LiveWell Vermont

There are all different kinds of bad work habits. There are those that we tend to think of as procrastination methods, habits that wreak havoc on your productivity. Then there are those that make you work harder and impose additional stresses on your life. Then there are the bad habits happen as a result of being busy and stressed at work, but don't necessarily happen at our desks. Regardless, all of these bad habits have something to do with how we work, and affect our productivity, and how we feel when working. The trick is to first identify our bad habits. Breaking these habits will guard you from becoming a victim of your own self-destructive behaviors. Here's a list of seven very common bad habits that will threaten your integrity and performance at work (and after work!) -- and what you can do about them. 1. You "multitask."  Several studies have recently come to light that revealed multitasking to actually be counterproductive. If you think you'll do...

Are you still waiting for the day that you'll be fit?   How many times have you told yourself that you'll start living healthy tomorrow? Or next week?  After you've had just  one more pizza  dinner and  one more  evening on the couch...  Then  you'll commit yourself to eating right and exercising regularly, right?  It's time to realize that this way of thinking is a sneaky trap to not changing. One that fools all of us at one point or another.  You see, when you put off healthy living to some designated day in the future, you're putting the responsibility of change on your future self. Tricky, since your  future  self doesn't even exist yet.  Only  you , in the present moment, are capable of making amazing change happen.  Being fit and lean is the result of thousands of healthy choices – all made in the present moment.  So give your future (fictional) self a break and start making real, tangible progress...

This wrap is delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s ready in a flash, tastes amazing, and is filled with lean protein, veggies and whole sprouted grains. Try it today, but don’t be surprised if you get hooked!  Servings: 2 Ingredients: 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced 1/4 cup tomato, finely chopped 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped 1 cup egg whites dash of salt and pepper 2 sprouted grain tortillas (usually found in the freezer section at grocery stores) 2 Tablespoons pesto (purchase it premade, or combine ½ cup pine nuts, 2 cups basil leaves, 2 cloves garlic, ¼ cup olive oil, and 1 Tablespoon lemon. J uice in a food processor and blend until it becomes a paste.) Preparation: Spread a tablespoon of pesto over each tortilla and set aside. In medium sized skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until golden. Add the tomato and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until it is soft and wilted. Remove t...

Registration Extended until Friday, January 23, 2015! New Year, New You! Join us in a 6-week weight loss challenge to getting yourself in shape in 2015! Create a team or participate solo. * Lose 1% or more of your starting weight over the 6 weeks of the challenge! * Complete weekly wellness tasks to be eligible for weekly drawings! * Receive motivational emails from the Live Well Vermont Wellness Staff! Registration Instructions: 1.  Login to the Live Well Vermont Wellness Portal . (First time user? Click on “Click here to sign up” to register a new user account) 2. Sign-up for the challenge by Monday, January 19, 2015 . Friday, January 23, 2015! 3. Click the green “Sign Up” button in the challenge bar. 4. Create a team name or find your team name in the drop down menu. Participating solo? You’ll be your own team! Note : Team and individual names will be visible to ALL participants. 5. Enter your starting weight and select “Sign Up...

Free Outdoor Fun Days for the Whole Community January 24, 11 a.m.—3 p.m. Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center 783 Townshend Road, Grafton February 7, 11 a.m.—3 p.m. Bolton Valley Nordic Center 4302 Bolton Valley Access Rd, Bolton Valley February 28, 11 a.m.—3 p.m. Mountain Top Inn and Resort 195 Mountain Top Road, Chittenden March 14, 11 a.m.—3 p.m. Q Burke Mountain Resort 223 Sherburne Lodge Road, East Burke - Free snowshoe and cross country ski rentals (or bring your own)  - Rentals are given on a first-come, first-served basis - Free access to trails - Bonfire - Healthy snacks - Free fleece hats for the first 50 participants! Experts available to answer health care reform questions. No preregistration required.  For more information call (802) 764-4828  or visit www.bcbsvt.com/sno...

A new year is upon us and many of us are setting goals to improve our overall well being. A big hurdle that many of us face is how to deal with stress. Check out a few simple steps below to help manage stress. Write It Down: Grab a journal and write down what’s happening. What do you want to change? Can you pinpoint the source of your stress and create a plan to alleviate it. Write about your goals and what you hope to achieve. This simple practice will help you manage your stress and focus on the things that are most important to you. Manage Your To-Do List: Sometimes, just looking at your to-do can cause additional stress! Trim the to-do list to manageable goals and be realistic about what you can achieve in a day. If there is no way that you can do 35 things in a particular day, create multiple lists so that you can manage each day without the additional stress of feeling like you can get it all done! Learn to Say No: At home and at work, it is hard to learn when to sa...

These days it takes more than an apple a day to keep the doctor away.   A good doctor is going to pester you about your blood pressure and cholesterol levels—apple or not. And who can blame him? According to the American Heart Association, 105.2 million adults have borderline to high risk blood cholesterol levels. In addition, nearly one in three adults suffers from high blood pressure. And these numbers grow every year. And what’s even scarier is that 82% of those at high risk are unaware of their condition. So what do people do? Pop a pill and try not to think about it? Or maybe join the 82% and don’t even bother to have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked – what they don’t know can’t hurt them, right? Whether you’ve had your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked lately or not, these conditions are deadly and sneaky—many people are unaware of the danger lurking in their own arteries. What’s so bad about high blood pressure and cholesterol leve...

