By Carol Phillips

Welcome to spring sports season and gearing up for summer day trips! Does the thought of packing the cooler contribute to your stress or is it part of the excitement of getting out of the house? Either way, here are some tips to make it easier to eat healthy on the go and keep everyone’s tummy happy!

Find out what everyone likes.

Why spend time and money only to learn that family members are tired of the same old thing? Invite everyone to make a list of the healthy foods they like to ensure you won’t have to deal with hangry kids and food going to waste.

Use tools that work for you.

Is it better to have one large cooler for a particular trip or should each person have an insulated lunchbox? When it’s time to eat, will you all be together or will you branch out during the day? Pausing to picture what the day will bring makes it easier to decide the best way to pack food. Don’t forget the utensils, napkins, and freezer packs. Instead of packing a whole bag of oranges, peel them at home and put them in reusable containers.

Hydrate!

Most people are not well-hydrated on a daily basis, making it impossible for our bodies to work optimally. Be sure everyone has drinks that offer nutrition and are not high in caffeine and sugar.

Tip: If you don’t like the taste of plain water, fill your water bottle mostly with water and then add a quality sports drink or an all-natural juice. Change up the flavors regularly for fun and to take advantage of the different vitamins, carbs, protein, fiber, and electrolytes they offer. Also, an extra gallon of water in the back of your vehicle can be used for drinking and for cleaning up.

What to eat?

It’s easier to eat healthy when a variety of sliced fruits and vegetables are available. Dipping sauces add to the fun. Shop for sauces and dressings that are made from healthy ingredients with low or no salt or sugar.

Also, hummus, yogurt, nuts, cheese, popcorn, protein bars, leftovers, turkey, chicken, healthy beef jerky, and dark chocolate are popular choices. Quarter sandwiches and slice subs to make it easier to grab and eat. Use lettuce leaves instead of bread or try pita pockets.

Put out all the fixings and let everyone prepare and pack their own lunches. Bonus: Less work for you and they can take pride in their efforts!

Everything in moderation.

Enjoying a favorite unhealthy snack during vacation or while celebrating a sports playoff win is better than eating that food as a regular part of your diet. Take pride in ensuring that most, if not all, packed foods are healthy. Perfection and guilt can set us up for future unhealthy bingeing.

Pack hand sanitizer or anti-bacterial hand wipes.

Since a sink with soap may not be close by, be sure everyone has an opportunity to destroy those nasty germs before eating. Avoid the chance of your fun outing being followed by time spent sick in bed.

Pack a garbage bag.

Many public parks require visitors to remove all personal trash. Throw a bag right in your cooler and you’ll be good to go. Also, when heading back home, if the cooler is empty, put the garbage bag in the cooler, so you won’t have to deal with bad smells or leaks in your vehicle.

Parenting tip: Ask children: “What are we forgetting?†Teach them to pause and think about what is needed to reduce the stress of forgotten items. When they think of something, give them positive feedback and thank them for their help.

Ready for fun?

Make shopping and food prep a family affair. Invite everyone to help. Turn on some music and excitedly discuss the upcoming game or outing while packing the cooler and vehicle. When returning home, invite everyone to help unpack and put items away while reflecting on your quality time together. Enjoy!

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Carol Phillips (“Coach Carolâ€) is an author, speaker, health coach, and consultant. She is the award-winning author of 52 Simple Ways to Health and Coach Carol’s Do-It-Yourself Health Coaching Guidebook. Based in Manchester, NH, she can be reached through her website at www.HealthDesignNH.com

Carol Phillips is a national health and wellness expert, the award-winning author of 52 Simple Ways to Health, and the radio host of Ask Coach Carol. Her company, Health Design, helps businesses significantly reduce costs and increase productivity by prioritizing health, wellness, and safety practices. Health Design is a SHRM Recertification Provider. Based in Manchester, NH, she can be reached through her website at HealthDesignNH.com.

Meditate for Mental and Physical Health

By Carol Phillips

Meditating for mental and physical health is an important part of balancing our busy lives. Are you giving your brain time each day to unwind, rest, and rejuvenate? Do you use the power of meditation to improve your quality of life? People who meditate, especially daily, know first-hand the many mental and physical benefits of this healthy habit.

