A Better Version of Better In the world of health, wellness & performance, everyone’s got an angle – a schtick – they claim is the magic solution to the life you’ve been dreaming about. Maybe it’s a specific diet, a new cream, fitness equipment, training plan, spa escape, motivational video,
The Words We Choose… I’ve long believed that the true value in refraining from certain colorful expressions is not so much about condemning these words but rather more about the verbal laziness they demonstrate on the part of the user, as we noted in this 60 second clip. However, our
Family – Amiright? (The Curiosity Cure) It’s the week leading up to the most anticipated holiday of the year! Yes, indeed, Thanksgiving has now taken the top spot in popularity here in the United States. For many people (as recent surveys suggest, around 79% of Americans), this holiday offers precious
National Resolutions Launch Week! The attention on New Year’s Resolutions may not kick in for another 7 weeks, but did you know THIS WEEK is (at least as far as we’re concerned) National Resolutions Launch Week?? Indeed! Coop – what in the world are you talking about? It’s the first
Choose Your Hard When it comes to making positive changes in our health, wellness, and life, we often find ourselves fixated on two words: “It’s hard.” Indeed, the process of change can be a formidable challenge. Even if we’re dissatisfied with our current circumstances, the gravitational pull of our ingrained
Sports and Spherical Thinking As I sit here at my keyboard, my gaze lands upon a cherished gift from our daughter, Danielle, and a smile graces my lips. It’s a framed collection of precious family memories, and what strikes me is that six out of the ten featured moments revolve
Autopilot: The Invisible Opportunity Autopilot, the silent conductor of our lives, wields both incredible power and perilous influence over our health, wellness, and performance. Paradoxically, it holds the key to both our ascent and our downfall. These two seemingly contradictory statements are a testament to the dual nature of autopilot,
Graduation (at any age) A recent guest on the Catalyst 360 podcast left me pleasantly surprised when he used a unique choice of words to describe a significant transition in his life: graduation. Our conversation had nothing to do with school; rather, we were discussing what most people would commonly
Playing Jenga with Employee Wellbeing (and our promise) Are you a fan of Jenga? This classic game starts with a tower constructed from identical wooden blocks, and players take turns removing these blocks until the tower inevitably tumbles. A recent column by Seth Godin discussed the peril of businesses engaging
Margins One of the most important elements leading toward enhanced health, wellness, performance and life is margins. That’s right: margins. The difference between “available” and “committed.” As we discussed in this episode, access to Freed Will (in contrast to Free Will) depends upon it – perhaps more than any other
In the Meantime I can’t get author Jenny O’Dell’s words out of my head: “In the meantime, you wait with your ear to ground for patterns of vibration that will never repeat themselves. Faced with flatness, you look for an opening…take it… and don’t look back.” Did that capture your
What Would Odysseus Do? We continue our BE-coming journey by tuning into our default modes and identifying potential guardrails, both critical keys to the process. In doing so, we’re going to tap into another famous journey: the Odyssey. Written by Homer in the 7th or 8th century BC, it remains
Foundations Over Fads In our ongoing BE-coming journey, it is simple (even exciting!) to get sidetracked regarding the “coming” element, and in the process disrupting our BE-ing. Let’s put an end to – or at least tap the brakes on – that this week. If you’ve missed the BE-Coming columns
Our lens (ratio) determines our lives How are we seeing the world? Our answer likely determines the life we’re living. As we continue our BE-coming journey together (see previous columns here), today we’ll consider the lens through which we are seeing the world and it’s influence on the life we’re
Adding Zeros for a Better Life Last week we discussed the Big 3 limiters of Freed Will and how to get rolling with a Time/Money/Health debt snowball to begin opening that funnel to enhance our lives and the lives of our employee team members and coaching clients (you can access
Time/Money/Health Debt Snowball Years ago, a running buddy made a comment that stuck: “It seems life requires you to pick 2 out of 3 among time, money and health. You sacrifice health to earn more money… sacrifice money for time… sacrifice time to boost overall health. We get to choose
Horton Hears a What? Dr. Seuss’s elephant Horton was going about his day (On the fifteenth of May, in the jungle of Nool, In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool…) when he effectively tapped into Phase II of our BE…coming journey. For reasons unknown, yet
