Body Healthy. Soul Happy.

There are a few things I think we can all agree on. First of all, this past 18 months has been a doozy for American workers. The economy has been topsy-turvy, jobs have been eliminated at light speed and making a living that you can depend on has been harder for more people than ever before in recent memory. Secondly, the American population is aging. In fact, by 2040 the largest segment of our population will be 65 or older and 85+ year olds are the fastest growing segment in our population overall. Lastly, and this is not an insignificant point, only 5% of seniors live in an assisted living community.

For people who can naturally spot an opportunity when they see it, the facts above are a big tip. American’s are living longer and more independently. And as we all know, the key to living independently is staying in good health. And wouldn’t you know it, the consumer spending analysts confirm that Baby Boomers invest a significant portion of their wealth in products that support their health.

As the video illustrates, there is no better time to enter the wellness industry. Baby Boomers are a growing, enthusiastic customer base and Herbalife is one of the most respected and best selling family of products available anywhere on the market. Today, Baby Boomers are spending 200 Billion dollars for wellness products and within 10 years that spending will increase to 1 TRILLION dollars. Will you be in a position to benefit from their spending?

You can be. You can take control of your future, create an income that you can depend on and that protects your family’s future for their entire lives. Best of all, you can enjoy the feeling of being your boss and earning what you deserve without having to first invest your life savings and then go through the stress of building a business from the ground up, all alone.

Becoming an Herbalife distributor opens up worlds of opportunity and you’re never alone. Over the past 29 years they have created a proven system that is guaranteed to be successful for anyone who follows the model and takes advantage of the resources and training they provide. I’m living proof. It only took 45 days from the day I made the decision to the day White Oak Nutrition opened for business. Within 3 months of opening White Oak Nutrition I had recouped every dollar it cost me to open the club and I’ve more than surpassed the salary I was earning as the National Advertising Manager at the Cincinnati Enquirer. But there’s something even more important than the money for me; I LOVE my job. Every day, I wake up and help people feel better about themselves and live longer, more vivacious lives. The time I spend at White Oak Nutrition is full of lively conversation, laughter and smiles and the worry “is today the day I get laid off,” never crosses my mind.

You don’t have to  jump into this business with both feet right off the bat if you don’t want to. I am more than happy to show you how you can earn an extra $500 each month in just a few hours of your time, working from your home or as an associate at White Oak Nutrition. But I’m willing to bet that once you live the happiness that you experience while you’re earning that extra $500, you’ll never want to go back to life as you knew it again.

If you’re an allergy sufferer, you know this year has been absolutely brutal on the sinuses. But you don’t have to live indoors or become the next bubble boy (or girl) to escape the sniffling, sneezing, itchy dryness of Cincinnati’s allergy season. And as if saying goodbye to the aggravation of your allergies weren’t enough,  how would you like to experience beautiful skin and lose 10 pounds or more? All it takes is giving your body the nutrition it needs to be strong, healthy and feel great.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at the letter we received from Kris:  

“Hi! My name is Kris and I’m 27 years old. Before Herbalife I suffered from chronic sinus infections and seasonal allergies since the time I was fourteen years old. It was not uncommon for me to have four to six sinus infections per year and they were so bad that they often came with flu-like symptoms. Having witnessed my condition first hand, my Wellness Coach, Kim, started me on a program in October of 2008 that included Formula One shakes and Schizandra and Rose Ox supplements. Since then I haven’t had a single sinus infection and am finally able to breathe clearly for the first time in thirteen years. Also, about two weeks ago I started doing two shots of Herbal Aloe per day and the adult acne that I have suffered from for years is all but gone. I have tried countless prescription and over-the-counter medications, none of which have been effective, and am thrilled to finally have found a product that works. The best part is I have lost 20 pounds since that time and have gone from a size 12 (pushing a 14) to a size 7 and I’m still dropping in size! I am in the best shape and health of my life and have Kim and Herbalife to thank for it. I sincerely hope that your personal results are as remarkable as mine have been.”

