Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Tue, Jun 08, 2010 @ 07:56 AM
When I was younger, snack time in my family was out of control. Of course I didn't notice it back then, but looking back I now realize that there is something truly scary about the platefuls of cookies, large bowls of ice cream, and handfuls of chips I would consume. The thing is - no one ever metaphorically slapped my hand to stop me or, better yet, offered me healthier options.
It was never about me not liking healthy options, it was just that I never considered sensible snacking to even be an option. I was never offered Pretzel Twists over cookies, apples over cupcakes, or Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin bars over donuts. Had these healthier options been the only ones I was offered and thought of as snacks, I would have never felt as if I was being deprived of something else. You can't miss something you never had in the first place!
Children don't really understand why living a healthy lifestyle is important and depend on their parents to make healthy choices for them, but many adults see healthy living as a complicated and abstract ideal that takes too much time and costs too much money. But - it doesn't have to be that way. To help our centers show their dieters this, we have developed a new program called Healthy Families Create Healthy Futures that will assist dieters and dieters' families in making healthy choices.
How? By focusing on small, gradual changes to start snacking sensibly, eating well on-the-go, and to get moving! Each Robard center was provided with a packet of start-up materials to help them begin integrating this service into their center. And, with an abundance of other information available to them - including posters, postcards, pamphlets, and more - I believe Healthy Families is going to empower individuals to help their families become healthier and happier.
My question to you: What do you think is one change that you can make in your house to get your family on the right track to a healthier future?
If you'd like to find out more about integrating Healthy Families into your centers' services, please contact a Business Development Manager at 800.222.9201, or leave your comments/questions in the comments section below.
If you're a dieter and want to find a local center that offers Robard products, fill out our Find a Provider form.
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Thu, May 27, 2010 @ 07:51 AM
The third, and final, installment of the 7 Methods of Motivation series is based on motivational thoughts and tips.
15. Strength training.
Core strengthening exercises will help make you healthier and more attractive.
16. Shop on a full stomach.
When you're hungry, food looks a lot more appealing and you'll be tempted to buy junk.
17. Eat enough protein.
Your muscles need protein to rebuild. Without enough of it, you'll get very little from your workout.
18. Drink water.
Hydrate throughout the day. It takes a couple hours for your body to absorb water, so you need to do more than just fill up before your workout.
19. Use exercise to relieve stress and frustration.
20. Let exercise be your time to think.
There's nothing better than working out and letting your mind stray to other places.
21. Get to bed!
If you get seven hours of sleep, your body will function better, you will be fresher and more productive with your time when you are awake. Turn off the tv, get cozy, and catch up on the zzz's.
I'd really like to know what advice you would give to other dieters. Leave your tips in the comments below!
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Mon, May 24, 2010 @ 08:22 AM
Part two in our list of methods of motivation to help you with your weight loss!
8. Keep one pair of "fat" jeans.
Image how it will feel when you put them on and realize that - without a belt - they'd come falling down.
9. Make it manageable.
Strive to integrate a workout into your life at a manageable pace. Keep it at 20-30 minutes to start and gradually raise it to keep it accomplishable.
10. Hate to run? Then don't!
Instead - pick an activity that you enjoy. Working out doesn't have to be work.
11. Swing your partner round and round...
Or take a walk together, or dance. Find something enjoyable that you and a friend can do together. Use the buddy system for motivation and to hold one another accountable.
12. Do a 30-day challenge.
See if you can rise to the occasion! Put in rewards and recruit others to be part of it.
13. Make it routine.
Put your workout in your calendar just as you would an appointment. This consistency will make you more consistent at doing it.
14. Listen to your body.
If you feel you are overdoing it - you probably are. Rest and allow your body to recover. If you feel sharp pain or pain in your joints, stop immediately.
What do you think? Do you have any tips to offer our readers>? Have you used any of the tips in this part successfully?
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Fri, May 21, 2010 @ 07:28 AM
We've compiled a list of some of the most popular and innovative methods of motivation to help you in your weight loss. Below is Part One of this three part series. Check back next week for parts two and three!
