Wellness 101

New to the idea of starting a wellness journey? Well, no pun intended, no worries. Recognizing the need for change and bringing yourself to the right frame of mind, is the hardest step. As a health and wellness professional, I have the opportunity to see clients at all phases of their wellness journeys. Some clients are brand new to wanting to make healthy lifestyle changes, some have been on a rollercoaster for some time and some may just be looking for new and innovative ways to keep the journey interesting. What do all of them have in common? The hardest part of wellness, changing their mind set.
Fitness and nutrition are almost the easy part of a healthy lifestyle. I said almost. No one has ever thought walking lunges for the first time or cutting back on ice cream were easy tasks…but changing your mindset from thinking of health and wellness as a chore to having it as welcome part of life is a primary key to success. Learning to love health, fitness, holistic diet…well that’s then the hardest part.
So now that you know the hardest part, how do you get past it? I focus on a few factors with my clients.
• Know your Motivation – What brought you here? Only you, can motivate you. Making healthy lifestyle choices cannot be for anyone else but yourself. It’s one of the few times in life that being selfish is ok. Finding the internal motivation will keep you focused and driven but trying to change for someone else will make you disappointed if you rely only on their feedback to gauge your success..
• Do What You Love – Health and Wellness…well, can be torturous, if you do the things you hate simply because you think you should. Case in point, if you hate running, why run for cardio? Maybe you’re a biker, a swimmer, a walker or a dancer…do the things you love and you will begin to love what you do. Explore how to incorporate some of your life’s passions into your new search for wellness passion. Many times the lines can cross.
• Support – No man is an island…Getting support for your journey is crucial. Some people fly well solo, but the majority of people need to find that common bond to other people needing to make the same changes they need to make. So seek and yee shall find. Whether a family member, spouse, co-worker, child, friend or pet, form the bond that makes you feel good. But remember while you may share common interests and you may motivate each other, your journey should be unique and special to you to keep the journey personal and on the front burner.
• Lastly - Appreciate Success – What does success look like? How do you know you have reached goal? Well, if you can’t answer what goal is, then how do you know if you have reached it or not? Be specific, write it down, carry it with you and when you make strides toward it celebrate. The wellness journey is a lifelong path, not a destination. So getting healthy and staying healthy is always evolving. Recognizing successes along the path are truly vital. Success can be joining a fitness class, discovering a new healthy food you enjoy or finding some peace during your day to breath. Whatever it is recognize it and truly appreciate that you did something great.
Best of luck & Be well!

Destination Wellness or A Stop on The Journey?

A destination for your vacation that can change your life. I love it. I love it. I love it. Destination Wellness retreats, resorts and spas have been around forever, but with the new spotlight on the word wellness, places like these are pulling out all the stops to help you not only get on the path to health and fitness but stay there in ways like never before.

The correlation between incorporating your vacation into the pursuit of your wellness lifestlye has long been something I have encouraged my clients to do and while I can appreciate the theory of escape what I can't understand is abandonment of core values. So...if the pursuit of wellness is a core value of yours(and it should be), choosing a health and wellness destination is essential to experience...and oh the choices are endless!

For example, if you are a water person, why not look to the seas to help you? There are wonderful resorts and spas that focus on incorporating the sea into your routine, your practice, your fitness and your life. But know before you go! Create a plan of what you hope to achive while you are at the destination. Is it to explore new fitness options, experience fresh cuisine, research yoga practices or even find better long lasting stress release practices? Whatever it is, do the work before you go. Write down your goals of what you hope to achieve and then get busy researching the destination of your choice.

Plan to schedule your classes and your services well in advance. If you are looking to work with a specific professional at the place, make sure you book it early. Individual lessons go fast! Print reminders to keep you excited and motivated as your trip gets closer. Print photos of the resort and the images of what drew you to it. Sign up for newsletters if they are offered in case of special events or classes that may interest you while you are there...but most importantly, if you have questions ask!

Destination Health and Wellness places want the experience to be life changing and life sustainable. Many places also believe they they are your partners in achieving the best health you can while enjoying yourself. Utilize any assistance they may offer to further your experience. Many destinations services include access to conceriege, spa coordinators, personal trainers and program directors. If you don't ask, you'll never know!
Lastly enjoy, absorb, learn, breathe, experiment, experience and above all incorporate! Learn how to do the things you love the most at home. At the very least, you should leave with one thing that will help you on your wellness journey for the long run.

