusion criteria listed below:
In addition to above criteria, there are some medical exclusions for attendance at this staff weight management support including: having an Eating Disorder or a History of an Eating Disorder, Pregnancy, and if currently undergoing treatment for Cancer. If you fall into any of these categories and feel you would benefit from further support we would recommend speaking with your GP.
If you would like more information, dates or a referral form please contact: staffwellbeing@nuh.nhs.uk.
Eat Well Seminars
To browse through upcoming seminars and to sign up, click here.
Eating Well for Weight Loss
In this seminar on eating for weight loss our Staff Wellbeing Dietitian will be discussing the essentials for healthy eating and weight loss as well as other areas such as motivation, goals, snacking, and eating out. The seminar is ideal for anyone with a BMI of more than 25 and is open to any member of TeamNUH. Are you unsure whether to attend or if weight may be affecting your health? You can check your BMI here:https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/
Plant Based Eating
Are you curious about plant based eating? In this lunchtime seminar led by our Staff Wellbeing Dietitian, we’ll explore what a plant based diet is, types and variants of plant based diets, nutrients and non-animal based sources of these including calcium, iron and B12. Suitable for anyone wanting to know more about a vegan diet or just learn more about including more plants in your diet.
Eat Well for the Menopause
Join our Staff Dietitian for a special seminar exploring diet and nutrition factors that can be helpful in managing your menopause, including those that may impact on symptoms, and prevent against future conditions linked to the menopause.
Our 75 minute seminar will cover phytoestrogens, bone health, heart health, caffeine, alcohol, sleep, and exercise.
Food to Support Mood
In this seminar we explore more around the connection between the two. This session will be run by a student dietitian under the supervision of our specialist Staff Wellbeing Dietitian, we’ll include: How food makes us feel, emotional eating, triggers and tactics, and helpful strategies.
Improving Cholesterol and Blood Pressure with Diet
This seminar will focus on how you can improve your diet to help manage your cholesterol and blood pressure. We will look at a range of dietary aspects to consider including salt, fats, alcohol as well as covering some lifestyle factors that can help such as physical activity.
Vitamin D Seminar
Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, is integral to supporting our health. Often Vitamin D is highlighted even more in and around the winter months, which we are rapidly approaching! Additionally, you may have heard Vitamin D mentioned even more recently in relation to Coronovirus and whether or not it has any impact. In this seminar we will look at what Vitamin D is, how it is made and obtained through diet and supplementation, at risk groups and how much you need.
Eating Well at Work
Regular healthy balanced meals, snacks and drinks throughout the working day are vital to keep us focused, efficient, alert and appropriately energised – vital for ourselves, our work and our patients. In this seminar we will explore how we can eat well at work, including planning, what to include, easy snack options, how to eat well if you work shifts, ideas to consider for break times, and how to encourage our colleagues and teams to eat well at work.
Staying Hydrated
We meet so many staff who are seriously dehydrated at work. Staff are allowed to drink on wards as long as water bottles are kept in a discreet place. Fluid is so important in the body that even when levels drop only slightly we begin to feel the consequences. Low levels can cause headaches, poor concentration, dizziness, tiredness and dry mouth. Maintaining hydration can also help prevent weight gain, so don’t forget to keep your water bottle topped up at work.
Fluid intake will vary from individual to individual as many factors can impact this, such as temperature, weather, exercise. For adults it is stated that typically the average adult needs between 1.5 – 2 litres a day, equivalent of approx. six to eight glasses of water/nonsugary drinks/milk. Fruit juices and smoothies also count towards your fluid intake but they contain free sugars that can damage teeth so limit these to a combined total of 150ml per day.
You can find out more information about hydration at the links below:
https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/fluid-water-drinks.html
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/water-drinks-nutrition/
Useful British heart Foundation Resources
Understanding Cholesterol: Understanding Cholesterol
Saturated Fats: Saturated Fat
Food Portions and Labelling: Taking Control of Food Portions and Labels
Keep your Heart Healthy: Keep Your Heart Healthy