2014 Michiana BetterU 12 Week Challenge Celebration Join Us May 8th, 2014

Join us for the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Michiana BetterU Luncheon when we celebrate the challenges and successes of 12 women from Elkhart General Hospital seeking a healthy life. These women are an example of what you can do to develop healthy lifestyle behavior change with community support and those around you. This is a call to action for each one of us to reach out to one women in our community and  teach them what we have learned to be healthy.

Thank you to our sponsors Macy's, Merck, Teachers Credit Union, Elkhart General Hospital, C2 Your Health LLC, Body Evolution of South Bend, South Bend Medical Foundation and Martin's Supermarkets.

Becoming a BetterU: Michana Go Red for Women Challenge 2014

Heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of women, 

taking the life of 1 in 3 women each year. This means women just like you - mothers, sisters, friends - are dying at the rate of one per minute because they don't know what you know: heart disease kills.  

It's year 6 for the Michiana Go Red BetterU Challenge and we're off to a big start! This year our BetterU Challengers hail from Elkhart Community Hospital, Elkhart, Indiana. These 12 women were selected out of 45 applicants seeking a healthier life by following the American Heart Association's Guidelines for a Healthy Heart.  

These women have come together for the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Michiana BetterU Challenge to join in the fight against heart disease for all women. Though their efforts they demonstrate by developing simple healthy habits every women can make make a difference their health. We encourage these women to learn first for themselves. then teach their families and friends how to live a health filled life by developing lasting healthy habits.

These women spend their day in a high stress hospital environment and face the same challenges of many women such as working more than one job, going to school and juggling family responsibilities. What get's left behind is making time to pay attention of their own health. Sound familiar?

Over the next couple of months our Michiana BetterU Challengers will be sharing what they learn about themselves, their lifestyle habits, struggles to a healthier life, over-coming obstacles and their successes.

Go Red For Women has made it their mission to save lives by bringing a voice to this silent killer. The Go Red BetterU Challenge program is a 12-week program developed by the American Heart Association as a voice that takes a woman step-by-step to learn more about heart health, eating healthy and exercising.

The truth is: our lives are in our hands. We can stop our No. 1 killer together by sharing the truth. We can be the difference between life and death. To uncover the truth about heart disease and to learn how to make ending it a reality at GoRedForWomen.org.

We invite you to join us to make it your mission to fight heart disease by becoming a better you, and participating in the American Heart Association BetterU Nutrition and Fitness Program, then share with us your journey. 

Your partner in health,

 

Cindy Cohen RN
BetterU Health Coach
Wellness Consultant
C2 Your Health LLC

Congratulations 2013 Michiana BetterU Challengers!

Today is the big event! The "reveal" of the 2013  AHA Go Red For Women  Michiana BetterU MakeoverChallenge. In just a blink of the eye. the 12 weeks just few by!  You met the challenge to improve your health, reduce your heart attach risks and improve your quality of life. 

 What does good health feel like?  

Good health feels alert, energetic, calm, rested and confident knowing you are making the best healthy choices you can for you and your family.

During our coaching sessions the Challengers projected for them good health feels:

• Peaceful
• Strong 
• Empowering 
• Nurturing
• Caring

What does good health look like? 

It looks like normal blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar in acceptable range, physically fit, beautiful inside and out because you know you are providing what your body needs to be vital and strong.

During our coaching sessions the Challengers projected for them good health looks:

• Standing above the crowd
• Like a leader
• Solid, confident
• Family focused
• Future oriented

Today this is what I see …

Women who are proud, strong and empowered: who have worked towards ambitious goals together to be healthier, wiser and smarter in their decisions about their personal health.  

I salute the 2013 Michiana BetterU Challengers for truly becoming a Better You. 

I salute Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center for taking a stand, being the example to the community, and caring about their employees. 

I salute the American Heart Association for providing the research, information, education and tools for helping us all to be the best we can be, our healthiest self. 

It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of this 2013 BetterU Makeover Challenge.

Thank you.

Your partner in health,

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA

Owner, Wellness Consultant, Health Coach

C2 YourHealth LLC

 
 

 
 

Challenge Yourself to be a Better You Too

The BetterU Challenge is for all of us. The BetterU Challenge provides the average person with information, education, guidance and support. By making a series of small changes over time you will make a big difference in our health and wellness by reducing their risks of cardiovascular disease over your lifetime. Reducing heart risks such as lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and weight not only improve quality of life; it saves money on doctor bills, medications, hospital admissions and sick days. Isn't that what we all want?

