Consider these startling statistics:

• 65% of the people admitted to the hospital are there because of their lifestyle habits.1
  
• $19.8 billion spent to treat diabetes.2
• People with poor eating habits generate 41% higher healthcare claim costs than people with good eating habits.2
• Employees with three or more high risk factors have twice as many claims as those without risks.3
• Employees who smoke experience 31% higher claim costs than employees
  who do not smoke.1
  

So whether your group is a company, trade association, special interest or spiritual group, your colleagues will benefit from her call to self-care.

The corporate community has experienced hard dollar savings from promoting employee wellness. Coors Brewing Company in Golden, CO has been providing employee wellness programs since 1981, and they contend they save $4.36 for every dollar they commit to wellness. Johnson and Johnson claims they save over $2.00 for each dollar committed to wellness promotion.

But most importantly, people love it! Someone once commented to Judi "Hearing you is sort of like going to church. I know what I need to do, I just need to be reminded on a regular basis." So bringing wellness to your convention or tradeshow is an opportunity to remind your associates of theimportance of personal health. It says "We care about the whole you."

Source:
1. Steven D. Brink, F.S.A., M.A.A.A.; Milliman, Robertson Inc.
2. Healthy Weight Journal, 402 S. 14th St, Hettinger, ND 58639
3. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

GOOD WELLNESS WEBSITE: http://www.fitnessconsulting.com

Fact:

There is no magic belt to melt away flab and make muscles bigger and stronger. If it sounds to good to be true, unfortunately is usually isn'ttrue. These electronic stimulus devices DON'T WORK!!!!!!! Don't waste your $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

How can you get a flatter, more toned abdomen area:

• Reduce overall caloric and fat intake. Burn more calories than you take in.
• There is no such thing as "SPOT REDUCTION." You have to lose the fat first and then those muscles you've been working on and developing will show. Sit-ups/crunches don't eliminate the fat on your belly. Leg lifts don't burn the fat on your thighs. Arm exercises don't burn the fat off the back of your arms. BUMMER!
• Get regular cardiovascular and strength exercises. Aerobic exercise is the best way to burn calories. Strength training builds muscle mass and the more muscle you have - the more calories you will burn at rest. Your excess calories are stored as fat.
• During a partial sit-up or abdominal crunch, feel yourself pulling
  in your stomach. Imagine your belly button pulling in toward your spine.
• Work your lower abdominals, which contribute to core stability, by learning to maintain a neutral spine during a variety of leg and arm exercises with and without weights.
• Strong abdominals may also help if you have back problems. It's the old and sometimes sad story, but nothing can replace the time and effort you put into anything worthwhile, including real exercise. You get out of it - what you put into it.
  

How many meals and calories should you consume? The truth about the numbers game.

By Suzanne Kokkins, Registered Dietician for Lifetime

http://womencentral.msn.com/fitnesshealth/experts/LTVexperta.asp

Q: How do you determine how many calories you should be eating each day? Also, I've heard that eating six meals per day is better than three meals.Can you explain which is better and why?

A: Caloric needs vary greatly from person to person, based on many different factors including activity level, gender, age, height, weight and body frame. You can calculate a rough estimate of your own personal caloric needs by multiplying your weight by 10 if you're a woman or by 11 if you're a man.

This will give you your basic energy needs for your resting metabolism, but you'll need to add more calories if you are very physically active. When it comes to how to split up those calories by meals, I recommend eating small, frequent meals rather than sitting down to three larger meals. There are several different reasons for this. Smaller, more frequent meals will boost your base metabolism and help control your blood sugar levels, so that
you're less apt to feel sluggish and go seeking stimulants, like sugar and caffeine.

Remember, however, that when you are eating frequently throughout the day, you must pay attention to portion control. Your snacks and meals must be reasonably sized so that you don't exceed your caloric needs and wind up gaining weight. For instance, aim to eat a handful of pretzels instead of a whole bag, just a checkbook-sized portion of meat, and a CD case-sized portion of pasta. (Also, look at packaged food labels and note the serving sizes. You might be surprised to see just how small they are!) Some people might do better with three meals and one snack if they have problems with controlling portion size.