It’s time for the 2014 VEHI Summer Challenge on Facebook!

Why Facebook you ask?  Well, it’s simple and easy for us to track (plus no development costs), millions of people clearly love the social platform, and it’s a great community in which everyone can easily share their healthy experiences.  Sharing is a key element of building environmental and social support for healthy living.

We’ve got some thoughts below for those who are reluctant about Facebook.

For those who are right into it, let’s get started!

This first week is about getting out and visiting a park!  Vermont is not lacking for those so this should be an easy week.  Although I went to three different ones this past weekend, I completely forgot to post pictures.  For some of us, this will be our biggest challenge — remembering the details.  Simply put, just stay in touch.

Take your time with the details and know that you can post any time, any week.  Though it’s lots of fun when all the park pictures come in at once and we’re all doing similar tasks together, we understand that life moves quickly and you have to work at your own pace.

The key is to enjoy, to be with family and friends who support your healthy efforts, and to share ideas and scenes that inspire us all to continue on the PATH Ahead.

Oh, and don’t forget that kids and animals love it outside too.  Just be sure to have the proper equipment and protection for both (plenty of water, proper life vests, sun block, shade, and so on).

This week, enjoy what the great outdoors can offer and search for the little things that make nature so exciting and healing.  Who knows, you might just run into some big natural beauty as well.

See you on the PATH Ahead.

Gillian, Shevonne, Amy and the VEHI Thriving with PATH Team.

PS: Facebook caveat:

We know some of you have no interest in Facebook and even shy away from it purposefully (either for professional or political reasons).  Fair enough.  The good news is, there are a ton of other ways you can participate in PATH programs throughout the year.  You can do the challenge, you just won’t earn points for posting pictures.  The posting matters because it builds community — that’s the beauty of social networking sites.

One note of confidence about facebook that we can give is that you do control the content, privacy and viewing.  We do suggest setting up an account and simply keeping it professional.  Anything you’d share in this Summer Challenge should be professional and non-judge-able (so to speak) anyway.  Keep it simple and keep your friends limited and you won’t expose your life to the world.  We even have some people, if you’re really private/nervous, who set up an account with an alias just to participate in the challenge.  Just let us know so we can be sure to connect your alias with your PATH account for points later.

This past Saturday, my alma mater’s football team, the West Virginia University Mountaineer’s, ate dirt against the University of Maryland Terrapins, who easily pulled out 37 points. Not only was this loss unfortunate for WVU and the team’s standings, according to new research findings, it significantly impacted what I and other WVU fans ate following the loss.

Based on Chandon and Cornil’s findings, diehard Mountaineer fans were likely to ingest more saturated fat and calories than the Terrapin fans, (on average 16 percent more saturated fats and 10 percent more calories), saying yes to more fries and chips. The Terrapin fans, secure in their win, opted instead for spinach salads and fruit compotes; reducing their saturated fat intake by nine percent and normal calorie consumption by five percent.

When a fan’s football team wins, Chandon and Cornil found that fans engage in more long-term thinking, are future focused and excited about the next match. The satisfaction that comes with winning increases their ability to pass up unhealthy foods. However, when a fan’s team loses, much the same as when we are unhappy, fans seek comfort foods packed with sugar and saturated fats.

Finally, in cities where football is almost considered a religion (i.e., Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Green Bay,) the percentage of saturated fat eaten by fans after a loss climbs to 28 percent, while the fans of the winning team reported eating 16 percent less saturated fat. Last Sunday, the Chicago Bears toppled the Steelers.

Not to rub salt in a wound, but I grew up in Pittsburgh, surrounded by Steeler mania and once upon a time was totally invested in the team. Oh dear –that means I probably had a double whammy of comfort food last Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Given this new information, I am becoming a bit worried. What if neither team has a winning season? It could spell major trouble for my capacity to pass up fried chicken, buttered popcorn and double layered Oreo cookies.

Chandon and Cornil recommend miserable fans put their team’s defeat in perspective and think about other things in one’s life that are valuable. In addition, to following their suggestion, I installed a good luck charm in my front yard.

