Lighten Up Wisconsin launches Wednesday in an effort to get Wisconsinites off their rumps and moving to a healthier beat.
The program, which aims “to jumpstart healthy habits through small realistic and permanent changes in exercise and eating habits” encourages residents to form teams from two people to 10 people, to challenge others to lose weight, accumulate activity, or do both.
According to the Lighten Up Wisconsin Web site:
- 61 percent of adults in Wisconsin are overweight or obese.
- 25 percent of healthcare costs incurred by working adults are due to modifiable risk factors such as poor diet and inactivity.
- More than half of Wisconsin adults fail to get recommended amounts of physical activity and 20 percent report no activity at all.
What a great way to motivate oneself into a new year of healthier, happier, Wisconsin eating habits. And if you cheat during the upcoming Packers playoff game, it’s okay, the challenge is a full 100 days (from Jan. 16 to April 24). So, you’ll have plenty of time to make it up in the off-season.
Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.
The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.
Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.
