This is Health Education: GASOPHE Reminded Me Why I love Health Education

2 days of networking and collaborating with passionate health educators. That is what I was able to expereience at the GASOPHE conference.

Day 1: Health Communication & Social Marketing Workshop
I was really excited to learn that I was already performing many of the strategies used in Health Communcation & Social Marketing. In Social Marketing we apply marketing concepts to promote social ideas and actions. Dr. Jorgensen gave a great overview social marketing principles, planning, and social media. We reviewed the 4 Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. In public health our products are: ideas, health products, services, and behaviors or practices. we have to show value in our product, minimize effort involved to access/use product, and we have to create engaging products.

Here are some of the insights I was able to share with the class and my "Blogging"group.

How Bloggers can help spread your health message:
- they have direct access to your community
- most bloggers have a specific audience/niche (narrow-casting): food, fitness, mothers, etc ; we can help you expand your reach in our specific niche.
- invite a blogger to be a VIP and allow them access to your event for some free marketing and publicity
- help hosting a giveaway
- my highest interactions come from sharing blog posts with my facebook community, promote across all of your channels
- help managing social media accounts; most of us are pretty tech savvy and are managing multiple social media accounts already

Have you ever partnered with a blogger to promote you event or help spread your health message? Bloggers have you ever partnered with a health agency?

Blogging is health promotion. I am excited to use what I learned to package my message in a way that aligns with National Physical Activity, Obesity Prevention, and Diabetes Prevention programming. Collaboration is key for chronic disease prevention!

Day 2: Fall Summit
I started Day 2 just after lunch. I had a few classes I had to teach prior to getting my geek on. I got there just in time for lunch.

During lunch I did some light networking and started mapping out my classes for the day. My goal was to choose classes that covered topics I had less experience in. I got more than I expected, my options were a bit overwhelming, but I gained so many great resources!

Developing Strategies for Evaluating the Impact of Policies on Community Health
Evaluation is so important in determining effectiveness and documenting your process. In my physical activity programs there is always pre and post testing, how else would clients know they have made progress. Why wouldn't the same strategy be applied to programming.

We used a case study to practice our evaluation skills. We reviewed the inputs, outputs, and outcomes in a logic model to help us evaluate our case. We discussed free resources for evaluation, specifically the CDC Framework. What tools do you use for evaluation? I was glad to speak with some professionals who specialize in evaluation, at least I have some contacts if I am ever looking for a good framework.

Using the Community Readiness Model to Activate Communities
This workshop provided plenty of hands on experience and resources. We walked through the process of identifying the issue, defining your community, and choosing key respondents.Then we reviewed sample CRA interview questions. Then we practiced scoring the various dimensions of awareness: community knowledge of efforts, leadership, community climate, knowledge of issue, and resources related to the issue. I have never used the community readiness model but now at least i have a deeper knowledge of the protocol and its application. I love learning!

Chronic Disease Prevention: Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change
This session was a really great example of how collaborations and health policy create change. Ms. Warren discussed current collaborations with American Heart Association, American Planning Association, Women Infant and Children services, Society for Public Health Educators, and Directors of Health Promotion and Education; Partnering4Health. Their goal is to collaborate to educate, support the community, and promote initiatives. Ms. Gibson discussed success with Tobacco Policy in creating smoke free spaces through Savannah. I always thought if I were to go back to school it might be in the area of Health Policy. Policy/laws impact all of our work. It was great to hear collaboration and policy success stories.

Key Takeaways
- Blogging is Health Promotion!
- There are so many FREE resources for programming and evaluation that I could be using
- Collaboration is key  for chronic disease prevention
- We are all learning as we go
- This is my tribe

The participants at the conference were all at different stages in their careers. I have expertise in social marketing, health communication, physical activity, and program implementation. Other people at the conference were experts in evaluation, data assessment, and policy. I was reminded how big the Public Health world is. There is room for everyone. It was refreshing to be around such passionate colleagues. They reminded me why I got into this field and why I love health education. Passion, variety, and ability to make huge changes in peoples lives through programming and policy.

Health and Happiness,

L

What's on My Plate: Plated Peppercorn Pork and Chicken Tikka

Another Plated delivery arrived.

This time I chose Pink Peppercorn Pork and Polenta for meal 1 and Chicken Tikka Masala for meal 2. Chicken Tikka is one of my favorite Indian dishes, full of flavor but not overly spicy. Indian dishes always seem so complex I thought using Plated would be a great way to take some of the complexity out of it. The great thing about Plated is having all of the ingredients portioned and prepped for me without any extra trips to the grocery store or farmers market.

Meal 1: Pink Peppercorn-Crusted Pork Chops with Pearl Onions and Polenta

The prep for this one was super easy. The hardest part was the grinding of the peppercorn blend. I don't have a pepper grinder or mortar and pestal so I just used a heavy pot for the grinding. Other than that I just had to peel and halve the onions. Everything else just had to be mixed or cooked.

Mmmmm, another great meal. I pan roasted the pork and it came out tender and juicy. The pink peppercorn blend gave the pork so much flavor and the white wine reduction made for a tasty sauce. This was my first time preparing polenta, but it was the perfect pairing for the pork. Polenta is a corn based dish similar in texture and preparation to grits but made with an Italian corn. Our reciep served it with goat cheese and milk. But it can also be served as a kind of fried cake. All the seasoning made for a very fragrant kitchen. Approximately 710 calories.

Meal 2: Chicken Tikka Masala

Another fairly easy prep. I cut the chicken then minced the garlic and ginger. I have never used yogurt as a marinade, but from what I read it serves as a natural meat tenderizer. All of the other spices were pre blended so all I needed to do was add them to the marinade and sauce. The scents of cloves, cumin, and cinnamon were filled our home. While the chicken roasted I prepped the sauce. I prepped the main part of the meal on Thursday. Then, Friday night I heated the meal on the stove top and after a quick saute' of the spinach and toasting of the naan and we were ready to go.

