cport s Biggest Loser Wellness Competition Winners

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1 Winter 2012 In this issue: 1 Biggset Loser Team Challenge 2 Calorie Melting Winter Activites By Tracy Treubig 3 Allie s Pet Health By Anna Gallant 4 Winter Health is for Everyone A Poem by Tina Letarte 5 Winter Recipes By Ember Pelletier 6 cport Health Insurance 101 By Danielle Lagasse 7 Making SMART Resolutions cport s Biggest Loser Wellness Competition Winners Congratulations to the Belly Dumpers (Pat & Kelsey), our Biggest Loser Competition winners! They are each $100 richer for having the highest combined loss in body fat percentage in the competition all 6 weeks in a row. Though Pat and Kelsey are the biggest losers, all of the losers are winners in this competition, so kudos to everyone for all of your effort! Don t forget: cport is closed: Jan. 2 - New Years Day Jan Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Feb Presidents Day *Work Well is a publication of cport Credit Union s Wellness Committee. Information presented here is for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. You should always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider before beginning or changing any nutritional or fitness routine.

2 Calorie Melting Winter Activities By Tracy Treubig Snowshoeing: Not coordinated enough to ski or snowboard? Strap on some snowshoes and burn 510 calories per hour. Hiking: It s not just for summer, enjoy the snow covered tree tops while burning 445 calories per hour. Shoveling: Clear the driveway yourself instead of hiring a plow service and burn 380 hour calories per hour. Sledding: It s not just for kids! Climbing the hills burns 455 calories per hour. Ice Skating: Rent some skates and hit the ice to burn 450 calories per hour. * All calorie counts based on a 145-pound woman. Men and individuals who weigh more will burn more calories. Reminder from our fall issue: One pound is equivalent to 3,500 calories. To lose one pound per week, burn an extra 500 calories per day

3 Allie s Pet Health Hi Everybody, and Happy New Year! Hope you all had a great Holiday. I had a blast! My cousin Lilly was here for a few days and we played non stop! Anna & Bill took this photo one evening after I crashed. I d like to see them keep up with an 80lb Black Labrador! report. After all I am talking to you about a cat! Now let s talk about cat health issues that you may or may not be aware of. 1. Cats are some of the most territorial creatures on earth. They mark their territory. Every time your cat rubs against you it is marking you as this one is mine. Luna, the cat in my house, does this, but I don t pay any attention. She may think Anna and Bill are hers, but it s all in her head! This month we are going to talk about cat health. I would like to introduce you to another member of our cport family. Colonel Forbin was rescued by Nicole Blossom in February 2011 from the Animal Rescue League in Westbrook. Nicole found the Colonel by checking out their website and fell in love with him. The day she rescued him, there was a very bad snow storm, but that not stop Nicole. Now Colonel Forbin is in his forever home with Nicole and her husband Steve. Nicole tells me that Forbin is the best kitty in the whole wide world. I want to encourage anybody reading this who may be interested in having a cat to check out the various animal shelter websites. There are cats waiting to be in a forever home just like Forbin. I hope you all appreciate my objectivity in this 2. Cats do lose a small amount of hair routinely. However excessive or patchy hair loss is not. It can be caused by allergies or fleas. Consult your vet to determine the cause. 3. Vomiting is your cat s way of getting rid of fur balls and is quite common. YUCK!!! If it lasts more than 48 hours, consult your vet. It could be a viral infection or intestinal obstruction. 4. Weight control is always an issue with pets. Your cat should have a thin layer of fat over the rib cage and tail. Looking down on your cat, you should see the body narrowing behind the ribs and before the hips. If not, you cat may be overweight. That can lead to health problems over the long haul. So, it s the New Year, get over it. Everybody diets! I will see you all again next time. Stay healthy! Allie - 3 -

4 - Winter Health Is For Everyone By Tina Letarte Winter is fast approaching and there are healthy things we all should do. Take your family to the nearest health clinic and get vaccinated for the flu. For breakfast on those cold winter mornings have a bowl of hot oatmeal. Add skim milk or garnish with an array of fruit for a zesty appetizing appeal. Drink skim milk and eat dairy products such as yogurt and cheese. They boost your immune system helping you through the winter with ease. Eat plenty of fruit and include some winter vegetables on your plate. For snacks chose dried fruit, nuts or veggie platters, they all taste great! Don t give up exercising because it s cold and there is snow on the ground. Rejoin the gym or visit a recreational center where indoor sports are found. When walking outside with a friend or your dog during the day or night; Use sunscreen to protect your face and dress warm to prevent frostbite. Enjoy a healthy winter sport such as skiing, skating, snow shoeing or sledding. Or take in the beautiful winter scenery from a snowmobile as you are riding. Select a winter sport and a diet that s right for you then go out and have some fun. Remember it doesn t matter who you are because winter health is for everyone!

