Trail Mix Fudge Bar

by Hilton Head Health Assistant Chef Carrie Adams

With all the unhealthy snack options floating around during the holidays, the H3 Healthy Kitchen wants to treat you to a healthy, chocolatey treat. The Trail Mix Fudge Bar has the delicious flavors of the season without the extra sugar and excess calories. These are also a great addition to any holiday gift basket!

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons Nut Butter

2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

4 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder

¼ teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoons Chia Seeds

1 Cup Quinoa, cooked

½ cup Cranberries, dried

¼ cup Pistachios, toasted, chopped

2 Tablespoons Coconut, shredded, unsweetened

Steps:

• Melt together oil, butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup and salt.


• In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.


• Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients then pour into a lined loaf pan.


• Let it sit in the refrigerator or freezer until solid.


• Cut and enjoy!

Nutrition:

Servings: 12

Serving Size: 1 piece

Calories 130 calories

Fat: 8 grams

What's your favorite healthy holiday snack?

Super Bowl Fitness

Hilton Head Health has put together a special workout to help you stay active while you watch the 2015 Super Bowl! Since, most Americans will eat around 1200 calories during that time in front of the television. And approximately 30 million pounds of snacks will be consumed, it's the perfect time to incorporate some Super Bowl Fitness.

Here's the lineup:

• Touchdown - 7 burpees


• Field Goal - 10 Mountain Climbers


• 1st Down - 10 Squats


• Sack - 10 Tricep Dips


• Interception - 5 Push ups


• Fumble - 10 Leg Lifts


• Penalty - 30 second Plank


• Total Points of the 1st Half - Walking Lunges


• Total Points of the Game - Single Leg "V" Up

See a demonstration of each exercise here:

 

Hilton Head Health's Restaurant Survival Guide

For many, the holidays provide a variety of challenging food situations, one of which is that we tend to go out for dinner more often than usual. So I thought it would be a good time to review Hilton Head Health’s Restaurant Survival Guidelines. Reviewing and implementing these guidelines will help you stay on track to make good choices thoughout the holiday season.

Managing difficult situations starts with having a good plan, so here are a few things you can do even before you leave the house:  If given the opportunity, you choose the restaurant. If you are like me, there are a few of my favorite restaurants where it's easier to make better choices than others. Here in Hilton Head, I can eat well at Bonefish and not so well at Jim and Nick’s Barbeque. If you end up going to a restaurant you are not familiar with, see if their menu is available online. If it is a national chain, chances are the nutritional info will be available as well. Review the menu and decide what you are going to order, you won’t even have to look at the menu. Have a fit bite (formerly known as a metabo meal) a couple of hours before you go out. A growling stomach is the enemy of healthy choices and mindful eating. Finally, leave a couple of minutes early. If you feel rushed or stressed when you get to the restaurant, you’ll eat that way.

When you get to the restaurant, take a couple deep breaths, review your goals and how making healthy choices will help you reach them. If you must check out the menu, this is the perfect time to put the "Unwise, Better, Best" phrase into practice. Scan the menu, mentally categorize the options, ask the server for help if need be. You don’t necessarily have to make one of the best choices, but there is probably one of the 'better options' that you could be happy with. Speaking of making better choices, that is harder to do after a glass or wine or two. Keep in mind that “resolve dissolves in alcohol”. If you want an alcoholic beverage, enjoy it after you have placed your order.

Don’t hesitate to personalize your selections, requests like sauce and salad dressing on the side or veggies steamed plain are common and reasonable. Most restaurants are happy to accommodate them. Since restaurants tend to serve such large portions, go in with a strategy to manage them.  Perhaps you could split an entrée, ask for half to go (server brings you half the meal for you to enjoy at the restaurant and brings the other half boxed for you to take home when you are leaving) or order the 6-8 oz. steak instead of the 12 oz. portion. Once the food is served apply the mindful eating techniques you have practiced with Lisette. (if you're a past Guest) concentrate on eating slowly and savoring every bite, including dessert if you choose to indulge. Finally, during  holidays you might be going out with family and friends you may not often see, make the main goal of the dinner to enjoy their company.

