Wellness

Transformation starts with YOU… and the support of a Health Coach

Christy Nealey

Just as a sports coach can help an athlete develop and excel at a specific sport, a Health Coach can assist you in achieving your fitness and wellness goals. Employees looking to be healthier by losing weight, reducing stress, improving diet and nutrition, or creating a more active lifestyle, can now utilize health coaching services offered through the Human Resources’ Fitness and Wellness Division.

Each employee has unique nutrition, fitness, and wellness goals driven by personal history and experiences. There is often a need for guidance and accountability to create a sustainable behavior change, and that is where a Health Coach can assist. The Health Coach can educate employees on their health risk factors, how certain habits or choices may augment those risks, and offer tools to help employees make healthier dietary and lifestyle changes all while providing accountability and motivation to meet their goals.

It is a partnership between the employee and their coach that guides the employee toward the changes they want to make. Together, they will create goals and action plans to achieve those goals. Coaches use their intuition, compassion, and empathy to develop a rapport with employees to make the process productive and successful. Then, the coach will motivate and push the employee to reflect on themselves and see their health in ways they never have before.

To learn more about Health Coaching offered through the Fitness and Wellness Division, visit the Fitness and Wellness SharePoint Health Coaching page.

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April is National Cancer Control Month

Christy Nealey

As of 1983, the month of April is dedicated to raising awareness for cancer prevention and treatment throughout the United States. Since then, cancer related death tolls have steadily declined due to better education and heightened awareness of how to prevent certain types of cancer, how to recognize the signs and symptoms of cancer, and how to seek proper treatment. Even with all the knowledge available, it is vital to get regular preventative screenings. Screenings are one of the most effective ways to detect precancerous cells and provide early treatment for cancers such as skin, breast, cervical, colon, testicular, prostate, and rectal. 

Vaccinations are also available to help prevent and treat certain types of cancers. Cancer prevention vaccinations work to target certain viruses, like the human papillomavirus (HPV) or the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), that can increase a person’s risk of developing certain cancers. Cancer treatment vaccines try to get the immune system to mount an attack against cancer cells in the body. These are used in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer and advanced melanoma skin cancer.1

In conjunction with medical prevention, the most effective way to prevent some types of cancer involves adopting these simple lifestyle habits:

  • Choosing not to use tobacco products.
  • Drinking alcohol in moderation.
  • Eating a healthy diet rich in plant-based foods that are high in fiber.
  • Being physically active every day for at least 30 minutes.
  • Avoiding exposure to the sun’s UV rays.

Although cancer is one of the leading causes of death for all Americans, it is also the most preventable. Protecting your body and utilizing the available resources can help prevent a future cancer diagnosis. Become your own personal cancer prevention advocate by checking to see if you are due for a cancer screening by visiting the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Screening Guidelines by Age webpage.

1 Vaccinations are also available to help treat and prevent certain types of cancers

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A healthy boost to your day in less than 5 minutes

Christy Nealey

Start your day with this green smoothie packed with a variety of fruits, like pineapple and banana, in each serving and a nutrient-rich combination of fiber, vitamins and minerals in each sip. The healthy boost comes from the 2 ½ cups of fruits and vegetables in this smoothie recipe meeting the American Heart Associations’ daily intake recommendations to prevent Cancer and disease.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup spinach
  • ½ medium banana, frozen
  • ½ cup pineapple, frozen
  • 4 ounces orange juice (can substitute coconut water to lessen sugar grams and calories)
  • 4 ounces water
  • 1 cup ice

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients into the blender. Blend until smooth.
  2. Spinach is packed with nutrients and antioxidants and it is low in calories. The leaves have a very mild flavor making is an easy option for green smoothies. You can barely taste the spinach when its combined with frozen bananas and pineapple.

Spinach Benefits:

  • Nutrient dense food packed with magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, vitamins A, C and K.
  • Great source of antioxidants Lutein and Zeaxanthin to promote eye health by protecting the eyes from UV light.