Maybe that will do the trick for the Mountaineers, but what about those Steelers? I could be craving Cheetos until the Super Bowl.

See you on the PATH ahead.

The Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge is over and we had an amazing time.

There’s still time to get your entries in but the diligent people who posted throughout deserve some applause and we have to share some of the highlights.   Take a look at the joy and wisdom of your Vermont school employees  as they worked on family and community wellness this summer and early fall:

Week 1 we asked people to “Grow Something”…

Week 2 we asked you to have a healthy meal with loved ones…

Week 3 we said go to a farm stand or market and try new produce…

Week 4 we asked you to help someone.  Great stories ensued.  You cleaned up beaches, you helped reseed a lawn, and you greened up roads even though it wasn’t green up day.  You recycled scrap metal (including a slinky which never occurred to me but is a great idea!).  And, one of you saw in the Front Porch Forum that someone needed a Little Tikes bench.  Suddenly there was one on the side of the road for free and you picked it up and delivered.  Amazing!

Week 5 we asked you to try a new summer activity.  Oh my the posts went wild! You peddle kayaked…  Who knew?  You took up water skiing.  You did your first sprint triathlon.  You ran your first 10k.  You ran the Brooklyn Bridge!  You stopped and took in the beauty of Vermont.

Week 6 you had to start a new tradition.  Nicole Cave, who we have to thank for all the really cool pictures with the captions inside (she’d win a prize for that if there was one), started visiting historical places.  Linda, who’s story made me cry, started hiking with her son.  He gently coaxed her almost to the top of Mount Mansfield.  We’re so proud of you!

Kara went to the beach in Maine (as did many of you, or to the Cape) with her mom who snuggled with the grand kids.  Some of you went on vacation, some of you had family get-together’s. Many of you did amazing healthy things for the first time.  And, Susan had healthy tea with her sister – pinkie up!

Week 7 you were to visit your favorite place.  Again, the posts went off the charts.  Lots of sunsets, toes on vacation, chairs, cozy corners, walking paths and more.

Week 8 we said savor a summer memory and thankfully at this point you had plenty…  Going to an amusement park, remembering being little kids, lounging on a hammock and the list goes on.

Week 9 as you headed back to school we asked you to remember your summer and laugh out loud!  And how!  Nicole found a funny statue of Bewitched!  haha!

Week 10 we closed out with asking you to test your favorite 90-second stress management tool so you were tip-top ready to dive into the school year.  We know transition is hard so we wanted to help you focus on the good as change taps out some of your energy.  That way, you can stay focused and ready for action.  You sent us lots of animal pics, more pretty places, and lots of fun family moments – hugs, smiles, hands held and hearts full.

All we can say now is, “Wow!”  You all are beautiful, amazing people and your trajectory toward health at home and in your communities skyrocketed.  Thank you for sharing it with us, your peers and our world of health.  Good luck in the prize drawing and stay in touch!

For those of you who want more, go to our Facebook page and click on “Posts by Others.”  Sorry if your picture isn’t represented here.  We chose quickly and totally subjectively in the moment to get this post up right away.  All your pics were wonderful and deserve a frame and prominent spot on the wall.

If you still want to post for the prize (and you really did the work all summer), the deadline is Sept 13 (mail in your game card by then to VEHI Summer Challenge, 52 Pike Dr., Berlin, VT 05602, and put up your pics with week numbers on FB to qualify).  We’ll announce the Winner this Monday!

See you on the PATH Ahead.

(Photo credits go to Nicole Cave – again, thanks for the captions, Kara Cassani, Cari Causey, Carmen Cormier, JenniferDeuso, Rhonda Drake, Heather Fergerson, Kristin Holcomb, Doug Kussisu, Susan Ladd, Jane MacKugler, Linda Senecal, Susan Winsor, Wendy Lynde.  In no particular order.)

We’re in week 9 of a Summer-to-Fall challenge.  It’s Laugh-Out-Loud week and it’s also Back-to-School week.  [goodness look at all those hyphens!]