The Role of FREED Will in Health & Wellbeing Why not start out the BE…coming journey by diving into a concept that has been engaging philosophers and neuroscientists for thousands of years (free will)? That shouldn’t take more than a few paragraphs, right? 😊 No – we’re not going to
Core training is has become a key focus in fitness training because of its ability to strengthen the muscles that move and stabilize the trunk, including the full range of abdominals and back muscles. A strong core powers the body to carry out day-to-day functions, and also reduces stress on
The Foundation and 7 Progressive Steps of BE…coming Last week, we introduced the concept of BE…coming. What it means, why it matters, and some of the key elements we’ll be covering in the coming weeks for those of you interested in walking this journey with us to enhance health, wellness
The Opportunity in BE…coming Becoming: to undergo change or development… to change from one state of existence to another. Its root word “come” is a verb of motion from the Old English cumin, which means “to move with the purpose of reaching, or so as to reach, some point; to
Do you really need 8 glasses of water every day? Should you filter your tap water? Get answers to these questions and more, including if vitamin-spiked water is worth it. The below 8 water facts and questions will help clear up what most bodies need to maintain good hydration. Do
First Principles Thinking in Context of Employee Wellbeing Strategy It’s that time of year when employers are asking “how can we improve our employee wellness program?” If Aristotle were to poke his head in the room, he’d likely point out that’s the wrong question. Instead, he’d likely suggest leaning in
It happens to the best of us: a handful of chips here, a cup of ice cream there and before you know it, you’ve fallen off the healthy eating wagon. Salty, sweet, crunchy snack foods are all around us and oh-so-tempting. And that temptation becomes even stronger when you’re trying
“For many, the big choices in life aren’t really choices; they are quicksand. You just sink into the place you happen to be standing.” Author David Brooks is credited with expressing those words, but we ALL know what it’s like to live them. We move through each day, letting the
Are you planning to retire someday? Maybe that “someday” is decades away. Maybe it’s later this year. Regardless of your timeline, this special episode – our 233rd, which kicks off our 5th season – could potentially be among the most important we’ve ever released in terms of impact on the
In early 1848, the entire population of settlers across all of California would fit in a moderate sized high school gym, numbering less than 1,000 people. By the end of the following year, that figure grew exponentially, exceeding 100,000 people. What happened and what does it have to do with
“Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made every year, yet only 20 percent of people achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance,” says Jessica Bartfield, MD, who specializes in nutrition and weight management as part of her internal medicine practice. And despite whole-hearted and good intentions, there are four main
by Nikki Tucker Food labeling is required for prepared foods such as bread, cereals, canned food, frozen food, snacks, desserts, drinks etc. Labeling for raw produce is currently voluntary, according to the Food and Drug Administration. However, even with food labeling, many people are misinformed about what’s healthy and what’s
Age may be nothing more than a number, but when it comes to nutrition status, certain vitamins and minerals may be of concern as people age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released the Second Nutrition Report which shows that Americans generally have good levels of some
Setting Effective Goals for a Successful Employee Wellness Strategy When an employee wellness strategy isn’t working as planned, it’s important to go back to the basics and look at the expectations on both sides. Employees want to improve their health and lives in ways that matter to them, not to
Don’t Miss Opportunities to Boost ROI for Your Employee Wellness Program Are you missing out on one of the most valuable opportunities to increase the ROI for your employee health and wellness program? Most companies focus on the one or two most obvious areas for growth: Health and Wellness. While
Practical Advice for Improving Your Employee Wellness Program How is your company employee wellness program going? If you’re looking for ways to increase your impact and improve the employee experience, we have some practical advice and things to consider for bringing about effective, positive change in your employees’ lives. A
What Most Employers Don’t Know About Coaching After 25 years of living in the same area, we decided it was time to make a move. First step once we were serious? Find a real estate agent. We considered several, interviewed three and finally decided on one. But I have a