According to Merriam-Webster, meditation is defined as: “to engage in contemplation or reflection.†I describe meditation as “letting your brain relax and be free.†There’s a funny, but true saying that goes something like this: “If you don’t have five minutes to meditate, meditate for 20.†In other words, if you can’t find five minutes for your health, you are overscheduled, which can lead to a host of health problems, including chronic stress, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Why is it important to implement meditation into our daily lives? Our lives tend to be overly scheduled and we continuously deal with unavoidable stressors and challenges. Meditation helps us to take a pause from the constant onslaught of information entering our brains. Our mental and physical health is often screaming for us to JUST STOP FOR A MOMENT or two… or ten—but are we listening? Too often, the answer is no.

Meditation is an extraordinarily healthy habit. When we purposely meditate, we are fully engaging in letting our brain “do its thing.†This wonderful behavior is an invaluable way to prioritize mental health.

TIPS

Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Identify one or two times during the day that would be best for you to meditate. It doesn’t have to be a big block of time, unless you want it to be. One or two minutes daily is better than none and you can build from there. One suggestion is to mediate upon waking and either after work or before bedtime. It’s a great way to relax before going to sleep.
• Sit in a comfortable position in a quiet environment, if possible. Wiggle your upper body for a few seconds, then settle into a still, relaxed position with your spine straight (leaning causes stress and physical distraction).
• Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Close your mouth and relax your jaw. Consciously relax all your muscles, from the top of your head, all the way down to your toes.
• Slow your breathing and take yourself, mentally, to a setting you find very peaceful. For me, it’s the beach. What is it for you?
• Remind your brain to be calm and gently dismiss any negative or busy thoughts that come into your mind. Enjoy the experience of the quiet, tranquil setting you have created while your brain and body begin to rejuvenate.
• Notice that the longer you meditate, the better you feel.
• When done, take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Open your eyes and gently begin to move. Be conscious of all the ways you feel better, which will motivate you to find more and more time to practice this healthy habit.
• Give yourself positive feedback every time you prioritize time to meditate.

REACH OUT

Ask family, friends, and co-workers what helps them to prioritize daily meditation. Ask a friend to meditate together after exercising. Or meditate with family members before bedtime.

People who meditate daily often share that this simple practice has greatly enhanced many areas of their lives. Are you ready to reap the benefits? Give your brain the daily rest it needs to help you stay mentally fit!

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Carol Phillips (“Coach Carolâ€) is an author, speaker, health coach, and consultant. She is the award-winning author of 52 Simple Ways to Health and Coach Carol’s Do-It-Yourself Health Coaching Guidebook. Based in Manchester, NH, she can be reached through her website at www.HealthDesign

Carol Phillips is a national health and wellness expert, the award-winning author of 52 Simple Ways to Health, and the radio host of Ask Coach Carol. Her company, Health Design, helps businesses significantly reduce costs and increase productivity by prioritizing health, wellness, and safety practices. Health Design is a SHRM Recertification Provider. Based in Manchester, NH, she can be reached through her website at HealthDesignNH.com.

By Carol Phillips

Have you discovered the gift of mindfulness? We often hear the term “mindfulness†used in conversations regarding health and wellness. Do you use the power of mindfulness in your daily life? Have you already experienced the many benefits of this powerful tool or is your life simply too busy?

According to Merriam-Webster.com, mindfulness is “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.†I describe mindfulness as “purposeful thought.â€

A Wonderful Healthy Habit

This wonderful healthy habit is a way to incorporate gratitude and positive thinking into your life on a daily basis. Beware of being “in the moment” with a “glass half empty” mentality (which most people don’t even realize they’re doing), which is not the direction we want to go. Negative thinking only leads to high stress, an increased risk of depression, and having more time to drum up conflict with others, a.k.a. “misery loves company.”

The idea is to be aware of your thoughts, take a step back from conflict and embrace positive thinking. Be grateful for what you have in your life and try to understand another person’s point of view. Put yourself in their shoes, figuratively, and you’ll be more likely to have an empathetic and understanding mindset.

