Get Your Green Thumb with LifeBalance: LifeBalance has teamed up with gardens and nurseries to inspire and provide everything you need to get your plants and garden off to a great start this spring. Whether you are looking to start a small container garden or get some exercise gardening at your home, LifeBalance is your source for savings on all things garden related.
For a complete listing, please visit the LifeBalance Gardening / Gardens pages.
Alaska | Idaho | Oregon | Utah | Washington
Exercise from Daily Activities: Most Americans get little vigorous exercise at work or during leisure hours. Today, only a few jobs require vigorous physical activity. People usually ride in cars or buses and watch TV during their free time rather than doing something active. Activities like golfing and bowling provide people with some benefit but they do not provide the same benefits as regular, more vigorous exercise. Evidence suggests that even low to moderate intensity activities can have both short and long-term benefits. If done daily, they may help lower your risk of heart disease. Such activities include pleasure walking, stair climbing, gardening, yard work, moderate to heavy housework, dancing and exercise. More vigorous exercise may help improve fitness of the heart and lungs, which can provide even more consistent benefits for lowering heart disease risk. Today, many people are rediscovering the benefits of regular, vigorous exercise... activities like swimming, brisk walking, running or jumping rope. These kinds of activities are sometimes called "aerobic," meaning the body uses oxygen to produce the energy needed for the activity. Aerobic exercises can condition your heart and lungs if performed at the proper intensity for at least 30 minutes, 3-4 times a week. But you don't have to train like a marathon runner to become more physically fit! Any activity that gets you moving around, even if it's done for just a few minutes each day is better than none at all. For inactive people, the trick is to get started. One great way is to take a walk for 10-15 minutes during your lunch break. Some benefits often experienced by people who get regular physical activity include feeling better, more energy, helping in coping with stress, improving your self-image, increasing resistance to fatigue, counter anxiety and depression, relaxing and feeling less tense, the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well, toning your muscles, burning off calories and helping control your appetite. If you want to lose weight, regular physical activity can help you in two ways. First, you can eat your usual amount of calories, but be more active. Or second, you can eat fewer calories and be more active. This is an even better way to lose weight. About three-fourths of the energy you burn every day comes from what your body uses for its basic needs, such as sleeping, breathing, digesting food and reclining. A person burns up only a small amount of calories with daily activities such as sitting. Any physical activity in addition to what you normally do will burn up extra calories. Working harder or faster for a given activity will only slightly increase the calories spent. A better way to burn up more calories is to increase the time spent on your activity. Consider the benefits of a well-conditioned heart: In 1 minute with 45 to 50 beats, the heart of a well-conditioned person pumps the same amount of blood as an inactive person's heart pumps in 70 to 75 beats. Compared to the well-conditioned heart, the average heart pumps up to 36,000 more times per day, 13 million more times per year. (24 Hour Fitness)
Be sure to check out the LifeBalance BMR Calculator
and the Calorie Calculator to learn more about your caloric needs and the role of exercise.
For a complete listing of gyms offering discounts to LifeBalance members please visit the LifeBalance Fitness / Health Clubs pages.
Alaska | Idaho | Montana | Oregon | Utah | Washington
Getting the Skinny on Organic Foods: Nowadays when you're grocery shopping, the dilemma may not be whether to buy broccoli or spinach but whether to choose organic broccoli or conventionally grown. What do you get when you buy organic? Here's a guide: 1) To earn the name organic, fruits and vegetables have to be grown in soil that hasn't been treated with toxic chemicals (like synthetic pesticides or fungicides) for at least three years. 2) Organic dairy products and organic meat come from animals that have been raised without hormones or antibiotics and fed only organic feed. 3) There is no such thing as "pesticide-free." Organic crops are exposed to agricultural chemicals that are already in the environment in rain and in groundwater. But organic produce is "grown without pesticides." Farmers rely on non-chemical practices like rotating crops between fields to stump pests and improve soil fertility as well as natural pesticides such as soap or botanical compounds. 4) When you're buying organic, the key is to make sure the blueberries, milk or tortilla chips you put in your cart are labeled "certified organic." That means the producer has been examined by an outside agency to ensure organic authenticity and it also guarantees that the ingredients in food products like ice cream or tomato sauce are 95 percent organic. 5) "Free-range" is another buzzword. It means the farm animals have access to the outdoors. All organic animals are free-range, but free-range doesn't necessarily mean organic. Again, look for the certified organic stamp. 6) "Natural" usually means that the food contains few or no additives such as preservatives or coloring, but there aren't any standards (FDA defines natural as "minimally processed") so take it with a grain of salt. 7) You may also see "no genetically engineered ingredients" stamped on some of the organic food you buy. That label distinguishes it from a growing number of genetically modified products. Consumer and food groups want to make these labels mandatory. 8) Non-organic foods have the same nutritional value as organic foods. But many who buy organic do so not only because it's "earth friendly" but because of taste. (Food Fit)
The
randomly drawn correct answer to this trivia question
wins a LifeBalance Member Event gift certificate to
an upcoming event.