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Intermittent Fasting: Scratching the Surface

Christy Nealey

Intermittent fasting has become a popular trend over the last few years, but do you know what it truly is? Let us look at the general idea and its key components. Intermittent fasting simply means that you are going an extended period of time without eating (or drinking caloric beverages). This timeframe could be 12-hours, 24-hours, or even longer, but most traditionally intermittent fasting falls somewhere between the 14-hours to 24-hours without eating. The key is to consume the same number of calories as you typically would, but in a shorter timeframe. For example, if you typically hold yourself to a 2,000 calorie diet, your eating may look like this: 7 am you eat scrambled eggs with vegetables and a piece of toast, 9 am you eat an apple with peanut butter, lunch is a chipotle burrito bowl at noon, 2 pm your afternoon snack consists of veggies and hummus, and for dinner at 7 pm you eat pizza with a side salad and a scoop of ice cream for dessert. With intermittent fasting, the focus isn’t on what you are eating (although it is still important) but rather when. To continue the example, with intermittent fasting 7 pm to 9 am, your day may look more like the following: at 7 am you grab a cup of black coffee, at 9 am enjoy your egg breakfast, apple snack is at 11 am, lunch is at 1 pm, afternoon snack is at 3 pm and dinner is 6 pm. You are done consuming calories by 7 pm to begin your fast. Remember, while fasting, you can still enjoy freshly brewed tea, water, seltzer, or black coffee. So, if at 9 pm you are feeling bored or antsy about fasting, drink some hot tea and wind down before bed.

Why has intermittent fasting become so popular? Not to get too specific, but there are several health benefits associated with it. These benefits include blood sugar regulation improvement which can aid with certain diabetes situations, improved memory function, blood pressure, resting heart rate, and many more. From a physiological and fitness aspect, there is an increased amount of testosterone and human growth hormone (HGH) that is released into the body with intermittent fasting which can lead to improved results when paired with resistance training. Research also shows that the hormone, Ghrelin, which is released when your body is ‘hungry’, decreases with intermittent fasting.

It is important to realize that not everyone is going to respond the same way to intermittent fasting. You may see good benefits with intermittent fasting, or you may not realize any changes. The way we should view intermittent fasting, in my opinion, is that it is meant to break our normal cycle and make us more conscious of our dietary decisions. It gets you out of your comfort zone and makes you think: “Am I eating because it is time to eat?” “Am I eating because I am bored?” “Do I really need to eat right now?”

Are you now wondering how do you get started? Select a day in which you would like to try the intermittent fasting and start with a 12-14 hour fast. Now, this may sound intimidating, but if you eat dinner at 7 pm then you only need to make it until 7 am the following day to accomplish a 12-hour fast, or 9 am to make a 14-hour fast. Once you have accomplished this a few times, then you can start to expand your timeframe from 12-14 hours to 16 hours and eventually 24 hours or longer.

 

Give it a try and see how you do! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Joey Pacelli or Joshua Gaskins.

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Boost Happiness by Spending More Time in Nature

Christy Nealey

            Think back to a favorite vacation. Did you spend most of the day in the sun, perhaps on a sandy beach? Or was it an escape to the mountains spent skiing or hiking? Regardless of where you went or what activities you chose to participate in, the best vacation memories come from spending time in the great outdoors.

               Medical research is shining light on the fact that connecting with nature boosts productivity, creativity, resiliency, mental focus and happiness. As Americans, we have grown accustomed to a mundane schedule of working, watching TV and sleeping. We are attached to technology, leaving us inactive and indoors. The combination of a sedentary lifestyle and not getting outside can lead to poor physical and mental health.

                While now is not the time to plan a vacation, it is the time to do our individual part to practice social distancing and perhaps self-quarantine due to our current public health crisis. It is the time to be intentional about scheduling in ‘nature time’ everyday (weather permitting). Eat your lunch outside, go for a walk, move your exercise time to the backyard, or even catchup on email in a nearby green space. Take a breath of outside air!

                Believe it or not, breathing in fresh air (oxygen) does affect your sense of well-being and happiness. Oxygen levels in your brain are tied to your levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter that affects not only mood, but appetite, memory, and social behavior. Too much serotonin and you become irritable and tense. Too little serotonin and you can become depressed. Breathing in fresh air can help regulate levels of serotonin and promote happiness. All it takes is 20 minutes!

Boost your happiness and join the 21 Days to Connect with Nature Challenge! Visit the Health Trip page on the Power Henrico website for details.

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Lighten Up to Live Your Healthiest Life

Christy Nealey

Research shows that there’s a surprising connection between elevating your mood and shedding stubborn pounds. It’s difficult to feel calm when you worry about what to eat, when to work out, and whether your effort will pay off – all while keeping up with your everyday obligations. So, someone suggesting you relax during this process is laughable.  

Stress, like a roll of fat above your waistband, isn’t easy to shed. But by learning a few ways to slow down, put yourself first, and yes, relax, you can get both your stress levels and your weight under control for good.  

