McKinley Grapevine

Good Morning Everyone!
If you’re following along with this email series, you’ve decided whether or not you’re ready to make a change and are on your way to figuring out what your baseline is.

Now it’s time to start forming the wellness plan that will be best for you. There’s an immense amount of information out there that can both influence and motivate us. For example, we can be motivated by someone’s success, read their story and then want to duplicate what they did with hopes of achieving the same results. Or, we can watch the latest health documentary and be influenced by their passion and want to adopt their lifestyle. It’s not a bad thing to be influenced or motivated by external things because we can learn a lot about ourselves, what we value, what interests us, etc. However, there are 100’s of diets and bloggers out there expressing their opinion about what health and wellness looks like to them…it can be overwhelming to say the least with all the conflicting opinions!!

In an effort to make your exploration process a little easier, I wanted to give you a short list of questions that I hope will help you start to piece together the right plan for YOU!
Questions to ask yourself:
1. What kind of meal plan appeals to me the most and will help me reach my goal?
2. Is this plan suitable to address my needs?
3. Will I have time to properly prepare for this diet?
• Am I going to go grocery shopping and meal prep all my meals weekly?
o Try using a grocery shopping app to keep you organize:
o http://www.bestproducts.com/eats/food/g1505/grocery-shopping-list-apps/
o Try out curbside grocery pick up if your local grocer offers it. Check out emeals.com for recipes and grocery lists that can be sent to your local grocery store for curbside
• Am I going to eat out for lunch every day and meal prep for the rest of my meals?
o Figure out what local restaurants would be a good choice for you and figure out if any modifications would need to be made ahead of time
• Am I going to use a meal delivery service?
o Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, Factor 75, Plated, Green Chef
4. Is there anything about this diet I need to modify?
5. How can I prepare myself for special occasions?
• Check out this article I wrote for Thanksgiving preparation. You may find a few tricks that will work for you…and you will still be able to enjoy your special occasion :-). http://grape.mcklab.com/2014/12/thanksgiving-2014/
Beware of:
1. Diets that promise quick weight loss or promote diet pills. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Diets that exclude food groups. It’s ok to limit the amount of certain foods groups if your body responds positively to that limit but we all need macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to live.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or want to talk through any part of your plan. Okay, now take a deep breath and enjoy the process. You’re worth it!!!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell

734-714-1900

Hi Everybody!

You did it. You took the time to assess yourself by asking tough questions to decide if you’re ready to make a change. If you find yourself ready, but have no idea where to start, you’re in luck. Today’s email addresses what to do now!!

Step 1: Get a Baseline
AKA the current, internal-state of your body.
Sometimes the body isn’t getting enough of one category and sometimes it’s getting too much. Your body will react to different stressors in your life. One of the most efficient ways (beyond how you feel) to determine what areas or systems of the body that need the most help is by getting some bloodwork (lab work) done.

Basic lab work includes the assessment of:
• cholesterol levels
• blood sugar levels
• hormone levels
• vitamin &mineral levels
• other lab tests based upon family medical history-pending Physician’s Request

Note: If you’ve recently had bloodwork done (i.e. at your 2017 annual wellness physical or within the last year) check with your doctor to see if they think it’s a good idea to get an update. This January is a great time to ask about these tests since they can get incorporated into your annual wellness physical.

Okay, you and your doctor have looked at your current state. There are a few areas that could be addressed. Maybe, everything checks out well, but you still want to take even better care or your body.

Or… maybe you chose to hold off on the bloodwork, don’t worry! You will still be able to follow through with the next step.

Step 2: Food Journaling/Process of Elimination
Now we’ll address the change you want to make and how your diet can make a difference.

Goals some of you may be considering:
• Lowering your cholesterol
• Eating less sugar
• You’re excited to go Vegan because you saw “What the Health” and now you can’t imagine eating                beef or drinking milk ever again.
• You were up late last night and now you want to PIYO your way to a healthier you.

Regardless of your goals, you’ll still need to begin with a nice long look at what you’re feeding yourself. The easiest way to do this is by tracking your food with an app. There are several to choose from, but the one we’ve found to be the most user friendly is MyFitnessPal. You’ll be able to see the full breakdown of your macronutrients (fat, protein and carbohydrates), as well as, your micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and SUGAR).

Think of this information as your “nutritional blueprint”. You’ll see the areas that need improvement, be able to prioritize what you’re ready to change today and make a plan for the areas you are contemplating change.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY’S FEEDBACK
When you eat something your body LOVES, you know it within seconds. However, it’s also important to identify the foods it disagrees with. You’ll know it when it bites back with unsavory symptoms—sometimes they are immediate and other instances take a little longer to identify.
Pay close attention to these types of feelings and reactions:
• Weight loss/gain
• Body composition
• Energy levels
o sluggish, tired, alert, focused
• Mood
o happy, sad, bored
•  Appetite
o loss or gain
• Sleep
o easy or hard to fall asleep
o stay asleep or wake often in the night
• Normal bodily functions
o specifically your digestive system

Here’s an example. If you feel miserable after eating dairy products, you may consider limiting them. If you don’t feel “right” on a low-carb diet after a while, you may need to try tweaking it by adding some healthy fats. Along the same line, some of us are trained to accept discomfort as being normal. Track how you feel in a journal for at least a week to spot any abnormalities in the way your body reacts to the foods you are consuming. This way you can start to eliminate foods that just don’t work for you.

