Welcome to this month's edition of LifeBalance eAction! the monthly email newsletter of the LifeBalance Program.

You are a member of the LifeBalance Program. Each month, LifeBalance eAction! is delivered to provide program updates, encourage members to make active lifestyle choices, and to offer members savings with the top recreational, cultural and wellness businesses. Within this monthly newsletter you will read about businesses participating in your area, upcoming LifeBalance Member Events, special promotions from LifeBalance Providers, useful wellness tips and the chance to win LifeBalance prizes.

Want to learn more about using the LifeBalance Program? Read the LifeBalance Website Features section of this newsletter.

Everything Hockey but the Zamboni: The LifeBalance Program is proud to bring the exciting game of hockey to you. Whether you are looking to catch the excitement of attending a game, or get out on the rink yourself, LifeBalance has offerings to get you closer to the ice.

For a complete listing of Hockey related LifeBalance Providers, please visit the LifeBalance Hockey page.

Get Your Act Together: Many people haven't been in a theatrical performance since middle school or high school. If you’ve been longing to get back on stage, wait no more. LifeBalance partners with a number of acting instructors to help you learn new techniques and get yourself onstage.

For a complete listing of acting related LifeBalance Providers, visit the LifeBalance Acting page.  

High Intensity Interval Training: Can you think of anything more torturous than spending an hour pedaling away on a stationary bike or plodding along on the treadmill? You're not alone. Most exercise enthusiasts dread conventional cardio. Why? Because it's long and boring. The goal of a cardio workout is to lose the unwanted inches and to develop the efficiency of your heart and lungs. But new studies are out that show slow-go cardio sessions may not be as effective for burning off that holiday bulge as we thought. When you plod along on the treadmill at an even pace, your body enters what is called a steady state. This means that your body has adjusted to the pace and is now trying to conserve energy. Instead, maybe try High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), a new training technique. HIIT training can burn a greater number of total calories than low-intensity training. High-Intensity Interval Training is an exercise strategy that can improve performance with short training sessions. These sessions involve a warm up period, several short, maximum-intensity efforts that are separated by moderate recovery intervals, and a cool down period. The addition of explosions of speed into your comfortable pace can increase your power, muscle tone, speed, strength, endurance and best of all will melt the inches off. An example of a HIIT program using any form of cardio equipment or even jogging outside or swimming laps can consist of starting with an easy 4 minute warm up and then casually increasing your pace to the one that you usually maintain for your workout. Once you are sufficiently warm, sky rocket your intensity for 30 seconds. Return to your normal pace for the next 30 seconds and then sky rocket again. Repeat this 30-30 interval for 6 minutes and then gradually decrease your intensity as you enter a cooling off pace. Over time, increase the intervals to one minute then two minutes, etc. Take your cardio workout to the next level and try the HIIT method to achieve maximum results in minimum time. (Game Plan Fitness)

Ignite Your Metabolism: Metabolism is a mystery. You may know that mastering it is the key to losing weight, but what is it? And where is it? Turns out it's the engine that drives every cell, and that means it's everywhere. Your metabolism helps you walk, talk and fight off illness. Its fuel: calories. Each one you consume goes into the metabolic tank that powers the machine that is you. Foods that supply lean protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats in the right proportions are optimal for Meta-Stat function, an area of the brain that regulates your metabolism. To boost your body's fat-burning potential, follow the 3 + 4 formula: 3 meals averaging 600 calories each, plus 4 snacks averaging 300 calories each, per day. If certain meals or snacks surpass these calorie limits, don't worry. Simply balance them with lower-calorie choices through the rest of the day. Eat at regular intervals and keep meals and snacks roughly the same size. This provides proper fuel for your Meta-Stat, so it runs at peak efficiency throughout the day. In addition to the new foods, moving and lifestyle tweaks will keep your metabolism humming all day long. As you age, your body becomes less effective at burning calories, mostly because of a gradual decrease in activity and resulting loss of muscle. Your metabolism can dip as much as 25% to 30% over your adult life. As a result, your body tends to store excess calories in the form of body fat, and that extra weight only slows you down more. To combat the slowing metabolism, add exercise and strength training to rebuild muscle. You can increase it further by making small but targeted lifestyle changes. Anything that energizes you; such as a good night's sleep, fresh air, sunlight, a healthy diet, regular exercise, multivitamins, supplements, stretching, laughing, ultimately helps drive metabolism. Keep your metabolism in mind and devise a round-the-clock plan that will tune up your fat-burning engine, boosting its efficiency and maximizing your calorie burn morning, noon and night.  (Prevention.com)

