Rise to Success - David Longhurst

“I’m feeling really good,” says Caselle employee, David, now 30 pounds lighter, “I have an overall feeling of, ‘I can continue to do this.’ If I ever get off track, I can get right back on.” At his heaviest, David weighed 268 pounds. But with the help of his Orriant Health Coach℠, Karli, he is making strides to reach his goal weight. “The biggest thing with Karli is the accountability. It’s helpful to speak with her once a month. We review my progress and see where I’ve been.” 48-year old David shares a recent “check-in” email he sent to Karli:

“The good news is the scale is down a little. Not as much as I would like, but I have actually hit the 230s. I feel great about that because I haven't seen my weight there for probably more than 15 years. Despite all the pressures in life, I do feel good about what I'm doing. My exercise has not been as good, but I have kept it up with basic walking and some basic strength training. So I'm moving, but I do need to start focusing on better exercise and not just walking when I could be burning some serious calories training for a run or something. My food tracking and what I have been doing there is going terrific. I'm not just trying to say what is right, but I have actually really felt better and choices are good. I have not been depriving myself certain foods that I want, but I have definitely said, ‘just a small piece’ or ‘none today’. Not having seconds has really made the difference I believe.

“I was at about this weight last year before Christmas. I was dieting with Medifast and spending a lot of money on prepared foods that I did not enjoy. After I didn't meet my goal (only by a small percentage) I simply could not do Medifast anymore. I would try, but with the holidays I quickly gained much of it back by the end of January of this year. What I have done differently this time is using normal everyday foods that I enjoy with some sweets. I am where I am today by eating real food and of course watching what I'm eating but not focusing on what I can't have. I'm sure you hear this over and over with people. I really hope this time I have found what it takes. I feel it is right. The consistency of good choices has been outweighing unhealthy choices and I know that has made the difference. I still love to cook, but I do it differently now.

“As for goals, I still want to keep tracking the food. It’s a habit and a good one. It’s easy for me. When I do that, I also save money because I eat out less. It’s been a really great thing. I am still limiting my sweets to three a week. Some weeks I have even less, but I say I have only three so I get 100% score. I do need to up my game on my exercise. I'm glad I'm moving and walking, but I can do more."

Karli and David enjoy their one-on-one interactions with each other. David recalls how tracking his food has been a useful tool in maintaining his diet, but what was even more helpful was his coach’s suggestion to not get hung up on perfecting his diet. David explained, “I used to think if I’m not perfect, then I haven’t succeeded, so why even try? When I was really rigid with my food tracking, it was very discouraging.” Karli helped David understand he doesn’t need to be perfect. This realization helped David enjoy the process of making long lasting changes for his health.

“David is one of the most determined individuals I have ever met” says his coach Karli. “He tracks what he eats a few days a week, just to keep himself in check. The biggest improvement David has made is learning how to listen to his body. He eats when he is hungry, and stops when he is full.  I think this is such a challenging concept for adults to master. I really feel he has conquered this aspect of health.”

When Caselle, David’s employer, first offered Orriant’s wellness program, David’s motivation to join was mostly due to the discounted insurance premiums. He admits thinking the program “would be a hassle”, but was willing to give it a shot to keep some money in his pocket. “In the long run I’ve been really grateful. My (improved health) has been a long time coming. I’m pleased with where I am now. Had I not joined Orriant, I would have continued to gain more weight. When you aren’t paying attention to it, it can escalate quickly.”

Orriant Advanced Cardio 4

Here is another "Finish In Minutes Workout".

Warm Up

Advanced Cardio 4

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Orriant Advanced Cardio 3

Here is another "Finish In Minutes Workout" from Orriant:

Warm Up

Advanced Cardio #3

Cool Down

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

Ingredients

 • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
 • 1 cup regular oats
 • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
 • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
 • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
 • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar • 1/3 cup butter, softened
 • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
 • 1 large egg • 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
 • 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

 Preparation 

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk; set aside. Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in pecans and minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks. Julianna Grimes and Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light

Rise to Success - Jesse Dimick

In only 4 short months, Jesse achieved all three goals he set with his Orriant Health Coach℠. Since July, Jesse 34, has met his desired weight (lost 34 pounds to do so), is exercising regularly, and lowered his blood pressure to within a very healthy range. The change began when Jesse switched jobs and started working for Wheeler Machinery, a partner with Orriant, a corporate wellness company. Before joining Wheeler’s team, Jesse often traveled 3-4 times a week. This schedule made it difficult for him to eat healthy – often eating on the road. “Since I’ve been working at Wheeler, I can go home every night and eat good food instead of fast food.”

