July 17, 2019
Congratulations to Sarah Sommers, Registered Dietitian for being selected as the July Working on Wellness Employee of the Month! Sarah is a passionate wellness educator, motivated marathon runner, and sets an outstanding example of wellness for her peers and friends.
About Sarah
Growing up, Sarah Sommers had an active and healthy lifestyle. She grew up in Colorado, watching her mother run marathons and watching her dad set records in powerlifting meets. Growing up with that kind of influence motivated her to stay active through her lifetime and to push herself to achieve goals. Sarah played sports and ran recreationally when she was young and became inspired to pursue long-distance running after college. Without the challenge of school work or team sports, running long distance races became the next challenge to conquer. Sarah has run multiple marathons since she started long-distance running. During one race that she was running with friends, Sarah “accidentally” qualified for the Boston Marathon when her friends encouraged her to push on and run ahead of the group. Sarah competed in the 2019 Boston Marathon and finished with a great time.
Setting an Example of Wellness
Living a healthy lifestyle has always been important to Sarah, and it became essential to her to lead by example. She found that asking others to make changes to their lifestyle to improve their overall health was so much easier when she was doing the same. Sarah also shares this passion for staying active by coaching youth soccer and cross country.
Working at a hospital also motivates Sarah to set an example of wellness for her patients. Sarah is a committed member of the Sheridan Memorial Hospital Employee Wellness Committee, and she is a Certified Diabetes Educator Dietitian. Sarah compassionately works to help patients with diabetes and other illnesses establish habits that can reduce their symptoms and improve their quality of life. At times, Sarah’s patients feel hopeless because they can’t control their situation and find it difficult to make changes toward a healthier lifestyle. This is inspires and motivates her to set an example and continually strive to live a healthy lifestyle.
Sarah’s Advice to Others:
- Start by setting small goals. “Achieving small goals gives you the confidence and ability to achieve big goals.”
- It’s critical to understand the realistic timeline of your goals. You may be setting a goal that takes a long time to achieve. Accept the timeline and stay diligent.
- If your wellness goal is weight loss, remember that being active, eating nourishing foods, and having a low-stress life is more valuable than being within your goal weight. You’ll be happier and more confident that you can achieve your goals.
- If you’re finding it difficult to set goals for yourself because you don’t know what you’re capable of, find a healthy habit that you enjoy and make doing that consistently your goal.
Resources Sarah Loves:
Garmin GPS Watch to track mileage during training runs and races
– I’ll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast
– Marathon Training Academy Podcast
– Diabetes Self-Management Magazine
-A motivating group of people that hold her accountable to her goals
-Friends who race with her in marathons
Congratulations to Sarah Sommers for being selected as the July Working on Wellness Employee of the Month!