Have you made a New Year’s Resolution to become healthier in 2012? Check out these 12 tools that can assist you in achieving your goal this year:
Exercise
Regular exercise is one of the most important things you can do to improve your health. It can help strengthen your muscles and bones, control weight and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Most importantly, it can increase your chances of living a long and healthier life. Here are some resources available to you to help you add exercise to your daily routine:
1) 50% Reduced Rate on Single and Family Memberships: Full- and part-time ProMedica employees are eligible for a 50% reduced rate on single and family memberships at participating fitness locations. For more information and a list of participating locations, go to the “Employee Discounts” page at my.promedica.org/hr&payrollservices. Note: You must be logged in to myProMedica to view the discounts page.
2) Take the Stairs: An easy and free way to become more physically active is to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walking up the stairs burns three times more calories than taking the elevator! Look for motivational signs in ProMedica stairwells encouraging you to consider this simple way to exercise even when you don’t have time!
3) Use ProMedica Walking Paths and Exercise Rooms: Take advantage of the walking paths at your worksite. To locate ProMedica walking paths, go to my.promedica.org/employeewellness and click on the “Manage Your Lifestyle” tab or check out the ProMedica walking paths on the American Heart Association’s Start! web site http://startwalkingnow.org/start_walking_path_search_result.jsp. If you have an exercise room at your ProMedica worksite, commit to stopping in before or after work or during your break. Exercising for even 10 – 15 minutes can help you reduce stress and feel better. Contact human resources for more information about your exercise room.
4) Exercises from Your ProMedica Experts: Need some guidance on specific exercises? ProMedica experts have developed some videos to help. Click here to view:
Tobacco Free
Kicking the tobacco habit is not easy but here are a number of free resources available to help you and your spouse.
5) Free Tobacco Cessation Counseling: ProMedica tobacco treatment specialists can help you on your journey to become tobacco free. Free individual counseling and group classes are available to all ProMedica employees and spouses. For tobacco treatment contact information and the dates and locations of upcoming group classes, go to my.promedica.org/employeewellness.
6) Ohio Quit Line and Free Nicotine Replacement Therapy: ProMedica employees and spouses covered by Paramount insurance can take advantage of free telephone counseling and nicotine replacement therapy from the Ohio Quit Line at 1-800-Quit-Now. For more information on ways to quit, go to www.paramounthealthcare.com/quitsmoking.
Manage Your Weight
It can be challenging to maintain a healthy weight! Even modest weight loss can reap big benefits. Dropping 10 pounds can result in improved blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. To help you lose or maintain a healthy weight, consider joining a wellness challenge!
7) Live Healthy Challenge: ProMedica employees and their spouses are invited to participate in this six-week challenge, which begins on Sun., Jan. 15. You can personalize the challenge by selecting the habits that you would like to improve and earn points. This challenge will encourage you to eat healthier by adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet; lose weight by controlling food portion sizes, keeping a food diary and/or monitoring your weight weekly; and get fit by adding exercise to your day. Visit my.promedica.org/employeewellness to learn more about the Live Healthy Challenge. You must enroll by Tues., Jan. 31 to participate in the challenge.
Eat Healthier
8) Healthier Food Choices at ProMedica: Whether you are at a ProMedica event, dining in a ProMedica cafeteria or checking out the vending machines, you will find plenty of healthy choices! In the cafeteria, look for Nutritious and Delicious items labeled with a green apple icon to identify foods lower in sugar and saturated fat and higher in fiber. Foods identified with a blue salt shaker icon represent low sodium selections. Looking for a better choice for a dessert or snack? Look for foods in the cafeteria or vending machines with a purple “Better Choices” label.
9) Learn to Cook Healthier: Cooking healthy does not need to be difficult. Watch how it’s done and try some simple, healthy recipes. Click here to watch several healthy cooking demonstrations presented by Nathan Drendel, ProMedica Wellness dietitian.
10) Healthy Recipes: For healthier meals, transform your recipes by making a few, simple ingredient substitutions. Visit my.promedica.org/employeewellness and click on “Recipe Contest” for recipe makeover tips and winning recipes submitted by ProMedica employees.
Manage Your Stress
High levels of stress can lead to serious health problems. Don’t wait until stress has a negative impact on your health, relationships or quality of life. Consider using these free ProMedica resources:
11) Work-life Balance Employee Assistance Program: These free, confidential resources can help you find solutions for the everyday challenges of work and home as well as for more serious issues involving emotional and physical well-being. Services provided include telephone or face-to-face consultations, educational materials and online resources. To learn more, click on the following link to visit the Work-life Balance web site: www.lifebalance.net. (User Name and Password: lifebalance). Or, you can talk to a Work-life Balance consultant by calling the following phone numbers:
Toll-free, 24-hour Access
English: 1-800-854-1446
Spanish: 1-877-858-2147
TTY/TDD: 1-800-999-3004
12) Practice a Relaxation Technique: Learn how to relax from ProMedica experts. Get control of your stress response by practicing several relaxation techniques daily. To access ProMedica relaxation audiotapes, visit www.promedica.org and click “Listen.”
In 2012, commit to changing one lifestyle habit to improve your health and well-being.
Often with the beginning of a new year, comes a resolution to not stay where you are. Taking that first step can be exciting, or even scary, but it is necessary to achieve great things. Your courage to take that first step is essential to achieving great things for yourself and for the community we are honored to serve.
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