Even though the Go Red for Women BetterU Makeover Challenge is designed to educate women about heart disease, men can jump on board too.  More and more men are becoming interested in the health and wellness of their mothers, sisters, and daughters.  Men also need to know the principles are for them too!

While heart disease is preventable it remains the No. 1 killer of women in the U. S., thus, the association’s Go Red for Women Initiative is a 12-week program that saves lives! The BetterU program is powered by the American Heart Association’sresearch and provides guidance to transform overall health through small, simple choices.  Go Red BetterU is not about fad diets or new exercise trends. Becoming a Better You is about making lasting lifestyle changes. Fewer than half of Americans maintain a healthy weight, keep a heart healthy diet, and get regular physical activity. Millions are struggling to get motivated to begin a health regimen feeling too tired or like they just don’t have time.

The bottom line is prevention.  Now more than ever is the time to move towards creating a healthy life for your family, your co-workers and your community. It’s not easy, but it is simple when you have the right tools and support to make lasting healthy changes. The American Heart Association offers many national programs that are gaining great success in our community including the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women BetterU program.

The AHA Go Red for Women Michiana BetterU Makeover Challenge 

Twelve women from Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center were chosen from over 80 applicants to participate in the 2013 Challenge. The Challenge began with a kick-off on February 12, 2013 where we provided an overview of the challenge, one-on-one interviews with the nutrition, fitness and leadership coaching, pre-lab and health risk assessments. 

Throughout the 12-week challenge we offered the challengers bi-weekly face-to-face meetings and conference calls, periodic weigh-ins, individual wellness coaching, healthy shopping tour, healthy cooking class, and post-labs and health risk assessments. The program includes weekly goal setting, educational information, a food/exercise diary and behavior modification tools. The Michiana BetterU Blog and Facebook Page are also recommended for participants to share their successes, frustrations and helpful information with the group.

The American Heart Association Go Red for Women BetterU program goals include: Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, Lower Heart Disease Risk Factors and Making Lasting Changes. Over 12-weeks the BetterU participants met the challenge and experienced the following improvements:

Challenge: Make Lasting Changes

¨  100% Commitment to continue with healthy lifestyle changes

¨  100% Experienced a sense of accomplishment

¨  100% More aware of healthy lifestyle choices

¨  87.5% Feeling more alert + energized + more productive

Challenge: Lower the Risk of Heart Disease

¨  100% Improved Heart Score = reduced heart health risks

¨  77% Increased overall heart score = less likely to have a heart attack

¨  100% Lost weight (group total 67 lbs. w/avg. wt. loss of 1 lb. per week)

Challenge: Make Healthier Food Choices

¨  100% Know healthy foods, low sodium, high fiber, low & good fats

¨  100% Eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains

¨  100% Implemented lifestyle strategies to improve food choices

Challenge: Exercise Regularly

¨  100% Added exercise of some form of regular activity

¨  87.5 % Improved body mass index (BMI)

Challenge: Develop Your Leadership

¨  87.5% Experienced a positive shift in their leadership

¨  100% Have a clear vision of how they will continue applying the

BetterU program in their daily lives

¨  87.5 feel empowered to take on new leadership roles

We look forward to celebrating with the BetterU Challengers at the Go Red For Women event on May 9th,the opportunity to participate in an “unveil” during the luncheon and their successful journey to a Better You.

Your partner in health,

.

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA

Health Coach

C2Your Health LLC

Healthy Cooking Makeover for a BetterU

This week the Michiana BetterU Challengers participated in an interactive healthy cooking class. You might be asking "Why a healthy cooking class?" For some time now I have met a significant number of people who have been raised on processed foods, designer foods, fast foods and restaurant foods to the point they either never learned or forgot how to prepare a home cooked meal. For this reason healthy food and home cooking is generally misunderstood. 

The misunderstanding about healthy food and home cooking is it is more expensive, takes too much time and has the same level of nutrition as foods we prepare for ourselves. This is simply is not true. 

It takes too much time to prepare a healthy meal? 
Let's see ...

Healthy home cooking can require very little actual cooking. The USDA recommendation is to eat 4 servings of fresh vegetables and 2 servings of fruits every day. In many food markets these foods come chopped so really all you need to do is open the package and dump the food on a plate. With any combination of fresh raw foods from the produce department of your food market you can create a beautiful salad. How much time does that take? Seconds. With these same vegetables put in a pot with vegetable broth a few spices and in 15 minutes it's soup. Vuala! There you have it economical and healthy fast food!

