Nearly half of all Americans—in good faith—resolve to change something about themselves or their lives at the start of the year with 38% of those determined to lose weight. But somewhere along the way, between a box (or three) of Valentine’s Day chocolates and some nachos grande (my personal favorite), resolutions give way to work stress, life stress and just plain stress. And we eat. And eat. And eat. Apparently, a whopping 92% of New Year’s resolutions die a carb-induced death.
We can see the impact of this failure to commit on our rapidly inflating bodies, and feel the true weight of this at the place we call home 40 hours (or more) a week—the workplace. In a communications agency like ours, there is a constant crush to formulate and produce new ideas usually in an unrealistic time frame. But as adrenaline and deadline junkies, whose favorite acronym is ROI, we accepted the challenge every time. As long as there was Diet Cherry Coke and Contrast’s snack cabinet was well stocked, we were wired to win.
But, to be honest, and I will only speak for myself, I was becoming…well…unpleasantly plump. My cholesterol levels were soaring. And I just wasn’t as happy as I imagined I could be. Did you know that Americans drink as much as 170 liters of soda per person each year? And in a study just presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting, sweet drinks and sodas were linked to a 30% rise in depression. Worse, according to the National Center for Health Statistics about 36% of adults over age 20 are obese. While I was not obese yet, I was headed there. The day finally came when I made a resolution. What was odd is that a handful of Contrast Creative team members made the same resolution at the same time on the same day.
On January 19, 2012 a united transformation began that changed not only our individual physiques, but also our entire approach to living and working together. As a group, we resolved to improve ourselves through diet and exercise. While we do not advocate one diet plan over another, we chose Michael Rafael Moreno’s 2011 book, The 17 Day Diet: A Doctor’s Plan Designed for Rapid Results as our game plan.
Broken into a course of four 17-day cycles, our team began to lose weight fairly quickly. Most of us lost at least 10 pounds in the first 17 days with a regime that included lean proteins, vegetables, fruit, yogurt, green tea and water—lots and lots of water. We also added in at least 17 minutes of exercise a day to start. Goodbye Diet Cherry Coke forever. Goodbye carbs and wine…at least for Cycle One. Our mantra was “We can do anything for 17 days.” And then it became, “We did that for 17 days! We can do it again for another 17 days!” And then we did it again a third time as a strong team. And now we just live it.
At the end of three cycles, most of us had lost 25 to 30 plus pounds. We all dropped several dress and pant sizes. Suddenly, my entire wardrobe of black this and black that was way too big. One fateful day, I tossed my past away and all that was left in my closet was a full kaleidoscope of colorful skirts and blouses from slimmer years gone by.
I felt joyous and incredibly confident. Stress no longer owned me. I managed the stress. The same was true for the Contrast staff. This incredible group of people that I work with every day evolved right along with me.
One year after we made our team resolution, we stand united. Sure there have been some bumps in the road, but we’ve supported each other, and we’ve prevailed. Today, at the start of 2013, we’re slimmer and more productive than ever. The Contrast team is more energized, enthusiastic and above all healthier than ever before. Our morale continues to skyrocket. We’ve all experienced hard won personal success that, ultimately, also benefits Contrast Creative and the clients we serve.
Studies suggest that companies with healthy work environments have a competitive advantage in the marketplace. (If 2012 was any indication, then we must be doing something right!) All I know is that there’s an intangible light that shines bright here. It’s our own unique brand of team spirit. It permeates everything we imagine and create. There’s something quite wonderful about being in the mere 8% of people who make a New Year’s Resolution and actually keep it. It makes me understand now more than ever that with hard work, determination and a belief in yourself and your team that anything is possible both personally and professionally.
Happy 2013!