You've just lost weight and you don't want to see that number go back up on your scale. Although gaining the weight back might feel inevitable, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, an analysis by the National Weight Control Registry found long-term weight maintanence is possible. Below are some helpful hints from dietitians and successful people who were able to lose weight and keep if off. Build more lean muscle . Maintain, or even increase, your metabolism by continuing to build lean muscle. If you don't currently strength train, conider adding this type of exercise to your overall program. If you do, increase the amount of weight you're working with to keep yourself challenged. Fight off hunger with more filling foods . A three-year University of Pittsburgh study found that those who avoided weight gain the best were the ones whose meals kept them feeling full. Think fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. Also, those who increased f...

Start spending time with the right people.   These are the people you enjoy, who love and appreciate you, and who encourage you to improve in healthy and exciting ways.  They are the ones who make you feel more alive, and not only embrace who you are now, but also embrace and embody who you want to be, unconditionally. Start facing your problems head on.   It isn't your problems that define you, but how you react to them and recover from them.  Problems will not disappear unless you take action.  Do what you can, when you can, and acknowledge what you've done.  It’s all about taking baby steps in the right direction, inch by inch.  These inches count, they add up to yards and miles in the long run. Start being honest with yourself about everything.   Be honest about what’s right, as well as what needs to be changed.  Be honest about what you want to achieve and who you want to become.  Be honest with every aspect of your l...

Darn it...you did it again! Your efforts of living a healthy lifestyle had been going so well until you went to that Christmas party, caught a nasty cold, got busy at work, went on a luxurious vacation, school was canceled for your kids - basically, life got in the way. You CAN, however, get back on track after feeling derailed. Below are the best strategies to help you overcome the all-or-nothing attitude and recommit to the healthy lifestyle you are determined to live for the long-term: Jot It Down Studies show that keeping a log of your dietary intake and/or your physical activity is a tool - if not the best tool - for optimal weight maintenance  or adherence to a fitness regimen. If you have strayed from your usual healthy eating, recommit to recording what you eat each day. Plan your workouts in a journal or planner so you have an outline for each week's activity. You may find it helpful to record emotions or temptation triggers that steer you off track so you can identify ...

Don't let the rich flavor and mouthwatering moistness of these muffins fool you. You'll have a hard time convincing anyone, but this recipe was modified to include less fat and sugar than the original. This is a great treat to share at holiday parties!  Servings: 40 mini muffins  Ingredients 3 eggs, lightly beaten 2/3 cup raw honey 1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted 7 oz. unsweetened applesauce 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 3 cups almond flour 1 teaspoon baking soda   1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup shredded zucchini 1/4 cup chopped walnuts Preparation Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a mini muffin pan with paper baking cups, or use non-stick cooking spray. In a mixing bowl combine eggs and honey. Add pumpkin, melted coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine all of the dry ingredien...

Christmas is a wonderful time of year to give back to others, have fun, and make lifelong memories. Every family seems to have their own traditions during this time of year – their own way of having fun and making memories. Here are a few Holiday traditions to consider teaching your children this Christmas: Christmas advent calendar.  Purchase or make a calendar that starts on the first of December and has pockets for each date through Christmas. Behind each date, place a small goodie for your children. It could be a small toy, an ornament for the tree or a little note from Santa. Your little ones will love checking the calendar each day as it gets closer to Christmas. Visit a tree farm.  Instead of putting up a fake tree, or just buying one from your local gas station, make it a tradition to take your kids to a tree farm. They will love visiting the farm and getting to help pick out and cut down their favorite tree. Make do it yourself ornaments.  Teach your k...

How many times have you gone through the motions of your exercise routine without being fully present? Our thoughts run wild, ranging from what we're going to eat after the workout to negative thoughts about the way we look or feel. When our mind if focused on something other than the present moment, we're not fully engaging in what our body is doing. If you workout five times a week or more, you're probably using your unconscious mind because you don't have to think about what you're doing. Your unconscious mind is the part of your mind that helps you drive a car or brush your teeth in the morning — almost like autopilot. Your conscious mind, however, is all about awareness. Being aware allows us to evolve our thoughts, emotions and actions. When we're not using our conscious mind to workout, we continue to produce the same results. It's not how hard you workout, it's how well you do it. Below are the three steps you can use during your workout rout...

From the bank-breaking gifts to the derailing parties, the Holiday season can easily go from being the most wonderful time of the year to being the most stressful. This year, stay calm and balanced by observing some of the following strategies and principles: Stay Close to Home. Does t he prospect of crazy, delay-filled holiday travel get you down? Do yourself a favor this year and stay home. Enjoy all of the local activities your area has to offer, or simply stay home, watch Holiday movies, listen to Christmas music and eat popcorn. What could be more festive? Know Your Limits.  Reducing holiday stress requires thoughtfulness and pre-planning. Before the main Holiday events even begin, set some limits for yourself, write them down, and pledge to keep them. As the Holiday season unfolds, take out your list, and remind yourself of your limits and why you made them. Whether it’s limiting yourself to attending only one New Year’s Eve Party or eating only one piece of ...