The idea of the challenge was to help school employees enjoy a healthy summer with friends and family and then transition back to school with their own powerful stress management tools in their back pocket.  In short, to keep their wits!  Ha!

It’s not that going back to school is awful.  In fact, one of our wellness leaders who is a classroom teacher (Donna you know who you are), posted her beautiful classroom the night before the kids arrived and said she might not be able to sleep that night.  I read that to my 11-year old friend Bianca and she said, “Oh my gosh, me neither!  Cool that teachers feel that way too!”

Surprised, I asked, “What? Did you think they were dreading it?”

It’s funny how perspective skews our thinking.  If I think back objectively on my education, back to school was a supremely exciting time. Fall sports, crisp air but still some warm sunshine, Labor Day parades, bonfires, seeing friends again, sharing summer memories, and new learning…  It’s all good.  Oh and, if we’re lucky, a new outfit and some shiny new pencils.  Do we ever outgrow the new supplies whim?

So why do we feel a collective grown from people when it’s time to for school employees to go back to work. Two reasons…  1) Change and transition of any kind requires mustering momentum from scratch; and 2) Bureaucracy is a big buttinsky.  Momentum they can do.  These are some of the most creative and caring people on the planet who always find a way to make learning exceptional.  The hardest things for teachers are paperwork, outdated policies, unfunded mandates, parents, and colleagues who ought to retire or at least not be in leadership positions. The kids, generally speaking, are the easier part.  We hear this time and time again.

Keeping our school employees well, thus, requires that we help them laugh off the stress, hold on to their freewheeling summer side in the face of adversity, and rationally problem solve with their peers as the communities they serve throw them one curve after another.

We salute you all in your back-to-school transition and thank you for the above-and-beyond work you’ll do in the coming year to make Vermont one of the best places to raise a family in the world.

To prove it…  Here’s my favorite Facebook status of all the back-to-school posts I’ve seen this week:  Our friend Kate (also an educator) said:  “So, this morning as [my son] put on his sneakers, I overheard him say to himself, ‘I can’t even believe I’m in Kindergarten. This is so amazing.'”

As Summer edges into Fall, the hope and dreams of our nation’s future are in your hands and, again, we can’t thank you enough.  We’re cheering you on from the Thriving with PATH sidelines so write us if you need anything!

Finally, in the plain old Laugh-Out-Loud category, to leave with a little chuckle, here’s a fun image.  If you weren’t helping Vermont kids every day, you could be doing this:

My friend Sheri, a zoologist and zookeeper on a work trip to Africa made lifelong friends with a giraffe.  All in a day’s work — imagine that pupil’s appetite and etc?!

See you on the PATH Ahead!

The summer I was 14, and desperately wishing I could be more blonde (back then TV and magazine advertisers adamantly insisted blondes have more fun), I stumbled upon the way to create blond highlights naturally (sans peroxide).  The magic was lemon juice, and if my memory serves me right, I was indeed pleased with my new locks.
That was the last time I used lemon juice for something I desperately desired — until last week. Now plagued by recurring kidney stones, which seem to reappear overnight regardless of multiple surgeries and somewhat bizarre dietary restrictions, I was surprised by an urologist’s  recommendation to instead add two tablespoons of lemon juice to my daily diet.
Drinking a glass of lemon-infused water every morning has become my new mantra or tradition.  I now imagine the citric acid as my knight in shining armor wielding a sword with precision against those nasty stone fragments and winning every time. Thank goodness I can once again enjoy sweet potato fries, dark chocolate, and as the famous contested bumper sticker says — “Eat More Kale.”
There are a wealth of natural remedies that may or may not be of value in becoming a little healthier, and each individual’s experience is most certainly unique. For instance, if one is feeling down, what natural remedies instead of prescription medications might be of similar benefit? Or if sleeping has become a struggle, could a mild dose of L-Tryptophan and melatonin work?  And if staying bright-eyed and bushy-tailed throughout the day is challenging, are there some specific vitamins which might be a more reasonable solution then using amphetamines?