ADJUST THINGS IN SMALL BITES
Once you gather personal information from your experiences, make small, realistic tweaks instead of drastic changes. Introducing or eliminating too many things at once will simply muddle what’s working and what’s not.

Here are some examples of small changes:
• Decreasing how many times per week you eat fast food. Even if you drop that by 1 day per week                  you’ll begin to feel different!
• Drinking 8, 8-oz glasses of water each day. The average adult needs at least 64 oz. of water each day.
• If you drink 3+ sodas a day, start by cutting back to 2 a day until you’re motivated to cut it out                     completely.
• If you’re trying to incorporate more healthy fats into your diet, start by cooking with olive oil or by             adding an avocado to your lunch or dinner.

Next…take a moment to breathe! If you find yourself getting overwhelmed, know that it’s okay. This part of the process goes step-by-step. We fully recognize how mass amounts of information is flung at you left & right and is continuously happening in many areas of your life.

In the next part of this email series we will address and help you navigate you’re way through the different types of health information that surrounds us via television, social media, work emails (although these are some of the best bits of info…hehehe), through conversations with peers, etc. Stay tuned!!

As always, Meredith and I are here for support!

Best,
Stefanie (Lembovski) Welch
(586)260-0609

Hi Everyone!!!!

Have you ever “fallen off the wellness wagon” and had great intentions about getting back “on” but simply didn’t want to…so you didn’t? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the different diet and lifestyle plans that are available? Making a positive lifestyle/behavioral change that LASTS is a challenge for us all and if you’ve answered yes to either one of these, I think you’ll find this email series very helpful.

This series is going to be a guide to help you figure out if you’re ready to make a change and how to navigate your way through a magnitude of information to figure out the best lifestyle/diet plan for YOU! We’re all incredibly unique in the way our bodies respond to food and the way our minds react to the obstacles that try to roll us off the “wellness wagon”.

To help prepare you to make a behavioral change, there are a few questions I want to encourage you to ask yourself. Let’s get started!

1. What would you like to see change about your current lifestyle today? (below are a few examples)
• I want to sleep better at night
• I want to lower my cholesterol
• I want to start running
• I want to eat more vegetables
• I want to eat more healthy fats
• I want to learn how to cook healthier dinners

2. What excites you when you think about possibly making this change in your life?
3. If you started taking steps today towards making a change, what would your life look like in 3 months?
4. What motivator is important enough to you to help you make this change?
5. What is holding you back or standing in your way (obstacles) from making this change?
6. What are you ABLE to do to overcome these obstacles?
7. What are you WILLING to do to overcome these obstacles?
8. What would it take for you to be ready to make a change?

If lasting change is what you are seeking, take all the time you need to answer these questions sincerely and whole heartedly. Your answers will help you truly understand if you are ready and if you have a strong enough motivator.

Thankfully, people around you will encourage you to keep going, but you are the only one who can control the changes you want to make in your life. These choices are for you. Day after day you will be the one to choose to honor your body and the changes you want to make. Through the good, the bad and the ugly.

As always feel free to reach out to me or Stefanie for support. In the next email we will start talking about what your next step is .

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell
Corporate Wellness Director
meredith.mitchell@mckinley.com
734-717-1900

Hello McKinley!

How’s your heart today???  While this may seem like a weird question, it’s a very important one.  I hope most if not all of you are aware of your numbers (cholesterol, blood pressure and BMI) so you have a good idea of how your heart is doing J.  Once you know your numbers, even if you are in perfect health, it’s important for you to continue to keep your heart healthy.  There are many simple things you can do every day to improve and maintain your heart health but for now, I want to highlight physical activity.  Not only will you be strengthening your heart, you’ll also be earning points towards your $50 gift card for the McKinley Wellness Challenge!!!!!!

Physical activity is anything that makes you move your body and burn calories. Think of the basics: walking, running, biking, swimming, dancing etc. Think beyond the basics: Zumba, Spinning, HIIT, Circuit Training, Boxing etc.

The American Heart Association recommends the following amounts of physical activity to maintain cardiovascular health:

• At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150 minutes OR
• At least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75 minutes; or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity.

AND

• Moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 days per week for additional health benefits.

For Lowering Blood Pressure and Cholesterol

• An average 40 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity 3 or 4 times per week

AHA has several resources for Heart-Healthy Exercise, click the link to check it out: https://www.goredforwomen.org/fight-heart-disease-women-go-red-women-official-site/live-healthy/exercise/

One more thing, if you ever find yourself short on time or energy…WALK!!  The infographic below reveals some really cool benefits that come from just WALKING!!

 

This week I would like to talk about balance. In the month February, the “New Year, New Me” attitude starts to fade with our daily grind taking its place. In March it doesn’t get much better.  Guess what… that’s not such a terrible thing. It’s a challenge to make changes no matter how small they are. So, instead of feeling guilty about falling off the Change Wagon let’s not.

“We work hard, we eat right, we exercise, pay our bills, care for our families…
So even though it’s hard to break the pattern, be fine with eating some extra bread, taking a few days off, or sleeping in.
These are not rewards, they’re simply a balancing effect of diligence.
You won’t crumble.
You won’t fall apart.
And you’ll be a more adaptable human being”. -Jessica York