AWC wants you healthy and well in the New Year

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – Getting healthy in the New Year is a common goal for many people. But when New Year’s resolutions are often abandoned after a few weeks, it’s hard to know where to begin and how to stay motivated. The Army Wellness Center has a lot of options to help active duty Soldiers and their families reach and maintain their health and wellness goals.

The AWC is a U.S. Army Medical Command initiative overseen by the U.S. Army Public Health Center. It is staffed by nurses and health educators who strive to deliver primary prevention programs.

According to the APHC website, https://phc.amedd.army.mil/, the AWC helps patrons build and sustain good health. The center helps empower patrons to set their own health goals and achieve them over time. It addresses lifestyle changes in areas that affect both short-and long-term health.

“The AWC approach to service is holistic,” the website states. “AWC staff members take into account all of an individual’s physical, psychological and social circumstances when providing services.”

Services available

Services are available to active duty military and their families, retired military, and current DOD civilian employees.

The AWC uses a state-of-the-art fitness tool called the BOD POD to conduct a full-body composition test. The BOD POD measures fat mass versus fat-free mass and can show changes to your body over time. The analysis goes beyond the number on a scale, but rather determines if weight comes from fat or fat-free mass such as muscle and bone.

AWC also provides metabolic testing. This gives an estimate of what your resting metabolic rate is, meaning how many calories your body burns at rest. Metabolism is the medical term for the rate at which the body burns calories, and weight management involves a balance between calories burned and calories consumed.

In addition to physical health care, there are stress management sessions, massage chairs, and chromatherapy, or color therapy. Different classes will help patrons accomplish different goals, such as deep breathing methods, mindful meditation, and fitness tracking.

Tools and goal-setting  

AWC Health Educator Christina Bollino says that using apps like MyFitnessPal can be helpful with at-home maintenance. “[It’s] user friendly and free. You can scan food… It gives you an idea of what you’re taking in each day.”

According to Bollino, health coaching goes beyond fitness tracking, but rather looks at the overall picture of health.

“What are you doing every day? Sleep, stress, fitness… What do you want to focus on? We can check in to see how it’s going and what needs to be improved on,” she said.

For patrons who move to a new duty station, all visits are charted in your electronic medical record and also in the Army Wellness Center web-based system so your record will follow you and you can pick up where you left off with your wellness plan.

Soldier readiness

The main mission of the AWC is to be sure Soldiers are ready for everything. The AWC emphasizes the Performance Triad which focuses on the importance of exercise, nutrition and sleep. The AWC fitness testing helps get Soldiers ready for deployment and resiliency.

“Deployment, changes in schedule, stress, can affect sleep and emotional wellness, both of which are important for resiliency and readiness,” said Health Promotion Technician Chelsea George.

Bollino said fitness testing measures cardio-respiratory fitness in active duty Soldiers. The AWC can look to see how well the body is using oxygen, as well as measure flexibility and strength. As much as it’s important to ensure the Soldier is ready, it’s equally as important to make sure their family is taken care of.

“If the family/spouse is taken care of, then the Soldier will be more ready,” said Bollino. “We can’t neglect one aspect for another.”

'Self-Care is Not Selfish' virtual event 

This year, APHC is hosting a virtual lunch and learn series, called “Self-Care is Not Selfish” in partnership with the AWC. The first event, held in conjunction with the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, will focus on many aspects of wellness for the New Year: Social wellness, physical wellness, holistic approaches and coaching.

Attendees will learn about different health and wellness strategies including the Performance Triad, the civilian fitness program, different chaplain resources, and AWC services. For more information, contact usarmy.apg.medcom-aphc.mbx.performance-triad@mail.mil For information and updates about the Army Wellness Center, check out the APG AWC Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ArmyWellnessCenter.