Diet profile

The diet profile is designed to assist participants to check out whether they are eating wisely and also one which has appropriate amounts of carbohydrate, protein and fat. It also looks at various eating habits, eg eating too much, eating for comfort ...

•      Closeness to ideal weight?

•      Do you eat a decent breakfast?

•      Do you eat a high fat diet?

•      Do you eat a high starch diet?

•      Do you eat from the top of the Diet Hourglass?

•      How much water do you during each day?

•      Do you supplement your diet with essential micro-nutrients – vitamins,

        minerals, essential fats (omega 3) and glyco-proteins - and

        nutraceuticals - ginko, aloe vera, Echinacea ...?

•      Do you eat too much?

•      Are you ruled by your addictions to fat, sugar and starch?

•      Does the back end of your system work like a charm?

We use the Hourglass Diet as out eating model.

The 'pass mark' for each parameter is 7/10.

Low scores are usually symptomatic of high fat, high starch, low fibre diets. The results: - people become over fat and constipated.

A good score is a high score. A poor score is a low score.

	20% of people were 20Kg or more overweight - a different score that in the musculo-skeletal health profile - but probably more accurate.		A high proportion of people did not have a decent breakfast. This is a cause for concern.
	If you're over weight you've either got a fat guts ...		or a starch guts, or a sugar guts or a beer guts.
	The nature of our culture is that it's too easy to eat junk food.		A few people are not drinking enough water. We're too affluent - we can afford to drink coffee, fruit juice, flavoured milk and carbonated drinks to slake our thirst; every thing but water. 'Water, water every where ...' but no-one wants to drink it!
	Unless you eat the perfect diet, there is a good case for supplementing one's diet. Our food lacks vitamins minerals and essential fats.		'Not only do I fail to eat from the top of the Hourglass, I also eat too much.' Some do , some don't.
	Again, two distinct groups. There's an epidemic of food addiction, particularly to chocolate, cola drinks, cake, biscuits, ice-cream ...		Back end function depends on eating less fat, flour and sugar and more fruit, vegetables and fibre. Psyllium husk works a treat.
Patchy. Total score 65. An average sort of a score. It's too easy to eat a high energy dense diet of manufactured food - particularly foods containing large amounts of fat, flour and sugar - food that comes in packets, tins, cans, bottles, cardboard boxes and plastic bags. This is a group that needs to design strategies to get more fruit, vegetables and water down their throat.

Australia is in a grip of an obesity and body system dysfunction epidemic generated by too much of the wrong food on the one hand, and too little of the right food on the other. It is my opinion that diets high in refined, cereal-based carbohydrates and sugar (the garbohydrates) are the suspects. Too few people seem to be aware that their level of body fat is affected by the amount of flour and sugar they take in each day. The high starch diet has replaced the high fat diet, with the same consequences. The garbohydrate diet stimulates insulin production which leads to fat gain, and all manner of metabolic dysfunctions.

Many people are unaware that they may be allergic or intolerant of some foods, particularly wheat flour, milk, deadly nightshades, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, preservatives ...

Most people have a flour and sugar breakfast, attributed to the kelloggification of the Australian diet. You don't eat biscuits for lunch and dinner so why are you eating them for breakfast? The breakfast eating behaviour of Australians is dreadful. Few people have fruit. Even fewer have vegetables, or adequate protein and fat.

Few people take vitamin and mineral supplements. I believe there are good reasons to do so.

By their own recognition a small number of people said they over-ate and were ruled by their addictions to junk food.

The operation of the back end of the system was only fair – low scores being reflective of a diet that lacks sufficient fibre.

Stress Risk Profile

Participants completed a simple stress and relaxation profile designed to assist them in making an assessment of how they were affected by stress. It is based on the habits of unstressed people.

If you do what unstressed people do you are less at risk of becoming stressed. I’m yet to see someone who said they were highly stressed or depressed who got a high score on this profile. A good score is over 70.

•      How would you rate your current stress level

•      Do you get a good night’s sleep?

•      Do you take your holidays?

•      Are you keeping yourself fit and healthy?

•      Is there balance in your life?

•      Do you take time off at lunch time?

•      How many hours a week do you work?

•      Are you good at giving back to your Self?

