Healthy Diet and Giving Back
Written by Mary Welch Thursday, July 15 2010
Colleen Harris has never been able to lose the weight she gained from her pregnancy more than 25 years ago. Not that she hasn’t been trying.
“I belong to a gym. I’ve been on every diet imaginable. I was on Jenny Craig for, I think, two months,” she says. “But this program is working. I’m on it for four months, and I want to keep going. It’s the only one that’s worked in all these years.”
This program, called Good Measure Meals (GMM), was started in 2004 and is a social enterprise of the Atlanta nonprofit Open Hand. One hundred percent of profits generated by GMM support Open Hand’s Comprehensive Nutrition Care program, which combines nutrition therapy, education, and healthy, balanced meals.
People purchase meals from GMM at more than 60 pick-up locations in Atlanta, Athens, and Savannah, Ga. And meals also are available through corporate programs.
Jessica E. Parsons has held several jobs where she helps people get healthy through a variety of fitness, diet, and behavior modification routines. “The question always is, ‘How do you find a program that will get people to take action and stay on it?’” she says. “GMM fit the bill.”
Parsons was general manager of the now-closed Peachtree Center Athletic Club. While there she worked with GMM and saw how well the program succeeded. She joined as GMM’s corporate wellness representative in January.
“They have every aspect that is needed for success,” she says. “There is a great food program that fits your individual needs, a health club exercise component, and – when aligned with a corporation – you have a support group and extra motivation to succeed.”
GMM is coming at the perfect time, Parsons says. Employers are seeing increases in health care needs and medical insurance costs due to diseases such as obesity and diabetes. GMM’s corporate wellness program offers employers plans to support and promote wellness, increase productivity and morale, and lower costs of health benefits.
In order to maximize these packages to the corporate community, GMM has partnered with Atlanta-based companies Workout Anytime and Communit-Y Health Network. Included in the GMM Corporate Wellness Program are fitness and nutrition assessments and also customized fitness and weight loss challenges. Education plays a significant role in the program as nutrition information, discounted access to fitness facilities, and walking incentives are integral components of the wellness program.
Currently, the Corporate Wellness Program is being implemented by GMM in several cities in metro Atlanta including Atlanta, Alpharetta, Cartersville, Forest Park, Kennesaw, and Smyrna. The program offers well-attended “Lunch & Learns” in the workplace that stress dietary guidelines, the importance of physical activity, and workplace wellness.
Harris, a reference librarian for the city of Smyrna, joined when city employees participated in an eight-week weight loss challenge. So far the group of 31 people has lost a collective 283 pounds. Harris has lost 35 pounds and has her eye on losing another 30. “I really need to lose 80 if I want to get back to what I weighed in college,” she says. “But if I can lose 60, I’ll be done. I feel I can do it. After a couple of days with Good Meals I felt different. And I love the food. I get so excited when it’s tilapia day.”
Parsons says the meals are different from other home delivery diet food programs. “First of all, it’s fresh, local food. It’s restaurant quality, and it’s delicious. What’s great is that there are various options for the program. You can choose to have three meals delivered or just dinner. You can just do weekdays. It’s geared to what will help you succeed.”
Although GMM may expand into other geographic areas, Parsons says that GMM has a dual goal. The first is helping people regain their health and live healthy lifestyles. The other is to give back to Open Hand, which provides home-delivered meals to senior citizens and individuals struggling with a chronic, critical, or terminal illness in 17 North Georgia counties. So far, Open Hand has received about $500,000 in proceeds from GMM.
“With GMM you’re helping people get healthy,” Parsons says, “and you’re helping a social enterprise.”
Mary Welch is a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dawson Times, Plan Your Meeting magazine, and Atlanta Business magazine. Previously, she held many positions with Leader Publishing, including editor-in-chief of Atlanta Woman, editor of Business to Business magazine, and editor of Catalyst magazine. As editor of Business to Business, she assigned, edited, and conceptualized a series that was awarded Silver in the 2005 GAMMA Awards for Best Series. Welch was a reporter for the Atlanta Business Chronicle for eight years and freelanced for publications including Glamour, Advertising Age, South, Georgia Trend, and Oz. From 2000 to 2003, she served as vice president of media relations for Bank of America, during which time she authored Forever Green: A History and Hope of the American Forest with Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell.
