Get Your Socks On!

Next week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, running from 27th Feb - 5th March.

It's an international awareness event, fighting the myths and misunderstandings that surround eating disorders. This year, the activities will focus on early intervention. The earlier someone can enter treatment for an eating disorder, the greater their chance of recovery.

Later in this article , we'll find out about eating disorders but this is our "CONTRIBUTE" article and I want to let you know how you can get involved.

If you'd like to increase your fitness opportunities while raising funds for important events, why not use Eating Disorders Awareness week as a springboard for event organising? BEAT (Beating Eating Disorders) are hosting 18 fun runs (5km) this year with 2 in Scotland Choose from Glasgow on Saturday 29th July and Edinburgh on Sunday 30th July.

Entry is £12.49 per person and BEAT will send you fundraising packs. A 5km fun run will take you 30 minutes to jog, 50 minutes to walk and 60 minutes to saunter, making it suitable for families as well as groups. Anyone who can walk for 15 minutes today can make it round a 5km course in July.

To make this a real contribution, get a team together within your workplace. You'll need one person to arrange fundraising, one person to arrange training and one person to book places and arrange transport on the day. My Workplace Wellness services can make this easy for you with advice for training and that all important accountability to get people off the sofa and on their feet.

Office charity fundraisers are superb ways to keep workmates focused on making positive health changes. For the boss, there are tax benefits for donating so many businesses will match any money raised. This is most likely when it leads to good publicity so plan your request carefully and include positive outcomes for everyone. My Workplace Wellness services promote a culture of contribution to improve mental health, reduce stress and increase fitness levels. This is best achieved from the management level down to involve the whole company. If you'd like help instigating a charity event to boost wellness let me know.

Ways to spot the early signs of an eating disorder.

I think occasionally about a German exchange student at school who had bulimia. I was too young and silly to help and I don't know what happened to her since. If you think someone you know may have an eating problem then early help, although hard to broach, is best. The NHS has some useful information about how to find out if you have a disorder; and BEAT and STEM4 can also help you feel better informed. STEM4 also has assistance on how to approach loved ones if you're worried they may have a problem with eating, including help for you to support them.

To promote Eating Disorders Awareness Week BEAT are running a silly socks day on the 3rd March where you can wear your silliest socks or buy theirs to donate. If you want to arrange the fun run for your home or work, why not use the 3rd March as the launch day and take it from there? Contact me for training templates and let me know how you get on.

Enjoy Good Health!