What’s Your Personal Health Plan Look Like?

Whether you have 1 employee or 5000 people work where you work it seems many of us live minute by minute. You and the people you work with may be planning their week at work but not planning for their health and happiness. Their family life is in crisis mode moving from one crisis to the next moving to the next urgent problem to the next chaos in their life. You too as a manager or business owner maybe doing much the same thing. What gets left in the dust is your health, the health of your family and the people you work with. Why? Because many people just don’t have a plan.

You might want to stop for a second, take a breath then ask yourself “Is my health important to me and is it important enough to me to plan for?” I will never forget the day I was sitting across from a health coaching client when they said “No, my health is not a priority to me.” Really? You have got to be kidding! You plan for your health now or plan for your medical bills later. You either make your health a priority or your health will become a priority for you when you develop sickness that keeps you from enjoying your family, working on your job and takes your money. 

So what’s the plan? What are your health goals? Do you know? If you have not thought it over in a while now is a great time. The rules are the same when it comes to planning your vacation, your business and your health. The more time you spend planning the more fun and prosperity you’ll experience.  

Once you have a plan in place then to insure success you will need to keep track what’s important like your care GPS keeps you on track helping you reach your destination.

Most experts agree these are the top five most important influencers on your health and well-being:

1. The quality, quality and frequency of your food choices.

2. How much and what type of activity you experience.

3. Sleep quality and duration.

4. How you manage family, financial and job stress.

5. Water quality and frequency of consumption.

Food Influencers: Does how you feel influence your food choices? Food choices are made for many reasons besides hunger and these hide in your daily actions. Sometimes it’s convenience and availability. Are healthy foods convenient and available in your company break room? Are there healthy restaurants close by? Can you bring your lunch to work? 

Other times your food choices are determined by your level of frustration, time pressures and stress. When this happens you are more likely to make unhealthy food choices. Plan to keep healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and nuts nearby in your desk, purse or car to sooth your mood.

It’s important to bring eating into your awareness. Noticing patterns in foods choices and behaviors will help you make better decisions in the future.  Not sure what to eat? The USDA can help www.choosemyplate.gov.

Track your successes: Don’t limit yourself in how you measure success. The scale is only one way and maybe not the best because the weather and food additives will cause the scale to fluctuate. Monitor your clothing size, measure your waist, legs, and arms, and monitor how tight or loose your clothes feel.

Keep track of your food choices too. How may fruits, vegetables and whole grains are you eating? Not enough check this out www.YourJuicePlus.com. Most importantly monitor how you feel and how your body is working. With better food choices comes energy, better sleep, improved digestion, lower blood pressure, weight loss and many other health benefits.

Track your goals:  While your long-term goal may be to lose 10, 25, 50 or more pounds, you need small goals to keep your motivation up. Focus on improved healthy and vitality. Being skinny in your casket really isn’t what you are shooting for. You can’t control your weight but you can control your habits. Make goals you have control of such as eat 1 more fruit and veggie per day, exercise 30 minutes and go to bed early enough to get 8 hours of sleep.

So what’s your plan to get and stay healthy? What’s the plan to support your employees to make healthier choices at work? When you look down the road what do you see in your future and your company’s future? If It’s not health then you still have time it’s never too late to get started down the road to better health.  

Need some help? Then ask a wellness consultant, certified health coach or health professional find a program that’s right for you and those you work with.  

Your partner in health, 

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA

Certified Health Coach 

Wellness Consultant 

C2 Your Health LLC

LinkedIN 

What’s Your Health Plan Look Like?

Whether you have 1 employee or 5000 people work where you work it seems many of us live minute by minute. You and the people you work with may be planning their week at work but not planning for their health and happiness. Their family life is in crisis mode moving from one crisis to the next moving to the next urgent problem to the next chaos in their life. You too as a manager or business owner maybe doing much the same thing. What gets left in the dust is your health, the health of your family and the people you work with. Why? Because many people just don’t have a plan.