If you want to know more about how changing your nutrition can change your life, call me. I’m always happy to answer questions and meet with people one-on-one. White Oak Nutrition is located at 5830 Cheviot Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45247. I can be reached at 513.741.8600 or through email at kim at slimcinnati dot com.

And don’t forget! The next community weight loss challenge starts in one week on Monday, September, 14 at 6pm. It’s free to participate and you get the boost of friendly competition and the guidance of a personal wellness coach to help you meet your goals and take home the Grand Prize!

To your good health,

Kim

We’re just 12 days away from the start of our Fall Weight Loss Challenge! Do you have your spot reserved?

What’s that you say? You don’t know what the weight loss challenge is or how it can help you shed those extra pounds you’ve been carrying around. Well then, by all means, let me explain. You wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to have a personal wellness coach, the fun of camaraderie and competition and the chance to actually win money for being a loser, would you?!?

Here’s the details:
The weight loss challenge is a free 8 week class & competition that combines expert guidance and group support to help make losing weight as enjoyable as possible. The $39 you pay at the beginning becomes the pool of money for the 3 biggest losers by %. A small amount ($4 per week) is used to help cover the administrative costs of the challenge.

Each week, we cover a different topic with password protected websites for you to go to & read prior so that our “class” can have a lively discussion. Each week you’ll also get a private consultation with your wellness coach and track the changes in your body so you can celebrate your successes!

I will personally help you every step of the way and offer various options to help reach your ideal weight and body composition. The program encourages participants to eat a healthy level of protein and calories each day and teaches you fun and easy ways to incorporate healthy nutrition and the exercise you enjoy into your busy life.

I have more than 2 and a half years of experience coaching individuals and groups and have dedicated the rest of my life to helping people feel good, be healthy and love their bodies. This year alone, I have helped Jeffrey lose 99 pounds since January & Jackie has lost 64 pounds since March (she told me her oldest of 4 children weighs 64.5 lbs so she has lost him!) Countless others who have participated in the challenges have lost 10, 15, 25 pounds, have kept it off and were thrilled with the program! Give it a try! All you’ve got to lose is the weight.

The next challenge officially starts on Sept 14th  at 6PM at White Oak Nutrition and we’re accepting registrations now. Each program is limited in size so that you get the optimum level of personal attention and group encouragement. Email me if you’d like to meet in person or reserve your spot.  I can be reached at kim at slimcinnati dot com

To your good health,
Kim

A new UC study of employees in the manufacturing industry showed that workers whose BMI was above 30 had a loss of 4.2% productivity due to health-related limitations. The loss of productivity while at work is known as “presenteeism” The UC study concluded that based on a $21 per hour job, workers whose BMI exceeded 30 cost their employer $1,800 per year, about $500 more than their lighter colleagues.

According to Dr. Donna Gates, the study’s lead researcher, the new results suggest obesity has a “threshold effect” on presenteeism, with moderately/extremely obese workers being significantly less productive than other workers. Limitations in performing job tasks and completing work in the expected time could be related to difficulty moving because of increased body size or weight, or because of an increased rate of pain problems due to other maladies such as arthritis.

Dr Gates goes on to say, “The study’s results support other research that has indicated that a weight loss of ten percent can yield substantial health and economic benefits. Even modest weight loss could result in hundreds of dollars of improved productivity costs per worker each year.”

Now more than ever, I believe that employers are focused on reducing costs and getting everything they can from their employees. With healthcare costs being front and center in the news and at the top of employer costs, now is the right time for employers to invest in their employees and place a serious focus on workplace wellness programs. Our lives are very busy and the average American adult spends more time at work, with their colleagues than at home with their families. A healthy America starts with a healthy workplace and employers owe it to their teams and to themselves to be a positive force in the battle of the bulge.

If you or your company are interested in shedding those unwanted pounds, check out www.slimcinnati.comThe team at White Oak Nutrition is happy to help you create a weight managment plan that works for you and your employees. And remember, there’s no charge for your initial consultation, so you’ve got nothing to lose but those extra pounds!

