McKinley Grapevine

 

Hi Everyone!

I hope you’re all enjoying your fitbit as much as I am!  I created a community called “Team McKinley” on the fitbit dashboard so we could stay connected with some friendly competitionJ (don’t worry, the only thing the community dashboard displays is your total steps, no personal info).  I sent an invite to everyone’s McKinley email address who ordered a wristband.  If you registered your fitbit account under a different email address and would like to be on Team McKinley’s dashboard, send me that email address and I will send you another invite.

Ken passed along 3 great apps that you can sync with your fitbit if you would like to be more detailed with your food and activity tracking.  I think you’ll find them all very useful.  You may want to download all three so you have the chance to test each one out and see which one would be most useful to youJ

www.myfitnesspal.com – very good for nutrition and caloric monitoring.  Automatically imports exercise data so you always have a good balance of calories consumed and expended. Has a good database of foods.  The nutrition/calorie breakdown is very helpful.  You can view exactly how many grams of carbs, protein, fats and sugars you are consuming

www.digifit.com – works well with the heart rate monitor (Polar H7) and also provides a number of training options to chart progression.

http://www.tactiosoft.com/tactiohealth – this is a good dashboard for overall health.  It can track just about every metric someone may want.  Admittedly more useful for people who are a little OCD about numbers and monitoring their metrics but it ties everything together.

It’s easy to sync apps to your fitbit.  Go to https://www.fitbit.com/apps and choose the app you want to sync your fitbit with.  While you’re going through the process below, you can start downloading the app onto your phone as well if you haven’t already. 

1.      Log in if you aren’t already (top right corner)

2.      Click “Learn More”  on the app of your choice

3.      Click “Get Started”, follow the steps and you’re all set. 

For those of you still waiting for your fitbit, our 2^nd shipment will arrive sometime next week. Let me know if you have any questionsJ

Have a fantastic day!!!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith

 

Hi Everyone!

Thanks to many of you, we had a very successful Heart Month!  We raised over $2700 for the American Heart Association with McKinley’s corporate match of $1000!!  Thanks to all who participated in Monday Jean Day and National Wear Red Day.  Your efforts in raising awareness and financial contributions are making a difference!

Acrisure sent out an article during Heart Month about the connection between our heart and brain.  I wanted to share part of it with you because I think it’s important to understand how stress directly affects our heart.

 “Even though the brain and the heart are located far from one another in the body, they are intrinsically connected and have a significant impact on how each other functions.

The two organs communicate via the muscular walls around the heart, which are connected to the brain in the circulatory system. As the brain releases hormones telling the body what to do, receptor cells in your blood vessels pick up these messages. In addition, there are nerve endings that travel from the brain to the muscular walls of the heart. These nerves send messages to the muscle tissue to either relax or contract.

Since these two organs communicate, mental health can have a dramatic effect on heart health and vice versa.

Stress

The mind’s response to a perceived or actual threatening situation is known as stress. The body responds to the stress by increasing:

·  Blood pressure

·  Respiratory rate

·  Heart rate

·  Oxygen consumption

·  Blood flow to skeletal muscles

·  Perspiration

·  Muscle tone

When you experience these responses on a regular basis as a result of stress, you are putting your body at an increased risk of heart disease”.

One of the best ways to reduce stress is through exercise. Many of you have experienced the stress relieving benefits first hand!  I want to share an excerpt from “Fit For Duty” which is a fitness manual for law enforcement in training (who most definitely have some experience with feeling stressed J).

“Physical activity is a stressor in itself. By definition, it stresses the body. By building up adaptation to physical activity, you can increase your adaptation and resistance to other stressors. Exercise is an effective way to reduce the negative aspects of stress. Exercise can be an effective stress management tool in six primary ways:

• Exercise can serve as a release. It can release tension and anxiety and, in many respects, can substitute for the fight-or-flight mechanism.
• Exercise can be a method of relaxation. Regular exercise can be a diversion from day-to-day stress and can provide a sedative effect through natural physical movement.
• Exercise can increase energy and fatigue tolerance. A major effect of stress over time is that it uses up energy and leads to fatigue. By maintaining your energy, you heighten your tolerance for stress.
• Exercise can aid in maintaining muscle elasticity and minimize the muscle-shortening effect of inactivity.
• Exercise can increase physiological control. By following a regular exercise program, you can gain control over your body. That “tones” up the body’s stress reaction (adrenal glands) by helping to normalize heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension.
• Exercising on a regular basis increases emotional well-being. Studies have shown that self-esteem and self-confidence are increased and that officers with high self-esteem have fewer stress-related problems. Fit individuals who exercise regularly appear more relaxed and less anxious and depressed. Active individuals report less stress in their lives. One study found that exercise was significantly more effective than tranquilizers for reducing anxiety associated with prolonged stress.

Perhaps one of the most interesting effects of exercise is that it alters the perception of stress. We have implemented fitness programs as stress management programs where the causes of stress did not change but the perception of it decreased.”

