Month: February 2014

How many of you have ever felt like you were a little stressed out at work? Maybe felt you needed a little more energy by the middle of the day? How about missed a day of work because of a chronic illness or body pain? I’m guessing if you are raising your hands, few people would be left now that don’t have their hand up. I’d love to talk to you to learn your secret!
Most people can relate to at least one or all of the statements above. So what can employers do to help their employees to have better health and be at their best both at work and at home? It’s important for employers of all sizes to encourage a culture of wellness for their employees- even if you are a business of one, a family business, a non-profit or a large corporation. Employee health directly impacts healthcare costs — an issue for every business. However 75% of these costs are driven by preventable and highly manageable chronic diseases, like heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer.

Obesity among full-time employees cost employers $73.1 billion a year in medical costs and lost productivity in 2008. A recent study estimates that an obese person incurs annual medical costs that are over $2,700 higher (in 2005 dollars) than if they were not obese.

Healthy workers + Healthy Corporate Culture =
• Higher productivity
• Less absenteeism
• More job satisfaction
• Better bottom line on health care costs in the long-term
• Connection with co-workers
• Employees are our most valuable asset!

This is a link to an article on America’s Healthier Companies, of all sizes, and what they are doing to be leaders in employee wellness:
http://greatist.com/health/healthiest-companies
Some of the things that you can participate in as an employee of the City of Mesquite are things like wellness coaching (creating a personalized plan, nutrition counseling, exercise planning and instruction); group coaching (creating challenges, rewards, team support); education (Lunch & Learns, handouts, newsletters, videos), and Wellness Days (information, chair massage, blood pressure or other biometric screenings). We also have various wellness activities going on right now that you can be a part of. If you need help figuring out what would work best for you, send me an email and I can help you create a plan.

Liz Jones is the Wellness Coordinator at the City of Mesquite and a wellness professional in Rockwall, Mesquite, Wylie and surrounding areas. She is a writer, certified yoga instructor, personal trainer and wellness coach. She holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Strategic Management, with a graduate certificate in Ethics and Leadership. Her undergraduate studies included communication, business, writing, art, fitness, and dance. Liz Jones can be reached at: [email protected].

As I write this article, yesterday I attended the memorial service of my friend’s 22-year-old son. I have to say, it was heartbreaking and hard to bear for many reasons. My friend Melinda has shown an amazing amount of strength throughout the time I’ve known her. Her son Jake was in a car accident in 2007 and left with a severe traumatic brain injury. He required 24-hour care for the rest of his life. Recently, he took a turn for the worse and sadly passed away after a long battle.
I met Melinda when I first moved to Rockwall a few years ago. I became a part of a group of ladies that went out together and it’s how I got to know some people in the area. Ironically Melinda and I, along with our friend Kim, had something more in common- we all had sons who had suffered traumatic brain injuries to different degrees. They were all different situations and very different outcomes, but I always felt like there was something that brought us together. Although I am deeply saddened by Jake’s passing, I have to say that Melinda is also very inspirational. Nobody can truly know what she is going through, or what she is dealing with, but anyone that has seen her as a mother knows that she was always there for Jake and kept pushing forward, doing what she felt was best for him, no matter what the sacrifice.
Looking at what Jake went through and what Melinda, as a parent, had experienced, it is humbling and puts most other situations into perspective. I won’t compare losing a child to anything else in the world, but I hope that in some way, their story will inspire you to overcome whatever obstacles you perceive to be in your way and to keep moving forward and pushing through.
Here are some tips for various setbacks that commonly throw people off track from their goals:
• A health issue- injury, severe illness or disease can really wreak havoc on a wellness program. Talk to your medical provider, most will encourage you to continue a healthy lifestyle, including a training program and good nutrition to help you through your recovery. If you break an arm, you can still work your legs. I learned after orthoscopic knee surgery many years ago that I would have recovered much better had I stayed active. I also gained over 20 pounds from my couch time and ice cream consumption because I felt bad. Hindsight is 20/20. If you are diagnosed with a disease, again, most medical providers will encourage you to continue eating well and exercising to help your body to fight the disease.
• Relationship ending- many times people will avoid the gym if they went there with an ex, or because their regular habits are changing, they allow that to change their fitness habits as well. Try to focus on yourself and give yourself extra self-care during a breakup and keep active going to the gym, your current Zumba class, or try something new.
• Depression- Although it may be hard to feel motivated when going through situational or chronic depression, exercise is proven to raise endorphin levels and lower the rate of depression. Exercise can also boost your self-esteem, helping with many symptoms of depression. Eating healthy also aid in managing and preventing depression, eating foods high in Omega 3s such and tuna and salmon, avocados as well as increasing Vitamin B and D, and amino acids all have been shown to help.
• Financial issues- Many places, like the YMCA, offer scholarships and other gyms offer some very low cost options, such as Express 24 Fitness, has memberships as low as $15 per month. Many classes offer a free first class or a week trial. Depending on the situation, there are also many workouts you can incorporate at home, outside, with a video or taking a recreation center, low cost class.

