Interview with Mel

Q: Mel can you tell me about your background, in particular how long have you been working in Health and Well Being?

A: Sure Steve, I have worked in the fitness industry for 15 years, originally as a Personal Trainer. I then went into management, developing other Personal Trainers. I have recently become a Holistic Lifestyle Coach and have been running corporate health programs and speaking at industry events since 2006.

Q: I know working for NRG you run a lot of seminars and sessions for a range of clients. Can you explain what you do for Baxter Healthcare? What type of seminars and workshops do you run?

A: Baxter Healthcare manufactures saline drip bags that all hospitals require, so there are lots of factory workers who work there. Therefore, Baxter needs to look after all the health of their staff because if one person gets sick and does not come into work, this impacts their production line and hence Baxter’s profitability.

NRG Solutions run workshops that cover the following topics: injury prevention, dealing with stress, sleep and fatigue for the shift workers and making sure they are getting adequate rest, healthy eating, how to keep your energy up during long shifts and exercise for busy people.

Q: Are these sessions classroom style or one on one? How do these sessions unfold?

A: We do the sessions in a training room and approx. 20 – 40 people can attend these sessions. All of my sessions are engaging and interactive. Not so much lecture style. I focus on bringing key health issues to people who may not realise how easy it is to improve your overall health and wellbeing.

Q: You also do a lot of work with law firms in particular Gadens Lawyers and have done some work with professional people about dealing with stress in the workplace. What are your thoughts on how people deal with stress or how people can be less stressed in the workplace?

A: I think the big thing with stress is that a lot of it is perception and how some people perceive a situation. Some people can be fine with lots of work and very little rest and not feel stressed at all and other people find taking a trip to the supermarket being a very stressful situation.

There are lots of things individuals can do, and I think it starts by people changing their perception in any situation. So NRG give them some tools around how to manage themselves when stress occurs. You have to support your health and your immune systems if you are going to effectively manage stress. We talk a bit about breathing exercises, relaxing and look at strategies for switching off.

Q: I know a few years ago you told me off about buying a donut and I will never forget that. I have now stopped buying them (almost!). You also have some great ideas about diet and healthy eating and making the right choices. You have an 80 / 20 rule. Can you tell me your thoughts about diet and eating?

A: As far as nutrition goes I do have the 80 / 20 principle. This is 80 % of the time should be eating whole foods and 20% of the time should be eating soul foods. So your soul foods are your treats that you really enjoy and the whole foods are the foods that actually nourish and support your system. So for example, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and lean meats.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for people at work who say around 3pm want to grab a chocolate bar or have a sugar fix? What’s the secret here?

A: It’s all about fruit and nuts. Plus like a good boy scout, be prepared. Don’t leave the house without a piece of fruit and a handful of nuts. If you do you will be looking for something to snack on and you will not make the right decision.

Q: Mel, I know over the years there has been a big push for coaching. I know in our industry there are a lot of people who call themselves coaches or health coaches. You and I have spoken on numerous occasions about companies having a health coach working with their staff. Do you have any thoughts on how this could work?

A: For any business that is looking at boosting their employees vitality and being in a workplace where people really enjoy working a health coach could have a tremendous impact. I look at a holistic coaching approach to all companies well being and put this into a program. Running workshops are just one component. This is only one small part of the picture. So if you want to change behavior and lift productivity we also have to look at small group training where we get small groups involved moving / exercising and getting people more confident with their bodies. Individuals can also be coached eg; Management who are feeling stressed and fatigued. They may need some individual coaching so the idea is to completely shift the culture of the company to being more healthy across a whole range of levels from administrators, shift workers, middle management, higher management etc. There are lots of statistics that show that healthy people are more productive. This is then translated in to cost savings to companies due to staff having less sick days, and people being far more effective when they are at work.

Q: Mel you quite often hear management say it is not their responsibility to look after the health of our staff. Listening to you, my understanding is if the companies invest more into the health of their employees they are going to get a better return from retention of good staff and a raise in productivity. Is that right?

A: That’s right Steve. For example if you take a company that has 200 employees and through some lifestyle changes we got everyone of them to improve their health and lifestyle by just 5% then, that’s a massive impact on the company and it’s a massive impact on the employees ability to do their job well.