Holiday toast: ‘To your health’

The health screenings and health assessments have wrapped up, but the Be Colorado wellness journey is just getting started. Be Colorado will host a celebration from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 2 at the CU Denver Terrace Room, 1380 Lawrence St., second floor.

The celebration will recognize all participants in the health assessment and health screenings, and honor CU Denver for winning the campus participation competition.

CU Denver Chancellor Jerry Wartgow, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer E. Jill Pollock, and Be Colorado Executive Sponsor Marcy Benson will be on hand to recognize CU Denver and help launch the next steps in the Be Colorado wellness journey, the Healthy Through the Holidays campaign.  A representative from Anthem also will attend to pick winners in the drawings for an i-Pad and REI gift cards.

Be Colorado invites all faculty and staff to attend the celebration and participate in the Healthy Through the Holidays campaign, a six-week “holiday sampler” of wellness program offerings.

The holidays bring with them not-so-welcome gifts of their own, including stress, weight gain, and financial burden — all factors that can negatively affect wellness.

The Healthy Through the Holidays campaign will highlight the five Be Colorado dimensions of wellness – Be Secure, Be Optimistic, Be Energized, Be Inquisitive and Be Connected, and introduce a specially designed America On the Move (AOM) website. A variety of fun activities will keep you engaged, including setting your New Year’s resolution early, doing “recipe rehab” on traditional holiday favorite recipes, and sharing tips on how you maintain your health and wellness during the holidays.

Throughout the six-week challenge, weekly winners will be recognized for their submitted recipes and tips. Participants also will receive daily trivia and tips, healthy holiday recipes and evidence-based information about how best to navigate the holiday sea of temptation.

Each week there will be a chance for all holiday challenge participants to win an iPod Shuffle and, at the end of the six-week challenge, each campus’ participants will be entered to win an iPod Nano. Sign up for the holiday challenge early for more chances to win.

To take part in the Healthy Through the Holidays challenge, register on the AOM website at universityhealth.americaonthemove.org.

After the holiday campaign ends Jan. 13, only those University of Colorado, University of Colorado Hospital and University Physicians Inc. employees and retirees who are primary members of University of Colorado Health and Welfare Trust plans (UA Net, UA Net Colorado Springs, HMO Colorado, Lumenos, Kaiser Permanente, and Medicare Primary) will be eligible to participate in the subsequent Be Colorado campaigns and challenges.