Be well...and good hunting!

Summer and the Wellness Break

Shhh....can you hear that? That's the sound of summer going, going and almost gone. We are now down to the last few weeks of summer and again as every year before it seems just about everyone is doing their last minute scramble to get away, get relaxed, go out and unwind before the winds of fall blow in. The one thing that stands out for me when talking to people about their "summer breaks" is that so many people also take a break from their healthy lifestyle pursuits as well. Plans are made to include "all you can eat" and destinations include places with no gym access or limited activities. So what happened here?
Ok quick story...bare with me. Recently, I was contacted by a woman interested in losing weight. Not all that out of the box, I know. The motivation behind her very specific weight loss was to facilitate her going on an all inclusive, all you can eat cruise, with the intention of eating everything she wanted. I could hear myself say, "You do realize that all you can eat does not mean all you need to eat, yes?" It was the reply that started me thinking..."Well if it's free, why wouldn't I eat it?" Needless to say we are not working together at this time.
However, my point with that story was to showcase the extreme but when we take "breaks" from our healthy lifestyle choices aren't we really doing something similar? Scheduling events that are specifically outside your wellness goals treat the journey of fitness and health as a chore that we are forcing ourselves to do every day and then need a vacation from. The goal of living a healthy lifestyle is to incorporate ways into our lives to embrace healthy options, not run from them.
While I am all about needing to reward ourselves, enjoy ourselves and relax, I am of the opinion that a healthy lifestyle and those things are not mutually exclusive. If they are, perhaps it's time to reassess the things you are doing to achieve those goals. If the activities, exercise, eating habits and spiritual pursuits are making you so unhappy or drained that you need a break from them, I would think it is time to revisit the motivations that brought you to the path in the first place.

Until next time...be well!

Spas - Partners in the Wellness Journey?

If you are like me sometimes you need a change of pace, a door to outside the box or frankly just a recharge. Recently I have been exploring the relationship between spas and my own wellness journey. I know, coming from a fitness professional, you were expecting an exhilarating run in the mountains or 50 laps in the pool to get all fixed up. And, I admit, while exercise and fitness does provide me not only the physical stimulus and does promote my stress relief, being able to find sanctuary in fresh and new places can be transforming.
With that being said though, I must be specific about the word "spa". Spas are all over and unfortunately I think the word is overused, much like the words "wellness professional". Basically, use of the name does not necessarily go hand in hand with the connotation. When I refer to "spa" I speak of the destinations where not only are wonderful rejuvenating services offered for the body but there is a connection between the establishment, their clients and the understanding of pursuit of wellness. It may be the types of services offered, the atmosphere, the food provided or the ultimate quiet they can generate, but to me, "spa" is a greater extension of ones trying to achieve peace and balance. I have been to "spas" where the noise inside was louder than the city street. I have had "spas" seat me in a relation room next to the gym where a dance aerobics class was taking place. While I love aerobics, the heart thumping music the clients were moving to, rather coincided with my meditation.

I am certainly not disparaging any "spa" business. Instead what I hope to do in writing this is to advise you to research and choose your destination in line with what it is you are ultimately seeking to accomplish. There are many, many wellness opportunities to explore that may help you on your lifelong pursuit of being physically healthy and spiritually balanced. Spas can be rejuvenating for the body, mind and soul. They can be true wellness partners for your journey. So many spas offer wonderful nourishing services but they offer so much more in the mind/ body connection as well. So my advice, take some time for yourself and explore this great potential wellness journey partner.

Until next time - Be well and enjoy!

The Diet Game

The Diet debacle...a good name for the multibillion industry that now leads so much of what health and wellness is associated with. I have often been asked why I am so "anti-diet". The best answer I can give is two fold. First, diets limit the accountability of the user. What do I mean? Well, it enables the user to no longer make choices related to their foods, but gives control and accountability to someone else. It is the exact opposite of mindful eating.
Second, in order to succeed in health and wellness, you have to be willing to learn and change habits, notions, ideas and sometimes beliefs. When on a "diet", there is no learning. In general there is only allowing some else to provide you their answers. And oh...how the business industry has capitalized on taking up the responsibility by offering to "fix" all our dietary issues for the sum of...
While I am not a proponet of any "diet" per se, I am a proponet of anything you learn from. So with that being said, programs like Weight Watchers, that helps their clients understand the food portions, food content and still allow the clients to be accountable by choosing their foods even though under Weight Watchers watchful eyes, I can appreciate.
Changing your lifestyle is difficult. I would never say anything to the effect that it is not. What I am saying is choose things that allow you learn, to grow and to understand. Without that, once the diet is over, the weight will come back because you have not learned how to do anything differently than before. It was a temporary fix at best. And the "diet" industry is very well aware of our shortcomings.
Putting our faiths in all these "diets" is not the answer. If it were, obesity most certainly would not be the epidemic it is.

