Challenge inspires healthy food changes at Ascend sites

Ascend Performance Materials rolled out a healthy eating challenge last fall to see if team members could change their eating habits for 30 days. Small groups at the Pensacola, Greenwood and Decatur sites participated in the challenge. The results were so impressive that the company encouraged each site to find ways to promote healthy food options for team members to eat while at work.

The initiative got a power boost with the recent hiring of Betsy LeGallais, a certified corporate nutrition consultant. LeGallais will help Ascend sites align on-site cafeteria menus and vending machine offerings with the company’s wellness program. For example, she will look at whether they should adjust food portion sizes, offer more healthy food items or both.

For sites without a cafeteria, she will assist in identifying resources that help team members eat better, such as providing healthy recipes. LeGallais also plans to review the menus of nearby restaurants to recommend healthy options for team members.

“It’s great to see companies that are interested in the health and well-being of their employees,” LeGallais said. “What employees do through work bleeds over into their personal lives and it’s for the better. Eighty percent of the big three diseases – cancer, diabetes and heart disease – can be cured or controlled by diet.”

LeGallais, who owns Sagacity Wellness, is currently working with the wellness teams at the Pensacola and Foley plants and will assist Greenwood and Decatur early next year, said Lee Dillow, Ascend’s occupational health manager. Houston and Chocolate Bayou are each doing similar things on their own, he said.

The 30-day healthy eating challenge was a life-changing experience for many Ascend team members. Pensacola team member Walt Woodfin ditched bread and starches for more fresh fruits and raw vegetables while participating in the challenge. The maintenance planner in reliability engineering lost 12 pounds and gained confidence in his ability to make better food choices. Now almost every meal Woodfin eats is a healthy one. He has since dropped an additional 23 pounds as a result.

”The challenge pushed me to make a change,” Woodfin said. “I had gotten to a point where I couldn’t tie my shoes without holding my breath. Now the laces are no longer an issue. I have more energy and fewer aches and pains.”

To participate in the challenge, each team member had to be an active Virgin Pulse member, use the MyFitnessPal app and submit to biometric screening. Participants also were expected to lose 3 to 5 pounds, trim 1 to 2 inches off their waistlines, lower their blood pressure and set two personal health goals. The group was required to go through another biometric screening at the end of the challenge.

At the Pensacola plant, participants received free healthy breakfast and lunch meals each day in the cafeteria. Twenty-eight maintenance team members, including Woodfin, and a senior manufacturing director took the challenge last August. Together, they lost a total of 287 pounds and a total of 43 inches off their waistlines. Twenty-one participants lowered their blood pressure and 100 percent of the participants met their personal health goals.

The Greenwood plant kicked off its challenge in mid-January, with eight maintenance team members. They lost a total of 34 pounds and a total of 10 inches. Six participants lowered their blood pressure and 94 percent met their personal health goals.

At Decatur, eight participants who work in the analyzer maintenance group received a free healthy breakfast and lunch every day from a local restaurant. By June 30, they lost a total of 59 pounds and nine inches. Seven members maintained a healthy blood pressure and one member lowered his blood pressure. All of them met their personal health goals.

“We know that many of our team members are exercising through Virgin Pulse, but diet is also a big part of the program,” said Demetrius Peoples, leader of Decatur’s health and wellness committee. “When you combine exercise and healthy eating, you are more likely to reach your desired results.’’

Dillow said Pensacola has gradually made changes to its cafeteria menu over the past two years as an extension of the company’s wellness program. For example, it expanded the salad bar and added a variety of healthier breads. Modifications in pricing also have been implemented to keep the cost of healthy eating affordable and provide greater incentives to make healthy choices.

The Foley and Decatur sites do not have on-site cafeterias, but their wellness and leadership teams have found other ways to promote healthy eating. They have replaced sugary drinks and snacks with healthier ones in vending machines and only healthy foods are brought in for meetings. Similar changes are taking place at the other sites.