The point of all of this is NOT to order miniscule portions of something you don't like; you don't want to leave a restaurant hungry and feeling deprived. That will only set you up to make poor choices later on. The goal is to leave the restaurant feeling satisfied after enjoying a flavorful, portion managed meal that will keep you moving toward achieving your important health goals, even during the challenging holiday season.

Wes McCullom Success Story

Wes had never considered taking a weight loss vacation…that is until his wife Bee suggested he escape to Hilton Head Health for a week in May of 2014. Wes was “fed up.” “I was disgusted with how much I weighed. I had always been an athlete, but for the last nine years I let everything else get in the way of exercise,” said Wes, a lawyer from Alabama. He cherished his wife and daughter, but knew that his health was stopping him from getting the most from their relationships.

So, Bee called and set the two of them up for a one-week retreat at H3. “I never expected it would have such an impact on me,” commented Wes. Admittedly, he was nervous at first. “What would I be eating? Will I be able to do all the exercise? I’m so glad that Bee joined me, without her support I wouldn’t have gone in the first place.” Wes met with Director of Education, Bob Wright, on the morning of his first day to review his health assessment. “I was 40 pounds overweight, but Bob emphasized that this shouldn’t be about a number. He convinced me it was about a ‘lifestyle change’,” said Wes. Throughout the week Wes attended as many sessions as possible. “I could feel my mind changing gears. I started thinking - I’m going to be an athlete again.”

To Wes, two things he said stuck out the most: the ‘Unwise, Better, Best’ mantra that he learned in a restaurant guide class and a metabolism test that he had scheduled with Bob. “All the other diets I had tried were extreme. The Unwise/Better/Best principle simplified the process.” Wes would go on to make smarter choices back at home and when faced with several food options he’d pick the ‘Best’ possible choice. “I find myself reverting back to that mantra on a daily basis.” The metabolism test, a scientific way of analyzing caloric expenditure, helped him realize that he was drinking far to many calories. “It was a wake-up call. During my consultation I learned that I was drinking over 1400 calories of sweet tea each day.” Wes hasn’t had a sweet tea since, and avoids sugar as much as possible. “As I removed sugar, other things started tasting better. Strawberries never tasted so good!”



 

Wes felt rejuvenated. He had a newfound commitment, a plan for success and a supportive atmosphere at home. “Having a wife committed to fitness and daughter that plays a collegiate sport has been important. They’ve been so helpful. And I am very thankful for them.” In less than 6 months Wes has lost a total of 55 lbs. He completed the 30-kilometer bicycling leg of a team triathlon with his daughter and her boyfriend. (pictured above)

But, “I don’t want to make everything sound easy. It really isn’t.” says Wes. “A friend told me early on when I started a run/walk program, ‘just put one foot in front of the other’. I would hope that when people read about my story they see someone like themselves who simply decided he had enough and was going to do something about it. Inspiration comes from within. I guess what I’m getting at is that H3 makes me feel like part of a team that is invested in my success. My wish would be for folks to see themselves in my story and realize that you can accomplish your goals with some effort on your part and some support from others.”

The Indigo Spa at Hilton Head Health

If you haven't already heard, our newest addition to Hilton Head Health, the Indigo Health and Wellness Spa, is scheduled to open in February 2015! The Indigo spa will allow new, meaningful ways to continue our successful weight loss history through a wide variety of thoughtfully designed treatments that highlight the mind/body connection.

With a full menu of services offering facials, massages, body treatments, make up, and a hair salon with manicure and pedicure options, The Indigo spa has partnered with iconic brands known for exceptional quality, such as Naturopathica, RedFlower, Skin Authority and more. 

We are thrilled about this major milestone in H3's history, and can't wait to share it with you! For more information about The Indigo spa, click here.  

Hilton Head Health Blogger Weekend

This past weekend, Hilton Head Health hosted our very first H3 Blogger Weekend with 6 wonderful health and wellness bloggers. These bloggers had the chance to immerse themselves into all that is H3 and get a taste of the LIVE Well experience. Our bloggers included (horseshoe from left to right in photo): Andie Mitchell of Can You Stay for Dinner, Monique Volz of Ambitious Kitchen, Sarah Dussalt of Sarah Fit, Nicole Perry of Pumps and Iron, Lisa Cain of Snack Girl, and Beth Klein of Beth's Journey.