Last
month's trivia question, which asked members to identify a photograph of a LifeBalance Provider was
correctly answered by Joanne Hanscom. The correct answer was University of Alaska Anchorage Campus Bookstore. Congratulations!
This
month's question is in the form of a photograph from a LifeBalance Provider in Washington. Who is this LifeBalance Provider?
To
answer this month's trivia question, simply fill in
the form below.
The
correct answer to this month's question will be revealed
in the next edition of eAction!
 The randomly drawn correct answer to this trivia question wins a $10 certificate from LifeBalance Partner CNCA. Remember, LifeBalance members receive special savings from CNCA. Visit the LifeBalance / CNCA page for details.
Last month's trivia question, which asked about DHA and EPA was correctly answered by John McAleenan. The correct answer was "Vitamin."
This month's question: What is the daily recommended dosage of Vitamin A?
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Racewalking with Carmen Jackinsky: In this section of the LifeBalance website we profile a LifeBalance member achieving success and practicing their own life balance.
This month, we profile LifeBalance member Carmen Jackinsky, where she shares her successes and future goals as an avid racewalker. Oh, and did we mention that she also designs and makes her own racewalking shoes?
For the complete story, visit the LifeBalance Member Profile
The LifeBalance Program is pleased to announce the new LifeBalance Provider Map Search. Members may now search for providers within a specific radius from their home, workplace or other location and instantly see all businesses flagged on a map. To begin charting your course to savings, visit the new LifeBalance Map Search.
LifeBalance Food Finder: The new LifeBalance Food Finder allows you to search a database of thousands of items to learn their nutritional information, including their calories per serving, protein, fats, carbohydrates, sugar and more.
The LifeBalance Wellness Window offers members streamlined access to all things wellness related, including fitness and health club listings, personal coaches, massage practitioners, yoga and Pilates studios and more. The Wellness Window also offers members health and wellness related articles and content including daily fitness tips, healthy recipes, motivational insight, fitness tools, health and wellness calculators and more.
“The greatest revolution of life is the discovery that individuals can change the outer aspects of their lives by changing the inner attitudes of their minds."
– William James.
The Tax Man Cometh: This month when you file your taxes take a moment to remember the good you have put forth in your community - the roads, public services, schools, etc. You are also a part of positive change in people’s lives that you may never meet. Imagine that the dollars you've paid for taxes have gone to the salary of a school teacher that is planting ideas in students who will become the leaders of our future community. Okay, perhaps it is a stretch for the imagination, but, it is so much more fun than being resentful at tax time. (Brought to you by Jason
Stein Coaching)
Spice Things Up: The new trend in food is going exotic. Try new seasonings that will add punch to your meals. Experiment with spices in the ethnic section of your market or try fresh herbs from the produce section. You'll be more satisfied with smaller portions of flavorful foods than large amounts of bland ones.
For some great cooking related ideas please visit the LifeBalance Cooking pages.