THE ‘YOU FIRST’ EPIDEMIC 

We all have times when we fall into a self-neglect rut, but lately that seems to be almost an epidemic. The American Psychological Associated reports that 44 percent of Americans believe the level of stress in their life is increasing, but only 9 percent think they handle it well. In studying the relationship between stress and being overweight, researches have zoned in on a key hormone called cortisol. You’ve probably heard of it, but it’s not necessarily a bad hormone. Our bodies use it to maintain blood pressure, and it plays a key role in the way we metabolize both fats and carbohydrates for energy.  

The trouble happens when we are under chronic stress and secrete too much cortisol for our bodies to break down properly. A common side effect of extra cortisol is increased appetite. Being constantly hungry is bad enough, but cortisol also tends to direct pounds to accumulate in the abdomen, rather than the hips, and this belly fat is closely linked to heart disease and stroke. Stress has the biggest impact on weight gain in individuals with an already-high body mass index (BMI), making stress and weight gain something of a vicious cycle. 

BREATHE YOUR WAY THIN 

One of the most effective ways to manage stress is also one of the simplest: Just breathe. You hear this a lot in yoga class, but you don’t need a mat to practice it. Simply set a timer for eight minutes and find a comfortable position. Now begin. Inhale for a slow count of eight, hold, and then exhale for a count of eight. The first few times you try this, your mind will likely wander. Be patient – when you notice thoughts creeping in, just return to counting your breaths, and when you lose track, start over.

When the eight minutes are up, stop. Shooting for eight minutes a day is an amazing first step. Health benefits will kick in with repeated practice. Sticking with a deep breathing meditation practice for 8 weeks will change how your brain responds to stress. You may sense that you become less reactive to tension and that you have stress-proofed your body.  

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Wellness Screenings Start

Earn your $100 incentive when you take part in a private and confidential wellness screening with an HCA Virginia Workforce Wellness Nurse including: Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose, Body Composition, Cholesterol and Lipid Profile

To schedule your appointment or  to see a complete list of screenings, please visit Power Henrico

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HOW TO LIVE YOUR HEALTHIEST LIFE

Ayasha Sledge

Let’s face it, we all know we need to change certain habits to live better. The problem is putting our desires for better health into action by taking that big step from knowing what we need to do to actually doing it. Through Power Henrico, the Human Resources’ Fitness and Wellness Division offers Health Trip programs addressing two key healthy lifestyle habits – eating and exercise – to help you live well and stay healthy. 

The challenge to lose weight and keep it off is familiar to many. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight can be a struggle – and for some, the struggle is lifelong. Because “healthy weight” is such a challenging issue that affects so many people, there are programs that take advantage of individuals by offering quick, effortless weight loss. Perhaps you have tried one or two. Perhaps you have found success with a quick weight loss plan, only to find your success is short-lived.  

Unlike fad diets and get fit quick schemes, the Power Henrico Health Trip Healthy for Life plan focuses on making lifelong behavior changes to help you reach a healthy weight that you can maintain the rest of your life. The ideas shared and the programs offered are simple. They’ll provide modifications you can easily incorporate into your daily routine. Healthy for Life is also different from other quick fixes in that it is not one-size-fits-all. Instead, it’s individualized, focused on your specific challenges.  

Yes, you will be asked to invest some planning and effort into making changes, and you will need to open yourself up to new ways of eating and being active. But if you’re willing to make the necessary changes, your risk for lifestyle diseases will decrease, your weight will improve, and you’ll feel better.  

The Power Henrico Health Trip Healthy for Life plan will provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to make important lifestyle changes. Each month the County Connection will feature a Health Trip Healthy for Life article with relevant behavior change information.  You can practice the highlighted healthy behaviors by participating in nutrition, exercise and well-being classes to empower you to make healthy food and lifestyle choices.  

Together, we become partners for change. Power Henrico Health Trip Healthy for Life will encourage you to change food and health attitudes and behavior – equipping you with new skills and habits to practice.   The articles that follow and the programs to come are based on clinically tested techniques that put you in charge of reshaping your lifestyle by adopting healthy habits and breaking unhealthy old ones. Step by step, you’ll learn how to reshape your lifestyle in a way that’s realistic for you.  

Starting Tuesday, August 6th, join the Power Henrico Health Trip Healthy for Life plan to start living your healthiest life! For more information, check out the Nutrition Page of Power Henrico and start your Health Trip to be Healthy for Life. 

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