To your health,

Kim

ABC news reported that the Boy Scouts of America have enacted new rules that bar overweight parent volunteers, Scout Masters and even Scouts themselves from participating in any adventure that places them more than 30 minutes away from a medical facility by ground travel. In order to be allowed to go on these adventure trips all participants must meet standardized weight guidelines, which according to the Boy Scouts of America, are based on federal guidelines. All participants who are going on a trip lasting more than 72 hours are required to have a medical evaluation prior to the trip’s start. Additionally, local BSA councils will be allowed to impose their own set of weight restrictions ad hoc. The BSA purportedly enacted the new rules to “ensure the safety of participants.”

But at what point does it become discrimination? According to a 2009 study by the Centers for Disease Control, the number of overweight children has doubled in the past three decades. 16% of kids ages 6-19 are considered overweight and an additional 15% are at high risk of becoming overweight. What if one of these kids were yours. Would you want them to miss out on being a Scout because of their weight? Would you want them to endure the ridicule of being allowed to be a Scout but having to stay home from the season’s big trip because of their weight? As a parent active in your child’s troop, how would you feel about being told that you can’t chaperone or assist in your child’s merit badge activity because of your weight?

These are questions that we’re going to have to grapple with and I’d like to know your opinion. Please comment below.

If you, or your family is struggling with weight, please consider contacting me privately at kim at slimcinnati dot com. I am a trained wellness coach and have dedicated my career to helping families and individuals incorporate healthy eating into busy lifestyles. My clients have fun, lose weight and best of all; live healthier lives filled with energy, vitality and increased self esteem. 

To your good health,

Kim

We all know people who look like this. Sure, they’re overweight, but they’re not bed-ridden or even close to the weight of some of the people featured on the Discovery Channel and TLC. Yet wait until you hear their story.

The Chawner family

The Chawners, who live in Blackburn, England receive a monthly stipend that equals a yearly salary of $30,000 American dollars because, “they’re too fat to work.” Philip and his wife Audrey, 57, weigh 336 pounds each. Daughters Emma, 19, and Samantha, 21, weigh in at 236 pounds and 252 pounds, respectively. Audrey Chawner, who has epilepsy and asthma as a result of being overweight, told “Closer” magazine her family’s weight is genetic and they cannot afford to eat healthier. Philip Chawner has Type 2 diabetes and was eligible for gastric band surgery until he developed a heart condition.

“I’m a student and don’t have time to exercise,” Emma Chawner said. “We all want to lose weight to stop the abuse in the street, but we don’t know how.”

“What we get barely covers the bills and puts food on the table,” Philip Chawner, 53, told the The Daily Telegraph, a London newspaper. “It’s not our fault we can’t work. We deserve more.”

This article gulls me on several levels. First of all, no one wants to help people live healthier, eat more nutritiously and feel better about themselves than I do; I’ve dedicated my career to it! I know that our relationship with food is often a very personal one and I absolutely get that changing that relationship can be difficult both physically and emotionally. I myself battled with my weight most of my life.

But, this family is NOT completely unable to work and it’s not fair to place the burden of their care on the shoulders of the tax payers. Moreover, it’s doubly unfair to both the family and the taxpayers to provide the family with money for the rest of their lives and no support or guidance helping them to change their lifestyle and live healthier, productive, enjoyable lives.

Which leads me to the second level on which this article gulls me. Hearing a 19 year old student say that her family doesn’t know how to lose weight simply makes my face turn pink. It’s hard to believe that in this day and age anyone doesn’t know *how* to lose weight. It’s been scientifically proven time and again that to lose weight you need to burn off more calories than you take in. I wholeheartedly agree that losing weight is often difficult and that many people benefit from and even need help, whether in the form of a professional coach, a support group, a nutrition/meal plan, an fitness trainer or exercise buddy and perhaps a physician or any combination thereof, is 110% perfectly understandable and OK. But to say that you simply can’t lose weight because you don’t know how really is absurd.

