Weight
watching at UNM
Meetings
held Thursdays at noon
By Laurie
Mellas-Ramirez
Yum.
What do you put in them? a woman asks.
Lots
of coriander and lots of garlic, the cook replies.
A discussion
on how to simmer garbanzo beans to perfection ensues while across
the room UNM faculty and staff record their weight at a noon
Weight Watchers meeting in Hokona-Zuni Hall.
How
many points a serving? the woman counters.
At Weight
Watchers, points are allotted for food and exercise. Keeping
in reach of a days winning points will get members to
their weight loss goal.
UNM Staff
Council Administrative Assistant Karin Retskin scored lots of
points with colleagues for bringing the national program to
campus. Sandrea Gonzales, director of the Womens Resource
Center, helped launch the on-campus meetings. The center serves
as campus sponsor.
A Weight
Watchers member for two years maintaining a weight loss of 60
pounds, Retskin discovered through research that other universities
offer meetings, some even subsidize the effort as part of campus
wellness programs. I got excited that other schools even
had meetings on campus, she says. My long term goal
is to work with the UNM Benefits Office to include it as part
of the PIPP (Pre-Paid Premium Plan).
About 35
faculty and staff have been members of the campus group since
late spring. Combined, they have shed more than 300 pounds.
A second 10-week session got underway in August. We are
interested in having more people join us, including students.
The meeting is open only to faculty, staff and students,
Retskin says.
Retskin says the benefits of weight loss for employees can be
easily measured. A healthy staff person comes to work
everyday, she notes.
The Internal
Revenue Service recently made the cost of commercial diet programs
such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig tax-deductible if certain
qualifications are met. Consult your tax advisor for more information.
For information
about how to join UNMs Weight Watchers group, call 277-1532.