Closed Captions
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[Music]
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I want to welcome our audience to this
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learn podcast. It is in these podcasts
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that learn wants you to meet experts who
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can help you in your work as school
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leaders or perhaps partners in the
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education landscape. The topic for this
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podcast is living a healthy life. And
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our guest is Todd Wthorne, author,
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speaker, and Emmy award-winning
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broadcaster. On the learn website, you
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will find on the research page under the
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COE of health and the elements of
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nutrition and fitness research in this
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area being discussed today along with
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potential resources to access. Todd,
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welcome to the learn podcast. It is
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really good to have you here to speak
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with us about this very important topic.
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Hi David, great to see you be with you
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and uh and your audience. I'm I'm very
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much looking forward to this. Yeah.
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Well, I really appreciate you being here
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and it's a very important topic,
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especially coming out of the pandemic
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and the stressors that are out there.
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So, I'm really looking forward to having
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this conversation. Now, I know you have
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an extensive research and work
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background in the area of health and
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wellness and that you've been
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instrumental in helping individuals,
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organizations, and special leaders like
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myself uh gain greater insights and
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change behaviors related to health and
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wellness, thus helping the educators be
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better prepared to serve their students.
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would you please share with the audience
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some of that background and experience?
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Sure. I appreciate that, David. Um, and
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first of all, I'm very excited to be
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able to speak with leaders because my my
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kind of goal and mission in life is to
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figure out ways to positively impact
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large populations. And I have found
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through experience that if I can get
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leaders to buy into what we'll talk
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about today, then the odds go way up
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that they will use their ability to
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influence others, whether that be at a
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district level or a campus level. And I
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certainly have a heart for educators for
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a variety of reasons that we can talk
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about some some other time. But I truly
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believe that the the challenge here when
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we talk about health and wellness uh
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really boils down to just figuring out
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how to overcome the environment. So my
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background is in kinesiology and
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exercise physiology. Uh I spent a couple
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decades actually working in
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communication and television and radio
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but in the past 20 plus years I've been
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working in the area primarily of
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corporate and population health. I did
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spend 14 years as a senior executive at
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the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. Uh
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uh I would imagine several of our
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listeners know about Dr. Ken Cooper who
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is the father of aerobics. but it is
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really kind of the mecca of preventive
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medicine. So my focus is on helping
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people understand what they can do to
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dramatically and not just a little bit
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dramatically improve their odds of
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living longer but more importantly
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better. So that's really all of my focus
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has has been around that and and it's
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not complicated but the reality is that
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we have an environment that makes it
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challenging. So all of my efforts and
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especially the past couple decades has
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been on what can we do? What do we know
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that's evidence-based that can help
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organizations move in a healthier
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direction? And there's usually three
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ROIs that result from that, right? It
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depends on kind of what you're thinking
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about. It can be a financial ROI, it can
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be a clinical ROI, but for me,
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especially the past three years because
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of COVID and especially in public
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education, it involves around cultural
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ROI. How can you create an environment
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where it makes sense for everybody to be
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pursuing the same goal because healthier
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people come to work more often, they get
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more done, they have more fun, and they
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have a bigger influence on the
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populations that they serve. Right. And
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Todd, you know, when I served as
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superintendent, I invited you to come
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speak to my audience and and that was
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all the key leaders in the district and
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it was probably one of the most
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well-received um presentations that that
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they have experienced under my tenure
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anyway. and and you were invited back
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multiple times by others just to come
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and speak as well. And I think one of
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the things I want to make sure the
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audience is aware of is that you you are
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just a a very insightful speaker. Um but
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also that you've really spent some time
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doing this with educators over the last
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many years. Um can you just tell us how
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many districts have you district leaders
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have you engaged with in this kind of
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conversation? You may not have an exact
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number, but I I want the audience to
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have a sense of that. Uh well, thanks
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for that and you know the invitation to
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come speak to to your district at the
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time was was certainly an honor because
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I you know you you have a reputation
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within education that is is quite
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positive as you know. Um, so I'm based
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in Dallas and I was very fortunate in
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2008 to be invited to help develop a
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three-day in residence kind of immersion
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into wellness when I was still working
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at the Cooper Aerobic Center and it
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involved 18 superintendents and their
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spouses that just came and lived with us
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for three days. Unbeknownst to me, uh,
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in that audience was, uh, Johnny
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Vasilka, who at the time was the
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executive director of the of TASA, the
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Texas Association of School
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Administrators. So Johnny liked what he
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heard. He invited me to come to a TASA
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event. And and you know there's like
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1,200 school districts in Texas. And so
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before I knew it, it had kind of taken
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off. And that's where I really learned
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uh to appreciate. I had never
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experienced education kind of from the
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inside out. I had certainly as a student
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and as a parent, but not understanding
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the true quote unquote business of
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public education. And that's where I
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grew that that appreciation because it
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is a very challenging job. I know I'm
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preaching to the choir here and and to
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me what I've learned is that the
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majority of people in education,
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especially when they get to the
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principal or central office level, um
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it's not a job and it's not even really
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a career. It's more like a calling. And
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and most everybody I've met, not only in
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Texas, but throughout the country, they
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are doing what they're doing for a
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reason. and they recognize now what I
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what I've come to realize is in the past
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three years it's become an absolute
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landmine and and again this is not news
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to anyone but it's really hard to make a
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decision that is going to resonate well
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with everyone next to impossible and so
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my message overall is not necessarily
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information uh most all of us know what
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we should be doing kind of the basic
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what I call blocking and tackling it's
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really how do we how do we make it
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happen how do we implement it and then
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how can we do it throughout the
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district. So we work with districts all
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around the country at several different
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levels. I besides just speaking we have
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programs that we can implement pretty
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effectively uh that can scale and but
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again it's it's as you know it's a
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challenging world we're in right now.