You might want to stop for a second, take a breath then ask yourself “Is my health important to me and is it important enough to me to plan for?” I will never forget the day I was sitting across from a health coaching client when they said “No, my health is not a priority to me.” Really? You have got to be kidding! You plan for your health now or plan for your medical bills later. You either make your health a priority or your health will become a priority for you when you develop sickness that keeps you from enjoying your family, working on your job and takes your money. 

So what’s the plan? What are your health goals? Do you know? If you have not thought it over in a while now is a great time. The rules are the same when it comes to planning your vacation, your business and your health. The more time you spend planning the more fun and prosperity you’ll experience.  

Once you have a plan in place then to insure success you will need to keep track what’s important like your care GPS keeps you on track helping you reach your destination.

Most experts agree these are the top five most important influencers on your health and well-being:

1. The quality, quality and frequency of your food choices.

2. How much and what type of activity you experience.

3. Sleep quality and duration.

4. How you manage family, financial and job stress.

5. Water quality and frequency of consumption.

Food Influencers: Does how you feel influence your food choices? Food choices are made for many reasons besides hunger and these hide in your daily actions. Sometimes it’s convenience and availability. Are healthy foods convenient and available in your company break room? Are there healthy restaurants close by? Can you bring your lunch to work? 

Other times your food choices are determined by your level of frustration, time pressures and stress. When this happens you are more likely to make unhealthy food choices. Plan to keep healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and nuts nearby in your desk, purse or car to sooth your mood.

It’s important to bring eating into your awareness. Noticing patterns in foods choices and behaviors will help you make better decisions in the future.  Not sure what to eat? The USDA can help www.choosemyplate.gov.

Track your successes: Don’t limit yourself in how you measure success. The scale is only one way and maybe not the best because the weather and food additives will cause the scale to fluctuate. Monitor your clothing size, measure your waist, legs, and arms, and monitor how tight or loose your clothes feel.

Keep track of your food choices too. How may fruits, vegetables and whole grains are you eating? Not enough check this out www.YourJuicePlus.com. Most importantly monitor how you feel and how your body is working. With better food choices comes energy, better sleep, improved digestion, lower blood pressure, weight loss and many other health benefits.

Track your goals:  While your long-term goal may be to lose 10, 25, 50 or more pounds, you need small goals to keep your motivation up. Focus on improved healthy and vitality. Being skinny in your casket really isn’t what you are shooting for. You can’t control your weight but you can control your habits. Make goals you have control of such as eat 1 more fruit and veggie per day, exercise 30 minutes and go to bed early enough to get 8 hours of sleep.

So what’s your plan to get and stay healthy? What’s the plan to support your employees to make healthier choices at work? When you look down the road what do you see in your future and your company’s future? If It’s not health then you still have time it’s never too late to get started down the road to better health.  

Need some help? Then ask a wellness consultant, certified health coach or health professional find a program that’s right for you and those you work with.  

Your partner in health, 

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA

Certified Health Coach 

Wellness Consultant 

C2 Your Health LLC

LinkedIN 

The question on everyone's mind is should I get a flu shot?

Many employers struggle with the question "How important are flu shots for my employees?"  

Let's take a minute to weigh in on the subject.  

The CDC says this about Influenza (flu). It is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness. Serious outcomes of flu infection can result in hospitalization or death. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications. The main way that influenza viruses are thought to spread is from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes. 

This is fun! CDC Influenza Incidence Weekly Updates   click here for U.S. map. 

You may not know this ...

There continues to be a controversy as to whether Influenza Immunization (flu shot) is a good idea. However there is no confusion flu is a health threat. Not along ago "old people and babies" by the thousands died every year during the flu season October - March. On any given day between 5% and 20% people have the flu. 

You may have missed this that was reported earlier this year in the news: 

• Caribbean Princess, Norovirus: Ship ends cruise early after 162 people get sick

• Forecast: What the flu season will look like 

• Fear Of Flu Leads Many To Get Vaccinated As Hospitalizations, Deaths Rise 

The answer to the questions that are around "Should I get a flu shot?" is  maybe.  There continues to be a debate whether flu shots are a good idea. Depending on who you ask will determine the answer you receive. As with every concern about YOUR body, YOU are the ultimate decision maker. 

