COVID-19 continues to be the uphill battle for most of us as we look at 2021 and what has taken precedence in the workplace.  First, it was determining “work from home” and now, in the blink of an eye, we are facing open enrollment.  With this, comes the crucial discussion on employee benefits. Benefits and perks are becoming increasingly important considerations for employees, and now more than ever, employees will see more value in what is offered as we continue to fight through the pandemic.

I tend to keep a close eye on workplace trends and one thing has not changed:  employees value benefits and they value the feeling of being taken care.  Done are the days of health insurance being the only benefit individuals look at.  Now, as employers, you are faced to consider beyond the health insurance benefit and what additionally is offered.  Is health insurance and compensation still important?  Absolutely.  But employers should think beyond this when trying to attract and retain talent.

For highly competitive industries that already offer common benefits like health and retirement plans, other benefits are needed to differentiate themselves from other employers. The benefits that will likely get the best response from prospective employees are ones that address specific challenges in the current environment, such as wellness benefits that address how individuals can be healthy at home, flexibility for parents who have to juggle being teachers and work professionals in the middle of the day, and what about how you can help support ergonomically friendly and productive work environments away from the office.

Have you felt a difference in office comradery?  The employee connection?  Consider offering your employees with a monthly health focus and wellness challenge to give your employees something to focus on rather than all many have heard about for the past 8 months:  Covid-19.

Let Well365 help you think both short- and long-term with the benefits you plan for 2021 and beyond. Although work will eventually not be limited by the pandemic, it does not mean that it will return back to normal. Like with benefits, the prevalence of remote work increased dramatically and permanently in response to COVID-19. This means that benefits geared towards employees at home will be important now and in the future.

Employers should also recognize that office-based benefits, such as free snacks, are no longer available to employees, so although benefits were not explicitly cut, they may feel that way. As such, employers should consider reallocating the savings from office-based expenses toward new wellness benefits. For example, employers who offered on-site lunch-n-learns may want to consider virtual educational opportunities!  Want to offer a challenge that enables your employees to combat their stress, consider how you can still execute a challenge without having employees onsite!  Putting all of this into perspective and I promise you, your employees will notice and thank you!  For more information on how you can enhance your employee benefits package, contact Well365:  trisha@corewell365.com

I’ve got some pretty cool (and weird) human facts for you today.

They have to do with your metabolism and I hope at least one of them leaves you feeling empowered!

It’s tempting to think of your metabolism as something you can “turn up” or “turn down” … but the fact is, metabolism is a complicated process that happens in your cells – and the more cells you have, the faster your metabolism.

(Random fact: the average person has 30 trillion cells! That’s a lot of cells … and a lot of metabolism.)

The biggest chunk of your calorie burn (aka your metabolism) happens just to keep you alive – it’s known as your BMR, your basal metabolic rate. BMR can vary a LOT between people.

Some things that impact your BMR are things you can’t control – genetics, gender, and more.

But there’s actually a lot you CAN do to turn up your metabolism, and it has to do with your body composition.

I like to think of these ‘metabolic boosters’ like compound interest … it’s not going to make you rich overnight, but over time, it adds up in a big way!

Here it is …

Add more muscle to your body through your workouts. And I’m not talking about giant Hulk muscles, btw. I simply mean strong, flexible, and supple muscle!

Scientists estimate that every pound of muscle you have burns about 6 calories a day

while you’re resting. That’s triple the amount of a pound of fat, which comes in at about 2 calories a day.

So, 10 pounds of fat would burn 20 calories a day, while 10 pounds of muscle would burn 60. Not that impressive.

But over a year, 10 pounds of muscle burns 21,900 calories (a little over 6 pounds), while 10 pounds of fat burns 7,300 calories in a year (around 2 pounds).

That means workouts that build your muscles – whether it’s old-school bodybuilding workouts, or fitness workouts that include weights – have a double-whammy effect!

Not only are you burning calories WHILE you’re doing them, but you get a BONUS burn in the future as you build muscle! Pretty cool, right?

Beyond your workouts, it’s important to get enough protein (between 10% and 35% of your daily calories) to help build, repair, and maintain your muscle.

Want to get even MORE tactical?

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that if you want to build muscle, on top of adding resistance training to your workouts, you should eat 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day – which equals 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight.

REFERENCES:

https://www.vox.com/2016/5/18/11685254/metabolism-definition-booster-weight-loss

https://www.healthline.com/health/number-of-cells-in-body

https://www.self.com/story/how-much-does-strength-training-really-increase-metabolism

https://www.acsm.org/docs/default-source/files-for-resource-library/protein-intake-for-optimal-muscle-maintenance.pdf

Maybe this has happened to you already … and if it hasn’t, there’s a good chance it will at some point!

One day, seemingly out of the blue, your pants don’t button up as easily, or you notice that the scale creeps up faster than it used to.

AND … it’s much harder than it used to be to get those pants to fit the way they once did (or return the scale to its former spot).

It’s not your imagination! The truth is your metabolism naturally slows down as you get older.

It happens at different paces and different times for each of us, but I do have some good news for you. There are things you can do to offset it.

And the sooner you start, the better!

Here are some of the top reasons your metabolism begins to slow:

• You’re less active
• You’ve lost muscle
• Your body’s metabolic processes have slowed down because of age

I’m going to outline a few key things you can do to keep your metabolism revved up as you get older.

1) Your activity level. This is a sneaky one, because you might not actually notice you’re moving less each day!

How active you are each day (including your workouts and your normal activities of daily living) makes up about 10% to 30% of your daily calorie burn. Very active people can actually burn up to half their daily calories from activity!

