We at Fortitude Health & Wellness, Inc., wish you a healthy new year. In 2006, we plan to keep you updated on new and innovative programs, strategies, and information to live more vibrant and healthier lifestyles.

As the New Year takes off, many people will begin weight loss resolutions. Here are some tips that will assist you with the challenge of losing weight.

Learn your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Knowing your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) will enable you to maintain good health, build muscle, and loose fat efficiently. There are several ways to learn your BMR. One of the most efficient methods is having a Bio-Electrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) screening.

A BMR is the amount of calories the body requires to maintain normal body functions while in a resting state. Such functions include:

• Breathing
• Digesting
• Heart Beating

• Muscle Activity
• Blood Circulation

An average BMR for women is between 1300 and 1600 calories daily. An average BMR for men is between 1600 and 2100 calories daily. These numbers are determined by muscle mass and genetics.

The slower one’s metabolism, the more weight gained; the faster one’s metabolism, the less chance of weight gain. Daily exercise and eating small meals 5 or 6 times per day are important to increasing your BMR.

A BMR should be at least ten times a person’s body weight in order to maintain current body weight. A BMR eleven or twelve times one's body weight will ensure less weight gain. A BMR less than ten times a person’s body weight will result in weight gain.

The key to weight loss is burning more calories than consumed. One should eat no more than one to two hundred calories more than their BMR to ensure weight loss.

If your BMR is 1300, then your daily caloric intake should be no more than 1500 calories. The additional 200 calories added to the BMR will be expended through normal daily activities.

Caloric restriction and exercise will ensure maintaining a 500 caloric deficit per day and a 3500 caloric deficit for a week: ensuring a pound a week weight loss. Remember, you must intake enough calories to maintain body functions, which is your BMR.

Caution: Many diets consist of 800 to 1000 calories. Caloric intake less than one’s BMR will result in water and muscle weight loss, which affects overall health. Loosing more than two pounds a week is not healthy.

Best wishes,

President/CEO

Three Phase Checklist
1. Defining the Code
Review existing on-site    claims reports
Determine types of data    missing in existing reports

2. Request correct Info
Request data from your    insurer/claims    administrator
Obtain data
Review/prioritize data

3. Think Strategically
Analyze data
Identify key health trends    & challenges
Generate findings
Develop appropriate health    management goals
Create a report for
   key decision-makers

Seniors in Motion

Fortitude Health and Wellness, Inc., and the Urban League of Greater Dallas & North Central Texas, Inc., will begin the new-year working collaboratively in the Dallas community to implement the Urban League Silver Motions Senior Exercise Program, a rotating twelve week senior program that includes Body Composition (BIA’s) screenings and senior nutrition and strength training workshops three times a week. Silver Motions offers structure and health education tools to reduce health-risks while improving overall health. The program kicked off January 9, 2006, at the Fruitdale Recreation Center in Dallas.

The pilot program began September 2005. Fortitude Health and Wellness, Inc. implemented the program thanks to a grant provided by the Urban League. The program targets seniors in Dallas. Participants receive healthy nutrition and healthy food selection and preparation information. Participants also receive one-on-one strength training and health information to educate them about chronic diseases (Syndrome X).

This year the program is sponsored by Fortitude Health & Wellness, Inc. Our goal is to improve the health status of senior participants and collect health outcome data. Program attendees will receive blood pressure, and nutritional assessments (BIA’s – Bio-electrical Impedance Analysis screenings) along with nutrition and strength training workshops.

For more information about the program, please contact Fruitdale Recreation Center in Dallas at (214) 670-7600.

If you talk with any CEO or CFO, they will tell you that health care costs are going through the roof. The big question is how do we curtail health care cost?

The rising cost of health care likens to an internal bleed. You know you’re bleeding, but you don’t know what is causing it, or where. If you had an internal bleed, the doctor would assess the situation by performing a series of test.

The same should be done for a company’s bleed. A company should conduct employee health assessments, as well as assess company medical claims to pinpoint causes of rising healthcare costs, and implement strategies to reduce them.

One strategy that makes sense is employee health assessments; they can be done as cheaply as $10 to $20 per employee.

This small investment can save thousands of dollars in a company’s future healthcare costs. Once you determine what is causing your healthcare cost to rise, you can design a plan to reduce and stop rising costs.

If you want to learn how to reduce rising health care cost in your company, call us at (972) 955-2274.