Motivator: reThink Your Drink challenge starts Jan. 30 – Brainerd Dispatch

Happy New Year! With the New Year often comes thoughts of making a resolution.

Many of these are focused on self improvement such as getting more exercise, losing weight, quitting a bad habit while other resolutions focus on self improvement in other aspects – spend more time with friends/family, get organized, make adjustments to your financial situation.

No matter how good the intentions are when we make a resolution, many people abandon their resolutions within the first week and many don’t last the month of January.

We have an easy challenge for you that can help you focus on your self improvement for the long term. The reThink Your Drink challenge encourages people to make healthier beverage choices by consuming water instead of sugar sweetened beverages.

The reThink Your Drink challenge starts Jan. 30 and runs for four weeks. The concept of the challenge is simple – drink water each day and track how much you drink. Each week you report the total amount of water you consumed during the week.

Please note that this is an average per employee so whether you are a team of 2 or 200 you can win this challenge! The group with the highest average water consumption per person will win a trophy to proudly display, and of course bragging rights throughout 2023.

According to deltadentalmn.org dentists often say to avoid sugary sodas and opt for water instead, but not just because water has no sugar content. It’s actually because it benefits your oral health.

Contributed / Metro Newspaper Service

Oftentimes we are more successful at completing something if we participate as a group – a mixture of a little friendly competition while also encouraging each other to be successful. So get your coworkers together and join the challenge!While the challenge promotes increasing water consumption, at its core, it’s challenging people to drink water instead of their daily soda, coffee, etc.

Participating businesses can display posters and send reminders to employees encouraging them to make the healthier beverage choice.We think everyone comes out a winner at the end of the challenge. The goal is that you will ‘reThink Your Drink’ and start drinking more water every day instead of sugar sweetened beverages – that drinking water will become an easy choice.

We hope that at the end of the four-week challenge you will notice the many health advantages of drinking more water, here are a few from the National Council on Aging (

www.ncoa.org

):

• Improved brain performance,
• Digestive harmony,
• More energy,
• Weight loss/management,
• Decreased joint pain,
• Better temperature regulation,
• Kidney stone prevention,
• Healthier heart,
• Improved detoxification,
• Fewer headaches.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that by switching out your sugar sweetened beverages for water, you can cut out about 650 calories a day. To put it another way, to burn 600 calories you need to walk at a rapid pace for about two hours.
Might I also suggest you double down: switch to water and go for a walk. Not necessarily for two hours, but make an extra effort to get away from your desk and walk the halls, around the block or up and down the stairs a few times. You’ll feel better!

Did you know water also promotes healthy teeth? According to

deltadentalmn.org

dentists often say to avoid sugary sodas and opt for water instead, but not just because water has no sugar content. It’s actually because it benefits your oral health.

There are two main reasons water promotes tooth health.

• First, it prevents gum disease, one of the most common dental ailments that results when tartar and plaque bury bacteria deep into the spaces where the gums meet the tooth. Hydrating the gums produces saliva that, along with water, helps wash away bacteria that hasn’t yet taken root.
• Secondly, drinking tap water prevents tooth decay, one of the leading causes of dental visits. Tap water specifically includes cavity-fighting fluoride that bottled water does not have. Tooth decay also occurs more with dry mouth, so water is a first-line defense.

Simple changes to your daily routine can make a big difference in your water intake. Find a water bottle you like and keep it close by. Get rid of the sugar sweetened drinks to eliminate the temptation. Explore some water flavoring options to mix up your water-based beverage options. For instance add some lemon, lime, strawberry or cucumber slices to your water, enhance your water with fresh mint leaves, basil, ginger or rosemary.
If you prefer some fizz try some sparkling water or seltzer which you could also add a splash of juice for extra pizazz. Start the year off on a healthy note and join the reThink Your Drink Challenge! To get your business signed up for the reThink Your Drink challenge contact Kelli Johnson at 218-851-2997 or

Kelli.Johnson@CrowWing.us

.

The deadline to sign up is Jan. 25.

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