Ask the Experts: The LifeBalance Wellness Window offers excellent articles from expert LifeBalance providers in fitness related fields. Current articles include information on running, walking, yoga and holiday survival tips.

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 classes 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 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 Betty Denny. The correct answer was BODIES...The Exhibition in Seattle, WA. Congratulations!

This month's question is in the form of a photograph. What New LifeBalance Provider & Member Event takes place at the fictional location depicted in this Photo? (Hint, it's in Oregon.)

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!

Hit the Slopes with LifeBalance: Whether you prefer the rush of hitting the slopes or the exhilaration of snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, the LifeBalance Program has a wide variety of opportunities to get you on the mountain and save on your favorite outdoor winter sports.

For a complete listing of related LifeBalance Providers, visit the LifeBalance Skiing / Snowboarding / Snowshoeing page, or visit the Ski / Snowboard Lift Tickets page for lift tickets and specific mountains and resorts.

“To reach our goals, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must sail and not drift, not lie at anchor.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Be Present to the Happiness: Are you feeling the holiday overwhelm? Finding yourself worried about shopping, money, and the endless busy-ness around the holiday season? Wondering where you are going to find time to get it all done? December is a great time to take a few moments and reflect on all the successes you had this last year. Remember the wins you had at work and the great memories of your family life. Remember the challenges you overcame and the best moments of this past year. By giving gratitude you'll be able to diffuse your holiday overwhelm and be present to the happiness and joy that is in your life this holiday season. (Brought to you by Jason Stein Coaching)

The deeper the color of a fruit or vegetable the more nutritious it is. Avocados are cholesterol-free and provide heart-healthy vitamin E, folic acid and potassium. Tomatoes are actually a type of berry and these once-exotic fruits were called love apples in the 16th century.

All types of fruit and vegetables count towards the recommended five servings a day, whether they're fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Frozen vegetables can be at least as nutritious as fresh alternatives, especially if the fresh ones have been kept at room temperature for a few days or so. All fruit and vegetables contain different phytochemicals, which give them their distinctive colors, flavors and benefits. Mix your fruits and veggies for optimal benefits.

Expect It: Rarely will you ever accomplish more than you expect to accomplish. So get in the habit of expecting the best. Your expectations by themselves do not create your reality, but they do indeed set the direction for it. What do you expect to achieve today, this week, or this month? How do you expect other people to relate to you? Expectations guide our actions. When we know what is expected it gives us a clear plan for exactly what to do. Whatever you sincerely expect, you will work for, you will nurture, you will persist for and give power to. Those things will serve to make it happen. Expectations powerfully influence both your conscious and subconscious actions. If you expect the day to be dreary and boring, most likely it will be. When you expect the day to be productive and fulfilling, you'll find yourself acting to satisfy those expectations. Make it a point to expect the best, and then commit to following those expectations. (Global Fitness)

Holiday Stress: Stressed about the holidays? Not enough time to get everything done while you are at work? Here are a few holiday stress-busters for your workplace: Smile. Breathe deeply. Set realistic expectations for yourself and don’t take yourself too seriously. Forgive co-workers for their mistakes as built-up anger will only make you more tense.  Make sure you take your lunch and use your breaks to relax. Have a happy holiday season! (Brought to you by Xenium Resources)

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 over 2,000 recreational & cultural businesses throughout Alaska, Oregon 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 over 1,000 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 and more. Visit the LifeBalance Events Calendar and the LifeBalance Ticket Window for a complete listing and select the event that interests you and then complete your registration.

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 and cultural 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

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