During their visit we wanted to get an idea of their favorite or most memorable aspects of their stay, here's what they had to say:

Name 1 thing / lesson your're excited to take with you from H3.

Andie: I can't wait to bring some of these healthy recipes into my kitchen and share them on my blog. My favorites were the: pomegranate kale salad, herb-crusted pork tenderloin and crab salad.

Beth: Bob's lecture on portion control really drove home how huge of an impact controlling our environment can make on our health goals. I can't wait to get home and switch out my large dinner plates!

What did you learn about yourself during your visit?

Lisa: That my feet were in pain! Thankfully, while here, I learned this fact and was able to learn a remedy -  massaging them with a tennis ball {self-massage}. Now, my feet feel amazing. I also learned that I am not hungry eating 1400 calories a day when I'm eating healthy food.

Monique: To be more vulnerable and open with both myself and my audience. I've met a lot of wonderul people who have inspired me to share my story because they have shared theirs.

What aspect of the stay did you enjoy the most?

Nicole: Getting a few days of "me" time. It has been so nice to wake up each day, look over the class schedule and plan around the question "What's best for ME today?". Everyone needs to give themselves the gift of "me" time once in a while.

Sarah: I enjoyed the food and friendly people, staff and guests. The menu was always exciting and tasted delicious. The portions left me feeling full even though I didn't expect to feel full.



Thanks for visiting us, ladies, we really appreciate you taking the time to come see us. It was amazing to get to know more about each of you and to see how connected you are with your audience. You can read more about their takeaways from their H3 experience on their blogs and see photos of their recent stay on their social media.

See what this Guest has to say about H3

We strive to create a positive, nurturing atmosphere to foster the best health and wellness experiences for our Guests. We appreciate getting direct feedback from our Guests through TripAdvisor, surveys, Facebook, emails and even hand-written letters. Feedback from our Guests let us know how well we are accommodating them through our staff, programs and dining options. As we continue to upgrade our facilities and improve our programs, we hope to keep motivating Guests to work towards healthier, more fit lifestyles.

H3 Adventures Album

At Hilton Head Heath, we believe that the journey to weight loss and wellness can be fun and exciting. We strive to provide our guests who visit our weight loss and wellness resort and spa with a memorable experience so they leave with a new outlook of their health and their life and continue to have long lasting results. To help make our guests' weight loss and wellness journey that much more fun and memorable, we offer various excursions including: kayaking, ziplining and even a Culinary & Fitness Adventure. Enjoy these photos from our most recent H3 kayaking and fitness adventures.

                     

If you're an H3 alum, what were some of your favorite activities and adventures you experienced during your stay? Or, if you haven't quite made it to H3 yet, which activity would you like to participate in?

What Makes a Habit?

According to Webster, a habit is “a usual way of behaving:  something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way.” A better defined explanation I found in the American Journal of Psychology is “a habit, from the standpoint of psychology, is more or less a fixed way of thinking, willing or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience.”

Typically a person doesn’t notice a habitual behavior because while taking part in the habitual task, a person does not need to be mentally engaged.

Therefore these behavioral patterns are imprinted in our neural pathways, making old habits hard to break and new habits just as hard to form.

However, new habits, specifically healthy habits, are possible to form through repetition. As healthy behaviors are repeated consistently, there is an incremental increase in the link between the motive and the action. This increases the automaticity of the behavior. I have heard many people say that habits are formed by completing a task 21 days in a row. After those 21 days, abracadabra, a habit is formed. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Habits take time, mental dedication, persistence and work to maintain. There are three phases of habit formation: honeymoon, fight thru and second nature.

The honeymoon phase is where it starts. Characterized as the “easy phase,” the habit at this stage is something new, refreshing, and possibly inspired by someone or something. Starting something new gives us that renewed feeling; however, at some point this honeymoon phase must come to an end. The fight thru phase is when inspiration starts to fade and reality sets in. You find yourself struggling between the new positive habit and fighting the old habit which creeps back in. In order to move forward and make it to phase three, you have to fight thru this stage. To help get you to the fight thru, try these techniques.

