LiveWell Vermont

When you started a regular exercise program, whether to lose weight or improve your overall health, your enthusiasm and motivation were high. You began feeling better and seeing results from your hard work. You managed to get yourself out of bed early, to squeeze in a little gym time each day, and stick to your plan without much effort. But then slowly, the novelty began to wear off. You started finding reasons to sleep in and found "better" things to do with your time. Then before you realized it, you had missed a whole week and your drive to continue was missing in action. Is this common scenario just another motivation issue? Probably not. Could something else be getting in the way of the excitement and effectiveness of your previously-rewarding workouts? The answer is yes! Luckily, you can learn to identify the signs that it's time to shake-up your workout routine so you can remain consistent and enthusiastic about exercise. Here are four of the most common signs an...

Homemade Laundry Detergents for a Self-Sufficient Lifestyle This blog post was inspired by MorningChores.com Are you tired of spending endless amounts of money on laundry detergent? Do you not like using detergents that you don’t have a clue what is actually in them? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some great recipes for homemade laundry detergent. 1. The Super Laundry Sauce So you like the idea of making your own laundry detergent, but you aren’t sure you’ll have the time or the talent to pull it off. Well, don’t fret! This recipe says it takes only 7 minutes to make and is spelled out. Make this DIY laundry detergent 2. Homemade Lavender and Lemon High-Efficiency Laundry Detergent Y ou want to make your own laundry detergent but your machine only takes high-efficiency laundry soap? No worries! Thanks to this refreshing laundry detergent recipe you can save money and your washing machine. Make this DIY laundry detergent ...

Anything that involves physical effort is exercise. Therefore, sitting and working all day at a computer is exercise. It might not be the most effective way of working out, but it's a form of physical training all the same. The muscles of the arms are engaged to type and move the mouse. The back muscles are working overtime, especially if our posture isn't optimal. Not sitting well can overwork certain muscles, leading to discomfort and pain and can lead to problems outside the office. Sure, this might not be the most effective exercise in terms of fitness. However, the more we're aware that every way that we use our body impacts our overall health, the easier it might be to implement some essential changes. They aren’t all that hard to do. 1. TILT YOUR PELVIS FORWARD AND ARCH YOUR LOWER BACK: Sitting, standing and walking all follow similar designs. We need an arch in our lower back. Having the world’s best office chair won’t help if you don’t sit in it cor...

Sunny side up eggs for breakfast are great, but they certainly get boring day after day. Here are a few ideas to make your eggs a nutritional powerhouse, yet still just as delicious! Top one of the following with an egg or two: 1.  Kale & Roasted Red Pepper: Load some kale and pepper into a food processor and coarsely chop. Fry eggs and place over the top of the kale and pepper. You can cook the kale ahead of time, but keep in mind that high heat reduces the vitamins and minerals. Add seasoning to taste. 2.   Quinoa, nuts and cinnamon: Mix up leftover quinoa with your choice of nuts, cinnamon, berries or dried fruit. Using a large pan, spoon in the quinoa mixture, add the eggs, cover and stir occasionally. When the eggs are almost done, spoon out the quinoa and top with the fried egg. Optional - add a little maple syrup for sweetness. 3.  Squash & Spinach: Have leftover squash and sweet potato? Add a little butter or coconut oil to a large pan....

According to this article on WebMD , your lifestyle can affect how well your immune system can protect you from germs, viruses, and chronic illness. Replacing unhealthy habits with healthier ones can help to keep your immune system strong.  Do yourself a favor and check the following list to see if there is room for improvement in your current lifestyle. You may be surprised at the information you uncover: You're short on sleep. Researchers have found that most adults need approximately 7-8 hours of sleep to prevent high levels of stress hormones, reduce inflammation and boost the immune system. You don't exercise. Regular exercise, such as 30 minutes of walking per day, can help your immune system fight infection, as well as boost your feel-good hormones, which may improve your mood and quality of sleep. Your diet is off. Eating and drinking too much sugar reduces the healthy bacteria in your body, leaving your immune system compromised. It is recommended to boost y...

To reap the full range of life-extending, heart-protecting, sleep-promoting, obesity-thwarting benefits of exercise, you're going to have to get some regular activity. In fact, about two and a half hours a week of it. Those hours should be moderate-intensity aerobic activity (think: brisk walking), according to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. (More vigorous exercisers can cut back on time as they up the intensity, but everyone should also aim for a couple of strength-training sessions a week, according to the Guidelines.) But exercise also happens to be one of those cases where  something   is most certainly better than  nothing . You should be proud of yourself even just for a single sweat session, thanks in part to these pretty powerful perks of just one workout. Your DNA can change:  In a 2012 study, Swedish researchers found that among healthy but inactive adults, mere minutes of exercise altered genetic material in muscle cells. Of cou...