Production in the Workplace…The Wellness Way

Recently, there has been a tremendous amount of focus on corporate wellness and its worth. Corporations and business are bottom line folks. While it may be nice to do the “right thing” for employees, it is probably not the driving their health and wellness desire. Results and productivity are what big business is after. What businesses do like are cold hard facts…

• Obesity-related conditions cost employers $12 billion a year due to higher health care utilization and medical claims, lower productivity, increased absenteeism, and higher health and disability insurance premiums, according to a study in the American Journal of Health Promotion.
In other words…more health care costs and less productivity from employees who may not be living healthy and wellness minded lifestlyes. The solution?

Corporations and business don’t like overhaul…generally that costs more money. However, what has been successful with the some companies I have worked with are these few suggestions which are then formalized into a more specific plan.

First: Ask The Employees – Asking the employee’s how best to help them, may be the simplest solution for idea generation. Now, are all the ideas going to be workable, no? “Give me free stuff.” Is always the one that comes up. However, those employees that are serious about creating workplace wellness will generate good, usable ideas.

Second: Lead By Example – Top down, management needs to be engaged, motivated and vocal about health and wellness. We cannot ask of our employees what we ourselves are not willing to do.

Third: Identify Opportunity – The opportunity to be engaged in the place that people spend most of their time may afford some the unique experience to step up. Workplace Wellness Coordinators can be identified and utilized. These can be individuals who in their everyday job may not be management level people, however, this could be an opportunity for them to get involved and be engaged.

Fourth: Make it Positive – Focus on wellness from a corporate perspective is about the dollar. However, enacting positive, energy charged solutions, that engage the employees, allow for employee socialization and show that there is value to employees health and wellbeing past productivity is vital.

While there is much more planning to actually orchestrating a workplace wellness program, the goals are truly always the same. Effective employee utilization of the programs to then decrease employer costs and absenteeism. The side benefits? Unity and loyalty of the employees, increased moral and truly a better reputation of caring for the individual rather than just the “worker”.

Metabolism - Rev It Up

Metabolism, in a nice simple definition, means the function of how the body breaks down food and uses it for energy. Sadly, it’s also a process that can be sluggish and unfortunately slows down as we age. The slower the process, the more likely we are to gain weight. Good news…we are not entirely helpless in the battle. There are some great wellness steps everyone can take to rev their metabolism up.
1. Lift it up! My personal favorite – pick up those weights! Increasing muscle and decreasing fat is a huge metabolism mover in the right direction. Muscle is an efficient calorie burning device. As you build nice lean muscle mass, your body will begin to work more efficiently. So build it, keep it and love it!
2. Water Water Everywhere- proper hydration helps flush toxins out of the systems as we burn the fat…so drink it up. Besides…water has no calories. So, as beverages are one of the biggest calorie consumptions in our society, learn to love it!
3. Cope – Stress is a big role player in metabolism and weight gain. Stress forces the body to produce cortisol(think fight or flight) which slows down our metabolism. The more stress…the slower the metabolism. Now I don’t mean to suggest for a second that because of this little article, you will miraculously ditch all of your stressors, but there are the A’s of stress to consider…Adhere, Avoid and Adapt. In other words, with regards to stress we can adhere to it or accept it for what it is, with little or no effort to change it, focus our actions on avoiding it altogether or adapt to knowing there will be stress in life and find ways to not have it negatively affect us.( I vote for Adapt)
4. Sleep It Off - Sleep is an integral part of the bodies needs. It is also an important time for muscle recovery(back to step one). The recommendation is 7-8 hours per night to maximize the benefits.

I am all about incorporating small simple steps to equal great lifelong changes. Start with one of the suggestions above and master it. Once you begin to see and feel the difference in yourself and in your body…move onto the next. You will be well on your way to one efficient metabolism!
Be well!

