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5 Dallas Best-Kept Wellness Secrets

office fresh fruit delivery

“Off The Beaten Path” Suggestions for Healthy Living in DFW.

HIKING

Cedar Hill. If you park on the east side of the Cedar Hill 9th Grade Center during non-school hours, you’ll find an open field with a steep slope that serves as a trailhead for some of DFW’s best hiking. You will be led into more than four miles of trails which sit on property once owned by Northwood University, with terrain reminiscent of the best of the Texas Hill Country. Cedar and juniper frame tracks narrow and wide, and there’s even the remnants of an Exertrail (monkey bars and all) over to the east. The elevation changes are as challenging as one can expect in our area, with limestone primarily underfoot to keep the trail from getting as muddy as its Cedar Hill Nature Preserve counterpart. 1515 W Belt Line Rd, Cedar Hill, TX 75104.

BIKING

Oak Cliff Nature Preserve. While many cycling enthusiasts know about this south Dallas gem, there are many casual trail riders who have lived here for decades with no idea of its availability. The trailhead can be accessed by taking the DART Rail Red Line to its Westmoreland Station terminus, and from there, 6.5 miles of intersecting trails can provide hours of interesting technical riding among the pecan and bois d’arc. The preserve is part of the Texas Land Conservancy and maintained by the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association. 2875 Pierce St, Dallas, TX 75233.

EATING

ORCHARD At The OFFICE. This Richardson-based office fruit delivery service has a single purpose: to deliver fresh fruit to businesses in the DFW area. Offerings come in artfully-arranged fruit baskets or in bulk packages for larger operations. Bananas, apples, avocados, clementines, and even mangoes and grapes are available to offices any day of the week. They’re ideal for offices looking for healthy snacks or to make the most of their wellness budget. https://orchardattheoffice.com 972.295.9091.

DRINKING

Eiland Coffee Roasters. Another Richardson business, Eiland imports coffee beans from all over the world and roasts them in an enormous cast-iron apparatus in their warehouse. They specialize in coffee by the pound, and the beans they supply from various Ethiopian, Brazilian, and Sumatran regions (to name just a few) will make you a coffee snob. Recently they’ve put more energy into their retail side, so whether you’re looking for a vendor for your business or a great-tasting latte, they’re a great choice. http://www.eilandcoffee.com 532 N. Interurban St, Richardson, TX 75081.

WORKOUT

Sweat Society. Just southeast of Frisco’s main square sits a workout facility that serves as an antidote to the big box gym concept. Sweat Society is more of a shared workout experience with seasoned trainers guiding clientele through High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) methods. Loyalty remains high as regulars feel like family, and the skillset of the training staff gives every session a personalized feel. https://sweatsociety.net 7151 Preston Rd Suite 141, Frisco, TX 75034.

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Take Five! Make the Most of Your Break

happier healthier office

We all need a brief respite during a busy workday to recharge, mentally and physically. With that in mind, here are some simple, practical suggestions for making the most of those office breaks:

ENJOY SOME FRESH FRUIT

Taking a few minutes to enjoy a banana or an apple not only satiates any oral fixation and keeps blood sugar and vitamin levels well-regulated, but it actually makes a person feel happier! Of course, it’s not easy to remember to bring fresh fruit with you to the office, so you might want to suggest to your HR department that they look office fruit delivery. It makes sense from a company standpoint, as healthy employees are more productive. And you get to enjoy your favorite fruits in the break room!

delivering wellness to offices

SIMPLE EXERCISE BREAK

A brief, positive expenditure of energy does wonders for the endorphin level. There are dozens of exercise routines that can be performed quickly and without the need for equipment. Here’s just one that can be done in five minutes or less:

TRY THESE TODAY

  • Marching in place. 60 seconds will accelerate the heart rate without causing the average person to break out into an inconvenient sweat
  • Calf-raises. Next, with your back straight, stand on tiptoe for 1-2 seconds, then exercise break calf raiselower your ankles again. 20-30 of these will take about 60 seconds, and it’ll increase your capacity to endure stilettos if that’s your fashion inclination.
  • Wall sits. The Cooper Clinic of Dallas reminds us this is an example of an isometric exercise, meaning we don’t move once we’re in position. You rest your back against the wall and slide slowly down until your knees are at a 90° angle. Hold this position 20 seconds if you’re a beginner, anywhere from 30-60 seconds if you’re more confident in your abilities.

  • Side bend Stretches. Stand tall with feet together and reach arms up overhead. Lower your right arm down the right side of your body and exhale as you reach the left arm over the head, bending body gently to the right. Inhale and repeat on the other side.

