Briefly introduce yourself and share a bit about your background.
My name is Craig Waite. I am a Regional Admissions Advisor for The University of Alabama. I live in Michigan with my wife and three kids. I’ve worked for UA for the last ten years covering Michigan, Minnesota, and Northwest Ohio.
Describe the starting point of your journey and the factors that led to this decision.
I became interested in wellness when my parents both got cancer and passed away within a couple of years of each other. I began to learn how the food they ate played a role in their colon cancer. I was also a bit older than the other dads and I wanted to feel good and have the energy to play with my kids as they grew up. It helped a lot that my wife is a health educator, and my oldest daughter is majoring in Nutrition at UA. All three of our kids were playful and into athletics.
Which wellness practices or habits have you incorporated into your routine?
Wellness practices that I have incorporated include a lot of walking. I love to walk! I try to walk a minimum of 45 minutes a day which ends up being almost exactly a 5K. The walk not only helps with my physical fitness, but it is very relaxing mentally as well. I’ve also moved towards a whole food, plant-based diet. The elimination of meat led to some immediate and pleasant side effects I wasn’t totally expecting. Once I started to feel amazing, I’ve never had any interest in going back.
How has your wellness journey influenced you daily life, including work, relationships, and overall well-being?
My wellness journey has influenced my daily life by giving me more energy and, by feeling better, the ability to enjoy my work and to enjoy family and friends. I’m already five years older than my dad was when he had a heart attack. I feel better than I did ten or even twenty years ago.
How do you plan to sustain your well-being and continue growing in the future?
I hope to sustain my well-being by being inspired by others who have chosen to focus on well-being and by continuing to walk and to eat a mostly plant-based diet. It can be very difficult as my job as a recruiter has me on the road for a few months each year. It can be a challenge to exercise and eat well while on the road for work. I’m lucky to have experts in my family on nutrition and health. I plan to take my wellness journey to a higher level in the coming years and, hopefully, decades.
Read more inspiring wellness stories, tips for maintaining a healthy routine, and meet all the UA Spotlight on Wellness employees from this year.