Daily Balance

Health and wellness depend on balance, preferably daily. This is one of the reasons why taking a one-week vacation each year feels too short… because it is! There’s an imbalance between the vast number of work hours and the brief time off. We don’t allow our brains sufficient time to catch up. We even tend to overschedule our vacations and life becomes a vicious cycle of over-activity and stress.

How much time do you spend each day thinking about past regrets or worrying about what you need to accomplish in the future, whether it’s tomorrow, next month, or next year? Most of that time only results in brain fatigue.

When we learn to appreciate the good things in life and live in the moment, our brains can begin to unwind and relax, reducing stress. This, in turn, has a positive effect on our physical wellness: our heart rate and blood pressure tend to go down and our energy increases, to name just a few. This all combines to move us in a healthier direction.

You Can Do It!

How can you easily implement this magical practice into your daily life and why is it so important? Our lives tend to be overly scheduled and we continuously deal with unavoidable stressors and challenges. See the following hints to practice mindfulness:

• Choose various times during the day to just take a few seconds to stop and breathe. Literally tell your brain to relax.
• Concentrate on just doing one thing at a time; having one thought at a time. Pay attention to what you’re doing, such as driving. How many times have you driven somewhere and not remembered the trip?
• When you’re speaking with someone, really pay attention to what they’re saying. When you’re constantly thinking about your response, you’re not listening to them.
• If you feel stressed, focus on something quiet and calming. For example, sitting alone on the beach.
• Practice gratitude. Be continuously grateful for all the positives in your life.
• Remind yourself that you don’t need to be thinking, worrying, and planning all the time. You can set aside a five-minute block every day to process negative thoughts and then move back into a positive direction!
• Give yourself positive feedback every time you take time to be mindful.
• Use the buddy system and challenge a friend to incorporate mindfulness into their life and then give each other updates.
• Consciously notice all the benefits realized, which will motivate you to find more and more time to practice this healthy habit.

Practicing mindfulness on a daily basis will most certainly be a boost to your mental and physical health and wellness. Ready, set, be thoughtful!

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Carol Phillips is a national health and wellness expert, the award-winning author of 52 Simple Ways to Health, and the radio host of Ask Coach Carol. Her company, Health Design, helps businesses significantly reduce costs and increase productivity by prioritizing health, wellness, and safety practices. Health Design is a SHRM Recertification Provider. Based in Manchester, NH, she can be reached through her website at HealthDesignNH.com.

By Carol Phillips

The middle of summer is a great time to enjoy some vacation days and give your brain a break! Escape the endless demands of work, school, and the many other obligations we juggle on a regular basis.

Here are some tips to not only make sure our mental health is in a good place, but to create as much joy in our lives as possible:

Create a stress-free morning routine.

Instead of waking up to a blaring alarm and immediately worrying about everything you need to do that day, choose a ringtone that you enjoy. Also, think of something positive you’re looking forward to during the day or take a moment to be grateful for the blessings in your life. Give yourself enough time to get ready, so you’re not always fighting the clock, which only creates stress.

Be cognizant of everything that is going well.

Be cognizant of everything that is going well during the day, but be realistic and prepared for when something goes wrong or when an unexpected challenge presents itself. The world doesn’t revolve around us, so we often need to be flexible. Accepting these situations and handling them the best we can, instead of allowing ourselves to get upset, makes life much easier. As the saying goes, “I can’t control many situations, but I can control how I respond to them.â€

The kids are watching!

If you have children, always be aware that they are watching and learning from you. Our actions have much more impact on them than what we verbally tell them. Modeling good mental health care, staying positive, and showing them how to handle difficult times helps to give them the tools they need to stay mentally healthy.

Learn to cope.

Adopt a new way to cope with disappointment, if this is an area you find difficult. Whether it’s a last-minute vacation flight being cancelled, or becoming ill and having to skip a party you were looking forward to attending, we inevitably have to deal with missing out on activities we were looking forward to. In those situations, I take some time to mentally process the loss, then I look for a “Plan B,†so my brain can get to a better place. For example, if I have to cancel a fun day with a friend due to not feeling well, I’ll reschedule in the near future, so the fun is simply delayed, not cancelled.

What are you stressing about?