BUT … studies show that as we get older, we tend to move less, both in terms of exercise AND our general daily living.

More than 25% of people over 50 don’t exercise, and by the time we reach 75, that number jumps to more than 35%.

Plus, studies show we also move less in general, burning almost 30% fewer calories through non-exercise activity.

There is a way to avoid that slowdown!

A study comparing women aged 21-35 with women ages 50-72 showed that when the older women engaged in regular exercise, they avoided the dreaded age-related metabolic slowdown.

→ The takeaway: Start a regular exercise habit you enjoy NOW, and find active hobbies! Having these habits in place will set a strong foundation for continued movement as you get older.

2) Muscle loss. This next major cause of a slower metabolism is called sarcopenia – age-related muscle loss!

It’s tied in with your activity level, since being less active is one reason you can lose muscle.

On average, adults lose between 3% and 8% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30.

One reason this matters – beyond your general strength and ability to move easily – is because muscle burns slightly more calories (even at rest) than fat.

You can help maintain and build muscle as you age with consistent strength-training workouts: free weights, machines, and even water fitness classes can help!

The most important part is to create some resistance for your muscles to work against.

→ The takeaway: get in at least 2 strength-training workouts a week that work all of your body’s major muscle groups.

3) The aging process. As you get older, the actual process of metabolism in your cells slows down or becomes less efficient.

There isn’t a lot you can do about this – but here’s some good news. While these slowdowns do happen, studies show they have a minor impact compared with lower activity and muscle mass!

→ The takeaway: concentrate on living a healthy lifestyle and on more activities to offset the metabolic slowdown.

→ BONUS takeaway: Make sure you eat enough protein. As people get older, they often tend to eat less protein. Aim for 10% to 35% of your total daily intake.

Tip: to boost absorption, spread your protein intake out over the course of the day, since studies show that to be more effective.

Actions you take today can have a BIG impact on your life into the future. If you’d like some guidance about putting these takeaways into action, I can help …

References:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6536a3.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17401138

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9329340

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3276215/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4394186/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15640517

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(19)30239-7/fulltext

I’ve got a special “master class” that will help 1) explain and 2) put into action a nutrition topic that’s all about flexible eating to help get you the results you want.

It works whether you want to gain weight, lose weight, maintain your weight, or try clean eating – without following a strict menu plan.

It’s called macro-based eating. It might seem a little complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s AMAZING!

I’m going to walk you through finding YOUR macro numbers below, but first let’s talk about why it works so well.

The term “macro” refers to macronutrients – protein, carbs, and fats. It’s also helpful to include fiber because when you’re getting enough fiber, you probably are eating healthier carbs. :)

Each macro gives you different benefits, so it can be helpful to know you’re getting enough of them. Plus, you get to see how your body responds to different macro breakdowns. For example, some people feel better with more carbs and some with less.

Planning and tracking your macros lets you get really TACTICAL about choosing the foods you eat to get you the results you want.

It gives you real data, vs. “guestimating” what you’re actually eating.

Note: you DEFINITELY are going to want to use an online food journal to do this – check out MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, FitBit’s food journal, or other online resource. It will save you tons of time and effort.

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR MACROS

STEP #1: Set your “daily target calorie intake amount” since all your calculations will depend on it.

Here is a good one: https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

STEP #2: Calculate how much of each MACRONUTRIENT you want to consume.

Protein: This macronutrient helps you build, repair, and maintain your muscle mass. Not only that, but it also helps rev your metabolism AND it’s known as the most satiating macro, keeping you feeling full for hours after eating it. Shoot for 10% to 35% of your calories from protein.

Tip: People who work out more generally need more protein to help with recovery.

Fat: Your body needs fat to be healthy. Among other things, fat helps your body convert and use several vitamins and minerals. Experts recommend getting between 20% and 35% of your daily calories from fat.

Carbohydrates: The remaining percentage should come from carbs. Major health organizations recommend you get between 45% and 65% of your total calories a day.

Fiber: This is another number you will want to keep in mind. It’s recommended you get between 25 to 30 grams of fiber from food sources each day.

EXAMPLE: Let’s say you calculated you need 2,000 calories a day, and you work out 4-5 days a week and have a goal of losing fat/maintaining muscle – so you decide to eat 30% from protein, 25% from fat, and 45% from carbs.

30% x 2000 = 600 calories from protein

25% x 2000 = 500 calories from fat

45% x 2000 = 900 calories from carbohydrates

But wait! There’s more! You definitely can stick with looking at just your calorie targets, but most macro-based programs actually take it a step farther and break those calorie targets into grams for each macronutrient.

Breaking it down into grams helps you be more precise. Hang with me here because there’s another step of math involved …

• 4 calories of protein = 1 gram
• 4 calories of carbohydrates = 1 gram
• 9 calories of fats = 1 gram

So, in order to figure your gram totals, you simply divide the calories by the appropriate macro number.

From our example above,

600 protein calories ÷ 4 = 150 grams of protein a day

500 fat calories ÷ 9 = 55 grams of fat a day

900 carb calories  ÷ 4 = 225 grams of carbs a day

Those are your MACROS!

The awesome thing is that once you calculate your macros, that job is DONE!

I prefer sticking with a macro breakdown for at least a month or so to see how it works, and then changing it up a little if results stall or you feel hungry/tired/etc.

Right now you might be wondering what this all actually means and how to put it into action once you know your numbers.

Read part 2: Tracking macros to get RESULTS!

Reference:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-count-macros