The fact is any food you prepare from home, with your ingredients and that do not come out of a bag, box or freezer are always going to be healthier than any food you get anywhere else. 

What's the healthy scoop on restaurant food? Most of the time it's not. Restaurant food can be expensive and may seem healthy as you look over the menu but the fact is many restaurant chains load their food up with hidden salt, sugar and fat so it "tastes better" and lasts longer on the shelf. In January 2013 Nutrition Action Newsletter reported in the article Extreme Eating 2013  just how far restaurants will go to boost their bottom line. 

The goals of the Healthy Cooking Makeover BetterU class were to identify:

1. what processed foods are

2. what is unhealthy about prepared and process foods

3. foods common to family menus that are processed

4. healthier food substitutions

5. how to prepare healthier foods substitutions in you kitchen.

In class we examined food for heart healthy labeling looking for sodium, cholesterol, fat, fiber and sugar comparing these "ready to go foods" with foods requiring some simple preparation. We prepared a full meal containing USDA recommendations for a healthy diet and reviewed healthy plate management strategies.

Some of the things we learned ...

• Food is always healthier when prepared from home.
• Healthy food can be prepared "fast". 
• Salt you add to your food will always be less than what comes from processed food.
• Sugar your add to your drinks will always be less then drinks that come with sugar.
• The amount of fruits and vegetables for a healthy diet are more than you think.
• The serving size for meat, chicken, fish is less than you think.

The Healthy Cooking Class demonstrates with an organized plan, knowledge and a strategy that works cooking from home is nutritious, easy to do, economical and takes very little time.

Healthy IS the new fast! 

Your partner in health,

 

Cindy Cohen RN

Health Coach

C2 Your Health LLC

To learn more about healthy cooking techniques check out AHA Nutrition Center Healthy Cooking. Looking for recipes and video demonstrations check out the AHA Simple Cooking with Heart.

Prescription for Better Health

What do you do when you get sick?

I start with trying to heal my self, depending on symptoms I am experiencing. If that doesn't work I ask a trusted friend who is a nurse or medical professional what they do. Most of the time I get better, as a last resort I will make an appointment with my physician. My physician then gives me a prescription for a medication or treatment I am to follow until I get better. I think this is what most of us do.

The dictionary refers to a prescription as act of establishing rules,  a long established custom and written instructions such as an order by a physician. 

Heart disease is now impacting 100% of us since 50% of us either dying or almost dying of it. It's not just the adults that are touched by heart disease, sadly children are now developing heart disease risks just like their parents.  Heart disease is the leading the way for cause of death, disability and medical costs. The symptoms of heart disease negatively impact your blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and diabetes.

The American Heart Association has a established a set of rules for better health. In fact all major government health organizations after years of independent study by research doctors are in agreement as to what the set of instructions are and what happens when they are not followed as prescribed. The American Heart Association's prescription is not kept secret.  And it's not new! We walk about it (Heart Walk), we talk about it (radio & TV) , we read about it (internet) but what is this long established custom, the prescription for better health?

The prescription for better health is easy as 1, 2, 3, 4

1. follow a healthy diet - loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats
2. get up and move - exercise 30 minutes most days of the week
3. stress less - take care of yourself
4. quit smoking - breath better

That's it! Just 4 to follow, the prescription written by doctors for you to achieve better health.

So what happens when you go back to your doctor for a check up and you didn't follow the prescription?  Did you tell your doctor the prescription was just too hard to follow, you didn't have time, or you were just too busy? If you did, who are you hurting? The doctor?

You have your prescription for your better health. Now it's time for you to follow it. Make it easy for you by adding new healthy foods to your diet every day. Make time for you to add a few minutes of exercise by walking every day a little further. Take care of you, stress less and breath  slowly and calmly. Adding just a few extra minutes for you will make your life vibrant for years to come. Aren't you worth it?

Your partner in health,

Health Coach
C2 Your Health LLC


Looking for the American Heart Association prescription for better health?  click here

   

Supermarket Scavenger Hunt Made Just for a BetterU - Buyer Beware

To kick-start the 2013 BetterU Challengers on their road to better health Michiana American Heart Association hosted a Supermarket Scavenger Hunt thanks to Martin's Supermarkets. The challengers supported by their family, friends and each other enjoyed a healthy dinner and scavenged the supermarket for healthy foods guided by Health Coach, Cindy Cohen RN of C2 Your Health LLC.