1. Recognize: It is essential to succeed in stage 2 if you recognize the fight. To move past this stage, you need to enter and openly state you’re in the fight thru stage. Remember every fight thru you win will make the next easier, and every one you lose makes the next one easier to lose. Keep your determination. Push forward.

2. Ask yourself: “How will I feel if I do this?” and “How will I feel if I don’t do this?” Feel the positive emotion in winning the fight thru and the negative in losing. Having an emotional connection brings about a relationship, thus a further commitment to the fight thru.

3. Project your life: Imagine how your life will be like in 5 years if you didn’t make these changes. Make sure you are honest with yourself; let yourself feel what life would be like if the changes are not made.

The final stage is phase three, second nature. Entering this phase, you feel like you are getting into the habit or “getting in the groove.” Once you get to the second nature stage, there are still a few disturbances which could potentially send you back to the fight thru.

1. Discouragement: Fight against negative results which discourage you and your new habitual thinking. Start to think “I can do it” and “this is working.”


2. Disruptions: Be mindful and aware of individual experiences affecting your new pattern, i.e. vacation, illness, weekends and holidays.


3. Success Seduction: Remember to not focus solely on positive results because this could decelerate progress. Gaining great results begins with a great plan and process.

Stages can indeed fluctuate; an experience may send you back to stage two or winning a few fight thru’s may move you to stage three. just remember that great habits are formed daily. Positive habits are not easy and they require time and hard work. Being great requires sacrifice, which may mean doing things that others won’t do or can’t. Positive habits require consistent commitment. Remember Bob’s saying:

“Weight follows behavior, it just takes time.”

Make the commitment to yourself, be dedicated to make it past the fight thru, even though you may go back to the fight many times, each and every time getting stronger and reaching new levels of success.

The Perks of Motherhood

I love my traditional Mother’s Day scenario… the chaos as my kids prepare me breakfast in bed while I yell from my room for them to quit fighting. The silliness of getting hand-picked azaleas from my neighbor’s front yard that are covered in microscopic red bugs; and precious, hand-made cards that left a trail of glitter from one end of the house to another. It really never gets old.

The gifts, as well as the breakfast, have gotten better over the years. Coupons for free hugs have graduated to fun jewelry hand-selected by my very discerning daughters and a bowl of cereal has progressed to Belgian waffles (not the frozen ones either).

This year I’m adding a new twist to the ritual. I’ve been reflecting lately on what an honor and a gift it is to be a mother to my two children. They make me a better person.

Not necessarily because they demand it, they don’t. It just goes with having a desire to do the job well. If you want to raise good children that hopefully become well-adjusted, happy adults, then you have to model and teach them the core values you hold true. In other words, my children make me “step-up my game".

I am gladly taking the yearly recognition this Sunday but adding to that a purposeful acknowledgement of how my job as a mother makes me strive to be someone I like. Of course a motherhood perk is the unfathomable amount of love both given and received, but it’s actually more than that (if you can imagine). I want my children to be healthy, kind, compassionate and fearless. In order for that to happen, I have to teach them how to be all those things.

Therefore, my job as a mother requires constant learning and training on how to be the solid, well-rounded person that I eventually want my children to be. What a gift! I get fed with love just for working on being a healthy, kind, compassionate and fearless individual.

So, as I am showered with attention and affection this Mother’s Day, I will secretly hold in my heart the knowledge that the real gift isn’t the necklace and Belgian waffles; but the job of motherhood, itself.

Meet LOSE Well Fitness Coach, Jeremy Crawford

Jeremy Crawford, B.S., NASM CPT, USAW Coach - LOSE Well Fitness Coach

Born in the small town of Paris, TX, Jeremy was raised as an avid outdoorsman and fitness enthusiast. He left home for the first time in January 2005 to join the US Marine Corps.  Jeremy spent four years proudly serving his country.  And after two combat deployments he earned the prestigious Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.  His commitment to recreation and sport drove him to complete his Bachelors of Kinesiology in 2013.  Aided by certifications as a Personal Trainer and Performance Coach, Jeremy motivates guests to lose significant weight while gaining valuable mental strength.

