Yesterday was National Start! Walking Day, sponsored by the American Heart Association. The goal of the day was to get American’s moving toward an active and healthy lifestyle. With obesity rates rising fast, increasing physical activity is important for so many Americans, but especially for those who spend their workdays sitting behind a desk.

Just because National Start! Walking Day is over, doesn’t mean the American Heart Association’s Start! movement stops, though. They’re just getting started (no pun intended). Based on research that has shown physical activity can improve heart health and increase life expectancy, the mission of the movement is to get people to walk more and eat well so that they’ll live longer.

This may seem like a simple goal, but with more and more of us working long hours at desk jobs, making time for physical activity has become difficult. That’s where Start! comes in, encouraging Americans to wear or take walking shoes to work and take frequent breaks to get in at least 30 minutes of walking every day. All it takes is two or three 10-minute walking breaks to have a positive impact on your health.

If you’re interested in joining the Start! movement, you’ll find plenty of resources at their website, including tools to develop a personalized walking plan and track your activity and meals. Don’t want to walk alone? There are also resources for getting your company and co-workers involved in the movement. But if your HR department isn’t ready to Start!, don’t get discouraged. You can still enlist a work friend or two to Start! with you. Ask around and you might find others at your company who want to get active and Start! moving more, too!

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

The Community Guide is currently highlighting an article published in the October 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine indicates that worksite wellness programs focused on improving diet and exercise habits are effective in helping participants to lose weight. Based on this evidence, the CDC has developed a Worksite Wellness resource called LEAN Works! This web-based resource provides information and tools that companies can use to develop their own worksite wellness programs targeting obesity prevention and weight control.

Through support and educational programs within the workplace such as the ones recommended by LEAN Works!, participants learn strategies for improving their health, and support and encourage one another to make positive changes in their health behaviors. And according to the LEAN Works! website, programs like these could save companies a significant amount in medical spending. You can even use their Obesity Cost Calculator to determine how much a workplace wellness program targeting obesity prevention could save your company.

If you are interested in starting a Worksite Wellness program, but don’t have the time to commit to developing one of your own, why not consider the Cre8 A New You program developed here at Feed the Soul, Inc. You can hire us to provide the 8-week program at your worksite or you could have human resources employees or other leaders in your company participate in a Train the Trainer session allowing them to present the program to your employees at any time. Contact us for more information.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

It’s back-to-school time and it doesn’t take long for the kids (or you) to get tired of PB&J sandwiches. Here are some simple ideas for packing quick and healthy lunches for everyone in your house.

Sandwiches don’t have to be boring. Spice up your tuna, chicken salad or sliced turkey sandwiches with fresh herbs, thick slices of home-grown tomatoes, bean sprouts, or any of your favorite veggie toppings. As for condiments, blend Dijon mustard with a bit of honey and some chopped parsley for a tangy sauce or liven up your lite mayo with chopped basil and a little pressed garlic. The possibilities are endless!

Make it a square. Avoid the afternoon slump by making sure your lunch includes protein, whole grains and a fruit or vegetable. Don’t worry; square lunches don’t have to be elaborate. In fact, a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread topped with vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce and some bean sprouts is a square meal all by itself.

Packaged foods are your friend. When you’re in a hurry quick frozen meals, canned soups or other prepared foods can be a lifesaver. Just make sure to read labels and watch for added sugars, sodium, additives and preservatives.

Leftovers make lunch a snap. Top last night’s tossed salad with protein like beans. Add grilled chicken to leftover pasta salad. Stir-fried tofu and vegetables, soup or stew, just about any dinner can do double-duty as tomorrow’s lunch if you think ahead and make a little extra tonight.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

April is Stress Awareness Month and today, April 16th, is Stress Awareness Day. And at the risk of being obvious here, we’re going to talk about stress. It’s something we all have in some level, in some form, at some point in our lives. In the short-term, stress can help us get the job done. It can push us to do our best, reach a goal, or get through a tough situation. But continued, high levels of stress over the long-term can be harmful to our physical, emotional and mental well-being. Research shows that continued exposure to high levels of stress can cause, accelerate or intensify ailments such as headaches, common colds, ulcers and stomach aches, just to name a few. It’s also been linked to the aggravation of diabetes.

It’s important to know how your body responds to stress. Different people respond to different stressors in different ways. Take some time this week, or this month, to pay attention to the amount of stress in your life. Keep a journal, write a note in your calendar, whatever it takes to take notice of when, where and why you feel stressed out. Once you know what causes stress for you, you can practice some strategies to reduce stress and decrease your risk of the serious health issues that can accompany it.

For suggestions on how to reduce stress in your life, check out some of our previous posts:

General Strategies for Stress Relief

Relaxation: It Starts with Your Mind

Relaxation: Mellowing Moves

However you choose to deal with your stress, it is important that you do deal with it. Stress that’s not managed is a danger to your health. So enjoy life, relax a little, get a hobby, and let go of that stress!

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

Staying healthy on the job isn’t easy to do. With today’s increase in sedentary office jobs, and an increase in hours spent at work, it’s not easy to stay active and eat right. And not only are you likely to gain weight when you enter the workforce, but to top it off, your neck is stiff, your back is sore, and your ankles are swollen. What can you do to stop the downward spiral?

Move around. You may have a report due at 5 o’clock, but take the time to get up every hour or so and do a lap around the office. You’ll increase circulation, relieve stress and add a few steps to your daily total.

Skip the email. Instead of sending that note off to your coworker electronically, or picking up the phone to call your boss down the hall, why not deliver the message in person? It’ll give you another reason to get up and get moving.

Stretch frequently. Take a few minutes every couple of hours to flex your wrists, roll your shoulders, gently stretch your neck and flex and point your toes. This is just another way to keep that blood flowing and avoid kinks and tension.

Pack your lunch. Whether it’s leftovers from last night, or a sandwich and salad, taking your lunch rather than grabbing fast food or a sub at the corner deli will keep you from making spur-of-the-moment calorie splurges.

…and healthy snacks, too. If your office has a refrigerator, keep some yogurt cups, cottage cheese, raw almonds, fruit and vegetables on hand to combat afternoon munchies. You’ll avoid the vending machines and keep your energy up until dinner time.

Get others on board. Talk to your coworkers and suggest group activities, like lunch break walks, weekly healthy-eating potlucks, or afternoon yoga or weight training sessions in an empty conference room. You’d be surprised how many people are interested in becoming more active and improving their eating habits. Sometimes all it takes is one person to get the ball rolling, and as a bonus, you might find yourself surrounded by support and encouragement.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

With the rising cost of health care, more and more companies are implementing workplace wellness programs in an attempt to decrease their health care spending. And it’s working. According to the Wellness Councils of America, businesses can save several dollars for every dollar invested in health and wellness programming.

Workplace wellness programs encourage employees to participate in educational and motivational programs that focus on disease management, health improvement and risk prevention. Offering programs like smoking cessation, weight loss and exercise, and stress management has been found to lower company health care costs, reduce absenteeism, increase employee productivity, decrease use of health care benefits, decrease worker’s compensation and disability claims, decrease injuries, and increase workplace morale and loyalty. But it’s not just companies that are benefiting from these programs.

While the objective is to save businesses money, in the long run it’s the employees who benefit the most from workplace wellness programs. Taking advantage of these programs can help employees, stop smoking, lose weight and improve fitness, decrease their risk for heart disease and other chronic illnesses, decrease visits to the doctor, decrease their stress levels and increase their self-esteem and self-image. It’s really a win-win situation.

So if your company offers worksite wellness programs, or if you’re a business owner looking to lower your costs, why not give them a try?

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."