To read the rest of the article and the C2 Your Health LLC Wellness Wednesday Getting Healthier Every Week eNewsletter click here 

You partner in health,

Cindy Cohen RN

Certified Health Coach

Wellness Consultant

C2 Your Health LLC

A Healthy Dose of Inspiration

Poor health is not caused by something you don't have; it's caused by disturbing something that you already have. Healthy is not something that you need to get, it's something you have already if you don't disturb it.  ~Dean Ornish

There are many definitions of inspiration however the one I like best is the “extraordinary influence to help a person take action to create or become creative”.  Using this definition when it comes to your health where do you look for inspiration?

Just a few short months ago were you most likely glued to your TV watching the Olympians demonstrate what health and fitness looks like in a larger than life way.  Just think to enter the competition it took millions of mico-decisions choosing the healthiest of foods and pushing for just one more minute of physical practice day in and day out for many years.  A level of commitment for many of us are inspired by.

Inspiration for good health is found in athletes such as soccer players, body builders and sport enthusiasts setting an example for all to see. And what are we seeing? We are seeing the results of a healthy lifestyle hobby or career that is the product of what a ramped up healthyeating and fitness program can do on a regular basis.

Inspiration can be found in overcoming. Lance Armstrong comes quickly to my mind. An example of a person filled with the commitment and persistence to overcome cancer and become a world class athlete. Suzanne Somers fight with cancer was very public and inspired others with her story of winning the fight with healthy lifestyle habits.

Or maybe it someone you know who is closer to home who is your inspiration? A relative, friend, neighbor or someone you work with who makes their good health a priority and disease prevention a goal.  You watch them make it look effortless. They are living the healthy life you wish you had, making choices that prevent disease.

Making healthy lifestyle choices is not an easy habit to develop. Each day we receive millions of messages from the media, our friends and family suggesting there is no real need for those healthy behavior changes we are just fine the way we are after all there is genetics to blame.

For this reason you are my inspiration. You get up every day knowing you need to do something about your health, looking for the truth and not knowing which way to turn. You who with each bite of food and each step you take know there is something better you can do for your health.

What? You are not an inspiration you say. I say you are. Think of this … you know some things that you can do to be healthier; you be one to share your good health habits and let others see you doing them. Do you teach one what you know to those around you? They are looking for answers too. The thing is you never know what you do inspires others that’s what so great about inspiration … it spreads quietly like a slow burning fire within then one day you are filled with it and boom! Something fantastic happens! You choose yogurt over ice cream!

So tomorrow when you go to work, with each conversation be the inspiration I see in you, share and teach others and together we can make our community a better place to live and work for all of us.

Your partner in health,

Wellness Consultant, Certified Health Coach

C2 Your Health LLC

Don’t feel like you are doing enough and looking for a place to start improving your health? Ramp up you nutrition with Juice Plus+ Whole Food Nutrition. How about getting a group of people together a get healthy as a group, ask about our programs to help you get healthier during the work day.

Lose Weight. Eat Healthy. What's Your Why?

Since 2009 C2 Your Health LLC has sponsored the Michiana American Heart Association Go Red for Women BetterU Luncheon held each May.  Each year for the 12 weeks previous to the luncheon   BetterU Challengers (12 women) follow the recipe for better health to reduce their heart disease risk (blood pressure, cholesterol, weight) along with reducing their risks of all chronic diseases through lifestyle modification. C2 Your Health LLC engages the participants in the same wellness programing they provide to worksites resulting in consistent improve lasting health and wellness. This year the BetterU Challengers are from Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, South Bend, IN. 

This weeks blog is from the Michiana BetterU Blog - Enjoy!

No matter what it is you want to achieve, there is one question you can ask yourself to get to the core fundamentals of your goal and massively increase your motivation.
That question is simply, “Why?”