What Does It Mean To Achieve Wellness(are you ready for it?)

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- achieving total wellness means you've found peace for the body, peace for the mind and, ultimately, peace for the spirit.

Want something more concrete?

My favorite definition of wellness comes from Charles B. Corbin of Arizona State University. Corbin once said, "Wellness is a multi-dimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of well-being."

So achieving wellness is really achieving health, but I also maintain that achieving wellness is the turning point from which fitness evolves from a chore to a recognized part of life that we welcome and enjoy!
From that point on, your body begins to become healthy and you gain energy and perspective. You also reduce stress and anxiety, and feel more confident and calm. Now you begin to see the mind connection. Less stress and anxiety equals more happiness and inner peace, so now you see the spirit connection.Think of it as an unbroken circle. When one part is not aligned the others fall out of whack.

Truth be told, fitness of the body is not the be all and end all. I know that hearing this from a fitness professional sounds somewhat odd. But what I mean is that the act of becoming fit is merely the portal.
Once we begin to recognize that this really works and you start to feel better you want it even more. In fact, you begin to crave it. What I have found is that it's because of those intense feelings that we are more open to exploring other areas of wellness like meditation and yoga or experiencing different fitness avenues like a new class or maybe even a fitness vacation.

There is a lifestyle shift, for sure.

Be warned though: Wellness is not a destination. There is no end point. Once you begin seeking out ways to be well -- whether it starts with healthy eating choices, exploring fitness options, or employing a professional fitness or wellness coach -- it will only be the first step to what hopefully will become a lifestyle of healthy exploration and happy longevity!

Until next time, be well... totally!

Alicia

Fuel for the Machine....Simply

Think of your body as a machine. If you’re going to put the time into the upkeep, meaning getting in the workouts, then make the most of it and fuel your machine properly. In general, most people are not performance athletes, yet most things we hear about how to fuel ourselves for workouts are geared toward athletes. Take fitness water for instance. The average person is not going to exercise for the 2 hour duration it would require to make needing the fitness water necessary. What do you need then? Aaahhhh...good question.
In general, most of our performance needs can be met with a light meal about 2 hours before your exercise routine. If it is a bigger meal(Sunday dinner at Grandma’s) go for 4 hours before trying to work it off! As far as meal suggestions...keep it simple. Fuel comes from carbohydrates, so I am proud to say I am a whole wheat pasta girl. Add some tomatoes, green olives and a little olive oil..fresh, light and simple! Some other favorites, egg whites, avocado & salsa with a whole wheat toast side. To make sure we cover all the bases...add in to every meal veggies and fruits..mixed it up and go with local and seasonal.
As for after the blood, sweat and tears...or a really good circuit workout, there is a lot of evidence that eating carbohydrates and protein within 30 minutes will help your bodies recovery time. There’s a lot of math involved for the actual calculations to determine the exact amounts of carbs and proteins you should have...but truly, in an effort to keep wellness simple shoot for things like bananas, peanut butter, whole wheat crackers or yogurt. Do I hear banana yogurt smoothie with blueberries and mango? I certainly can make it for lunch.
Until next time be well...

