In Southern Colorado you know November is here because the leaves have hit the ground, the temperature has dropped and families are making holiday plans.  You may also notice some luscious beards and dapper handlebar mustaches, what is up with that?  No shave November and Movember are men’s health awareness groups that  bring awareness to men’s health issues like annual wellness exams, mental health, exercise, and cancer screening by encouraging facial hair.  Putting the clippers and razors away for the month can be awkward, but if that is what it takes to start a conversation it's a small price to pay to have an excuse to call an important fella in your life, tell them you care about them and encourage them to take care of themselves.

The audio you are about to hear is from a public speaking skills group called Toastmasters.  In November 2017 I drug my mustache in front of a crowded room and shared my story about my father and his health challenges.  My father passed away much too early and I wish he would have had the encouragement and support to seek the healthcare that he needed.  This audio is not great quality, my voice is shaky with emotion, and I say a lot of umms and uhhs (hence the reason I was at a public speaking skills group).  But the message is from the heart.

I’m your host AJ Webb wellness coordinator and wellness enthusiast, and I hope this episode of the podcast will help you Call up a fall in your life, tell them you care about them, and encourage them to take care of themselves.

https://www.sanluisvalleyhealth.org/documents/SLVH-Provider-Directory-5-18-2020.pdf

https://www.sanluisvalleyhealth.org/find-a-provider/

SLV Health Primary Care: (719) 589-8082

.Calling someone a quitter is one of the meanest things that you can do to a person, but if that person was working on quitting tobacco I’d bet they would welcome that title.  Quitting tobacco is hard, the CDC says most tobacco users want to quit, only one out of ten will be successful this year and those that have conquered it report that quitting tobacco was the hardest thing that they had ever done.

With such a hard task it's good to call in some support like the members of the behavioral health team here at SLV Health.  Laura Burkhardt, and Micaela Romero join me on the podcast today to talk about how they approach helping folks quit tobacco.  They are both licensed clinical social workers and they have been working to craft a tobacco cessation specific protocol to help folks modify their tobacco use.

Prior to hitting the record button for this interview I shared my personal story of using tobacco for six years so when reference my experience it is coming from the place of a former avid tobacco user,  I do mention tobacco use as being fun which is not intended as an endorsement but rather an acknowledgement of the intense physiological effects of nicotine.

In this interview we talk about the role that tobacco plays for us in our lives, the power of patterns, the difficulty of quitting, resources available, how to program new behaviors and we wrap things up with an overview of the mindfulness based approach that the behavioral health team is using.  Laura even takes us through a 60 second  guided visualization exercise.

If you want to get a hold of the behavioral health team for tobacco cessation help you can call 719-589-8008 to schedule an appointment.  If you are an employee of SLV Health you can get four free sessions.

I am AJ Webb wellness coordinator and wellness enthusiast and i know this next 15 minutes could be what you or a friend need to change your relationship with tobacco.  Like, subscribe, and share…..let’s go.

Behavioral Health Number - 719-589-8008

Great American Smokeout - https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/great-american-smokeout.html

Colorado Quitline - https://www.google.com/search?q=colorado+quitline&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS787US787&oq=colorado+quitline&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l7.5717j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

In this Episode of the IWT podcast I sit down with Davis Flex Spending Solutions Doreen Fitzgerald.  FLex spending is a benefit supplied by SLV Health that allows employees to put aside monies tax free to be used on health and dependent care needs.  It can sound too good to be true, there are some rules but there are lots of folks saving money by taking advantage of this benefit.

Davis Flex Spending  Solutions Website - http://www.mytakecareplan.com/

Davis Flex Spending Solutions Account Login - https://www.myflexonline.com/Login/Welcome.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

Doreen's Contact Information - 

[email protected]

P.O. Box 20211

Boulder, CO 80308

303-444-7478 or 866-607-9750 ext. 801

Fax 303-926-1887

This is a powerful story about a brave tough lady!

