February is Northern Health’s month dedicated to healthy and smart eating, with a ‘4 Week Staff Smart Eating Challenge’.

The inspiration comes from the Dietitians Association of Australia Smart Eating Week, celebrated from 11 – 17 February.

Amy Castelli, Clinical Dietitian, said our dietitians have developed a 4 Week Smart Eating Calendar, with every day smart eating tips, and encourages all staff to participate and win a prize.

“The calendar has a small challenge for every day of the week and ties in with the Dietitians Association of Australia campaign and also links with Northern Health’s Healthy Choices Campaign. This also follows from the Rethink your drink display, located in the Craigieburn Centre foyer,” she said.

The Rethink your drink display, developed together with Cancer Council Australia, showcased how much sugar many popular drinks contain, raising awareness of the hidden sugar content in drinks and promoting healthy choices, for which the team received a lot of positive feedback, especially from parents.

While that campaign was targeted both at staff and visitors, the 4 week Smart Eating Challenge aims to help Northern Health staff make healthier choices day by day.

“This is a good time – the year has just started and everyone is still motivated to get back on track with their nutrition. The calendar we have developed in not a weight loss programme, it’s not a diet, just simple steps people can make every single day to become a little bit more balanced,” Amy added.

Dietitian, Cliona Twohig, added that the main reason the challenge is targeting staff is that we often look after our patients, but sometimes forget to look after themselves.

“In order to be able to take care of others, we need to be able to take care of our needs and stay healthy, taking care of our mind and body, and nutrition is a really good way to do that,” she said.

Cliona added that the challenges during the ‘smart eating’ month are really simple – it can be just having an extra piece of fruit or sitting down and enjoying your meal and not rushing it at your desk.

“Every challenge is actually designed to lead to a long-term change and that is something we’d recommend. Even if just two to three new habits develop, that is a step in the right direction,” she added.

There is no pass or fail in this challenge, and that is why everyone should participate. The goal is to improve your health score, and to develop new habits.

Join the challenge and share your new smart eating habits or a healthy lunch with us to win a $100 Coles Myer Gift Card.

Click here to find out more.

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