1. They surround themselves with other happy people. Joy is contagious. Researchers of the Framingham Heart Study who investigated the spread of happiness over 20 years found that those who are surrounded by happy people “are more likely to become happy in the future." Make sure to spend more time with uplifting people. 2. They smile when they mean it. Even if you’re not feeling so chipper, cultivating a happy thought - and then smiling about it - could up your happiness levels and make you more productive. It’s important to be genuine with your grin: the study revealed that faking a smile while experiencing negative emotions could actually worsen your mood. 3. They cultivate resilience. Happy people know how to bounce back from failure. Resilience is like a padding for the inevitable hardship human beings are bound to face. As the Japanese proverb goes, “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” 4. They try to be happy. Yep - it’s as simple as it sounds: just...

Are you in need of an easy main course, quick snack or simple ways to shop, prepare, and safely handle food? Here are 14 quick and easy ways to eat healthy, while still loving every bite. Enjoy! Tip #1: Sweet potatoes are super nutritious and yummy to boot! They’re loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Mix in a 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1 tbsp of all-natural nut butter for extra moisture and sweetness. Tip #2: Instead of chips, try munching on asparagus or edamame for a quick snack. Both are delicious lightly steamed. Throw some in your lunch box for a snack or add to your salad for a nutritious boost. Tip #3: For an easy vegetable side dish, steam a bag of fresh or frozen spinach for 2 or 3 minutes. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar or parmesan cheese for some added flavor. Tip #4: For a quick, healthy pizza, buy a whole-wheat crust and top with a low-sodium spaghetti sauce, sauteed onion and red pepper, and any other favorite vege...

According to research, prolonged sitting: Is a predictor of weight gain. Correlates with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other chronic health problems. Do you find yourself stuck at a desk for hours at a time? Here's and simple (and easy) tip for your health: Take lots of quick breaks! The following tool may help! Set your timer for 20 minutes. When you hear it ringing, take a brief walk or stretch, and then reset it for another 20 minutes. Repeat this act ALL day. Simple, but extremely effective!

Walking is fundamental. Everyone does it day in and day out, but very few people ever think there's a right or wrong way to walk. It is actually quite common to walk inefficiently. The good news is it isn’t hard to change the way you walk. Try to employ these three simple tips today and see how your body feels at the end of the day.   TAKE SHORTER STEPS Contrary to most people’s beliefs, short strides will make you go faster than long strides. You just need to take more of them. Too long of strides lead to a host of troubles including hyperextension of the knees, which is also a major issue for both walking and standing. Hyperextension is when a joint has been taken past its normal range of motion. In the case of walking, we hyperextend the knees when our stride is too long and the area behind the knee locks backward with each step we take. If you tend to hyperextend when standing the odds are you will hyperextend when walking. Long strides also tend to...

On average, most Americans fill up their gas tank once a week and many more do so at least twice a month. How many times a month do you visit a gas station? A trip to the gas station can take as little as 5 minutes, which is more than long enough to pick up nasty cold or flu germs from the pump handle.  We all know bacteria is everywhere. In fact, there are 10 bacteria living on our bodies for every one cell we have. Considering that we have about one hundred trillion cells, that is a lot of bacteria. Some of the bacteria are in us and some are on us, some are good and some are bad. The things that we do daily or weekly, like pumping gas, spread bacteria all over anything and everything we touch. Studies show that one of the worst offenders for breeding germs is the gas pump, followed by public mailboxes, escalators, ATM machines, parking meters and crosswalk buttons. The level of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) found on gas pump handles was high enough to trigger disease transmi...

Live Well Vermont State Employees’ Wellness Program is excited to announce our new look and name as well as our 2014 Wellness programming. Our new name “Live Well Vermont” was chosen to  reflect the wellness program’s beliefs and goals. We   believe that each individual has the right to live his/her best life, whatever that might be. Our goal is to support you on that journey. Our health assessment & biometric screenings, wellness challenges, classes and coaching are just a few of the programs dedicated to help you “live well”.     Throughout the year we will provide personalized and motivating opportunities to support you in identifying and reaching your unique health and wellness goals. We only get one life... so live it well! Yours in health, Maura O’Brien, Jessica Gerhart &  Alissa Robertson