Liz Jones is the Wellness Coordinator for the City of Mesquite and a wellness professional in Rockwall, Mesquite, Wylie and surrounding areas. She is a writer, certified yoga instructor, personal trainer and wellness coach. She holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Strategic Management, with a graduate certificate in Ethics and Leadership. Her undergraduate studies included communication, business, writing, art, fitness, and dance. Liz Jones can be reached at: [email protected].

We all have gone through it, in our minds we are doing what we should, going to the gym, eating better, managing our stress and working hard. Then we will step on the scale and not see a number that makes us happy. Or we will get a mind numbing headache when we have been doing our best to be healthy and relaxed. Maybe we work and work, yet feel like our “to do” list has only gotten longer as the days go on. This week’s article will focus on ideas when you hit a plateau or frustration from not making progress that you want to, and what to do if you are doing what you think you should, but still are not feeling fabulous.
This time of year is especially hard. The “newness” of the New Year has worn off, the weather is gloomy and cold. Many people are feeling overwhelmed by goals that they are trying to reach at work, New Year’s “resolutions” that have since lost their luster. I’ve experience much of this myself at different times in my life.
If you are not reaching your goals at the gym:
• Take an HONEST inventory. Did you go to the gym to workout, but cut out some of the activities that were on your daily plan? Did you spend ten minutes talking to someone you know? When you do cardio are you really sweating or are you just going through the motions? If you are lifting weights, how long has it been since you increased your repetitions or weight lifted? Are you actually following a plan or are you just floating around the gym or doing your home workout willy nilly?
• Re-commit to yourself. Goal planning is not just for January 1, in order to reach our goals we need to often reevaluate what is working and what is not and sometimes change up the measurement of success. Was your goal to lose 30 pounds? You may need to break that up to set a goal to lose 1 pound per week and monitor your progress. Did you make a goal to go to yoga class twice a week, but are finding that you are making excuses or your schedule is getting in the way? Make the commitment to yourself again that you WILL make the time to do what you need to do. Don’t give up. Life is a journey, not a destination. You have not failed! You just haven’t finished. Giving up is not an option, so you may as well make the best of it and become determined to work toward the life that you want.
• Give yourself credit for what you have done. Focus on the positive, not the negative or any perceived failure. As with all things, positive acknowledgement encourages more positive behavior. This includes positive reinforcement to ourselves. Scale hasn’t budged? Well, that’s a bummer, but are you feeling better, have you gotten stronger, have you started to develop healthier habits?
• Get support. Work with a trainer. Join a boot camp or group exercise class. Talk to your family and enlist their support. Maybe your family will commit to an activity with you once a week. If you are working with a trainer- listen to what they tell you, be honest, and make sure you are doing what you need to outside of the gym when they are not with you. A big part of my work as a trainer and wellness coach is to listen to what’s going on with people outside of the gym and to help them find ways to overcome challenges they are facing. In order for me to do that, they need to be honest with me and share their struggles as well as their accomplishments. Feel free to email me if you have any topics that you would like to see more information on!

Liz Jones is a wellness professional in Rockwall, Mesquite, Wylie and surrounding areas. She is a writer, certified yoga instructor, personal trainer and wellness coach. She holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Strategic Management, with a graduate certificate in Ethics and Leadership. Her undergraduate studies included communication, business, writing, art, fitness, and dance. Liz Jones can be reached at: [email protected].