Super Goal Monday

With the big game on Sunday, and the big food that goes along with it, many of us (or maybe just me) are still  on our "Holiday" will-power hiatus and looking for an excuse to start serious food restriction.

Well, the gig is up and thanks to my awesome office staff, I have an excuse to get my BMI closer to where it should be. The women have initiated a Super Goal Monday Weight Loss Challenge.

After gorging on offensively hot wings, a plastic football full of pretzels and (hopefully) the sweet taste of a Giants victory, we will begin a 3 month competition to see who can best reverse the damage of the above. Weekly weigh-ins and a financial incentive will keep us honest and aqt the end of 90 days, we will all be better for it.

For privacy and safety reasons (mine in particular), I am not allowed to post results of any of the weigh-ins although I'd really like to. Unfortuantely, I'll just have to give vague, non-numerical updates. These types of weight loss challenges are wonderful ways to help you and your colleagues/friends/neighbors/family members to get healthier, using a team approach and exchanging ideas about what works and what doesnt. There are also several online options to facilitate a group weight loss challenge and I've provided a few below. Check it out if you feel so inspired. And fo course, GO GIANTS!!!

Ideas for a Weight Loss Challenge at LiveStrong

WeightLossWars

Medicare Will Cover Obesity Education

Obama and Medicare have done good. For the most part.

The US government will now pay for a year's worth of obesity counseling for Medicare patients, putting an emphasis on lifestyle modification and education, knowing that in the long term, those who fare the best are the ones who have an understanding of the problem.


From TheHeart.org:
Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will cover obesity screening and counseling as a preventive service under Medicare. The services will be free to beneficiaries; the Medicare deductible and copay will not apply.

Medicare patients are eligible for "intensive behavioral therapy for obesity" from primary-care providers—nonphysicians included—in a primary-care setting if their body-mass index (BMI) is >30 kg/m2. They are entitled to one face-to-face counseling visit each week for a month, followed by a face-to-face session every other week for an additional five months.


There's also an incentive built in, wherein if a patient loses more than 6.6 lbs over 6 months, they qualify for another 6 months of education - and those who do not? Prison. Nah, just a 6 month period of the patient's "readiness to change".

Specific items covered under the new law:
- an obesity screening,
- an assessment of the patient's diet, and
- behavioral counseling and therapy to promote sustained weight loss through diet and exercise.

This course of treatment does not include medications for losing weight. How much Medicare will actually pay out to the healthcare professionals educating has not been established.

See the official decision memo published online by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).