LiveWell Vermont

Over the last 6-weeks Vermont State employees participated in the "Million Minute" Challenge sponsored by Live Well Vermont, the State Employees Wellness Program. Our team of employees hit the 1,000,000 minute mark during the final week and continued to smash the goal over the last few days. Next year: 2 million minutes! Million Minute Challenge Fun Facts - 1,134,433 total minutes! - 699 participants! - 278 participants met the challenge requirements: * Logging at least 150 minutes of exercise for ALL 6 weeks of the challenge * Completion of both the Pre- and Post-Challenge Surveys - 15,780 minutes logged by top participant! - 304  average minutes per participant per week and twice the recommended guidelines for physical activity! - 147 water bottles received as drawing prizes! Thank you all for participating! 

Have you earned your $50/50 points* for completing your online personal health assessment? If not, be sure to complete it by Sunday, November 30,2014, to be eligible! Need to create a new user account? Click HERE .  Need help? Visit:  http://humanresources.vermont.gov/salary/wellness . Have you earned your $50/50 points* for completing a wellness challenge? If not, the Live Well Vermont Workshop Madness series is your last chance to earn this incentive.  See the challenge poster below for more details. Sign up today ! Need to create a new user account? Click HERE .  Need help? Visit:  http://humanresources.vermont.gov/salary/wellness . * Active employees covered under the State of VT health plan are eligible for $50. * Active Non plan employees are eligible for drawings. ** Active state employees must use their employee ID number as their username in order to be eligible for incentives.

Do you run or do some form of cardio several hours every week? Do you also lift weights or perform some form of strength training exercises? You may feel like you've covered all your basics, but you may be missing out on one VERY important fitness staple for overall health and longevity: strengthening your core. Ever heard of it? So, what exactly is your core? A set of 29 muscles located in your abdomen, pelvis and back, which are essential in your ability to function on a daily basis. The core muscles control movements, maintain balance and stability. They also support and protect your back, which is critical as we age. Continuing to ignore core exercises leads to poor posture, lower back pain and muscle injuries. There are numerous ways that core exercises can benefit you, such as: Better balance and stability Strengthening and toning your abdominal muscles Ability to perform physical activities of all kinds, from swinging a golf club to getting items out of your kitchen...

So you're eating your veggies and watching your portions- that's great! Did you know there's a way to make your meals even better for you? Check out the following tips to ensure you get the most benefit for your hard work. 1. Drop the filler foods. Consider bread, rice, pasta and crackers as some examples of filler foods that are taking up a significant caloric portion of your meals, but are not giving much back nutritionally. If you replace these servings with more vegetables or starchy vegetables like sweet potato, yam, squash, beets and carrots, you are greatly increasing the nutrients in your meal. 2. Eat more leafy greens. Leafy greens are a powerhouse of nutrition. Consider including these in salads, stir fry, sautéed greens with garlic or even in green smoothies for convenience. 3. Add more power foods to your breakfast. Breakfasts can be far more creative than toast, bagels and cereal! Start your day off right with an energy boost by drinkin...

Have you ever wondered if you need to improve your balance? There are a variety of simple tests you can do to see how you measure up to National Standards! For the Stork Balance Test: Remove your shoes and place the hands on the hips, then position the non-supporting foot against the inside knee of the supporting leg. Take one minute to practice. Raise your heel to balance on the ball of your foot. The stopwatch is started as the heel is raised from the floor. The stopwatch is stopped if any of the follow occur: the hands come off the hips the supporting foot swivels or moves (hops) in any direction the non-supporting foot loses contact with the knee. the heel of the supporting foot touches the floor. For the Balance Beam Test:  You will have 30 seconds to walk the entire length of the beam/curb (approximately 4 inches wide and 20 feet long) and back. Start at one end, step up onto the beam, walk the length to the other end, make a 180 degree turn and return back...

Chili is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. More than simply delicious, healthy chili is an easy one-pot meal made with ingredients you already have on hand, and can easily be stretched to feed a crowd at a get together or to feed your family at multiple meals throughout the week. Use these simple tips to make chili healthy, yet still hearty and satisfying. Season Boldly Using generous amounts of spice in your chili is a great way to add great flavor without any added fat or calories. Classic chili spices include chili and cumin (and cayenne for those who like it really hot). Have fun experimenting with different seasonings; cinnamon and allspice can add wonderful depth of flavor. Choose Lean Protein To make a classic beef chili that’s still healthy, choose beef that is at least 90%-lean, which fits into the USDA guidelines for lean meats. You can also opt for lean and flavorful ground turkey breast instead for those who are trying to avoid red meat. Use More Bea...

When it comes to exercise having a standard routine or adhering to a specific habit may not be a bad thing because any form of regular physical activity provides some benefits and is better than doing nothing at all. However, when it comes to getting results from your exercise program, staying with a routine that you’ve been following for a long period of time may actually work against you.   General adaptation syndrome describes how the physiology of the body adapts to a physical stimulus such as exercise. When beginning an exercise program, there is an initial alarm phase of one to three weeks, where the body recognizes that a new stimulus is being applied. This is followed by an adaptation phase of four to 16 weeks, where the body adapts to the stimulus and becomes more efficient at tolerating it. Finally 12 to 16 weeks, the body reaches what is called the exhaustion phase, where the stimulus no longer has a significant effect.   This is why the first few workout...

We've all been sucked into the number on the scale from time to time—and it makes sense why. The scale is appealing because it shows an instant, tangible metric of how you're progressing, and it seems like an easy way to tell if your weight-loss plan is working. But it's also easy to get too attached to that number —and you might start to define yourself based on what your morning weigh-in says, despite your best intentions. What's worse is that number you're so fixated on might not even be an accurate gauge of your true progress! Your body is a complex machine; depending on fluid shifts, hormonal changes, when you last ate, how much sodium you've ingested, and multiple other factors. Your weight can fluctuate by several pounds in just a single day. So, the next time the number on the scale gets you down, step off, take a deep breath, and remember this:  The only thing the scale can tell you is the amount of force that gravity has on your body at any given m...

Try preparing this baked apple-cinnamon French toast in advance and then simply pop it in the oven for a leisurely and luxurious weekend morning. By using nonfat instead of whole milk and eliminating the egg yolks, the calories are cut in half and the fat is reduced by nearly 80 percent! Makes: 12 servings Preparation Time: 25 minutes Total Cooking Time: 9 1/2 hours (including 8 hours refrigeration time) Ingredients 3 cups skim milk 2 cups pasteurized liquid egg whites, such as Egg Beaters 3 Tbsp honey 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt 1 1-pound loaf sliced whole-grain bread 1 cup chopped dried apples, approximately 3 ounces 1/2 cup raisins 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1 Tbsp confectioners sugar Preparation Preheat oven to  350°F. Whisk milk, egg whites, honey, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Trim crusts off 8 bread slices and set aside. Cut the crusts and the remaining bread into 1-inch pieces. Toss with dried apples, raisins...