While I don’t profess to have the answers, if you are interested in exploring natural remedies in more depth, I suggest you talk with those steeped in such knowledge; whether this individual is your healthcare provider, a naturopath or a dietician.

What are some new traditions you have launched this summer? A friend of mine recently tackled a bit of  overnight hut-to-hut hiking in the White Mountains and loved it. She is already looking forward to doing so again next summer; this time with earplugs, to increase the likelihood of sleeping among a throng of strangers.   From the posts you’ve shared, we have heard about other new traditions, including getting up once a week to watch the sunrise, taking family members to a major league baseball game and spending one week every summer camping next to the ocean.
We look forward to hearing more about your new traditions this week.

See you on the PATH ahead.

Let me ask you…  Why the heck not?  Because one day you might Have to.

Yesterday we heard the Assistant U.S. Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Deb Delisle, speak at the annual Vermont Principal’s Association Leadership Summit.  She asked us to look at “learning” in exciting new ways.  We’ve been asked this a lot over the past few decades but the directive has never been more important.  As information and its delivery travel at the speed of light, she said, and instant gratification is all consuming, we see that our current modes just won’t compete in the global market.  And yet we can’t lose the central element of simplicity that makes learning special.

Delisle quoted John Lennon:

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Not only is this the child our schools must teach, this is the family we serve, and, if we’re honest, this is often the wonder of our own inner voice.  When you hear these thoughts your gut agrees, no doubt, while your practical side says, “What a wise#$!”

When we take the “wise#$!” lovingly by the hand and shrug off the irritation, we open to a broader picture of what’s possible.  When we sidestep our fear of what’s “different” we realize we can still hold on to the notion of what’s good, let go of old chafe, and picture ourselves in a refurbished, bountiful world.  Imagine this at work and imagine it inside your own mind.

Don’t get me wrong, Vermont schools get a lot right.  Delisle said that a good teacher can completely break the bounds of poverty for a child and save society $250,000 in services down the road.  Further, a good principal who manages well brings 2-7 hours of added meaningful instruction to each child’s life.

Good schools ARE Vermont.  We are world class as Governor Peter Shumlin said yesterday in introducing Delisle.  And, we can do more to keep it new and exciting, in our own lives and in our work.  To keep ourselves strong and ready for all this excitement, change begins within.

The next time someone says, “Do you want to try XYZ?”  Pause before you say no.  Or, say no with a caveat that you want to embrace the wise#$! but you’re scared or nervous or any manner of things.  Then carefully consider the joy factor.  Chances are it will outweigh your fears.  Newness is pure pleasure and it’s what our brains Crave (with a capitol C).  Instead, try saying “Bring it!”

Your Summer Challenge task this week?  Try a summer activity you’ve never done before.  I’ll take it one step further…  When you’re on that high from doing whatever it is you chose, do some creative thinking about the coming school year.  How do you want it to unfold?  Broaden the horizon while your brain is reveling in joy-induced neurotransmitters.

And, whatever you decide, we’re here to cheer you on!  Share your stories with us on our FB page or here.

See you on the Thriving PATH Ahead.

“Can I borrow your cellphone please?  I’ve locked my keys and phone in the car and I need to call my mom.”   I sized up the person directing those words our way inside the New Baltimore, NY Thruway rest area’s snack shop.  He looked all of about 17, was a gangly, thin ,6 feet 4 inches, had a head full of dark curly hair and was wearing a shamrock green T-shirt emblazoned with the words -I Love Ireland. He was obviously panicked and so, of course, we gave him our cell phone.
He called home and when reaching his mother, briefly explained his situation and asked her for a towing service phone number. Though I moved away from their conversation, I could hear and sense how stressful it was for both parties involved.  He jotted down the number and handed the phone back.  “Oh, please,” I said without any hesitation “go ahead and use it to call the towing company.  My husband and I have a daughter of similar age and if she found herself in a similar predicament we would hope that folks would also help her out.”  Though he seemed somewhat hesitant to impose upon us further, he did indeed continue to make use of the phone.
Because it was freezing cold in the store, I ducked outside to wait while he called the towing company, only to learn that when one needs assistance on the New York Thruway only one towing company can be contacted.  Thus it was about another 20 minutes before he was finally able to locate the correct towing service and we were able to retrieve our phone. My husband and I knew our generosity was now going to delay our return home and some of the projects we needed to complete for our respective employers.  Yet, that became secondary.  We wanted to ensure this young man had a successful outcome with reaching out and asking strangers for assistance.  As it turns out, he was headed to his freshman college orientation, on his own and on the road to greater independence.   Extending just a small amount of assistance his way gave me bountiful pleasure.