CLICK HERE to learn more about our LOSE Well 4-Week Weight Loss Program. 

Ready for a Culinary & Fitness Adventure?

 



Looking for a rewarding weekend getaway? We’ve packed some of our best culinary and fitness experiences into just three days!

• Mornings are spent in our state-of-the-art Healthy Kitchen learning to prepare delicious meals.


• Each afternoon we’ll explore the island’s beautiful beaches and lush wetlands by bike, kayak, and even stand-up paddleboard.


• Enjoy a private gourmet meal from our chef every evening, and wrap up your trip with a relaxing massage treatment by one of our skilled therapists.

 

Here’s a snapshot of your 3-Day Culinary and Fitness Adventure:

 

 

3-day workshops run alongside our LIVE Well program. Additional fees apply.

Workshop fee includes classes, excursions and Swedish massage.

 

Bring Friends and Save

 

Laugh, sweat and reconnect!

Experience H3 with loved ones and strengthen the bond between you. Here you will create life-long memories supporting each other in weight loss or jumpstarting a healthy routine. And when you travel and stay together everyone SAVES. *

 



 

 

 

 

*Savings based on a preferred villa. All guests in your party must stay in the same villa. Three bedroom accommodations are available, but in limited supply. $1000 deposit due at time of booking, balance payable at check-in. Should a member of your party cancel or reschedule the rate will be adjusted.

Nutrition: Taking a Multivitamin

 



Nearly 40% of American adults regularly take a multivitamin/mineral supplement, spending billions of dollars every year. If you are one of them, are you getting your money’s worth? Most recent studies, including two that were published in the journal, Annals of Internal Medicine in December, would suggest not. Neither study found any benefit nor in fact an editorial published along with the articles proclaimed, “Enough is enough; Stop wasting money on vitamin and mineral supplements.”  In February, the U.S. Public Health Services Task Force, an independent group of health care experts who develop recommendations for primary care physicians and health systems, reported that there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against the used of multivitamin/mineral supplements. Stephen Fortmann, MD, of the Kaiser Center of Health Research, lead author of the report, was quoted in the New York Times as saying that consumers may be ‘throwing their money away.” And some studies have not only shown no benefit, but potential harm from multis.

Based on the current information, you should obviously stop wasting money by purchasing supplements, right? To quote a popular college football analyst, "not so fast my friend.” According to the Harvard School of Public Health’s online resource, the Nutrition Source, http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/, a daily multi might be beneficial. They agree of course that the best way to meet your nutrient need is to eat a healthy well balanced diet but for those who don’t, a multi can help fill in the gaps. As far as that study suggests this increased the risk.  The Nutrition Source stated that those studies were flawed; looking at all of the evidence, the potential health benefits of taking a standard multivitamin seem to outweigh the risks.  In addition, in the May 2014 issue of the University of California Wellness Letter, it was mentioned that several groups of people including women who may get pregnant, pregnant or breastfeeding women, strict vegetarians, and people on prolonged low calorie diets would likely benefit by taking a multivitamin.

If you chose to take one, the Wellness Letter say that it need not cost more than a few cents a day. Store brand and generics are usually as reliable as brand name products. For added insurance look for supplements that are USP Verified (see the graphic below). When it comes to vitamins and minerals, more is not better. Look for one that keeps to around 100% of the RDA’s a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.

Healthy Recipe: Spinach Pernod Shrimp Dip

Pernod is the brand name of a type of liqueur called a pastis. The leading characteristic of this drink is its licorice flavor, which is produced either with licorice (the plant, not the candy) or anise.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. Butter, unsalted

½ cup Minced shallots or green onions

2 tsp. Minced garlic

¼ cup Pernod

8 cups Baby spinach, fresh, cleaned and chopped

1 cupSmall shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped

2 oz. Fat free cream cheese

½ cup Skim milk

¼ cup Shredded parmesan cheese

STEPS:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.


• Heat up large sauté pan to medium low.


• Add butter.