Be aware of what causes you to feel stressed and deal with them one at a time. Find ways to reduce the negative effects they have on you, whether it’s solving a problem, distracting yourself, or meditating. Chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and other health problems. When we’re in a good place mentally, our physical health benefits. The mind/body connection is very strong, so use it to your advantage.

Find your “go-to” ways to reduce stress.

During stressful times, find what works best for you to reduce that stress. For example, call a friend for support, watch a funny show, listen to calming music, take a walk, or start a new hobby. The sky’s the limit!

When you learn to ride the waves of life with grace, your mental outlook will improve. You’ll also feel happier and healthier, and ready to tackle anything.

Carol Phillips is a national health and wellness expert, the award-winning author of 52 Simple Ways to Health, and the radio host of Ask Coach Carol. Her company, Health Design, helps businesses significantly reduce costs and increase productivity by prioritizing health, wellness, and safety practices. Health Design is a SHRM Recertification Provider. Based in Manchester, NH, she can be reached through her website at HealthDesignNH.com.

Is your company ignoring employee wellness? Health and wellness are a vital part of our lives, every moment of every day, including our working hours. During the early 2000s, many companies increased their focus on this important topic and implemented wellness programs, with the knowledge that healthier employees reduce costs and improve productivity, resulting in better morale and increased profits. However, at that time, significant studies had not been done to help quantify the true value (or ROI ?— return on investment) of wellness programs. While most would say it is common sense to help employees optimize their health, skeptical employers were still insisting on seeing financial proof that wellness programs were a good investment, as opposed to an added expense.

Enter the large studies conducted in 2007 and 2008. Not only did these studies confirm the fact that effective wellness programs are a wise investment—not an expense—but they also revealed impressively significant ROIs. In most cases, wellness programs provided a return of $2-$6 for every $1 invested. Furthermore, the returns were realized in as little as 2-5 years. And, as if that wasn’t impressive enough, in recent years, companies who have been voted as the best companies to work for have reported returns as high as $8 for every $1 invested in the wellness of their employees.

Even with this information available, many companies continue to operate without a formal wellness program. I often hear business owners say they can’t afford a wellness program. The truth is that companies can’t operate optimally without an effective program in place. Here’s why:

Comprehensive employee wellness studies concluded that U.S. employers lose a staggering $153 billion each year due to their employees’ lack of wellness. In addition, experts report that this number is a conservative estimate and the true cost is even higher. These losses are due to a wide variety of factors, including higher:

-Insurance costs

-Absenteeism

-Presenteeism (employees who are at work but are not productive)

-Incidents of worksite accidents

-Employee turnover

When meeting with potential clients, I spend the majority of the beginning of meetings educating business owners and managers on the high cost of “unwellness.†Employees are not 100% healthy and 100% productive every day, hence, the need for wellness programs. Effective programs are not an add-on value for a company; they are a crucial means to reduce the financial losses companies otherwise suffer every day.

As an employer or manager, do you realize that without a wellness program your company is losing an average of $3,500 per employee/per year? For employees who smoke, this number jumps to $5,500, and in cases of certain health conditions, such as heart disease and cancer, the number can be a staggering $9,500 per employee/per year.

In a company of 100 employees, using the $3,500 per employee/per year average, that equals a whopping $350,000 loss per year or $29,167 per month. Oftentimes, employers are not aware this is happening and this is where the true benefit of wellness programs enters the picture. Effective wellness programs are designed to reduce these losses and increase productivity.

Utilizing the example above, if the company with 100 employees implements a quality wellness program and over the course of two years improves overall health by a conservative 20%, the savings would average $70,000 annually. Once aware of the potential savings, why would an employer choose not to support the wellness of their employees?

An effective wellness program is a necessity, a highly effective tool, designed to reduce the “financial bleeding†that is already taking place. Employers are wise to prioritize wellness as a means to reduce the financial losses that are an inevitable part of hiring employees and doing business.

What is the number for your company? You can easily do the math by multiplying the number of your employees by the $3,500 average to determine your annual loss. I highly recommend you take this number to your next managers’ meeting to discuss a plan to prioritize wellness. The result will be healthier employees and a healthier company.