Alaska | Idaho | Oregon | Washington
What You Can: When a challenge first comes along, it can seem overwhelming. And yet, you know you must get past it so you do what you can. Day after day, you do what you can, when you can, as well as you know how. And something amazing begins to happen. What you can begins to be more than what you could. You learn, you experience, sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail, and most of all you grow. You grow stronger each time you do what you can. At the beginning it doesn't seem like enough, yet with persistence it becomes more. What once seemed difficult becomes easy. What once seemed awkward and uncomfortable becomes natural and even graceful. Taking on a difficult challenge can bring about a great accomplishment, yet it can bring so very much more. In challenge there is strength to be gained, there are lessons to be learned, and there is a kind of nourishment that cannot be delivered in any other way. If the challenge seems a bit too overwhelming, that's the one you want. Take it on and let it pull you up. Do what you can do, again and again, and what you can do will truly amaze you. (Daily Motivator)
Each month, Boone Bridge Books features a different title for LifeBalance members. This month's title is:
Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life
Ed Begley Jr.
Hollywood's it man for all things green offers large and small ways to live a greener, better life. Packed with eco-ideas from standard to quirky to ingenious, this guide also comes with workbook pages to record readers' progress.
LifeBalance members save 25% on this title!
Boone Bridge Books offers members at least 25% Savings on all titles (excluding textbooks) ordered from their website.
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Your LifeBalance Just Got Better – California and Nevada: The LifeBalance Program is pleased to announce the addition of two new states to our network... California and Nevada. The LifeBalance team has been hard at work adding new providers and events in these states and is pleased to welcome all new members and providers to the LifeBalance Recreational, Cultural & Wellness Benefit Program. Please visit the LifeBalance Search for Savings, the LifeBalance Events Calendar and the LifeBalance Ticket Window to view new member options, service areas and additions to the program.
For
a complete overview of the LifeBalance Program website,
visit the About LifeBalance section of the site and take a guided tour.
Find
exclusive LifeBalance savings at thousands of recreational, cultural & wellness related businesses throughout Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The LifeBalance Program Provider
Network gives members the opportunity to quickly
search for specific recreational, cultural and wellness providers
by geographic region and category, or by business
name, through the LifeBalance
Search for Savings.
You
can use our secure server to make payments online
for many LifeBalance Member Events and Tickets. LifeBalance
offers members thousands of special events at reduced
rates with the top vendors, instructors, and venues.
LifeBalance also has your ticket to the arts, including
theater, dance, musical performances, sporting events, ski resorts, museums and more. Visit
the LifeBalance Events Calendar and the LifeBalance Ticket Window for a complete listing and select the listing that interests
you and then complete your registration.
The LifeBalance Wellness Window offers members food and fitness tips, wellness calculators, information about community events and more. MyLifeBalance is the component of the LifeBalance Program that includes personalized wellness tools, customized content and more.
You
can also easily print the LifeBalance Program materials
and this newsletter by visiting the Printable Materials section of the site.
The
LifeBalance Program always welcomes your feedback! Complete the LifeBalance
Survey and let us know about new recreational, cultural and wellness businesses that you would like to see
added to our existing network of benefit providers,
new member events, suggestions for the LifeBalance
website or even suggestions for this online newsletter.
If you would like to speak to a member of the LifeBalance
Customer Service Team, please call 503.234.1375 or 888.754.5433.
The
LifeBalance Program
Absolute Recreation Management, Inc.
503.234.1375 / 888.754.5433
www.LifeBalanceProgram.com / info@LifeBalanceProgram.com
Privacy: Rest assured that the LifeBalance Program will
not share your email address or any other private
information with any third parties. Your info is
safe with us!
Subscribe
/ Unsubscribe: To SUBSCRIBE to this online
newsletter (for a different email address, forward
to co-workers, family, friends or other LifeBalance
members), visit the LifeBalance Program Member
Sign In located at www.LifeBalanceProgram.com/signin.php.
To
unsubscribe from this newsletter, simply click on
the following link: www.LifeBalanceProgram.com/eaction/sub/ |
Save on admission to Silverwood Theme Park
Save on admission to Wild Waves & Enchanted Village
Save on tickets to select Seattle Mariners with LifeBalance
Save 50% on enrollment and more at all Anytime Fitness locations
Save on monthly fees at all participating 
Sunday, August 10th 2008 will be the 13th annual Providence Bridge Pedal. This is your opportunity to bicycle across Portland’s bridges and visit LifeBalance Providers at the Bridge Pedal Expo on August 9. 