Feel free to leave your own ideas and tips in the comments below!
1. Set goals.
Make sure each goal you set is reasonably attainable. Set a time limit to accomplish it in. This will help you to constantly add to your program and make is successful.
2. Keep a journal.
Post in your journal or log every day. You will see data pertaining to your progress and what you're doing right/wrong, calories burned, etc. Use this as a way to hold yourself accountable.
3. Chart your progress.
Take a fitness assessment to see your current weight, body fat measurements, and BMI. In three months, take these figures again to see what progress you've made.
4. Weigh yourself every day.
5. Count your steps.
Take the stairs and count the number of them to divert your attention. Get a pedometer and track how many steps you're taking each day. Every small step is progress.
6. Read success stories & motivational quotes.
Others stories can propel your desire to successfully live (and write) your own.
7. Have a photo shoot.
Take a picture of how you look now. As you progress in your program, periodically take a picture to see how much you've changed.
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Mon, May 17, 2010 @ 10:30 AM
We are more than just a product vendor. We aim to provide services, support, and education to help our network of professionals deliver successful weight loss solutions to their dieters. Our FREE monthly webcasts are just one of the ways that we go about doing this.
Open to all weight loss professionals, we search for the brightest minds and most engaging speakers to deliver hour long webcasts on topics they are passionate about - and that we think you will be passionate about. Past topics include Marketing and SEO techniques, the Role of Patients' Expectations and Goals in the Behavioral Treatment of Obesity, Boosting Professional Referrals for your Weight Management Programs, and many more!
I would like to invite you to our next webcast, this Wednesday, May 19th from 1:00 - 2:00 PM EDT. Hosted by Mike Stewart, the Exercise Facility Supervisor for Decatur Memorial Hospital Wellness Center, this webcast, Let's Get Moving! Motivate Your Clients for Greater Weight Loss Success and Increased Retention, focuses on:
- Motivation techniques that keep your clients exercising
- Increase retention over the summer months with physical activities and outdoor events
- Keep maintenance patients coming back through your door
- Exercise prescription for weight loss and better health
For more information or to register, visit www.robard.com/webcast or call 866.650.2723. If you have any questions - please feel free to leave them in the comments section below! Hope to see you on the call!
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Tue, May 11, 2010 @ 09:05 AM
"I have recently lost weight and now my significant other/friend/family member is acting very bitter towards me. Our relationship hasn't been the same since I made this change. Shouldn't he/she be happy that I'm being healthy? I just don't know what to do about it. Help!"
I found a similar question posed on a message board, and would now like to extend it to you:
If you're a dieter, have you gone through something similar, or if you're a professional, have you had a similar scenario posed to you? If so - what were you told/did you say? What advice would you give to someone in this situation? All comments and advice are welcome. I'd love to know what you think!
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Thu, Apr 29, 2010 @ 01:51 PM
This past Thursday, April 22nd, was National Take Your Child to Work Day, where the children of Robard employees came in to our offices for a day of learning and making new friends, outside of the classroom setting. Entitled "Focus on Simple Choices," our program was designed to stress the importance of healthy food choices, exercising, using money wisely, recycling, and conserving energy - concepts that will stay with all of these children as they grow older.
One of the lessons that seemed to resonate with many of them was that when recycling plastic bottles, the cap needs to be separated from the bottle before it can be recycled. Currently, all recycling is manually sifted through to find bottles where the caps have been left on - such as water bottles, shampoo and conditioner containers, detergents, flip top caps on tubes, and more - and the caps are manually removed when found. If any of these caps are missed and the two kinds of plastic are recycled together, the entire batch needs to be thrown due to contamination, as the two plastics melt at different temperatures. We've found that Aveda - a manufacturer of professional plant-based hair and skin care products - has a program in place to collect these caps and recycle them into new caps and containers. As part of our Take Your Child to Work Day initiative, we've asked all the children to collect these plastic caps at home and send them in to Robard so that we can forward them along.