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The other thing that's really important
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to recognize I believe for sure is the
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understanding of what's called the
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birectionality of health which is
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basically the head and the body are
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connected. Um, you can't be treating one
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without the other. And because of all
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the the burnout, the quiet quitting, the
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great resignation, everything that's
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going on in education right now, I think
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it's critically important for leaders to
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create an environment where they they
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are able to communicate that they
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actually care about that community that
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they serve and and that can go a long
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way. Yeah. And if our educators are
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going to be wellprepared to serve those
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students in this environment, not only
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does do their bodies have to be healthy,
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but through the healthy body, their
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psyches are healthier and they they're
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fuller and they can serve instead of
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being empty vessels. And I I that's why
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it was so important for me to have you
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come and speak to my audience and and I
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know it's important for me to get this
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message out to the other superintendent
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is that they, you know, if this is
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something that's top of mind for them,
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then they they have a chance to talk to
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an expert here. Now, Todd, you you've
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done this so for a lot of years, as you
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noted in your in the introduction, and
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we can't possibly cover all the research
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and and uh um all the programs that are
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out there that might serve districts
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well in this in this arena, but I'd like
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for you to share with the audience key
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insights or information in your
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experience that are really important and
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and help them focus better on health and
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wellness.
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Well, the bottom line is that what what
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I've learned is that so oftentimes
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educators are givers. Um, and there's
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certain populations that that's just the
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way they're wired. Uh, so I, you know,
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we're not supposed to stereotype and I'm
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old enough to get away with it, right?
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So, teachers, mothers, uh, uh, first
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responders, uh, these are folks that are
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that that give. The the most important
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thing that I can share is to recognize
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that taking care of yourself is not
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selfish. It's the antithesis. You can't
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pour from an empty cup. So if you give
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and give and give, there's a finite
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amount of energy that you're able to
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share. And if you're not taking care of
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you, you're not going to be able to do
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the things that you were put on this
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earth to do. and and so your ability to
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have an impact has got to you you just
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got to wrap your head around the fact
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that I need to take care of myself.
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Self-care is not selfish. So that's
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really important to understand. Now, of
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course, everybody everybody on the
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planet pretty much knows the big three,
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right? We talk about nutrition, we talk
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about physical activity, we talk about
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sleep. We can dig, you know, deep on all
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of those and talk about those, but those
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three are critical. So, it's not
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knowledge, by the way, that changes
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behavior. We have more knowledge in our
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in the world today, right here, than
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we've ever had in the history of the
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world. But the reality is it's how do
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you apply what you know and how what do
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you do? So, the big three I mentioned,
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you know, the three legs of the stool,
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but it's not about what you what you
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know, what you believe, what you
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espouse, none of that. It is what do you
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do day in and day out. That's what will
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absolutely without question based on
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lots and lots of evidence will allow you
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to be better in the short term and in
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the long term. So for me, it's not just
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about living longer. It's about living
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better and recognizing that we have a
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gift each and every day when the sun
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comes up and we put our feet on the
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ground to make a positive difference in
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the lives of other people. And if we're
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taking better care of ourselves, we get
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a good night's sleep, if we're
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physically fit, we're maintaining a
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healthy weight, we're putting good fuel
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in our gas tank in our Ferrari, or I
286
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often say Bugatti. Um the the reality is
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that's going to allow you to show up
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better as a leader, as an educator,
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whether it's a board meeting, whether
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it's a, you know, a meeting with a group
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of parents, whether it's your staff, it
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doesn't matter. every interaction that
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you have is going to be enhanced if you
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bring a better you to the game. Right.
