| Get Creative in the Kitchen: LifeBalance has partnered with some of the best to offer cooking classes, merchandise, specialty ingredients and more. Whether you are looking for ideas for your next family feast, or simply looking for some healthy recipes, look no further than LifeBalance for all of your gastronomical needs.
For complete listings, please visit the LifeBalance Cooking pages.
Alaska | Idaho | Montana | Oregon | Utah | Washington
Also, you can record what you cook and eat with the LifeBalance Food Tracker & Journal.
10 Reasons to Warm Up: Tempted to skip your warm up? Don't! Your warm up is an important part of your exercise routine.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, here are 10 vital reasons for starting out with a warm up and not taking shortcuts! 1) Increases degradation of oxyhemoglobin – In lay person's terms, warming up helps break down the chemical complex of oxygen, which enables it to separate from the blood and enhance its delivery to the muscle. 2) Increases body temperature – Warming up reduces the potential for muscle and connective injuries. 3) Increases blood flow to exercising muscles – The more blood that reaches the muscles, the easier the delivery of nutrients required for energy production. 4) Increases blood flow to the heart – More blood to the heart means a reduced risk for exercise-induced cardiac abnormalities. 5) Decreases muscle viscosity – If viscosity is bad for your car engine, it certainly is not any better for your muscles. Warming up enhances the suppleness of the muscle. 6) Helps promote sweating – Remember: sweat is good. Sweating reduces the amount of heat stored in the body. Your body spends more energy cooling itself than through any other activity. 7) Enhances the speed of transmission of nerve impulses – Motor faculties improve greatly when you're warmed up. Need proof? Get out of bed and run to the front door. You'll probably bump into something or fall down. If you walked to the front door and stretched, you could run like Forest Gump. 8) Increases the blood saturation of muscles and connective tissue – Sounds messy, but in reality, the more blood reaching the muscles, tendons and ligaments, the better the elasticity of these tissues; which means better performance and reduced chance of injuries. 9) Prepares the cardiovascular system for impending workload – Helps the heart and blood vessels adjust to the body's increased demands for blood and oxygen. 10) Prepares muscles for impending workload – Warming up may reduce the likelihood of excessive muscle soreness. (24 Hour Fitness)
For complete listings visit the LifeBalance Fitness Club pages.
Alaska | Idaho | Montana | Oregon | Utah | Washington
For complete listings visit the LifeBalance Personal Coaching pages.
Alaska | Idaho | Montana | Oregon | Utah | Washington
Tips for a Heart Healthy Low Cholesterol Diet: Reducing your cholesterol can be a huge step in decreasing your risks of health complications. Saturated fats should be avoided or reduced and trans fats should be cut out if possible. Fats are high in calories, but you don’t need to scrutinize your diet by counting calories. Instead, work toward phasing out calorie-heavy foods and replacing them with healthier alternatives. Some suggestions include: Switching from regular soda to diet soda, using skim milk instead of whole or reduced fat, replacing lard or butter with low fat butter substitutes and switching to lite foods. Also, buy smaller portions. Today foods are sold in increasingly larger sizes, and you may not realize that you are eating more than you need. Though it may be hard to resist the tempting 2-for-1 deals at the grocery store, buying smaller portions can help you control your calories. The right food for your cholesterol includes: Oatmeal - lowers your LDL without lowering your HDL. Fish - is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, lowers LDL, raises HDL and lowers triglycerides. Nuts - are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, lower LDL. Soy - has been shown to lower LDL. Fiber - lowers your cholesterol. It can be found in kidney beans, green peas, broccoli, apples, brown rice and whole grain breads. Antioxidants - in foods, such as vitamins A, C and E, lower the chances of LDL building up in your arteries. You can get your antioxidant vitamins in foods such as strawberries, oranges, oils and margarines and melons. Cooking tips include: Use whole grain flour instead of white flour. Buy lean meats, like turkey or chicken, instead of red meat, and trim all the fat from it before cooking. Cook with vegetable oil, which is high in polyunsaturated fats, and olive and canola oils, which are high in monounsaturated fats. Instead of frying; boil, broil, bake, roast, grill, poach or steam meats, and drain off all fat before eating. Reduce your salt intake by using herbs to flavor your meals, and avoiding salty snack foods, pickles, cured meats and cheeses. Eating Out: Don’t be afraid to ask how your food is prepared and to voice how you want it prepared. Ask restaurants to not add salt (tell the wait staff you are “allergic”) Get foods that are steamed, broiled, baked, grilled and poached. Get on your way to a heart healthy low cholesterol diet. (FoodFit)
Each month, Boone Bridge Books features a different title for LifeBalance members. This month's title is:
The Northwest Best Places Cookbook: Recipes from the Outstanding Restaurants and Inns of Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia
Cynthia Nims & Lori McKean
As Northwest cuisine takes the country by storm, the venerable "Northwest Best Places" travel guide heads into the kitchen with this collection of recipes from its star-rated establishments. Here are 125 inspired recipes from Northwesterners' favorite restaurants and lively essays on the region's indigenous ingredients. With this cookbook, food lovers can savor the best of the Northwest without ever leaving home
LifeBalance members save 30% on this title!
Buy This Title Now from Boone Bridge Books
Boone Bridge Books offers members at least 25% Savings on all titles (excluding textbooks) ordered from their website.
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 Kendra Vrieze. The correct answer was the Portland Timbers. Congratulations!
This
month's question is in the form of a photograph from a LifeBalance Provider in Alaska. 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 Michelle Weston. The correct answer was "20%"
This month's question: Due to encouraging science, Vitamin D is in the news a lot lately. The recommended daily intake will likely be increased from _______ to as much as 2000IU.