The goal of our program was to teach each child that small changes such as this can have a big impact on their future and the future of the Earth. Sure, our program was riddled with tours, crafts, and a wide selection of speakers (I know I saw a pirate!) but it was also a day where we here at Robard got to use our resources to help the future of tomorrow. Our diet programs are designed to help dieters make changes in their daily lives to become healthier and happier - so of course the message of our Take Your Child to Work day events was the same!
For more information on Aveda's cap recycling program - please visit Aveda's website.
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Tue, Apr 27, 2010 @ 08:39 AM
When I was in high school, my parents gave me $2.00 every day to buy lunch. I would stand in line in the cafeteria, tray in hand, scrunching my nose at everything I passed until I reached the worker scooping out french fries, at which point I'd sweetly smile and hope she'd give me a larger serving than most. Right before I'd go to pay, I'd grab a carton of chocolate milk and a straw. On most days, this was my entire lunch - leaving my body without the vital nutrients it needed to keep me alert in class and satiated throughout the day.
No-one ever asked me how I was spending that $2.00, talked to me about nutrition, or brought up a simple concept that we've been discussing here at Robard: Sensible snacking. It's simple really: substitute an unhealthy option with a nutrient rich one.
Have a sweet tooth? A piece of fruit like an apple or banana is a better option than an ice cream sundae. Want something savory? There's more than just potato chips! I've been snacking on our Sour Cream Crunch O's lately and they quench my cravings! Are you a chocolate lover? It is possible to partake in a chocolate-y treat that is still healthy for you! We have plenty of bars that can satisfy you - our Chocolate Mint Bar tastes a lot like a peppermint patty if you ask me - or you can grab a fat-free pudding from your local grocery store.
Eating healthy isn't about depriving yourself of the foods you love - it's about choosing healthy options instead of unhealthy ones! Sensible snacking isn't just for people wanting to lose weight - it's for everyone!
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 @ 12:03 PM
If you take a simple drive around your town, you may see a weight loss center on every corner and in every strip mall. The industry is thriving, allowing dieters to be very consumer savvy, and forcing centers to find ways to compete and enhance their values.
When it comes to choosing a weight loss center, it is about more than just price. It's about value. As a dieter, you should be looking for a center with optimal service that will help you to be successful in your weight loss; as a center, you need to position yourself to show that you are it.
What does this mean? It means being/looking for the center that offers value, credibility, and quality. When it comes to health, price shouldn't be the largest factor. Instead, you want to look for/be the center with high quality standards, knowledgeable staff, and one that offers an enhancement on the services that most others provide.
Dieters - what do you look for when choosing your weight loss provider/center? Centers - what ways do you go about enhancing your services? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
Robard provides centers with the tools to be successful through business building kits, marketing materials, staff training, and more. The information above came from Robard's staff training, Selling Against the Competition, and is available to all Robard customers. To receive a copy of the transcript and staff training outline, or to learn more about Robard's offerings, contact a Business Development Manager at 800.222.9201.
Posted by Kelli Arruzzo on Mon, Mar 29, 2010 @ 10:37 AM
For months now our team has been hard at work on a new feature for our website, and I'm very excited to announce the expansion of our online product catalog! We're very pleased with it - and we think you will be too!
No longer just a display of our products, the new product catalog is a tool that can help you quickly find the products you're looking for, while recommending those you may not even be aware we offer! Some of the new features include:
• An intuitive search feature that recommends products and keywords as you type
• The ability to filter items by dietary restrictions - aspartame, gluten, kosher, and wheat - and search by product features - meal replacements, fiber, flavors and more.
• A suggestive list of products you may be interested in based upon your search results.
It still contains full color pictures, nutritional and dietary information, and a list of ingredients for all of our products - but it's so much more than that now. Just today I used it to pull up a list of all of our gluten free products - and I must say using this is definitely a lot easier than scanning through item by item in the old catalog.
Go to www.robard.com/catalog and take a look around. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think; your feedback is always welcome!