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And and you know, I know you you noted
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that we know these things about sleep,
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but yet it seems like we're not really
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obeying the things we know. We're you
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know, you've cited I've read stuff about
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about sleep, about exercise. I found
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that very interesting that I've always
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heard 120 minutes. She said, "Well,
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that's that's okay, but if you really
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want to optimize, you know, that that
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energy, what you know, could you share a
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couple of those things really quickly
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about sleep and exercise especially?"
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So, I you know, to me it boils down to
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what is it you want? Um, do you want to
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be sufficient or do you want to be
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optimal? I'm not interested in being
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sufficient. So, the the number you
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referenced is actually 150 minutes,
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right? So, if you think about physical
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activity, the guidelines, the the
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federal physical activity guidelines
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call for 150 minutes of moderate
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physical activity per week. And and I
319
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have heard from thousands, I'm too busy
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to exercise. I'm too, you know, that is
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the that's not accurate. The reality is
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it's about priority and about figuring
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out where you're going to get the
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biggest bang for your buck. So yes, 150
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minutes of moderate physical activity
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per week will give you the kind of the
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baseline. If you really want to to
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succeed, it's really fine-tuning all of
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that. And so there's, you know, when it
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comes to exercise, you think of the
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acronym fit, fit, so frequency,
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intensity, and then the time or the
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duration of your particular bout of
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activity. So we can really get into the
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weeds there. But if anybody that you
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know will look me in the eye and say
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they don't have time to exercise, what
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it tells me is you don't have a priority
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on yourself or on those that you care
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about. Because if you're not taking care
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of the vessel, you're not efficient. And
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we were born to move. We were designed
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beautifully to run and jump and play and
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fall and dance and do all the things
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that we did as kids. You've heard me say
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this, right, when we were freerange
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kids. But the world has changed. The way
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we work, the way we eat, the way we
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sleep, the way we're entertained. I mean
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it's just everything's different in in
351
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even in my lifetime in a in you know a
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snapshot of time and that's the issue
353
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here. How do you find ways to succeed in
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what has been defined as an obesogenic
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environment? So you can look at the
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baselines and say okay that's that will
357
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get me to you know sufficiency but if
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you really want to soar then we can talk
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about those type of things as well but
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you know you think about 150 minutes of
361
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moderate physical activity 75 minutes of
362
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vigorous physical activity which again
363
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out of 168 hours in a week is not very
364
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much it's a priority issue it's not a
365
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time issue you think about sleep the cut
366
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point is at least seven hours yes you
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can get by on less than that but I don't
368
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want just get by. I have a gift and I
369
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want my that gift of life. I want to be
370
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able to maximize that each and every
371
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day. I need a minimum of seven hours of
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sleep. And when you think about
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nutrition, that's a completely different
374
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topic that we can we right that's such a
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long topic, but but really Dave, it it
376
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only bo it boils down to this and pardon
377
00:13:36,399 --> 00:13:39,760
my French. Cut the crap. Just stop
378
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putting bad things in your gas tank. it.
379
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We can get complicated if you want to,
380
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but that is the first place to start.
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Quit putting things that you know are
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not beneficial to your Bugatti in your
383
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gas tank. And only you can control that,
384
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right? And and we we authentically do
385
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know, you know, we know when I know when
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I put something in my body that, you
387
00:14:00,399 --> 00:14:02,079
know, hey, I really like it, but I also
388
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know it's probably not best for my body.
389
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So, you know, my mom would always say,
390
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Dave, moderation, moderation.
391
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It's like I always kind of own that.
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Now, if a district really wanted to
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engage in this with you and really
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you've had a lot of experience helping
395
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district leaderships through this, what
396
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are some of those and I think you cited
397
00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:23,519
them to a large degree already, but I
398
00:14:23,519 --> 00:14:24,880
want to make certain that the audience
399
00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:26,000
hears it. What are some of those
400
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,880
predictable positive outcomes that they
401
00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,040
can communicate to their audience that
402
00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,880
this will happen if we do this? Yeah.