Finding My Way in the World of Wellness

I evolved into what I call a “whole fitness” professional because of my love of wellness and the connection that my physical state has on my emotional and spiritual being. I came to the realization that we have a substantial amount of control over what happens to our bodies – good and bad – and this control involves more than diet and fitness alone. Not an easy conclusion to draw by any means...and believe me there was plenty of trial and error.
None the less, here I am. Over the years, I have strived to boost my knowledge by becoming an ACE Personal Trainer, ACE Advanced Health & Fitness Professional and an ACE Weight and Lifestyle Consultant. However, more recently(the past 2 or 3 years - time flys!) I have gone back to my pyschology college roots and began to focus on the fitness and wellness coaching aspect of my professional development. My path for becoming a better health professional has always mirrored the developing needs of my clients and not just my own personal wellness interests. With that being said, it is interesting to me that in finding my passion, it has evolved to truly help my clients as well.
That folks is how I began my “whole fitness” approach. Whole fitness is the combination of fitness, diet & attitude. My perspective has evolved out of a necessity to tackle more than just the fitness issues troubling a client. It was the realization that working with only one dimension of my clients was not enough to make the life altering changes they desired and deserved. Discovering this path has been an amazing journey but not for just my clients. My development to help them in the best simplest ways possible, has also brought about tremendous self reflection.
Case in point: I have worked closely with one remarkable client for more than two years now. Initially, she and I focused on fitness because that’s what I had always been trained to do as a personal trainer. We exercised and we calorie counted, but no matter how often we met, my client would come to our sessions filled with excuses and self doubt even though I could see her improvements, she could not. I watched her struggle and her struggle became mine.
I wanted what every wellness professional wants – I wanted my client to succeed. I found her struggle to now be mine. So I asked my client to help me help her. After all, she had all the tools. She was athletic and participated in recreational sports. She knew all the right things, and she usually ate better than I do. But despite these tangible achievements, she did not feel like a success.
My client was sorely in need of an attitude adjustment. She was defeating herself before she ever got really going.
I knew I needed to lead her in a new direction, so we began exploring her relationship with her destructive habits. Our sessions together began to focus less on the physical activities and more on her defining her motivation and acknowledgment of achievements. Months went by and then a funny thing happened. She came to me and told me that a neighbor had seen her out walking and couldn’t believe the physical changes in her. The neighbor was so inspired by my client that she asked to join her on her walks! My client had never viewed herself as an inspiration. Real change was finally at hand.
I believe that if I had only focused on my client’s physical well-being she would have remained unable to achieve her goals. Her attitude, her self efficacy, and her self perception were the things that needed to be addressed as well as her fitness and nutrition needs. All clients need to be treated as a whole. Fitness, diet and attitude are forever intertwined. This is the foundation of what I now call whole fitness.
I am extremely proud to report that my client has just completed her second 5K run and is now considering becoming a personal trainer. I am proud and humbled. What better measure of success as a wellness professional could I ever hope for?

Wii Fab Interview with Health & Wellness Expert Alicia Kirschenheiter

Please join me for a replay of the interview I did with Penda from Wii Fab...and she is! A great conversation about health and wellness and the fitness industry.

Interview: Alicia Kirschenheiter, Personal Trainer and Weight and Lifestyle Consultant

An interview with Alicia Kirschenheiter on Health and Wellness for the Work Day

Please join me for a replay of my interview on The Entrepreneur Show!

A live interview with Alicia Kirschenheiter

How the Busy Find the Time…

I knew as soon as someone read the title, the response would be, “Who isn’t busy?” or “That’s so me, I have no time for anything.” Precisely what I was after! EVERYONE is busy. When a client comes to me and asks me to help with their health and wellness goals, the first words out of their mouth are, “but I have no time.” This is then generally followed up with a list of all the things they are doing to qualify to me or to themselves that they have no time.
The path to wellness starts with conviction. I have always said and believed this. Half heartedly going forward into anything never turns out well. In general, our lack of time to commit to health and wellness usually stems from our lack of commitment to ourselves. We are never as important as anything else going on around us. We seem to find time for everything, from work, to partners, to shopping, to sports, to kids sports, to Fido’s daycare…but when it come to actually taking care of ourselves, the pot is empty.
I propose this little proverb that was shared with me, “We cannot continue to fill the cups of others, if we ourselves are empty.” Think on that a minute. Basically, how can we continue to serve the needs of all the others and other things that we have deemed so important without taking the same considerations for ourselves?
Yes guilty. I am as guilty as the next person of over scheduling. As are most of my clients. Basically, while multitasking gets the job done, it is certainly not helping us stay healthy or to feed our souls. In an effort to keep life balanced, my advice is to schedule the same consideration for yourself as you would schedule time for everything else. Make yourself the appointment you need to keep. Truly, once you begin to shift the focus of yourself from last place to first place, the things that you value most in doing will be that much better. You can begin to approach them with more energy, engagement and less resentment because you have already taken the time for yourself, to take care of yourself. So, whether scheduling and appoint for gym time, meditation, healthy meal preparation, make it something you enjoy and something that gives back to you throughout the day.
Be well - Alicia

In The "Funk?"

"Funk" is a great word, isn't it? To me, it's the gray matter between not quite depressed but sorely disappointed. Causes of "funk" are too many to list, but use your own experiences...disappointement, disillusionment, disturbance...there's a lot of dis, no? My point being, that everyone has had these moments, or days...sometimes longer.