October is Women's health month and Julie Ramstetter was brave enough to share her story about Women's Health and the importance of:

SLV Health Primary Care info - (719) 589-8082

This five minute clip is taken from a conversation I had with Registered Dietician Adam Lawrence.  Adam educates me on the potential consequences of cutting too many calories too fast.  We discuss these consequences from both a behavioral stand point (sustainable habit building) and from a physiological stand point (harming your bodies metabolic rate).  The recommendation is that a gradual decrease of 200-300 calories can lead to better results in the long term.  However, we acknowledge that this may be counterintuitive and may not feel as productive as a a more drastic cut.

Like and subscribe especially if you like this experimental short form version of the It's Wellness TIme Podcast!

Link to original Video: https://youtu.be/7MQUs-ZhHPs

In this episode the It’s Wellness Time Podcast AJ sits down with Alma Hicks.  Alma is a member of the Sleep Lab Team at SLV Health. From 2016 to present she worked her way from administrative to clinical roll as a Sleep Tech.  It is most certainly Alma’s positive attitude and resilience that has helped this trajectory of her career.  This same attitude assisted Alma through fighting and winning her battle with cancer.  Her experiences help her remember to practice gratitude in the good and the bad times.  In this conversation we unpack the nuggets, pearls and wise words of this very special person.

Start 2:15,

Alma Introduction 2:50,

Setting Wellness Goals for work 4:00,

Step Goals Adversity 5:00,

Keeping Goals Manageable 6:40,

Validating Negative Feelings 7:40,

Taking Opportunities 8:40,

How to Listen Well 10:40,

Practicing Gratitude 13:00,

Casting for Recovery 14:40,

Volunteering 17:50,

Making Adjustments to Goals 19:00,

Trying New Things  21:00,

The Best of us 25:00,

Parting thoughts 27:40

Are you interested in improving you energy levels, increasing your mental clarity, and recovering from activity and exercise in a way that you get more of the physical transformation that you are working so hard for?

Of Course you are, and a better rest and recovery through a rock solid sleep system can help you get these things.

SLEEP

Everybody has to do it and there are many different philosophies! some people say that you should do it faster, some people say you can do it when you're dead.

While Ben Franklin’s early to bed early to rise protocol seems like a great idea, but the truth is for many getting to, and staying in high quality sleep can be extremely difficult.  According to the CDC ⅓ of American don’t get enough sleep.

In this episode I sit down with San Valdez, who is a registered sleep polysomnographic technologist. Sam and his team work in the Sleep Lab at SLV Health where they conduct studies to identify sleep disorders.  Sam also acts as a sleep coach where he educates folks on sleep hygiene and helps them build skills and routines to fall asleep, stay asleep and achieve higher quality sleep in order to get a better night's rest.

In this interview I pick Sam's brain for the low-hanging fruit regarding what we all can do to get a higher quality sleep.

Looking up from the valley floor the 13,000 and 14,000 foot peaks can seem impossible to climb, especially if you’ve not participated in this kind of a hike before.  However with so many options what you will find is that there is a peak out there that matches up with your skill level, fitness.  The West Spanish Peak is a fabulous mix of approachability and difficulty and In 2019 Mandy Crockett and the Human Resources Team introduced a group of SLV Health Staff.   This particular hike provides a simple drive up, a beautiful hike up through the woods up to tree-line, and a challenging ascent.  My observation is that there is a little something for all skill/fitness levels.  Morey Aldridge and Zach Masterson recapped the hike with IWT host A.J. Webb.  The three give their response and reaction to the hike.  The trio represent a variety of hiking backgrounds and their respective approaches to getting outdoors, having fun, and staying safe; Morey even brought her children with her.

Here are the times and topics:

1:50 Start,

4:00 The drive up,

5:50 Taking children with you,

6:15 The trailhead,

8:40 Passing treeline,

11:30 Preperation - weather, water, snacks,

13:30 What the hike feels like,

16:00 navigating the rocky terrain,

17:00 monitoring how you feel on the hike,

17:40 the summit,

19:00 Trail etiquette,

20:00 The descent,

22:00 Footwear,

23:00 Going potty on the trail,

26:00 Parting thoughts,

Simon Gutierrez Show Notes:

University of Arizona College athlete

PT trained in Sweden

7 time USA Mtn World Team Member

Three time master champion

Three time Pikes Peak Champion

Colorado Running Hall of Fame