403
00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,519
Well, my experience tells me that by far
404
00:14:37,519 --> 00:14:39,839
the most critically important component
405
00:14:39,839 --> 00:14:42,000
of any sort of wellness program, and I
406
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,519
put that in quotes because that means a
407
00:14:43,519 --> 00:14:44,639
lot of things to a lot of different
408
00:14:44,639 --> 00:14:46,560
people. But the first thing I already
409
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:48,480
mentioned is recognize the heart, you
410
00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:50,240
know, the the the head and the body are
411
00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:51,920
connected here. So, we're talking in
412
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:53,440
these days, in the past couple years,
413
00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:54,639
for sure, we've been talking about
414
00:14:54,639 --> 00:14:56,399
emotional health, but if you're not
415
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taking care of your physical health, it
416
00:14:58,079 --> 00:14:59,680
it's not going to work. You know, the
417
00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:01,440
the whole house is on fire. You don't
418
00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:02,880
want to just put out, you know, one wing
419
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:05,600
of it. And so having a strategy that's
420
00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,680
evidence-based that we know that can
421
00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,079
help people that are interested because
422
00:15:10,079 --> 00:15:13,120
you can't push a rope. Um and there are
423
00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:14,720
there there's a number of people and I
424
00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:16,240
know this because we you know we work
425
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:17,760
with over a thousand organizations
426
00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,560
throughout the country. We put about a
427
00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:21,839
little over a quarter of a million
428
00:15:21,839 --> 00:15:23,199
people through our program every year.
429
00:15:23,199 --> 00:15:24,800
So we've got a lot of evidence to
430
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,120
support that that this works. But you're
431
00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:28,959
never going to bat a thousand. It's just
432
00:15:28,959 --> 00:15:30,880
it's impossible because again the
433
00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:32,560
environment has changed to such a degree
434
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:34,399
and we've got a lot of forces that we're
435
00:15:34,399 --> 00:15:37,279
working against. However, um the the
436
00:15:37,279 --> 00:15:39,440
reality is is helping those that are
437
00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,399
interested um have the tools and the
438
00:15:42,399 --> 00:15:44,800
strategies that that again have been
439
00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,839
proven to to be uh successful allow them
440
00:15:47,839 --> 00:15:49,680
to move in a healthy direction. In fact,
441
00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,000
just over the weekend, I got a I got a
442
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,399
very nice email from a a superintendent
443
00:15:54,399 --> 00:15:57,360
here in Texas who started uh our program
444
00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,399
in in January, and he's down almost 25
445
00:16:00,399 --> 00:16:02,399
pounds. Now, I want to emphasize the
446
00:16:02,399 --> 00:16:05,279
number on the scale is a metric of your
447
00:16:05,279 --> 00:16:07,040
overall health and wellness. It is not
448
00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,360
the beall endall. what you weigh is only
449
00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,120
one piece of data, but since we've got
450
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,920
well over 40% of Americans are in the
451
00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:19,040
obese category based on body mass index,
452
00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,600
uh, and probably another 35 to 40 that
453
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,519
are, uh, percent that are in the
454
00:16:23,519 --> 00:16:25,199
overweight category, that's a great
455
00:16:25,199 --> 00:16:27,360
place to start. It's a good placeholder,
456
00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:29,040
but there's so many other components of
457
00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,720
it. But when it's really helpful uh at
458
00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,880
selfishly personally when I hear that
459
00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,199
that someone who has decided now's the
460
00:16:37,199 --> 00:16:39,519
time I want to make a difference and we
461
00:16:39,519 --> 00:16:42,000
can deliver with to them a curriculum
462
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,040
and a and a roadmap for success and then
463
00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:46,639
they knock it out of the park. And what
464
00:16:46,639 --> 00:16:48,320
he shared with me was not so much the
465
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weight, he just feels better. He shows
466
00:16:50,639 --> 00:16:52,800
up better. And that's what as leaders we
467
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:54,880
all need to do. You walk into a room and
468
00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:56,399
you're bringing confidence with you and
469
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you're bringing the abil most people
470
00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:00,720
need to be led and you you can lead
471
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,199
better if you have energy and and
472
00:17:03,199 --> 00:17:05,199
enthusiasm and a joy for life and we can
473
00:17:05,199 --> 00:17:07,199
help anybody that really truly wants to
474
00:17:07,199 --> 00:17:10,240
do that to to attain it. And we
475
00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,079
certainly know in this day and age
476
00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:13,919
leading better is really important
477
00:17:13,919 --> 00:17:15,839
because you know as we have seen coming
478
00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,480
out of the pandemic the stressors on the
479
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,640
people you are leading are very real and
480
00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,039
we've got to help them um with our own
481
00:17:23,039 --> 00:17:24,799
modeling and with our own behaviors and
482
00:17:24,799 --> 00:17:27,600
and I think that that is a a predictable
483
00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:29,760
positive outcome frankly if you go down
484
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:31,919
these paths and you build that
485
00:17:31,919 --> 00:17:33,679
discipline that you have been alluding
486
00:17:33,679 --> 00:17:35,840
to through this entire podcast I think
487
00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,039
you can expect that. Now, I want to know
488
00:17:39,039 --> 00:17:41,360
if you've done this, you just cited an
489
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:44,880
example, but is there a a district or an
490
00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:47,120
example that you would like to site this
491
00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,120
basically a chance to tell the story of
492
00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:52,720
how this has impacted a life or lives? I
493
00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:54,480
I've got several that I could I could
494
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:55,760
share with you, but one that really
495
00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,480
comes to mind is Alvin ISD, which is a
496
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:00,799
large district right outside of Houston.