One part of a wellness professionals responsibilty is to help motivate their clients, to recognize the "funk" and help our people move through it. I never like to say get around it because I think to navigate around it never really addresses the issue at hand and I'm not big on deflection. But how?

In working with my clients, I try to bring them back to the wellness vision. That's the wellness wishlist or big picture goal the client creates in our first session. If the funk is related to perceived failures on their wellness journey...why focus on it? We are humans. Bound and determined to make mistakes. Instead of focusing on the mistakes, focus on the positives and steps you made in the right direction. Face it, it's a lot harder to make good choices vs. bad choices. So, while making the bad choices should be acknowledged, the good choices should be celebrated.

Now, while that all sounds good, you are still accountable for your bad actions. I am simply suggesting that you recognize them, learn from them and then move forward. No one likes to be stuck in the muck of "funk", so the sooner we can get through it the faster we can get back on the path. Until next time - Be wll

You Can Do It Anywhere!

How would you like to do it anywhere?


Yup, that's right, I said it... you can do it anywhere.

Well, now that I have your attention, perhaps I need to clarify a little. When I say you can do it anywhere, I am talking about EXERCISE.

There are some really great simple moves that require no equipment so they are perfect for performing in front of the TV during Survivor or in a hotel room after the nightmare meeting you barely survived.

I call them THE BIG 5 because these moves hit all the major muscle groups. In a pinch, a short workout featuring these five moves goes a long way toward keeping you on track.

The Big 5
1) SQUATS! This exercise works the legs, works the core, and works the booty... enough said!

2) PUSH-UPS! I know these aren't fun ladies, but push-ups come in many forms. You can go from a full force push-up (the kind every military movie features during a basic training sequence) to modified (done with knees bent) to wall push-ups (performed against -- you guessed it -- a wall!).

Also, depending on hand placement, you can manipulate the emphasis of the exercise. Hands further out to the sides work the chest and back muscles. Hands closer together will key on the triceps and shoulder muscles. I like to do one set with hands out wide, then one set with hands at shoulder width, and then a final set with hands almost clasped together beneath me.

3) PLANK! An awesome core move that also comes with multiple variations. There's a straight plank, leg raised plank, arm raised plank, up and down plank... The list goes on and on.

4) JUMPING JACKS! Yep, the same moves you did in third grade will work for you now. Adding in a great cardio move like this during some strength training exercise helps rev up the metabolism and, frankly, cuts into any boredom you might be feeling.

Not everyone LOVES strength training so being able to switch it up some with cardio is a plus.

If you have a weak floor and your TV rattles or don't want to annoy the hotel guests staying in the room below yours, try this variation: Do side steps or step ups if you have stairs available, or throw punches like Mike Tyson. All three alternative moves are awesome and guaranteed to get the heart pumping more.

5) Full body move: the SQUAT THRUST! This is merely a squat that leads into a full out push-up position, and after you push up you stand up. Like Jumping Jacks, we've been doing squat thrusts since elementary school. It's a tremendous move that ties it all together!

Perform all five moves back-to-back with less than a minute rest between exercises, then go back and do the complete 5-move set all over again -- three times in total!

Keep the reps to about 12-15 each exercise each time. For the Plank, hold it as long as you can. Through your TV-viewing commercial break is always a good challenge.

This may not be the ideal routine for you but it will get you moving and get the heart pumping for a change of pace and a good challenge.

Remember, it's about consistency not perfection.

So keep moving, change it up and work with what you got.

Until next time... stay well!

How to Motivate Your Loved Ones to Pursue A Healthylifestyle Without Upsetting Them

Recently I was asked this question, "How do you motivate the people closest to you to pursue a healthy lifestyle without upsetting them?" Great question, right? My initial reaction was that sometimes you really can't. A healthy lifestyle is a delicate topic and it is generally emotionally charged. No one wants to think about losing someone they love because they could have taken better care of themselves. Even I, as a health and wellness professional, have friends that rage against the machine. They smoke, are sedentary and eat horribly. It's not as if they don't know what I do for a living! I have tried on a number of occasions to tactfully approach the subject and generally the comments I get are, "Aren't you off tonight?", or "I'm not a client, you know...", or worse...you haven't met my friends and family...