 Glen Allsopp, How One Little Word Improve Your Motivation

Here we are at the midpoint of the Better U Challenge, 6 weeks in and 6 to go. Now is the time for a little reflection; as the famous statement goes from the movie Mission Impossible, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it" is to put into one single word what success means to you, or in other words "your why?"  

Just one word, not an essay, a paragraph, or even a sentence, just one word.  One word that's personal for you. One word with meaning and depth that goes to the core of answering the question of "why be healthy and fit for the rest of my life? One word to motivate, inspire and direct your actions as you move forward. One word that's bigger than you, and temptation to lose direction. One word to hold you accountable.  

To read the rest to the BetterU Blogspot click here 

Your partner in health,

 

Cindy Cohen, RN 

Wellness Consultant

C2 Your Health LLC

Not Happy at the Workite - Make Friends

No friends at work? It may be costing you your health and your company's bottom line.

If you have friends at work you might be thinking how weird is that?  Not as weird as you think. You may not even think about how having those friends at work impacts your day or how the work gets done.  If this is you then you are in the 20% - 30% who like their job.  Work is a pleasant activity, an opportunity to see those you like and care about; your friends there waiting for you. You may even look forward to going to work to be surrounded by this positive work environment.

For most people this is not the case.  Research shows 60% - 80% are unhappy with where they work.  If you are in this group, you may be wondering what it's like to have friends at work.  Or if not friends to just like those your spend most of your waking hours with. You dread getting up in the morning to go to work. You would rather do pretty much anything else than to have to go into where you work one more day. You may even be thinking if a better job with nicer people came along you would take it. This thinking is not just bad, it's toxix for you and your company.

Why is this important?


Research done during the Blue Zone Project demonstrates one of the keys to longevity and vitality is having close social contacts ie. friends.  The value of friends included in strong social network can not be underestimated in impacting your personal health and wellness. If you are wondering where you stand on vitality and what else you can do check out the Vitality Compass on the Blue Zone Project website. These days people are working longer hours, skipping vacations and working during personal time making it harder and harder to establish social connections outside the workplace.

Harvard Business Review in Why Friends Matter at Work and Life  reported "once you're on the job, having a best friend at work is a strong predictor of success. People might define "best" loosely (think of this as kindergarten where you can have more than one "best" friend), but according to a Gallup Organization study of more than 5 million workers over 35, 56% of the people who say they have a best friend at work are engaged, productive, and successful while only 8% of the ones who don't are."

Financial Times online in  Friendship in the Workplace sited Jessica Pryce-Jones, author of Happiness at Work, says: “Friends can help you be more productive because people tend to achieve more when they feel supported.”

To have someone at work you feel comfortable in sharing your frustrations, disappointments and problem solve difficult situations with your co-workers and even your boss minimizes feelings of disappointment, sadness and isolation in the work place.

Having friends at work, fuels job satisfaction, knowing you make a difference in the success of your company. In short, people who have friends at work, want to go to work, are committed the quality of their work, engaged in the company goals and are loyal.

As an employer your goal of creating a culture of wellness for your employees includes fostering healthy supportive friendships at work. It will not only produce healthy, product employees, it will positively impact your companies bottom line.

Your partner in health,

 

Health Consultant

C2 Your Health LLC

The Process of Weight Loss - What Works

With the holidays here and all that goes with them weight loss is on everyone's mind.  If not weight loss then weight management and with the coming new year weight related resolutions. At work employers have or almost have completed their insurance benefit renewals and are gearing up for 2013 of which the obesity epidemic is in the for front due to the increase risk of multiple medical conditions that you gain with it.  If helping your employees lose weight is an objective of your company ... Bravo!  Your employees are lucky to have an employer who demonstrates a caring environment. Before you jump in with both feet you might want to consider what works and what does not. Following the correct process will save your money and your health.