 

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith

Good Afternoon McKinley!

Andrew, Scarlett, Janell and Drew are team building with a tough workout at Nantucket Cove! As you can see, it all starts with the proper shoes:).

Many of you have heard me say a time or two how important it is to invest the right pair of athletic shoes based on the activity you do. For example, there is a difference between a running shoe and a cross training shoe. If your primary activity is running, you’ll be in the market for a running shoe. Once your activity is established, the type of shoe you decide on will be based on the following:

1.                  Arch support. High arch, low arch…no arch

2.                  Narrow or wide foot

3.                  Heel support (if you are a heavy heel striker when you run, you might need more heel support)

If you’re in the market for a new pair of shoes, I would recommend going to a shoe store that specializes in selling athletic shoes. They will be able to help you find a shoe that is just right for you:).

For more info on why you should invest in a good pair of athletic shoes or what you should know before you purchase your shoes, read these short articles below:

Why Is It Important to Wear Proper Shoes While Working Out?

http://www.livestrong.com/article/297024-why-is-it-important-to-wear-proper-shoes-while-working-out/

How to Buy Running Shoes

http://www.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/how-buy-running-shoes

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell

 

Hi Everyone!!

Anyone interested in wearing jeans to work?!  Here’s your chance!  Team McKinley will be participating in the Heart Walk this year put on by the American Heart Association.  The walk will take place on May 10^th 2014 but we will be fundraising for the walk during American Heart month which is February!!

How can you participate?

1.      You can donate money to wear jeans every Monday for the month of February:

~ $10 for 1 Monday or $20 for all 4 Monday’s

~ When you donate you will be given a sticker to wear that reads “I’m wearing jeans to support the American Heart Association” and a flyer that reads “We wear jeans on Monday’s to support the American Heart Association”

~ Email me ASAP if you are choosing to participate so I can have stickers and hearts mailed to you

2.     You can join Team McKinley’s walk team by clicking the link “Team McKinley Donation Page”

3.      Wear Red on February 7^th which is National Wear Red Day to show your support for the American Heart Association

How can you donate money?

1.      You can click the link below and donate online.  If you choose to donate online, please make your supervisor or community manager aware that you will be participating in Jean Day on Monday’s

2.      If you work at one of the properties, you can give the money to your community manager and they can make one donation at the end of the month

3.      If you work at the corporate office you can give the money to Martina LaRock or myself and we will make one donation at the end of the month

Team McKinley Donation Page

Our fundraising goal for this year is $1000.  When we succeed, McKinley has agreed to match our fundraising goal bringing our total to $2000!!!  Get your jeans on and let’s start raising money!

Later this week I will be sending out an email explaining why we are raising money for the American Heart Association and where they money we raise will be used.

Email me with any questions and have a great night!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell

 

Good Morning Everyone!

Welcome to 2014!! We are fortunate that McKinley is committed to health and wellness by providing great benefits and assisting us with taking charge of our health care.  We would like to remind you about the steps you can take to ensure you make the most of your health benefits.

For those of you who elected the medical plan, you will start out 2014 in the Healthy Blue Achieve Enhanced plan.  Since not all employees elected the medical plan, I want to clarify that this applies only to those who elected medical insurance for 2014.

If you did not have the opportunity to attend one of the open enrollment meetings and you just skimmed through the paper work 🙂…I want to make it very clear, EVERYONE can qualify for the Healthy Blue Achieve Enhanced Plan!  How? 

1.      1. Fill out your Health Assessment.  How?Log in to your account on www.bcbsm.com to view your check list of things you still need to complete.  Click on Health Assessment and get started today!!

2.    2.   Meet with your Doctor

3.   3.   Have your Doctor fill out your qualification form

4.   4.   If needed, set up a personal wellness plan with your Doctor and commit to:

~ lose weight or lower your blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar by participating in one of the programs provided by BCBS such as “Connect 2Bfit Walking” and “Connect 2Bfit Calorie Tracking”

~ quit smoking with “Quit the Nic”

~ If it is medically inadvisable for you to participate in these programs, alternatives are available, just ask BCBS!

5.    5.  Fax or email your qualification form to BCBS

If you do not choose to do the above, you will automatically be placed in the Healthy Blue Achieve Standard Plan.  With the standard plan you will have a significantly higher deductible, out of pocket maximum and copay.  It’s worth it to go through the above steps to qualify for the Healthy Blue Achieve Enhanced Plan J.

By now you all should have received your packet in the mail from BCBS with your Healthy Blue Achieve Member Guide (which explains in detail steps 1-5) and your qualification form to bring with you to your Doctor.  If you have not received your packet yet, you can access the packet and qualification form on Portal. 

If you have any questions about your benefits please contact Sue Pascoe or Carol Ferguson.

You have until March, 31^st 2014 to complete the steps required to qualify…start the process today!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell