We love to hear what other local businesses are doing to keep themselves and their employees healthy. We decided to catch up with Lose It!, one of our long-time fruit customers, to find out what other initiatives they have in place for employee wellness.
Lose It! is a free weight loss app based in Boston. They provide app users with a personal weight loss program by helping them set a daily calorie budget, track food and exercise, and stay motivated through peer support to make smarter choices and achieve their goals. Lose It! doesn’t just work to help the public stay healthy; they have an extensive range of health-focused initiatives for their employees! Here are some of the cool things Lose It! is doing to encourage a healthy workplace:
1. Fresh Fruit Deliveries
Lose It! has been receiving deliveries of fresh organic fruit from Boston Organics since 2012. By keeping fruit around the office, employees always have access to healthy snacks.
2. Employee Gym Memberships
Lose It! employees receive gym memberships to Wave Health & Fitness.
3. Community 5k Walk
In 2011, Lose It! hosted a community 5k walk in Boston for their team and app users.
4. Partnerships
The Lose It! app integrates with LifeFitness machines for more seamless exercise tracking. Users can sync their workouts directly to Lose It! by plugging their device into the machine while exercising. Lose It! also has a partnership with George Foreman III's flagship boxing facility in Boston.
- Lose It! was the first health app to integrate with Nike+ FuelBands, allowing people who wear the bands to see their activity on the Lose It! app. All of Lose It!’s employees wear the bands, and they feel this partnership is a simple way to help people get more activity into their everyday lives.
Why is a healthy workplace important?
“We believe that if you surround yourself with healthy options (like fruit in the office and a paid-for local workout facility), then you're setting yourself up for success,” says Whitney Klinkner, Community Manager at Lose It!. “We're also a pretty competitive team so we're always using the challenges on Lose It! to go head to head with one another -- who can log the most exercise minutes this week, who's earned the most Nike+ fuel, and challenges of that nature.” “When we have internal fruit and veggie challenges, our employees do just about anything for more points. It's pretty great to see our CEO (who is known to dislike vegetables and fruits) opt for a salad at lunch instead of his normal sandwich.”
Employee Engagement is Key
Lose It! shows us that employee engagement can be a crucial motivating factor when encouraging a healthy company culture. By making all kinds of healthy options readily available, Lose It! makes it easy for employees to adopt healthy habits during their workday. We applaud the Lose It! team for their commitment to workplace health, and we look forward to a continued partnership in corporate wellness. Learn more about Lose It! by checking out their website, blog, or downloading their free app!