There are two ways to think about losing weight:

1.  Focus on the end goal, the lost weight.

This is the “I’ll lose weight at any expense” program. This encourages starving, over exercising, increased personal and physical stress.  The weight is lost which is the goal; only to discover a few months later, more is weight gained than lost. With this type of wellness goal, there is an increased of physical stress, disease risk, and sense of failure.  In the end you’re back to where you started but worse, negatively affecting your work and personal life.

2.  Focus on the process.  A healthy lifestyle creates optimum weight-loss. 

We all know adopting healthy lifestyle habits of making healthy food choices, increasing activity, getting plenty of sleep and reducing stress will result in weight loss.  We know living a healthy life will create optimal health resulting in an increased sense of well-being and improved quality of life. We also know when overall health is improved we feel great at work, get more done and go to the doctor less.

Let’s take a look at what else we know about the process of creating wellness. We know if you follow a healthy diet, exercise, and reduce stress, you will reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic diseases.  We know when it comes to your health it’s better to do something than nothing at all. So when choosing to do something how about doing what works.

Let's COMPARE to what we already know does not work with what works. 

What we know does NOT work:

1. Pressure to achieve unrealistic goals results in unhealthy behaviors. My favorite example of this are the "Biggest Loser" type weight loss competitions. On the surface this sounds like a great idea and lots of fun. However, after you think about it, not such a good idea. Anyone can lose weight. All you have to do is stop eating and the weight just falls off and fast too! This encourages unhealthy behaviors and almost universally those who lose weight just gain it back again plus some more. Research shows quick weight loss (fasting) increases stress, damages your muscles, slows down your metabolism, depresses the immune system and increases health problems. 

2. Focus only on weight loss excludes others. When the focus of health is primarily weight loss it excludes those who are not interested in losing weight. Many people are of normal weight but are extremely unhealthy eaters and if you do have members of the over weight population who do not join your weight loss program they are made to feel bad for their decision. This not only reduces the participation rate it also reduces morale. In fact, these weight loss programs do the opposite of what the intention was meant to be. In health you are either getting healthier or less health (sick). There is no middle ground. So if you are not eating healthy then you are eating unhealthy. This includes everyone.

3. Weight loss does not equal perminate healthy habits. The promotion reduction of calories at all costs is unfortunate. This propagates unhealthy choices in foods such as processed, diet and chemical ladened  "foods".  In general foods listed as "diet" are not synonymous with "nutritious" or "healthful". Not only does this focus of weight loss promote unhealthy behaviors it does not support healthy lasting behaviors.

4. We can do it ourselves. Many companies have employees interested in losing weight, or "healthy eaters" and believe they can spear head a weight loss program. After all how to lose weight is no secret. Or is it? What percent of dieters do you think have failed and gained the weight back? The National Diet Registry reports 80%. You might be asking yourself "what harm could come?" This type of weight loss program promotes the weight loss - weight gain cycle because perminate healthy eating strategies are not developed. 

Research shows this weight gain - weight loss cycling which is know as  "yo yo dieting" is not only unhealthy it's harmful to your overall health. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reported in a study published in 2010 an interview in Today Health Online with Dr. Cornelia Ulrich MD who said  "yo you dieting depresses the immune system responsible for fighting off infection and the early stages of cancer".  In Fitness Magazine Andrea Pennington, MD author of The Pennington Plan for Weight Success said  "Repeated crash dieting increases metabolic hormones, such as insulin .... causing you to start putting on weight around your middle which research has linked to insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease." 

What DOES work:

1.  Provide education.  Do not assume everyone is knows what to do. There is no clear source for healthy eating. The information in the media creates confusion. Doctors don't teach it. Dietitians and Coaches are not easily assessable. 

 

2. Increase awareness. When something is in front of you, you pay more attention to it. With posters, emails, social media campaigns the message of healthy eating is right where you can see it and be reminded on a regular basis. 

3. Expect healthy eating.  Provide information on healthy eating strategies, healthy weight loss and include the families. 