Understanding How to Measure and Revise a Workplace Wellness Program To really understand if workplace wellness programs are “working,” you first need to define what it actually means for a wellness program to “work” and how that is actually measured. For some companies, merely identifying a wellness issue and establishing
US Corporate Wellness is honored to be celebrating our 10th year of service here in 2016. We had no idea where this journey would lead when we launched it from our kitchen table back in early 2007. Like any business, we’ve experienced plenty of ups and downs along the way,
Simply moving more and sitting less can boost your health because of the calorie burning called NEAT, or non-exercise activity thermogenesis. “It takes energy — calories — to move even the smallest muscle,” says Polly de Mille, R.N., an exercise physiologist with the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital
If you are like the many Americans who feel there are not enough hours in the day, read on! Below are five simple exercises that you can do anywhere, anytime, and each one takes as little as 60 seconds. Sound too good to be true? It isn’t! These five exercises
Sleep quality and quantity are increasingly popular topics when it comes to overall health and wellness. In this post, we answer the 10 most common questions about sleep that arise when coaching clients about sleep habits and wellbeing. 1. Will getting one hour less of sleep per night affect daytime
According to a vast amount of research, a lack of proper sleep can put you at risk for a number of negative consequences. Issues such as the poor economy and smaller work forces are leading more people to work longer hours. Many exercise professionals train clients who work in the
With all the focus on calorie count, BMI, weight and exercise, getting the important vitamin and mineral building blocks of our body’s functions can take a back seat in daily food planning. Essential vitamins are not produced by the body and must be included in meals to keep people alive.
Research suggests that the interaction between biological susceptibility and environmental risk is complex and that further study of behavioral typologies related to obesity and associated behaviors is important to further elucidate the nature of obesity risk and how to approach it for intervention. The current investigation aims to identify phenotypical
The sayings “variety is the spice of life” and “happiness isn’t getting what you want, but wanting what you get” seem to have a psychological basis, according to a new study by a University of Missouri psychologist who identified two keys to becoming happier and staying that way. “Although the
Most people go through life setting goals for themselves, which is a healthy habit. But what happens when a life-altering experience renders those goals unachievable or even unhealthy? A new collaborative study published in Psycho-Oncology by Carsten Wrosch of Concordia University’s Department of Psychology and Centre for Research in Human
Most Greek-style yogurt are high in protein and therefore filling.(Heather Ainsworth, The New York Times) A low-calorie snack can backfire if it doesn’t fill you up, nutritionists say. “It’s more important to choose something that will satisfy longer than to go for a snack simply because it may be lower
For those people concerned that their body mass index (BMI) score is not accurate due to significant muscle mass, here are two better ways to check for a healthy weight measurement: Waist-to-hip ratio: Wrap a measuring tape around your body at the midpoint between your lowest rib and hip bone
With New Year’s resolutions still fresh in mind, many people are taking bold steps to get fit and build strength. But some strength training exercises revered by gyms and fitness instructors may not be based on how the body works best. “All too often, strength training programs don’t take into
At 20 minutes after quitting: Blood pressure decreases Pulse rate drops Body temperature of hands and feet increases. At 8 hours: Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal Oxygen level in blood increases to normal At 24 hours: Chance of a heart attack decreases At 48 hours: nerve endings
Will you greet January feeling good about how you traversed the round of holiday parties and traditions, or will you be frantically trying to get those extra pounds off in a hurry? If you wait until January to deal with holiday weight gain, you will likely feel frustrated and overwhelmed
Does your kitchen pantry work with or against your healthy eating habits? For most people, it’s likely time for a makeover. Having a pantry stocked with healthy items will not only make cooking meals and preparing snacks easier, it’ll also make eating wholesome food a breeze. After organizing your pantry,