The third thing in this article that gets my goat is that the family says they can’t afford to eat healthy. Yet look at what they are choosing to purchase at the store. “We have cereal for breakfast, bacon butties for lunch and microwave pies with mashed potato or chips for dinner,” Mrs Chawner told Closer magazine. Purchasing prepackaged foods is at least as expensive as buying fresh fruits and veggies and cooking meals at home. The difference is that it takes considerably more effort to plan and prepare meals than it does to simply pop a high fat, high sodium, high calorie one in the microwave.

What do you think? How fat is too fat to work and should families (or individuals) who are overweight be paid a monthly disability stipend without being taught and assisted in losing the excess pounds?

I mentioned the other day that I have a friend in emergency medicine and we were talking about the effects our country’s rising weight is having on emergency medicine and the ability of EMTs and Paramedics to help save lives. 

From our conversation I’ve put together a Top 10 List of reasons why your weight can be critical to saving your life in an emergency.

#10. There’s only two of us.  Ambulances generally only carry crews of two people who together can lift a weight of about 200lbs. larger people require more people to lift them, which means it takes longer to get a patient into the ambulance and to the hospital.

#9. The stretcher won’t hold you. Extremely large people often cannot fit on a stretcher and through doorways, through hallways or in staircases which means that firefighters must spend valuable time finding another way to extricate the person from where they are so they can be taken to a hospital.  

#8. We have to wait for another department to get here.  Fire Departments are having to replace perfectly good equipment with new equipment that can handle heavier patients. If the department does not have this equipment and the patient’s weight to great for the equipment they have, they must call another department to bring the proper weight-rated stretcher or other equipment. This can mean an additional 30 minutes or more until the patient can be taken to the hospital.

#7. I can’t feel your pulse. The more obese a person is the harder it is for medics to take vital signs, assess breathing, start an IV and determine the correct dose of life saving drugs. Once at the hospital, CT scanners and MRI Machines generally have a weight restriction of 250lbs.

#6. I can’t get you out of the car.  Extricating heavier patients from a car wreck is considerably more difficult and more time consuming than removing a lighter person.

#5. Between you and me, there’s no room left to work.  The larger the patient, the less room there is for medics to work in the ambulance. The lack of space can negatively impact the care a patient receives en route to the hospital.

#4. Oh, it shouldn’t have been this bad.  Heavier patients are often more critically injured in a car wreck or other traumatic event because of the additional force that is created from their body weight during impact.

#3. Uhoh, your heart’s giving out. Heavier patients’ bodies are often less able to sustain life after a significant trauma because their hearts, blood vessels (especially arteries) and vital organs are already overworked, stressed and damaged from their daily diet and weight.

#2. I can’t get your airway open.  Obesity can make airway management extremely difficult. And if you’re not breathing, you can’t survive.

And the number one reason weight can affect your ability to survive and emergency…

#1. CRAP! We’re losing ‘em! The heavier a person is the more at risk they are for heart attack and stroke, two conditions that are EXTREMELY time sensitive, require precise treatment and immediate transport to a hospital.

The next time you pop through the drive-thru, decide to skip your workout or put off losing those extra 20lbs, think about how weight can affect your chances of survival in an emergency. It’s a whole new reason to treat yourself well, live healthy and be happy.

If you’re ready to take control and lose that extra weight give me a call. White Oak Nutrition has a weight loss challenge starting in September. Its fun, has great prizes (like cash), and best of all YOU CAN DO IT!

Stress. We all have it and we all manage it differently. Exercise is a great stress buster and has about a gajillion other benefits associated with it, but it’s not always possible to get out for a walk or go to the gym.  Sometimes stress hits us at the times when we need a clear head the most (like when we’re at work.) These are often the most difficult times to get through because we need to stay focused and can’t take time out to calm down, work through what we’re dealing with or feeling and regroup.

If you find yourself frequently feeling stressed in the middle of the day, whether you’re at work or at home raising your family, the best way to combat it is to never let the stress get a foot hold on you in the first place.

