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The employess of the City of Billings have great resources available to them. They have a Wellness Committee through the Human Resource Department which offers many activities to promote healthy eating and wellness. Right now, the city of Billings is having a Holiday competition. It is called Holiday Trimmings. Since the average person gains between 8-12 pounds during the holiday season, the Wellness Committee designed this program to compete in a weight loss program and encourage physical activity. I just wanted to mention this to show an example of a Wellness Program in Billings that is promoting health.

Healthy Eating Tips

1. Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all. Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs. Use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels as handy references.

2. Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Surveys show most Americans don't eat enough of these foods. Do you eat 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, cereal and pasta group, 3 of which should be whole grains? Do you eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don't enjoy some of these at first, give them another chance. Look through cookbooks for tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.

3. Maintain a healthy weight. The weight that's right for you depends on many factors including your sex, height, age and heredity. Excess body fat increases your chances for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and other illnesses. But being too thin can increase your risk for osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities and other health problems. If you're constantly losing and regaining weight, a registered dietitian can help you develop sensible eating habits for successful weight management. Regular exercise is also important to maintaining a healthy weight.

4. Eat moderate portions. If you keep portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy. Did you know the recommended serving of cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to a deck of playing cards? A medium piece of fruit is 1 serving and a cup of pasta equals 2 servings. A pint of ice cream contains 4 servings. Refer to the Food Guide Pyramid for information on recommended serving sizes.

5. Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you're very hungry, it's also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don't eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal.

6. Reduce, don't eliminate certain foods. Most people eat for pleasure as well as nutrition. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt or sugar, the key is moderating how much of these foods you eat and how often you eat them.

Identify major sources of these ingredients in your diet and make changes, if necessary. Adults who eat high-fat meats or whole-milk dairy products at every meal are probably eating too much fat. Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help balance your choices.

Choosing skim or low-fat dairy products and lean cuts of meat such as flank steak and beef round can reduce fat intake significantly.

If you love fried chicken, however, you don't have to give it up. Just eat it less often. When dining out, share it with a friend, ask for a take-home bag or a smaller portion.

7. Balance your food choices over time. Not every food has to be "perfect." When eating a food high in fat, salt or sugar, select other foods that are low in these ingredients. If you miss out on any food group one day, make up for it the next. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern.

8. Know your diet pitfalls. To improve your eating habits, you first have to know what's wrong with them. Write down everything you eat for three days. Then check your list according to the rest of these tips. Do you add a lot of butter, creamy sauces or salad dressings? Rather than eliminating these foods, just cut back your portions. Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? If not, you may be missing out on vital nutrients.

9. Make changes gradually. Just as there are no "superfoods" or easy answers to a healthy diet, don't expect to totally revamp your eating habits overnight. Changing too much, too fast can get in the way of success. Begin to remedy excesses or deficiencies with modest changes that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. For instance, if you don't like the taste of skim milk, try low-fat. Eventually you may find you like skim, too.

10. Remember, foods are not good or bad. Select foods based on your total eating patterns, not whether any individual food is "good" or "bad." Don't feel guilty if you love foods such as apple pie, potato chips, candy bars or ice cream. Eat them in moderation, and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health.

To review the Food Guide Pyramid Click Here (www.MyPyramid.gov)

MyPyramid.gov is a website full of great information and FREE online programs to help you manage and track your daily food intake! It makes eating healthy easy, and if you want my advise I would take the time to join MyPyramid tracker. This is a FREE online program that helps you track not only your daily food intake and calories but also your activities and calories burned: your results are tracked for you in charts and graphs that are easy to follow!!! This is an excellent step toward a healthier life style.

Workplace Exercise Tips

1. Take the stairs!!!
2. Take a walk at lunch, around your building or inside through the halls!
3. Focus on keeping your abs tight while sitting at your desk during the day!
4. Do lunges down the hallway!
5. Offer to do any heavy lifting - this will help you tone those muscles!

Basics of a Healthy Diet

Balance
Providing balance in your diet involves an intentional inclusion of different foods in proportion to each other based on the value that each food has to your total goal. For some, food choices might include a specific macronutrient balance. Most health organizations recommend a diet consisting of a balance from Carbohydrate at 55-65%, Protein at 10-15% and Fats at no higher than 30% of total calories. Other programs sometimes recommend that the nutrient balances be altered to a 40: 30: 30% or 75: 15: 10% Carbohydrate: Protein: Fat total calorie percent balance, respectively. Lastly, balance refers to choosing healthier foods more often than foods that are less healthy.
Moderation
With obesity incidence growing at epidemic rates, one of the biggest concerns for Americans should be portion control. Moderation first involves learning how much food is enough and how much is too much. Many dieting programs are very successful simply because they are very good at helping clients learn to plan food portion sizes appropriately. Because the feeling of fullness in the stomach can take as long as twenty minutes to register to the brain, it is important to regulate how much food is ingested before waiting for a full-feeling. Moderation, therefore, also involves learning the distinct difference between hunger satisfaction and fullness.

www.cdc.gov

How to Relieve Low Back Pain

Take an anti-inflammatory medication (these help to decrease the swelling and inflammation in the spine). Apply ice or heat to your back. Stop all strenuous activities. Relieve the pressure on the sciatic nerve with correct postures. Use proper back supports. Do low back exercises. See your doctor if the pain persists or goes into the leg.

Examples of a Lower Back Exercises

do each exercise 1 to 5 times, twice each day. Gradually increase your workout to 10 repetitions twice a day. Use slow, smooth actions as you exercise. If you feel any discomfort while doing the exercises, stop immediately and contact your physician. Stop any exercise that increases back pain or causes tingling, numbness, or weakness in your legs.


1. Double knee-to-chest stretch

a. Lie down on back.
b. Pull both knees in to chest until you feel a comfortable stretch in lower back.
c. Keep the back relaxed.
d. Hold for 45 to 60 seconds.

2. Pelvic tilt exercise

a. Lie on back with knees bent, feet flat on floor, and arms at sides (a)
b. Flatten small of back against floor. (Hips will tilt upward.) (b)
c. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds and release. Gradually increase your holding time to 60 seconds.

3. Lower trunk rotation stretch

a. Lie on back.
b. Keeping back flat and feet together, rotate knees to one side.
c. Hold for 45 to 60 seconds

http://www.wholefitness.com/