•      Do you meditate?

•      Are you happy with your family (and romantic) life?

The matter of stress always needs to be addressed by organisations as part of a personal development thrust, and aimed at all staff. If stress management type programs are to be conducted, all staff need to be involved, otherwise those at most risk and those who are currently most stressed (and too wrapped up in their own busyness) will not attend.

For those who spend long hours at work, I often wonder whether the behaviour is externally or internally driven. I suspect the latter. No body on their death bed ever said 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office.'

A few people are struggling with their family life. This is another fertile  area for personal development and counselling programs. It's hard to concentrate at work when your home life is in turmoil

SCORING GUIDELINES

Excellent, scoring 8 or more

Good, scoring 7 or more

Fair, scoring 5 or 6           

Poor, scoring less than 5

‘Pass mark’ on all parameters 7/10. 

A good score is a high score. A poor score is a low score.

	This is not a particularly good result.		This is a patchy result. 30% of the group don't sleep as well as they would like. The first casualty of anxiety and low levels of fitness is sleep. Find out the cause of the problem. Exercise more, drink less.
	A poor result. Paul Pearsal in his book Superimmunity' said you need a 21 day away from home holiday every year.		Not a good result. Too many people are not keeping themselves in the shape they'd like to be in - and which they need to be in.
	This is a patchy result.		Generally speaking a fair result.
	Patchy.  No one on their death bed ever said 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office.' The people working the longest hours are women with young children who have a shift before work, a shift at work, a shift after work and the graveyard shift as well.		Too many people are too busy to look after and nurture their Self.
	Very few people meditate. The reasons to do so are compelling.		Family life satisfaction is good for most people, but not for some.
Average score: 60. This is an average sort of a score.  People could do more to look after their Self. I recommend that people scoring less that 50 spend time with a counsellor or life coach, or go to a personal development weekend to get themselves centred and grounded on looking after their Self - start doing the things unstressed people do to avoid becoming stressed.

Career Satisfaction Profile

The parameters in the profile relate to a mix of factors influences by the participant, management and their colleagues.

• How close are you to doing the job you’d really like to be doing?

• Are you in the right job for now?

• Is work giving you life or sucking life out of you?

• Are you focused on your career options?

• Do you get good feedback from your manager?

• Do you receive an appropriate financial reward?

• Do you feel you and your work are valued and appreciated?

• Do you work for an organisation that cares about people?

• Do you enjoy the company of the people you work with?

• What’s the level of morale like in your work group?

Normally, when results on the overall career profile are less than 70/100, people agree that they’re not in the right job. Certainly those scoring less than 60 have sufficient issues relating to career management as to seriously consider going somewhere else.

SCORING GUIDELINES

Excellent, scoring 8 or more

Good, scoring 7 or more

Fair, scoring 5 or 6           

Poor, scoring less than 5

‘Pass mark’ on all parameters 7/10. 

A good score is a high score. A poor score is a low score.

	This is a patchy result. Why aren't more people close to their ideal job?		By and large this is a good result.
	A fair result. Work is probably about as stressful as you want it to be. Walk away. Make appointments for your Self that allow you to get on with your work unhindered by interruptions.		As for those who scored 7/10 it didn't matter. For those who scored less than 7/10 it does matter. Recommend some career development training.
	This is a patchy result. Of all our profile questions, this one is usually the worst answered. In this organisation there's some extra work for managers. For staff our recommendation is always to manage up.		Patchy. There are a sizable number of people who do not believe they are being paid what they're worth to the organbisation.
	This is a patchy result. Everyone should get over 7.		Again, patchy. Why don't the people in the tail believe this is a caring organisation? The aim is to have all staff recording a score of 7 or more.
	except for a couple of people this is a good result. People like working with each other. We rarely see scores like this.		With a couple of exceptions, morale is good. It's generally the case that our morale is good when my morale is good. The exceptions need to be dealt with.
Average score: 72. Compared with other groups this is a good score. For people who scored less than 70, there is the whiff of a suggestion they're not in the right job. The situation is certainly redeemable. Those who scored less than 50 are definitely not comfortable in this work situation. The Buddha and Confucius both said 'Find the job you'd love to do and you won't have to do another days work in your life.'

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