I relish the unexpected opportunities to help others and be socially responsible.  Such occasions validate what I consider to be one of my main reasons for being here and provide me with endless possibilities to expand my connections with those in my community, my state and the world at large. How might you help someone or be socially responsible this week as a part of the VEHI’s summer challenge (see our Facebook page)? We look forward to your posts.

See you on the PATH Ahead.

“Would you like to try our raw, gluten-free, vegan, no sugar added, no GMO granola?”  I was asked this Summer at the Rosseau, Ontario farmers market.

Followed up with, “Gosh you’re probably wondering if there is anything in it other than air!”

Let’s help vendors at farmers markets become better sales people on behalf of healthy living.  How about:

“Try this granola before you go another step!  It is everything you asked for.   It’s healthy and yummy too.  It won’t flare your blood sugar or allergies.  It’s loaded with fiber and taste at the same time, and it’s guilt free when it comes to chemicals and GMO’s.”

I guess that’s a big mouthful too but I’d go for that over doom and gloom.

The point is, consumers are ready to eat better, especially consumers who frequent open air markets.  Dangling your gluten-free “air” in front of us is as easy as dangling candy in front of a toddler.  Remember, you had us at “farmer’s market.”  In fact, we actually look to you farmers to drive our healthy trends, sometimes even blindly.

As we head into week 4 of our VEHI PATH Summer Challenge (see our Facebook page), we’re all spending time thinking about what a healthy hot day looks like with family and friends.  Farmers markets indulge us in cool crafts, local food samples and healthy eating with gusto simply not afforded other venues.  Trends toward health are born here and made solid in society’s lexicon.  The healthy aura at the market just makes you want to revel in good quality eats and clean living. 

Wherever you are right now, close your eyes and imagine your favorite market.  You can see great big beautiful carrot bunches, condensation sparkling off them in the sunlight like dimonds.  You can taste the perfectly sweet strawberries and feel the pop of a sugar snap pea.  You can smell the local, organic grass fed beef cooking on a BBQ and hear the down-home music piping in from a van or even live in the gazebo nearby.  This year for me it was a fiddle band playing Irish jigs.  It made me want to jig all around the square and buy, eat, buy.

There’s magic in a farmers market.  Community, health, laughter, commerce, and a combined effort to make the world a better place.  Even in a record-breaking heatwave, it’s cool under the banner of our small local farms and artisans.  Honor it and buy some organic produce today!

See you on the PATH Ahead…

John Naisbitt, author of the book High Tech, High Touch, once said “At best, technology supports and improves human life; at its worst, it alienates, isolates, distorts and destroys.As I continue to observe my own and other individual’s behaviors around digital devices, I wonder how best to balance my digital usage without becoming disconnected from those around me.

As an example, last Sunday, my family and a small group of friends (ages 16-59) trouped to the Northeast Kingdom in respective Subaru’s to pay homage to Bread and Puppet Theatre’s performance, now celebrating its 50th year. We were feeling nostalgic and we wanted to pass this experience on to our younger offspring.True to form, Bread and Puppet did not disappoint.We were introduced to old buses covered in psychedelic paint, life-size puppets, women in red dresses on stilts riding zebras, a smattering of politically charged metaphorical messages, bread and the rising of Mother Earth.

Following the finale, we headed for some much desired food at the Busy Bee restaurant in the heart of Glover.There while chatting about the performance and a host of other topics, we each placed our IPhones and Androids on the table in front of us proceeding to respond to text messages, emails and Facebook feeds as they popped up on our screens.