5 Meatballs Ingredients: ½ lb. Lean ground beef 1 Egg, lightly beaten 2 tbs. Dry bread crumbs 1 tbs. Grated Parmesan cheese ½ tsp. Dried Basil ½ tsp. Onion powder Winter Recipes by Ember Pelletier This winter, warm up with a bowl of Italian Wedding Soup Directions: 1. Pre-heat oven to In medium bowl, combine all ingredients. 3. Shape into ¾ inch balls. 4. Bake on a tin foil covered cookie sheet for 25 min Soup Ingredients: 6 Cups chicken broth 1 Cup beef broth ½ Cup finely chopped carrot ¾ Cup orzo pasta, cooked until just before al dante 2 Cups frozen spinach Meatballs from earlier directions Directions: 1. In large saucepan, heat broth to boiling. 2. Stir in all ingredients, return to boil and immediately reduce heat to medium. 3. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dante, stirring frequently. For a delicious winter treat, try Mint Oreo Truffles Ingredients: 1 Package of Mint Oreos 1 Stick of cream cheese (Softened) 1 Package of Andes mints Popsicle sticks/mini wooden dowels or mini cupcake wraps (optional) Directions: 1. Crush up Oreos (I put them all in a gallon zip lock bag and roughly crush them by hand first then finely crush them in a food processor). 2. Add softened cream cheese to crushed Oreos and use the pulse option on your food processor until a thick smooth substance is formed. 3. Roll into small balls (about the size of a gumball), and place on wax paper on a cookie sheet and put in the fridge for approx. one hour (At this point, if you are using popsicle sticks/wooden dowels, you should insert them into the soft Oreo ball before placing into the fridge). 4. After the Oreo mixture has been in the fridge for about 45 minutes, start to melt the Andes mints, either in a double boiler, or in 30 second bursts in the microwave (stirring after each 30 second burst. Only microwave until the mixture is smooth, if cooked to much, the chocolate will become clumpy or start to burn) 5. Take the chilled Oreo balls out of fridge and dip into melted Andes mints, place back onto wax paper on the cookie sheet and place back into the fridge and chill until outer chocolate shell is hard. If you are using mini cupcake wraps you should wait until the Oreo Truffles have been chilled to place them into the individual wrappers.

6 cport Employee Health Insurance 101 By Danielle Lageasse The majority of cport employees are have coverage under Anthem s Lumenos H.S.A. plan, but many employees aren t familiar with the benefits the plan has to offer. Below you will see some of those benefits highlighted. Be sure to take advantage of the benefits you re paying for! Helpful Tools Home delivery prescription service through Express Scripts This service is great for anyone who has ongoing prescription needs. Express Scripts offers home delivery with free shipping. A three-month supply of your prescription is delivered right to your mailbox. Generic prescriptions are also available, which could save you money. Anthem.com Resources Anthem.com offers many resources, including 360 Health, which provides resources tools, guidance and support to help manage your health. To get started, go to and register. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) cport deposits $375 per quarter into HSA accounts for those employees who are enrolled under cport s health insurance. For 2011, allowable HSA contributions for single coverage is $3,100, and $6,250 for family coverage. This is a tax-advantage personal savings or investment account that you can use to save and pay for qualified healthcare expenses, now or in the future. Your HSA account is portable, meaning that if you change jobs or become unemployed, your account stays with you. There is no time limit as to when you can reimburse yourself for your healthcare expenses; you just need to keep legible receipts and records in case you do reimburse yourself or if you are audited. For a list of eligible HSA expenditures, visit Helpful Tip Our plan covers 100% of your annual physical exam, any related shots or vaccinations, and mammograms, regardless of whether or not you ve met your deductible. Upon registration, you can take advantage of the following Healthy Rewards: Health Assessment - $50 Personal Health Coach Program - $300 Smoking Cessation Program - $50 Weight Management Program - $50 Also in under Health and Wellness, you will find special offers and discounts on health related products and services. Vision benefits You re eligible for a routine eye exam once every 12 months from your last date of service at no cost. You have a frame allowance once every 24 months since your last date of purchase. This is a $100 allowance, and then 20% off the remaining balance. For an additional pair of eyeglasses, you ll receive 40% off retail price. For an additional pair of contact lenses, you ll receive 15% off. *Please refer to your Anthem enrollee booklet, Benefits You Can Count On for more details, or visit

7 SMART Goal Setting: A Surefire Way To Achieve Your Goals Adapted from: Are you making New Years resolutions this year? A new year offers the opportunity to take a fresh look at our lifestyles and make changes or improvements. New Years resolutions, though, can often fall victim to the three-week file if they re too lofty, vague, or if day-to-day life gets in the way. Want your resolutions to stick in 2012? Think about setting SMART resolutions! S pecific Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Specifics help us to focus our efforts and clearly define what we are going to do. M easurable If you can t measure it, you can t manage it. Choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Instead of I want to lose weight or I want to read more, set a measurable goal like I want to lose 5 pounds or I want to read at least one book per month. A ttainable This one sounds obvious, but we set ourselves up for failure if we set unattainable goals. If you have a big goal, measure your progress incrementally so you can monitor and celebrate success. R ealistic This is not a synonym for easy. Realistic, in this case, means do-able. Devise a plan or a way of getting there which makes the goal realistic. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you are at the moment. A goal of never again eating sweets may not be realistic for someone who really enjoys these foods. It may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit each day instead of one sweet item. You can then choose to work towards reducing the amount of sweet products gradually as and when this feels realistic for you. T imely Set a timeframe for the goal: for next week, in three months, one year. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards. Without a time limit, there s no urgency to start taking action now