     

    WALKING MEDITATION

Meditation is a simple practice that works for all kinds of people. Don’t think of it as an effort to eliminate all conscious thought from your mind, as this is impractical and would make you an ambulatory hazard. It’s more a reminder not to sweat the small stuff; to elevate perspective and reframe your day. Here’s a simple variation of walking meditation that you can step outside and do in just a few minutes:

  • As you begin your walking break, take notice of any sense-object: any sight, sound, smell or feeling that leaps out at you. It could, for instance, be the sound of a car’s engine revving.
  • Walk while taking your mind through the process of how that sense object came to be. Our automobile engine was borne of raw materials, mined from the earth, then shaped into a multitude of individual parts to be assembled into a vehicle, then transported, distributed, and sold, eventually to its current owner.
  • Consider your connection to the sense object. To the earth that provided the raw materials, the process of assembly, distribution, and consumption. The number of people working to a common purpose, each with their own unique vested interest in a positive outcome.
  • Now, as you complete your walk and return to your own job, you can reflect on how what you do fills a role in society as well. How many people are positively impacted to some degree by the work you do daily? With this outlook, you can all take pride in our daily work and imbue the seemingly mundane tasks with some semblance of meaning.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Taken individually, these suggestions won’t revolutionize your life. However, they’re all components of creating a healthy break– enjoying each moment in the knowledge you are living well! If you’ve already got a nutrition plan and a fitness plan, these actions are supplemental. If you’re looking for a way to begin to take steps down the path of wellness, these suggestions provide a convenient way to get started. Live well!

 

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Healthy habits in the workplace: simple tips for meeting your fitness goals

Delivering wellness

by Chris Buchanan, Marketing Wiseapple

For many, the biggest challenge in maintaining a healthy lifestyle comes from changing habits in the workplace. How do you make wellness a top priority when you need to be sedentary at least 40 hours a week?

I’m certainly no miracle of modern fitness myself, but I have the advantage of being married to a personal trainer certified by The Cooper Institute, and I’ve consulted with a lot of my friends who have successfully restructured their lives in order to bring you just a few helpful suggestions on ways you can make progress in your 2016 fitness goals while you’re at the workplace.

  1. 30-SECOND EXERCISES

While it is very important to spend at least 20 minutes doing cardio or resistance training that will elevate the heart rate, there are little things you can do rather inconspicuously to help muscles, joints, and tendons – and you don’t have to change into gym gear! Here are three of my favorites:

  • Calf Raises: it’s as simple as standing on your toes! It can even be done – albeit carefully – in stilettos. I try to do twenty in 30 seconds several times a day, especially if I’m going to be in an elevator for a bit. Which brings us to…
  • Taking the Stairs: I know it seems a bit obvious, and at times it’s impractical as it can be tough on the knees for those who are really out of shape, but just taking one flight of stairs is a good start. (And it’s just as important to take steps going down.)
  • Wall Sits: This one’s a bit different. You simply put your back against a sturdy wall, put your feet out in front of you with about six inches of distance between them, then slide your back down until you’re at a 90-degree angle, as if seated in a chair. Hold this position for 30 seconds, although it’s best if you can do 60! You’ll really feel it in your thighs.
  1. KEEP TRACK OF WHAT YOU EAT

Logging what you eat is pretty straightforward, but it’s not an easy habit to get into. I struggled for a long time myself with estimating quantities, knowing how to describe what I was eating, and so on. (I found it particularly tough if I went to the lunch buffet at Afrah, until a friend pointed out the irony of me moaning about the difficulty of counting calories at an all-you-can-eat.) By far the best app is MyFitnessPal, which has loads of users and a database of over 2,000,000 foods which makes maintaining a food diary much easier. It’s something anyone can do, and tracking what you eat and how much goes a long way to illuminating the path to healthier living.

  1. GET YOUR OFFICE TO ORDER HEALTHY SNACK ALTERNATIVES

A break room or board room can sometimes seem like a den of iniquity for the well-meaning weight watcher, with sugary, high-sodium snacks lurking everywhere. Sure, you could bring a banana or an apple to work with you, but in the morning rush that’s easily overlooked.

Instead, you might suggest to your Office Manager or the Executive Assistants that they have fresh fruit delivered on a regular basis. The primary company providing this service to the D/FW Metroplex is ORCHARD At The OFFICE, a local company specializing in office fresh fruit delivery. Not only will you have some healthy and tasty fruit to snack on, but your whole office can share the goodness! This one’s really worth looking into, as there are some insurance companies that will reimburse your organization by considering it a wellness expense.

Whatever your fitness goals, don’t forget to have fun, take it one step at a time…and LIVE WELL!