497
00:18:00,799 --> 00:18:03,440
um they have their superintendent and
498
00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,080
their two uh deputy superintendent are
499
00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:08,240
are really driven around this and they
500
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,880
recognize uh how important it is to take
501
00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,280
care of their troops. And so um they've
502
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,679
done what I would consider to be kind of
503
00:18:15,679 --> 00:18:19,760
the the the the true kind of perfect
504
00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:21,520
storm, so to speak, is that they've
505
00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,679
identified their top 100 leaders within
506
00:18:23,679 --> 00:18:26,400
the district. Uh I actually went down uh
507
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,320
in the fourth quarter of last year,
508
00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,320
spent some time with them and they they
509
00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,720
brought those leaders together uh that
510
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,120
were principles and and central office
511
00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:37,360
staff and really got that gave them kind
512
00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:40,240
of a head start and and so for about
513
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,400
three months the the leadership were all
514
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,960
kind of, you know, doing this together,
515
00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:46,880
inspiring one another, supporting one
516
00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:48,160
another because you got to remember,
517
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,080
David, we're humans, right? we're we're
518
00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:52,080
tribal animals and so there's energy
519
00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:53,840
involved and and especially in
520
00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:56,000
education. It's so cool to watch this
521
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,799
and then uh on the first of the year,
522
00:18:58,799 --> 00:19:00,720
you know, basically distributed this to
523
00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:02,640
their entire campus or excuse me, their
524
00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,600
entire district. So now you've got uh
525
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,400
hundreds of folks that are all and and
526
00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,640
the stories that are are building up and
527
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,240
it's it's important I think more than
528
00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:14,000
anything else besides the measurable
529
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,600
outcomes like if you want to look at
530
00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:17,120
biometrics like something called
531
00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:18,880
metabolic syndrome you know blood
532
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,559
pressure cholesterol triglycerides all
533
00:19:20,559 --> 00:19:22,960
of that that's fine but what's really
534
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,679
important I believe right now is the
535
00:19:25,679 --> 00:19:27,120
concept of signaling and they've
536
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actually done this a lot of this
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research at at Yale Dr. Amy Resnuski has
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studied this concept of how important it
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is for leaders to signal to their
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employees to demonstrate not just to say
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but to demonstrate we care about you.
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And of course right now I'm again I'm
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preaching to the choir right it's hard
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to find ju just just about every aspect
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when you think about the roles within
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any district. It's tough right now. And
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so, can you create a culture where
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people are actually, you know, your
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employees are going to become your best
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promoters and and recruiters for your
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district? Because people want to work
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for an organization that cares about
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them. And when people start improving
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their health, they start sleeping
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better, feeling better, having more
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energy, having more joy. It's just it's
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a very positive thing for everybody,
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including the students and their
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families. Well, I appreciate you sharing
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that. Now, if a district or partner were
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interested in exploring more deeply into
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this work, how would they go about
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contacting you and arranging for a
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deeper conversation? Just shoot me an
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email. Uh, that would be super easy.
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titornhealth.com.
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Okay. Wonderful. Well, Todd, I really
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appreciate you being a part of this uh
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um conversation and and really
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supporting the work of our students and
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schools. And thank you for your
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participation in this Learn podcast.
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Well, David, thank you very much. and
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what you're doing is very admirable and
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it doesn't surprise me that you're
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continuing to make a big difference in
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people's lives. Thank you.
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[Music]