Erin Crawford Cressy, Behavior Coach discussed what behaviors would be helpful in developing healthy living strategies and Laura Guy, American Heart Association (AHA) reviewed healthy eating tools available from AHA.

Some of the things we learned ...

• It's easy to be fooled by the advertisements on the front of the food packaging. Some manufactures claim on the package something entirely different that what is on the ingredient list such as " No Trans Fats" on the front of the pack and hydrogenated oils on the label.
• Fiber is our friend and not always where you think it is. Foods containing at least 1gm of fiber are the best choices.   
• It's hard to find flavored drinks that don't contain additives (unhealthy); the ones with artificial sweeteners, and high fructose corn syrup, so water is always the better choice.
• Many foods are loaded with more than days serving of salt (sodium) in one serving such as some soups and spaghetti sauces.
• How to make sense of food certifying organizations such as organic, gluten free, and Heart Check - American Heart Association approved.

The Supermarket Scavenger Hunt Class demonstrates the road to better health is not always clear and it's important to be aware of the pot holes (TV ads) and warning signs (misleading labels) along the way. Adding new meaning to the seemingly harmless act of going to the grocery store to "buyer beware"; as Dr. David Katz, Nutrition Detectives says about some foods "Step away and no on will get hurt."

What did you learn the last time you went grocery shopping at the supermarket?

You partner in health,

Cindy Cohen RN, Health Coach

C2 Your Health LLC

Are you eating in circles?

Dr. Oz reported diet sodas are safe - California is labeling soft drinks as cancer causing. The corn industry advertises high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is "healthy" - Diabetes Health (consumer watch dog) says HFCS contributes to diabetes risk. Paula Dean serves up a dish of "deep fried butter" and signs a contract with a drug company advertising the latest diabetes drug. Are supplements good for you or do they cause more harm than good like Dateline NBC reported. We also learned from our grocery store scavenger hunt, low sodium is a relative term (lower than what?), healthy has many meanings and servings sizes can be deceiving. Oh wait, is it butter that's good for you or margarine?


Around and around we go ... does all this leave you thinking ... which is it?
What's true will always be true even if you want it to be something different. 

10 Tips to Chew On
1. Food in it's most natural form is always healthiest.
2. If you see it on a tree or growing from the ground eat that it's better than the frozen food section of the grocery store.
3. Fruits and vegetables will always be good for you. 
4. Fast food and junk food will never be good for you no matter how many "antioxidents" it has.
5. Artificial anything is just that ... artificial which means your body does not know what to do with it.
6. Eating something not healthy takes up room in your stomach where something healthy could be.
7. Food manufactures will try to trick you into eating more because that's how they make money, by selling more.
8. There are no neutral foods. Food is either good for your health or bad for your health. 
9. Less is more - organic / non genetically modified (non gmo)  / hormone free is best.
10. If you prepare it, you know what's in it.


It's about creating a healthier life through a healthier lifestyle on the road to better health one step at a time. Enjoy your journey! 

Your partner in health,
Cindy Cohen RN, Health Coach
Health-E 4 Life Worksite Wellness 

You Are Not Alone

Let's face it we spend most of our life in the presence of others.

We arrive into this world for the most part into a family, those who promise to love and care for us. They keep us close every step of the way helping, supporting and encouraging us to take our first steps, say our first words and guiding us along the way.  As we get older we are with people at school, on a team or perhaps at church or temple. As we get older we "work" along side other people too. In fact we spend most of our life with people all around us.

We ask those around us what they think, for help, guidance and support in the happenings of life. How to the raise the kids? What school should they go to? What to say to the husband when there is a disagreement? What church is the most friendly or shares the same beliefs?  I find it interesting when it comes to taking care of our physical self; having a strong healthy body we don't ask for help from others. Somehow we think we can "fight" the constant media barrage of fast food messages, diet products and endless supply of infomercials telling us to buy the next "magic pill to the new sexy you" all by yourself.

All by yourself?  Maybe. For some maybe yes, maybe no. For others a definite no. But why do it alone? There's really no need to. It's hard to go it alone.

The easy way is to ask others for help, support and join us in a healthier lifestyle. Ask for healthy recipe ideas and share a healthy meal together. Invite a friend to exercise with you, nothing fancy; a walk around the mall. Involve your family in decisions on what your whole family can do to become thinking about how to make healthier decisions.

In the process not only will you experience greater vitality, your family and friends will become healthier too. You are not alone. You're in a world full of possibilities for the next 12 weeks and the rest of you life.

The greatest gift you can give yourself is the gift of health; even better if you can share the gift of health with those you love.