I found our behaviors remarkably humorous and somewhat sad.How I wondered have we gotten to the place where such behaviors are the new norm?While we were physically present, we were also distracted as we carried on multiple off-site conversations.

On the way home, with the New York Times in tow, I was drawn to the Styles section photo of adults step dancing on a straw-covered surface with the caption — Coming Clean at Camp — in the woods tech-addled adults can break the bonds of the digital world, at least temporarily and return to the glories of color wars and real (not Facebook) friends.As I scanned the article I learned about Camp Grounded, a camp geared for adults who find themselves technologically addicted either by choice or by occupational demands.Housed on the premises of a former Boy Scout camp, Camp Grounded requires all campers go technologically cold turkey upon arrival –no phones, computers, tablets or watches as a means to encourage and build face to face connections.Campers are invited to share with each other through activities such as face paintings, sing-alongs, star gazing and breathing workshops.Camp alumni stated the camp felt like a place you could be yourself, provided an excuse to put away the phone and not respond to anybody and created an opportunity to be reintroduced to silence.

Again I found this article humorous and somewhat sad.Are we now at a crossroads where we might need to enroll in summer camp to tighten the boundaries around our use of cell phones, tablets, computers so we can form stronger bonds with each other? I briefly returned to the image of our group at the Busy Bee determining we could all benefit from some Camp Grounded time. In fact, perhaps a majority of adults could benefit and Camp Grounded franchises will shortly be springing up throughout the country.

Of course, once campers return to their former environments it will be up to them to sustain a healthy balance between being digitally connected without becoming socially isolated.Who would have imagined a few years ago that we might now be challenged by how to best use electronic communication devices and at the same time maintain positive relationships with our neighbors,friends and family members?

While weeding the garden last Sunday, I suddenly heard the familiar jingle “It’s a Small World” playing in the distance. My curiosity piqued, I soon discovered a small white refrigerated truck traveling down our country road at a snail’s pace trolling for customers. Instantaneously my nerves went on high alert and my feet started moving. I desperately wanted an orange Creamsicle or a gooey ice cream sandwich and I was going to get one! Then, I quickly reconsidered perceiving that at my age I was far from the vendor’s desired customer. Although I successfully resisted the urge to chase down the truck, my incessant desire to do so took me completely by surprise.
It has been 40 years since an ice cream vendor appeared at my doorstep, though as a child growing up on the backstreets of Pittsburgh it was a nightly occurrence. After hot, humid days filled with kickball, games of hearts or sprinkler parties, the Goody Bar truck’s daily appearance was something our neighborhood welcomed, conditioned to do so at an early age. My friends and I loved eying all the treat decals on the back of the truck and willingly performed any chore our parents asked of us to earn the dime necessary for one of those wonderful sugary and fat-laden concoctions.
As I questioned the intensity of my reaction ( I walk right by these same ice cream treats in grocery stores with nary a thought) I remembered a section of the book The End of Overeating, in which the author, Dr. David Kessler describes in detail how emotions can make food memorable and stimulate our desires.
Here’s the abridged version: We all have personal experiences that give particular foods an emotional charge, be it a positive association with chowing down a steamed hot dog while watching a major or minor baseball league game, visiting one’s grandparent and feasting on her warm apple pie or cooking freshly caught trout over an open campfire. These emotions get stuffed in our memory bank but are easily recalled when triggered by some kind of cue. Once triggered, these memories are extremely powerful, interacting with reward pathways in our brains and creating powerful cravings.
Put another way, because as a child I found eating the vendor’s ice cream treats so rewarding, when I heard the musical jingle last weekend, the memories that had been tucked away and lying dormant for all these years, woke up with a jolt , significantly heightening my desire to pursue the ice cream bars and drumsticks. While I managed to avoid the treats this time around, those recalled memories kept me in an upbeat and happy place for the remainder of the day. Ah, if only I had such positive memories attached to eating cauliflower.

Please join us this summer for the Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge and share some of your favorite summer food memories.