• Add shallots or onion and garlic and sauté until soft.


• Deglaze the pan with Pernod.


• Add chopped spinach and stir to wilt.


• Stir in shrimp, cream cheese and skim milk.


• Place mixture in small casserole and top with parmesan cheese.


• Bake until parmesan has a golden color.


• Serve warm with pita chips.

NUTRITION:

SERVINGS 6; SERVING SIZE ¼ cup; CALORIES 60kcal; FAT 3gm

Fitness Friday: Muscle Mobility

“All human beings should be able to perform basic human maintenance on themselves.” – Kelly Starrett

Steadily flexibility training has changed over time. We’ve gone from ballistic type stretching (the bouncing type which isn’t safe) to static stretching where you hold a stretch for 30-60 seconds hoping to restore range of motion to the area. What you may or may not have heard about is this new idea of self-massage using balls or rollers. This is formally known as Self-Myofascial release and may also sometimes be referred to as the poor man’s massage.

What’s the deal with SMR? Think of your body as an interconnected chain between your muscles. Between those muscles lies this connective tissue called fascia. When fascia gets tight it restricts movement. When movement is restricted pain may occur, which can the lead to injury. It’s that one chink in the chain that can throw everything off. Check out the Injury Cycle by TP Therapy. Does this seem like something you’ve gone through? Not too much is out on the CDC as to studies behind this stuff, but many physical therapists continually implement these techniques with their clients.

One of the biggest names out there is a CrossFit Coach by the name of Kelly Starrett.  He’s written a solid book called The Supple Leopard. Coach Kelly Starrett received his Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2007 from Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, California. Before starting his own physical therapy practice he practiced performance-based physical therapy at the world-renowned Stone Clinic. Kelly has with the help of others gotten these techniques much more mainstream through his blog www.mobilitywod.com. If you’re ready for a little knowledge check it out!

We’ve recognized the benefits of these SMR techniques so about 3months ago we added a new fitness class called “Muscle Mobility.” Within this class, we teach the most common techniques using lacrosse balls so with a $2 investment our guests can unglue their muscles at home.  Remember that SMR should only be performed on soft tissue never bone or spine. Muscles feeling like beef jerky today? Get on that SMR.

Coaching Corner: What is your investment to your health?

Attending the Empower Fitness Conference in Chicago, I gained a weekend of new findings in health research, new exercise tips, and very inspiring motivation from hundreds of presenters. One in particular shared an empowering talk which I would like to share with you. Todd Durkin is an internationally recognized performance-enhancement coach, personal trainer, massage therapist, author, and speaker. He challenged the crowd to answer, “What’s your investment to your health?” We all think about the financial investments for the future, our significant others’ well-being, our children or grandchildren’s health, but when was the last time you invested in your own health? Your health has a direct correlation to your life expectancy. Your longevity provides more years to spend with people you care the most about. That could mean meeting or not meeting your grandchildren, great grandchildren, or great great grandchildren.

Todd focuses on IMPACT to help shape our investment:

I: Inspired- live inspired, what are your dreams? Your life goals? Pick out the destination and then plan the steps to get there.

M: Master your craft-Be great at what you do, learn, read, do something for 30 min per day to educate yourself. Education doesn’t end in school, continually push to excel and make yourself better.

P: Play at World Class-Get your mind right. If you have negative thoughts coming through your head, try putting a rubber band on your wrist and every time a negative thought crosses your mind, snap that band  (snap out of negative thoughts). Make it your job to be your own motivator, be the team, be ALL IN! You only know your don’t like something if you go ALL IN!

A: Action- What do you want to do in your life? What’s your playbook look like---every team (coach and players) has a playbook. In most sports, coaches and players do not just pull a "Hail Mary" out of the sky for every play they run. No, the team has practiced and practiced and practiced their playbook. Sometimes the play goes better than planned and sometimes it goes worse, but the team has planned for those incidents and has generated that playbook. Be a strategist not an opportunist! Make the plays, don’t just let them happen!