4. Include everyone. It's easier to make changes in behavior in a group. Change your work environment by developing  policies, work spaces, community projects that support healthy eating.Belonging to a group increases engagement  resulting in group caring and buy in. Healthy behaviors then become the expected and the norm and unhealthy behaviors not supported.

5. Get the help of an expert. There are lots of good programs online and onsite on healthy weight loss and healthy eating some expensive some no so much. However, there are just as many that either will not include everyone in your work site, no available to everyone or are not results oriented. Because the road to wellness can be expensive and confusing and to ensure quality programs and services Wellness Councils of America recommends hiring a wellness expert.  

L

 Don’t think you can afford a wellness program?  For the first time in history, the majority of the work force is aging at the same time and more are sick and working longer.  It seems every other day we are hearing about the next chronic disease epidemic, rising health care costs and medical spending. Insurance companies are now refusing to provide insurance coverage for companies with a high claim rate for their sick employee population.  Without a wellness program, you could be spending more money on medical expenses, taking away from the profit margin.  

How about now?  If your company doesn’t have a wellness program it may already be paying the price.

Remember when it comes to being healthy, it’s better to do something than nothing at all.  Start small, get everyone on board and do what works!  Remember in just a few short weeks you will begin to develop healthy habits and a new excitement in your company.

Your partner in health, 

 Health Consultant

C2 Your Health LLC

Don't Let the Flu Bug Get You! Practice Prevention

It's officially the "flu season".   Has it started with you?  Having a cold or flu is more than just feeling physically bad; it costs you more than you may think. How much work do you really get done? It's hard to concentrate, your tired, grouchy and sluggish. If you are paid on production then not producing costs money.  Then there's the doctor bills, medications and finally missing work.   Pretty soon everyone at your work and your house is sick, the hubby, kids and even grandma. Sounds expensive to me.

It's hard to predict what having the flu cost's you your family and your company. The University of Maryland has provided us with this calculation ... by providing flu shots

• You can save about $150 per employee per year in sick leave
• You can reduce absenteeism by as much as 45%. Employees sick with the flu miss an average of 2.8 days of work per season.
• You can save on lost production time.
• You can show employees how important they are by giving them an added benefit at the workplace.

An easy way to get your flu shot is by helping your company provide ONSITE FLU CLINICS to make it easier to get immunized. If flu shots are not in your company's budget this year how about sharing the cost with the employees or ask your employees to pay and provide the convenience on getting them at work.  This sounds like a sound investment, flu shots are only $30 per employee with a big return.

However, this is just one aspect of flu prevention. The Preventive Health Advisory Board (PHAB) recommended the following:


REMEMBER THE BASICS of flu prevention and practice these habits throughout the day.
Wash your hands often, keep antibiotic soap near your work station.
Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes.
Get a flu shot.  The recommended time is between August through December for prevention of the flu in the winter months.


STEP IT UP by incorporating positive healthy changes into your diet, exercise routine and sleep patterns.
Diet - Eat the recommend 9 - 13 servings (1 serving = 1/2 cup) of fruits and vegetables each day. If you are not sure how much that is go to USDA on their new website shows you how it looks on your plate.
Exercise - American Council on Fitness (ACE) reported studies suggest that physically active individuals report fewer colds than those who do not exercise regularly. 
Sleep - The National Sleep Foundation recommends you get 8 hours of sleep each day. If you are unable to sleep all 8 at once, take short naps during the day.

BECOME PREVENTION ADVOCATE by encouraging others to adopt these same practices. Practice what you preach. Be a model of wellness and the example of the benefits of staying healthy. Teach your family the steps to take to stay well, along with providing the time and tools to do so.  Encourage the place where work to provide antibiotic soap, flu shots and to stay home when you are sick.

SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED with your family, friends and co-workers. Prevention starts with education. Post signs, send out newsletter, talk about wellness where you work reminding your employees to STEP IT UP and prevent the spread of flu this season where you work.  

You'll be glad you did.

Your partner in health,

Health Consultant
C2 Your Health LLC