This was our Friday night dinner date. This is one of my favorite Indian dishes, it was fun trying to recreate it at home.  I forgot to add salt during the broiling of the chicken, so at first it did not quite taste right. A pinch of sea salt after really helped to bring out all of the flavors. Just the right amount of spice and loaded with flavor. Approximately 660 calories.

Have you tried Plated or any other meal delivery system? Use this link to checkout the current menu and if they deliver to your area: Plated .

I enjoy eating high quality foods and trying new recipes. If you do too, you should try Plated. Let me know what you think.

Disclosure: This blog includes a referral link to plated. If you chose to buy a Plated box using this link you will recieve a 2 plate discount on your first order and I receive a discount on future Plated orders.

Health and Happiness,
Larissa

Get Moving with a Gigabody Giveaway

This post is sponsored by GigaBody through their partnership with FitApproach.  
I was not compensated monetarily, but was provided 2 months free access for review.  
As always, all opinions are my own.

What is Gigabody?
Gigabody is an online fitness membership that offers convenient and affordable fitness anytime and anywhere you have your laptop, iPad, or SmartTV.

Gigabody.com screenshot of supported devices

They have an extensive library of professional videos that range from intermediate to advanced and cover a variety of styles including barre, strength, cardio, and dance.

Gigabody.com screenshot of featuring a variety of classes

The workouts also come in various lengths so whether you only have 10 minutes or you have over an hour you can find a convenient workout. At $8.99 a month it is also affordable for most budgets. If you can't find anything that fits your needs you can cancel at anytime.

Convenient
There are days when I just don't want to leave the house to workout. Sometimes I am in a funk, or the classes around town are too early or to late for my taste. So when that happens I can choose an on-demand option.  One day I really wanted to do yoga, but I did not want to make the 30 minute drive to my 2 free yoga options. That's right even if it's FREE if it's not convenient I probably won't be there. That is what happened when I chose to try the Xen-Strength program.

Gigabody.com screenshot of Xen Strength sequences

Xen-Strength was not like any yoga I had done before. They combined strength training and core balance drills with yoga movements. I didn't know what to expect so I opted for light weights during the workout. I was able to complete my workout right from my laptop and I definitely felt the extra burn in my shoulders by the time I was done.

Affordable
What is the cost of membership at your gym? Is there an additional cost for drop-in classes? So I am lucky and the gym I teach at allows instructors to drop in for classes, but if I had to pay, monthly membership is $24/month 2 hours of parking is $3 (1hr and 1 min counts as $2 in the lot I use), additional $10 fee per drop-in class, about $14 per class. A whole month of Gigabody is $8.99 a month and you can take any class you want as often as you want, and you can cancel at anytime.

Fun

I viewed a few of the different videos, but my favorite was Bombay Jam!

Gigabody.com screen shot that includes clips of Bombay Jam

I love to dance and Bombay Jam gave me something truly unique to try. I loved it! I even had a little dance party with my sister and fellow SPA Alicia. We were just saying we would like to try this style of dance class, so we were really excited when we were able to try Bombay Jam.

Top image is from Just Dance 2015 bottom right is from Bombay Jam

Final Thoughts and A FREE Month of Gigabody
When I started my fitness journey it was with videos. My first fitness memories are of my mom doing the Jane Fonda VHS and me trying to follow along with "Let's Get Physical" playing in the background. Then there was Denise Austin, the Reebok step videos, Turbo Jam, and Insanity. So I definitely appreciate the convenience of video fitness and the comfort of getting to try something new at your own pace at home. I love the feedback and customization that comes with in person classes but you can't deny the convenience of online viewing in the busy lives we lead. So let me share with you the opportunity to try Gigabody for yourself.

Gigabody is allowing me to offer 1 free month of service to a fellow fitgeek! Here is what you need to do to be eligible:

• follow Gigabody on Twitter (@gigabody) and Instagram (@gigabody)
• Like Gigabody on Facebook 
• Tweet about the giveaway 

That's all it takes! Be sure to complete all the steps above and you may be selected to win a FREE month subscription to GigaBody. You have from now until 10:00PM EST 2/2/2015. A winner will be selected and notified via twitter DM on 2/2/2015.

Updated 2/2/15, 11:00 PM/EST : This giveaway is now over. A winner has been selected and notified via Twitter. Thank you for participating.

Health and Happiness,

Larissa

Saying Good-Bye to Amor Fitness & Nutrition

This week Amor Fitness & Nutrition has officially closed its doors. I have so many fond memories working with Adele and the entire Team Amor Family.

I began my journey with Adele about 4 years ago. I finally took the leap to compete in my 1st bodybuilding competition and Adele was taking the leap to competition prep coach. She was the 1st female bodybuilder I had met and she helped guide my nutrition and posing for my 1st competition. I placed 1st in my class and won best poser in my 1st show. It was so much fun and I totally had the competition bug! She helped me prep for my next 2 shows where I placed 2nd.

Through being part of Team Amor I met so many amazing people! I found a family among bikini, figure, physique, and bodybuilders.

I took a break from the stage and started training at the Garage. This gave me a chance to get to know all the members of our growing team and to work one-on-one with my fellow competitors. I had the opportunity to help our competitors and our clients meet their fitness goals. It was pretty amazing to be part of the process and watch these women and men meet their goals.

I loved working with a local small business. When you work at a local gym it is more like being part of a family than just an employee with an employer.

The business may have closed, but I take with me years of memories, great friendships, and great resources. I know the whole Amor Fitness Family will go on to do great things. I look forward to seeing what the New Year brings for all of us.

Health and Happiness,

Larissa