What are 5 things you love to do or are good at?  Do your life goals involve these things? Why or why not? When you have a playbook (plan, map, outline) you make decisions better. Some parts of your playbook are in your lives for a reason, you really enjoy these things and they are important to you. Some parts need to be removed; they take your time away from someone or something you truly enjoy. It is alright to say no. If something fits in your playbook, you agree to include it in your life, if it does not, say NO!

C: Condition for greatness- Grab a partner: give each other a 60 second massage! Woo that felt great  huh? The power of touch is something that is very powerful. The first language learned by humans is the one of physical contact. Touch can communicate an even wider range of emotion than gestures or expressions, and sometimes do so more quickly and accurately than words. Physical contact has also been linked to enhance performance, feelings of support, and being cared for.

What your condition is like has a significant effect on the condition you can provide for someone else. What is your health condition? Needs improvement, satisfactory, or excellent? In every emergency, the directions are to put your oxygen mask on first, then help someone else. You must provide life for yourself, before assisting life for someone else.

Check out the advice you give to those you care about, when was the last time you took your own advice? Are you doing what you are telling others to do? It may be time for you to hire a coach for you!

T: Tenacious-be tenacious! Fully immerse yourself, fully engage, and listen to the positive energy, thoughts, and suggestions around you. Who are the most important people to you? When something happens to you, who is it that you call? Create a support group with these individuals by sharing with them your goals, fears, and struggles. Being held accountable makes you 50% more likely to carry on. Motivation is in the head, inspiration is in the heart.

Can you make an IMPACT on yourself?

Health Benefits of Walking a ½ hour a day

My favorite health YouTube video of all time is 23 ½ Hours.

In fact we have featured it a couple of times in past blogs. It is a brilliant short video that makes a compelling case for the health benefits of walking a ½ hour a day. It has been so well received (almost 4 million views) that man behind the video, Dr. Mike Evans has his own You Tube channel now. Evans, an associate professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michaels Hospital, has a very engaging and convincing way of communicating health information. This video introduces Dr. Evan's new channel, some of the topics being covered include: managing stress, low back pain and the concerns associated with sitting disease. I encourage you to check out his video, I think you will find his approach as interesting and informative as I have.

LOSE Well - NEW 4-week Weight Loss Program

OUR NEW 4-WEEK WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM CAN CREATE LASTING CHANGE

To successfully lose weight and keep it off, you need accountability; you need structure; you need peer support; but most of all, you need TIME for the habits to take hold. Our almost 40 years of real-world experience has taught us that the longer one participates in a program, more success is found in both short-term and long-term weight loss. Real change – and the significant weight loss that comes with it – requires a real commitment.

Introducing the program for people who are READY to lose significant weight – and keep it off!

The NEW LOSE Well 4-week Weight Loss program at Hilton Head Health is the most intensive plan we'’ve ever offered. Here are just a few of the highlights:

• Comprehensive personalized health and fitness assessment


• Weekly weigh-in and one-on-one mentoring


• Progressive Fitness Programming in small groups


• Nutritious calorie-controlled  cuisine


• Physical Recovery sessions to keep you moving the entire program


• Individual consultations with H3 Experts


• Counselor-led workshops and discussions


• Exclusive educational sessions


• 24-hour access to world-class fitness facilities


• Therapeutic massages and spa treatments

Healthy Recipe: Crab and Quinoa Salad

Fun fact! Quinoa is actually a seed not a grain. It is considered a complete protein, this fresh and delicious salad is a great addition to your meal plan.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup Quinoa, cooked

1 Lime

3 Garlic cloves, minced

1 cup Crab meat

1 Avocado, peeled and diced

1 Mango, peeled and diced

¼ cup Basil, fresh, chopped

½ cup Asparagus, chopped, blanched

½ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup Cherry tomatoes, halved

STEPS:

• Combine; salt, pepper flakes, lime juice, and garlic.


• In a separate bowl combine cooked quinoa, crab meat, avocado, mango, herbs, asparagus, and tomatoes.


• Pour dressing mixture into quinoa mixture and combine.

NUTRITION:

SERVINGS 8; SERVING SIZE ½ cup; CALORIES 100kcal; FAT 4.5gm; PROTEIN 8gm; CARBOHYDRATES 8gm; SODIUM 240mg; FIBER 3gm