LiveWell: Healthy Lifestyles to Last the Holidays

By Guest Blogger Janet Hinkel

From Thanksgiving to Christmas I eat my favorite foods, rich, hearty, delicious and local – maple-sweetened pies, local apples and pears, the last of the kale and spinach from the fields, free-range meats that are lean and flavorful, squash in all shapes and sizes, organic heavy cream from New York dairy farmers, and steaming, fresh, whole grain bread from the small bakery around the corner.

I love late-harvest, holiday food; I dread the weight gain. What’s a food-loving, health-nut to do?

There is a secret to enjoying holiday treats without paying the price. That secret is shared in ThinkBright and Well’s LiveWell Healthy Lifestyles Workshops: Live a healthy lifestyle every day, and make the occasional exception.

It’s what you do daily that matters. The LiveWell Healthy Lifestyles Workshops walk participants, step-by-step, through a process of assessing their lifestyles, setting goals, and figuring out how to stick with it. The great thing is that the workshops focus on making small, simple changes that are tailored to each participant.

Over the years, I’ve learned to indulge without gaining weight by eating a healthy daily diet and staying active. When I’ve had to lose unwanted pounds, I’ve done it with small changes to my daily habits. It’s that simple – and it’s not simple at all. Around the holidays, I have to be meticulous about weeding out my bad habits, and I use many of the tips and advice from the LiveWell Healthy Lifestyles Workshops.

If you are interested in attending the LiveWell Healthy Lifestyles Workshops, contact us for information about dates and locations throughout Western New York. And, if you don’t get to it before the holidays, changing a few small, simple things for the New Year can help you get back in shape and keep your New Year’s resolution!

If you are a health professional or a health enthusiast who wants to help people improve their lifestyle habits, you can become a workshop presenter. LiveWell staff will meet with you personally to train you on how to present the workshops, and we’ll follow up with you until you feel comfortable doing it on your own.

The LiveWell Healthy Lifestyles Workshops kit has two workshop topics, “Nutrition” and “Physical Activity,” to help participants address healthier eating and getting more physical activity. For more information, to become a presenter, and for copies of the LiveWell Healthy Lifestyles Workshops presentation kit, contact ThinkBright and Well or our partners at the P² Collaborative.

The LiveWell Healthy Lifestyles Workshops kit is produced by WNED and WNED’s ThinkBright and Well multimedia service. LiveWell is a ThinkBright and Well community health initiative in partnership with the P² Collaborative of Western New York and University at Buffalo’s School of Public Health and Health Professions and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the John R. Oishei Foundation, and Independent Health.