Comments like these have led me to another approach...acceptance. I love my friends and my family and of course I want them to live the best healthy & well lives they can, but I cannot want it for them. They have to want it themselves. I have said time and again, if you push someone into wellness, even if they begin the exercise routines and try to eat better, without the emotional and mental commitment, the changes wont last. The person doesn't see the new changes as lifestyle improvements, they see them as tedious, hated chores and given a choice, no one does chores.

One piece of advice I would offer, is to lead by example. If you are leading a healthy life, perhaps your friends and loved ones will see the improvements in you and want some of the positive changes themselves.

One of the greatest client stories I was told was when a client told me that after working together for about 6 months she was approached by a neighbor who asked my client what she had been doing to look so terrific. My client answered by reviewing some of the fitness routines and goal setting techniques we worked on and the holistic food choices she was now making. Her neighbor simply smiled and told my client she inspired her to begin a walking routine of her own. My client was so happy, she had never realized she was an inspiration of that sort.

Her story reminded me that it isn't necessarily the way we speak of health & wellness but the way we live it...with hopes of having others join in it with us. Until next time, Be well.

The Importance of Corporate Wellness

From the perspective of a wellness professional, to question the importance of corporate wellness seems silly. However, with that being said, most of the people involved in planning corporate wellness are not necessarily wellness professionals but business people trying to do what is best for their company. For this reason, I think it’s important to restate what positive impacts corporate wellness programs have for both business creating them and the employees participating in them. Corporate wellness makes good business both for the bottom line of the company as well as the health and wellbeing of their employees.
Corporate wellness from the business perspective allows companies to act proactively rather than reactively. Participation helps to assure that through specific wellness programs their employees begin to feel better and subsequently reduce health related absenteeism, workplace stress workplace turnover and in the long term reduce health care and workers compensation costs. In a recently published article by the Weight Control Information Network, the cost of overweight and obesity in the United States is 117 billion dollars. Yes 117 BILLION. That’s 61 billion for direct costs and 56 billion in indirect costs. Direct health care costs refer to preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services such as physician visits, medications, and hospital and nursing home care. Indirect costs are the value of wages lost by people unable to work because of illness or disability, as well as the value of future earnings lost by premature death. Businesses provide coverage for approx 64% of that money…that’s a lot of green to be shoulder by business owners. Imagine being able to reduce those expenses while creating a positive working environment.
For the employee, participation in workplace wellness programs can increase the employee’s health awareness, decrease employee absenteeism, foster a feeling of community amongst the employees and increase employee retention. Top down wellness has also been shown to be especially appreciated, showing a “lead by example” leadership mentality.
Acting proactively takes innovation and leadership. Too often we, as a society, play wait and see. This type of attitude has truly brought us to the brink of a true health crisis. Creating corporate wellness programs is a fantastic first step to initiating positive long lasting change.

The Novice Guide to Wellness

What exactly is wellness you ask? Well, no pun intended, the word wellness has been thrown about pretty often lately. Wellness seems to be the new fitness. Simply put, wellness is the connection between the body and mind. It is the process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence for both your physical and mental wellbeing. If we really want to complicate things we can add in your spiritual health as well. Clear as mud right?

In my life and in my wellness practice, wellness is simply peace. Peace for my body, peace for my mind and ultimately peace for my spirit. I think that’s simpler than along winded technical explanation. With my clients, I try to make things simple but there are a few key points we focus on:

• State of Body – Wellness for the body is truly a focus on improving and maintaining your machine to its best functioning capacity. I say machine because the truth is that our bodies only really need the proper environment to perform. Our bodies need fuel, rest and activity. We are well created, designed & engineered. We adapt, persevere and outperform our deepest limitations. In general, the pitfalls we sustain to our physical beings are our own creation. Mind made if you will. Stress, over indulgence and self punishment for example are all mind made things that we allow to impact our machines. Our bodies wouldn’t react if our minds didn’t first. Appreciate your physical abilities, whatever they are. Keeping yourself active and physical challenged to new depths will keep your machine in top working condition.

• State of Mind – We are as humans a complex cornucopia of thoughts, knowledge, feelings and emotions. So many things going on at once. Wellness of the mind involves balance. We will never ignore those things that make us human but rather need to recognize them and create a counterbalance of stress relievers and coping mechanisms. My clients focus on moments of positive attitude, gratitude and reflection. Very Zen, I know. Actually, it truly is just a shift from focusing on all the negative things to giving proper accolades to the good in life. As we can take notice in the positive, the negative seems smaller. This becomes rather a chain reaction in the mind. The moments that we take to calm our minds to the state where we can focus on positive practice helps us reset and recharge.