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Inflation Busters: Meet Svend Visely, struggling poet, avid cyclist, master chef, family man, crack economist and recently appointed poet laureate of the LifeBalance Program.
 "I offer LifeBalance members advice in verse that will keep their money in their purse" - Svend Visely
Svend offers members practical advice for saving money in today's financial climate while still living a balanced lifestyle.
Svend's inspired advice is the cornerstone of Inflation Busters, which offers members money saving tips and advice, including a list of fun family activities that cost $10 or less.
LifeBalance Food Tracker: The LifeBalance Program is pleased to announce the launch of the new LifeBalance Food Tracker & Journal. Members can search a database of thousands of food items to add to their daily journals, add favorite foods to the list, set their caloric intake goals, monitor progress and more. Log in to your MyLifeBalance account today to get started.
LifeBalance Activity Planner: Plan out your weekly exercise & activity regimen and calculate how many calories you can burn with the new LifeBalance Activity Planner in the MyLifeBalance section of the website.
Training for Bicycling Events: Mike Boggs of Providence Mercantile Health and Fitness Center provides some great advice on training for cycling events. Make sure to get your training started using Mike Boggs' helpful hints in the Ask the Experts section of the Wellness Window.
The LifeBalance Wellness Windowoffers 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.
"Many a one has succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat, he would never have known any great victory." – Orison Swett Marden.
Life Without Worry: Have you ever wondered what you're life would be like without worry? Without the anxiety of emptying your inbox or getting through your email. Not having thoughts of needing to get to the gym more or eating healthier. This month, I invite you to focus less on what you're worried about and more about who you are being in each moment. What if you remembered you are someone who is beautiful, unique and who has the ability to create whatever you want. Find your LifeBalance by remembering your own greatness this month. (Brought to you by Jason
Stein Coaching)
Rafting: Did you know that the Northwest features outstanding whitewater rafting on dozens of rivers throughout Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Canada? Today, rafting is considered a challenging recreational activity. Rafting is usually done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting was also one of the earliest means of transportation in the United States, used as a means for shipping people, hunting and transferring food. In 1842, Lieutenant John Fremont of the U.S. Army first journalized his rafting expedition on the Platte River. In the 1960s, rafting was recognized and paths like the Grand Canyon were routed and whitewater rafting companies were established. In the 1970s, rafting marked its major development as a leisure sport when it was then included in the Munich Olympic Games. In the 1980s, as rafting continued to gain its popularity, many rivers were opened for rafting activities including rivers in South America and Africa. The International Federation of Rafting was instituted in 1997 and in 1999 the first Official International Championship was held. As for rafting through LifeBalance, you can drive to many rivers within a day and some trips have transportation included right to the river. You can narrow your choice of outfitters and rivers and select the most popular and well respected commercial rafting companies in the West. Trips appeal to a variety of skills and interests from drifting quiet streams to Class IV and V rampaging rivers. Choose the area, river, outfitter and trip to match your budget, time and calendar through LifeBalance.
For complete listings, please visit the LifeBalance Whitewater Rafting pages.
Alaska | Idaho | Montana | Oregon | Utah | Washington
Well Founded Confidence: How is it possible to move confidently toward the future after experiencing a disappointing setback? The answer is by learning from that disappointment and knowing that you can adjust your approach accordingly. If confidence resulted only from success, no one would ever have the confidence to reach success in the first place. In all confidence there is an element of faith. Certainly past successes can add to your confidence, but past disappointments do not have to erode that confidence because you have the wonderful ability to improve with each effort. You can make adjustments and apply the lessons you've learned through experience. Those valuable lessons are yours to use in a positive way no matter what has happened before. The powerful fact is that every experience can add to your confidence. The cheers and the sneers, the compliments and the complaints, the wins and the losses can all build confidence. Take the best from what has happened and add the best of what can be. Move positively forward with a realistic, well-founded, ever-increasing confidence. (Daily Motivator)
Taking the Emotion Out of Email: With 84% of Americans using email at least occasionally, email has long since moved from the business world to our personal lives. The International Data Corporation estimated that in 2007 more than 97 billion emails were sent each day. Such widespread use might lead us to the natural conclusion that proper email use would be commonsense. Instead, misunderstandings and miscommunication arising from email conversations occur frequently. In both your personal and professional life, make sure email is the appropriate method of communication. If you need to have a conversation that is emotionally loaded, email may not be the best vehicle. Emails lack several very important clues to communication: body language, tone of voice, context and the ability for two people to actively engage with one another in the moment. The written word is incredibly slippery without all these clues and can be easily misinterpreted. If you are nervous and want to script out what you will say, do so beforehand to help yourself prepare. While a face-to-face or phone conversation may be more difficult to both have and hear, it allows both people to participate and allows each person the context and control to reach a positive outcome. There may be occasions when email is the only response and then the rule becomes; never send an emotional email. Prepare a draft of what you would like to say and save it to your drafts folder. Leave the communication alone for at least an hour; generally overnight. Do not put the recipient’s email into the document until you are actually ready to send it; safe-guarding against an accidental send. Come back to the email and reread your draft objectively. Are you responding appropriately? Is there anything the recipient could misunderstand? Have you clearly outlined your desired outcome from the conversation? While the tone of email is often informal, make sure you are matching the tone your recipient typically uses. Many readers are actually offended by a writer’s use of all caps (which can imply yelling), poor grammar, spelling errors and omitted punctuation. While email has made communication so much easier for us; its very ease makes it that much more important to take the time to choose both the manner in which we communicate and the words we use. (Brought to you by Xenium)
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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
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