Carol Phillips is a national health and wellness expert, the award-winning author of 52 Simple Ways to Health, and the radio host of Ask Coach Carol. Her company, Health Design, helps businesses significantly reduce costs and increase productivity by prioritizing health, wellness, and safety practices. Health Design is a SHRM Recertification Provider. Based in Manchester, NH, she can be reached through her website at HealthDesignNH.com.

By Carol Phillips

Bad bosses—we’ve all dealt with one directly or we know one… or many. Most of us at some point have pondered, “Why haven’t they been fired?â€

Although I don’t like to label people as “bad,†the term “bad bosses†has become part of our business language. The term identifies a segment of the work population that causes much conflict and costs employers significant amounts of money.

What do the polls say?

A 2015 Gallup Poll revealed that half of all employees who quit their jobs do so to escape their direct managers. Think about it: Out of all the reasons why people leave employers, 50% resign due to the actions of one person. This decision is a negative and direct link to health and wellness. Bad bosses create enormous amounts of employee stress. Workplace stress costs companies millions of dollars in lost productivity and lawsuits each year. This drives up healthcare costs and creates countless problems for employers.

Stressed employees

Imagine how high the average employee’s stress level needs to be for them to make the serious decision to quit their job for no other reason than to escape a negative environment they have little or no control over. Most likely, these employees believe the situation is not going to improve and that their company will likely not fire the person for their poor behavior. In addition, this leads to employees having a poor view of management, further damaging employee morale. This contributes to a toxic company culture.

When our stress levels are so high we begin to look for an exit, we are in full “fight or flight†mode. Our brains are operating at a primal survival level, one where we seek a better situation in which to feel safe, healthy, and valued. Most employees crave a work environment in which they can feel safe, productive, and respected. They want to be treated fairly. When these elements are missing due to the actions of an immediate supervisor, employees are forced to hyper-focus on their own well-being vs. their own work, which saps productivity.  

Does having a toxic non-management employee result in the same damage to a company as a toxic manager? No. The toxic manager is doing more harm to your company. Every company has a hierarchy—company culture typically works “top down.†Therefore, the toxic manager tends to poison those around them and everyone below them. The non-management employee tends to have a more limited negative effect. In addition, the toxic employee tends to be fired more quickly, whereas the toxic manager tends to create a broader unhealthy environment and can cause multiple employees to quit before upper management takes control of the situation, if ever.

Change hesitancy

For a number of reasons, employers hesitate to force bad managers to change and often take even longer to fire them. They tend to operate under the false hope that the situation will take care of itself and/or they don’t want to invest the time and resources to hire and train a new manager. They may also fear a lawsuit by the manager. This is flawed thinking, since the bad boss is continuously costing the employer much more money and time in lost productivity, higher healthcare costs, and the risk of multiple employee lawsuits than the contained cost of hiring a new, and hopefully competent, manager. Solving a bad boss problem will likely result in fairly immediate improved morale and loyalty from multiple employees, positively affecting productivity and profit.

Open your eyes

Be aware of employees who are struggling. Do they happen to work under the same supervisor? Their actions can be a symptom of high stress levels due a negative work environment. Get to know your employees. Create a safe and friendly environment in which employees feel free to report negative or abusive behavior. This will set the stage for a positive workplace culture where employees flourish and companies profit.

Invest the time in helping these managers improve their skills or remove them from the company altogether. When firing a manager is necessary, the long-term effects to the fired individual may actually prove to be positive, as they will likely be forced to evaluate their own behavior and hopefully learn better skills to bring to their next employer.

Employees talk. They share their feelings about work with family, friends, and acquaintances. They are your best advertising or your worst advertising. Your choices will determine this outcome. Help them to spread glowing reviews of your company as the best place to work by providing them with managers who create a positive and supportive environment where everyone wins!

Step back and evaluate each and every person in a management position. Then determine where praise should be showered and where tough changes need to be made. These are necessary steps toward a healthier, happier, and more productive workplace.

Carol Phillips is a national health and wellness expert, the award-winning author of 52 Simple Ways to Health, and the radio host of Ask Coach Carol. Her company, Health Design, helps businesses significantly reduce costs and increase productivity by prioritizing health, wellness, and safety practices. Health Design is a SHRM Recertification Provider. Based in Manchester, NH, she can be reached through her website at HealthDesignNH.com.