Now I know you’re thinking, “Yeah, right. If it were that easy, I’d have been doing it all along.” But it can be easy if you have a little help. Herbalife’s Relax Now is made of all natural plants extracts that not only soothe your mind but can boost body’s health too!

First discovered in China, thousands of years ago, The Jujubee fruit has commonly been used to lessen anxiety and promote overall good health. Below are 6 reasons you should have a little Jujubee in your day:

• The Jujube fruit contains heavy concentrations of niacin, riboflavin, thiamine and two forms of vitamin
• A 100 times more vitamin C than apples and 20 times more than citrus fruits
• Jujube contains the minerals calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc
• Jujube contains and array of phenols and nine bioflavonoids, which support vascular function and cellular health
• Jujube contains 18 of the 24 amino acids humans need to live
• Jujube contains a wide variety of organic acids, the most notable being betulinic acid

Another plant that has been used in Eastern cultures for centuries, and is now becoming more popular in the US is Ashwagandha. This plant is actually in the same family as the tomato but is originally native to the dry regions of India and the Middle East. In 216 studies that have recently been conducted on the health effects of the Ashwagandha root the following benefits have been found:

• Reduces anxiety and depression without causing drowsiness
• Confers immune system protection
• Combats the effects of stress
• Improves learning, memory, and reaction time
• Stabilizes blood sugar
• Lowers cholesterol
• Reduces brain-cell degeneration
• Contains anti-malarial properties
• Offers anti-inflammatory benefits

Last but certainly not least is Passion Fruit. Originally used in the Amazon to treat anxiety, depression and hyperactivity in children, the Passion Fruit has long been known for its calming effects. Passion Fruit is also a great source of antioxidants and fiber.

Next time you’re feeling those twinges of stress creeping into your shoulders and behind your eyes, try Herbalife’s Relax Now tablets. I’ll guarantee you’ll love how you feel. If you’d like more information please come see me at White Oak Nutrition, 5830 Cheviot Road, Cincinnati, OH 45247-6225 or you can call me at (513) 741-8600. I’m always happy to answer questions.

Peace and happy thoughts,

Kim

I have a friend who is studying to be a paramedic. Her father turned 80 this year and her mother is now 70. My friend decided to return to school to study Emergency Medical Services because of her parents advancing age and the high likelihood that sometime in the not too distant future she would be called upon to help provide care for them.

When my friend’s class began studying geriatric health it got her thinking and she came to me with some questions. I decided to write about our discussion because I’m sure that some of you out there in cyberville also have aging parents and some of the same concerns for your own family.

Question: My father has a history of stomach troubles and no longer gets the same enjoyment from eating as he used to. Even though my mother is a wonderful cook and prepares 3 meals a day, he eats very little and has lost a lot of weight over the years. It was recommended that my dad drink Ensure Plus as a nutritional supplement, but after looking at the ingredients, I wonder if that’s really a good idea. How does a drink like Ensure measure up to Herbalife’s Formula One Healthy Meal?

Answer: As you know, as a person ages, many things contribute to their loss of desire to eat. Ill fitting dentures can cause pain, the body produces less saliva which makes chewing and swallowing more difficult, our tongues lose taste buds, which makes food less enjoyable and our stomachs are often more sensitive to the foods we eat. We even make less of the amino acids that allow us to digest proteins. Good nutrition is even more important in our golden years, but nature often works against us. That’s why finding a superior nutritional supplement that is easy to ingest and enjoyable is so important for our seniors.

First of all, let’s get one fact out on the table (if you like puns, feel free to assume it was intended.) All the nutritional supplement drinks that are on the shelves of your local grocery store are what’s called “food grade” by the FDA, assuming they’ve even been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, which many haven’t. Food Grade products are allowed, by law, to contain up to a 30% variance in their actual nutritional contents versus what they print on the label. Keep in mind that companies do not usually put more of the good stuff and less of the bad.  Pharmaceutical Grade products on the other hand, have in the container what is on the label, nothing more, nothing less.