• State of Spirit – Spirit is harder to define. Spirit implies belief. Thing of it is, not everyone believes in something. Most people don’t really even believe in themselves. Spirit for me and my clients, simply, is the combination of the positive energy generated from the practice of wellness of the body and mind. It is the end result of feeling energized and alive. It is a state of emotional uplift and peace.

Lastly there is the Journey. I left this out earlier on purpose. To understand wellness is to understand the items above but most importantly, it is to understand that wellness and the pursuit of all those things we previously discussed, is a lifelong journey. While there may be a noted beginning as the day you recognize the need for change, there is no end. Wellness is an ever developing, ever changing path but a path very worth stepping on to.
Be Well and Enjoy the journey.
- Alicia

Evolution Total Wellness: 5 Biggest Dieting Road Bumps... and 5 Ways to Steer Clear of Them

Evolution Total Wellness: 5 Biggest Dieting Road Bumps... and 5 Ways to Steer Clear of Them

5 Biggest Dieting Road Bumps... and 5 Ways to Steer Clear of Them

So you've started down the path to better health and weight. You have the best of intentions. You're cruising along and eating great food, getting lots of exercise, and totally enjoying how it makes you feel more energetic…

And then... BAM! You find yourself at a catered office party featuring buckets of chicken wings and tubs of potato salad.

This, my friends, is just one of the unavoidable road bumps that stand between you and your healthy destination.

Luckily, we can spot the road bumps ahead of time and have a plan of action for avoiding them.

The 5 Road Bumps
1) Office food

You and I both know that we only need to go one cubicle in any direction to be confronted by a cornucopia of sugar, fat and salt. In fact, as I write this, the candy bowl in the office directly behind me beckons.

What to do? Keep healthy snacks at your desk. If fact, if you keep healthy foods that you like close by you are less likely to need to wander around the office, looking for the 3 o'clock pick-me-up.

2) Dining out


I love restaurants. The trick is to know how to order the best of what they have, enjoy yourself and not regret every bite when you leave.

Focus on what you are really there for. If it's dinner, skip over the appetizers and focus on selecting a main course. Choose wisely. Fish is great. Whole wheat pasta is also good. Of course, be sure to make your plate heavy on the veggies.

Always focus on the whole foods on the menu and be sure to know and avoid the overly processed items.

If it’s lunch, request the lunch portion of the menu even if you don’t see it advertised and add as many greens as possible.

I know there's that dessert menu -- or worse yet, the dessert CART! -- that's going to come around at the end of the meal. Hey, if that's what you crave, it’s perfectly fine to give in every now and then. Just be sure to make that the exception rather than the rule.

If you've taken precautions to make healthy choices for your main meal, then dessert shouldn't a problem.

3) No time for exercise

It's the mother of all excuses. But face it, everyone has time. We all like to think we don't but when we look at our schedules chances are good we have made time for TV, for shopping, for carpools, for nights out, for meetings and for errands…

You've made time for all your other priorities. Now you need to make time for fitness. If we do not make time for fitness, we will need to make time for illness.

Start small and walk three times a day for 15 minutes at a shot. Build from there. You won't regret it.

4) Eating on the run


Fast food is king in our on-the-go society. We are the product (or maybe the victim) of eating for convenience. While we are all guilty of gobbling as we go, there are some steps we can take to make better choices.

If fast food is your only option, make the healthiest choices possible. Go grilled instead of fried, and hold the sauces and the cheese. Also, pad your meal with as many veggies as you can. Limit the soda and, as much as it may hurt, just say NO to fries.

On occasion, fast food is acceptable at best. But next time you eat it take a minute and think about how you really feel while you are tasting and chewing it, and then after you eat it. Can you honestly say you enjoyed it?

5) Food shopping on an empty stomach

Food shopping…what a great sport, huh? Okay, so let's treat shopping like a sport and go prepared. If you know ahead of time you will be out and about for the day, pack a small cooler and keep in the car stocked with water, nuts, fruit and maybe a snack bar or two.

That way, when you go food shopping on the way home, you won't be ravenous and overload your cart with poor choices that sounded so appealing at the time.

Also, be sure to make a list and stick to it!

Until next time, be well!

Alicia