Now let’s look at the label of Ensure, knowing that it is a Food Grade product and that the actual nutrition contents may vary up to 30%.

(source: http://abbottnutrition.com/products/products.aspx?pid=14#top) 

Now let’s compare that to the nutritional Label of Herbalife’s Healthy Meal Formula One, which is Pharmaceutical Grade and therefore has less than a 1% degree of content variance (HF1 is allowed to be labeled a “Healthy Meal” by the FDA because it is a meal, unlike Ensure which must only use the term “supplement” because it does not meet the FDA criteria for a meal replacement):

As you can see there is quite a difference between the two products.  Even when made with one cup of non-fat vitamin A & D fortified milk the Formula One Healthy Meal contains only 180 calories and only 15 of them come from fat, as opposed to Ensure’s 355 calories, 103 of which come from the 11g of fat in the product. HF1 only has 1g of fat. Ensure contains 50g of sugar to Herbalife’s Formula 1 9 grams of sugar.

 Even for seniors who are not heavy or overweight, you want to be very conscious of the fat, cholesterol and sodium in their diet because of the the strain these can place on their hearts. Ensure has 5mg of Cholesterol, whereas HF1 has 0mg.  Ensure also packs 220mg of sodium to HF1’s 140mg. 

Potassium and protein are extremely important for seniors because they need to protect their muscle mass to remain active and mobile. Ensure and HF1 both offer 13g of protein but the cholesterol in the Ensure blocks the absorption of some of the protein and the Ensure actually offers about double the amount of potassium, but Herbalife’s Formula 1 has 37g fewer carbohydrates. The differences between the products continue on, but the bottom line comes down to this: while Ensure does contain important vitamins and nutrients, it is a food grade product and therefore not manufactured to same quality standards as HF1 and the amount of sugar and preservatives that are used in the production of Ensure greatly impact the product’s ability to truly be a healthy meal replacement for seniors, whose bodies are often very sugar sensitive and require more nutrition to continue to function properly than younger folks.

This morning I was reading a very interesting blog that was recommended by Steve Browne (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-browne/2/ba6/4a6), Executive HR Director of LaRosa’s Inc.

 The blog, www.wingspouse.com is written by Steve’s sister-in-law and gives great insight to a role in marriage that I imagine is becoming more and more important to many families and it got me thinking.

Anyone who has ever had a job, whether is was delivering pizzas, serving drinks or in the C-Suite of a fortune 500 company, has been exposed to the company mission statement and been taught to internalize it, believe in it and live it. But even though we’ve been taught the value and importance of a mission statement to the creation of a successful business, few of us have incorporated the value of a strong and definitive mission statement into our own lives and families.

Mission statements are simple declarations of who we are, what we stand for and what we promise the world. They express the foundation or lens that we view the world through and give clarity to our beliefs, which comes in mighty handy when it’s time to make a decision about something.

Kathi mentions that her family has a mission statement (which doesn’t surprise me given the thought and intention she has put into creating a life that works for her, her husband and her children) but she doesn’t talk about what their mission statement consists of.

It left me wondering if Kathi (who is the wife and partner of a well respected doctor) or any individual or family that has a mission statement ever thought to make eating healthy and taking care of their body and health a central part of their mission.

The Harvard School of Public Health says right on their home page that with the exception of not smoking, eating right is the single more important factor in living a long and healthy life. Even more important than exercise! But how many of us really understand what ”eating right” is and actually make it a part of our life’s mission?

Well here is my life’s mission statement: ”I, Kim Blatt, dedicate my life to learning everything I can about the nutrition our bodies need to support a happy, active and most importantly, long life. I will freely share all that I know with anyone who is interested and I will spend my working hours helping people incorporate good nutrition into their busy schedules and the lives of those they love most. Additionally, I dedicate myself to helping others learn how to begin their own career in nutrition and open up the opportunity to build a protective wall of income around themselves and their families.” 

I believe in the positive power a mission statement can have on our lives and I’d love to know about yours. Please feel free to share your personal and family mission statements in the comments section of my blog!