Losing extra weight is something Jesse has wanted to do for about 5 years now. Orriant’s wellness program was just the thing to encourage him to not only make changes, but to stick with them. Jesse explains, “Setting the goals has been helpful. Before I eat something, I think about it. As far as my workouts go, Orriant helps me to stay focused. It keeps me in check.”

It is no surprise that exercise and proper nutrition are the secrets to Jesse’s wellness successes.  Even though he is physically active at work, he understands it is important for him to exercise outside of his job. Now that he is setting goals with his Orriant Health Coach℠, Jesse exercises 4 days a week. His workout routine usually consists of 20-30 minutes of running, followed by 10 minutes of light weight lifting. When asked if his new exercise program was an adjustment, Jesse responded with, “It wasn’t too bad.” 

Jesse admits that working with his health coach, Nate, is an important key to his successes. “He has been great and really good in helping me set my goals.” Nate also helped Jesse separate myth from fact when it came to his metabolism. “Nate explained to me the importance of eating a little bit more to maintain my body weight and the process behind it all. That has really helped me out.”

Nate describes Jesse as a ‘great guy’ and ‘a very hard working individual’. “The most substantial change I have seen in Jesse is his mindset,” says Orriant Health Coach℠ Nate. “He is always looking to succeed and is never afraid of failure.” Jesse acknowledges that taking the time to focus on his health has given him more than just physical benefits. “My days go by easier than they did before,” says Jesse with confidence, “It makes you feel better about yourself.”

Jesse is grateful for the experience to work with his health coach and wellness company.  “Orriant has provided some great accountability and awareness in my life. By doing so, it has enabled me to accomplish my wellness goals. It feels great and I want to continue my progress.” Jesse’s current goals are to maintain his overall physique and fitness level. Specifically, he is looking forward to increasing his muscle mass. Nate is confident Jesse will surpass these new goals, just like he initially did, only a few short months ago. 

Rise to Success - Linda Kreitman

Linda used to exercise regularly until she was injured a few years ago. Her recovery was slow after her injury. One of her main goals when she began working with her Orriant Health CoachSM was to get to a point where she could exercise consistently the way she did before her injury. Linda started walking regularly and incorporated some light strength training at home. Shortly after, she traveled for work and found that her endurance had really improved in just a few short months. Linda took a lot of stairs when she traveled and she realized that they became easier and easier each time she used them. She was pleased that she wasn’t out of breath either. She was very thrilled to see her improvement with her endurance and stamina simply from increasing her exercise routine in just a few short months.

In the last year Linda walks everywhere, as much as she can and makes going to the gym a priority at least 2-3 times a week. She is trying to make her gym trips a habit in her weekly schedule. By incorporating her gym trips she feels her body is "in balance" and she’s able to try more fun things like bowling and hiking. In addition to her gym trips, she has been practicing portion control regularly and tries to be more conscious of how much she really needs to eat and not getting uncomfortably full. She has learned that she really does need less food.

Her biggest success is that she feels better in her clothes overall and feels in control of what she does. Linda eats to feel better for her and not for other people. Linda believes the biggest contributing factor is tracking everything - holding herself accountable to the goals she makes. 

The girls she works with have started to make better choices after seeing Linda’s success with weight loss and with tracking her food. Her success has even rubbed off on her family. Her husband has been trying to cook healthier meals for both of them as well. Linda plans to stick with it and continue to track everything to get to her ultimate goal weight.

The RISE Newsletter - December 2013

The December issue of The RISE Newsletter is here - a perfect stocking stuffer of knowledge for the holiday season! In this month's issue:

Steering Clear of 'Food Pushers'
'Food Pushers'  are those who, intentionally or not, derail your nutrition goals. We got tips on how to handle these situations this holiday season.

Get More out of your Workout Routine
Have you finally hit the dreaded plateau with your workout routine? Here's how to advance forward through small changes.

Behind the (Coaching) Lines - Coping with Loss
A glimpse into a recent discussion of Orriant Coaches. Read as they share ideas on how to help participants who are dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Recipe of the Month
Apple Spice Oatmeal - We dare you to not enjoy this healthy comfort breakfast

Click here to read The RISE - English

Click here to read The RISE - en Español

Mini Sweet Potato Meringue Pies

Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 12 • Size: 1 mini pie • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 136 • Fat: 4 g • Carb: 24 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 13 g
Sodium: 106 mg (without salt) 

Ingredients

For the Pie:

·                     1 9-inch Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust*

·                     1 1/2 cups sweet potato puree (from 4 [1.8lbs] sweet potatoes) or canned

·                     1 medium banana, ripe, mashed

·                     1 large egg

·                     1/2 cup 2% milk

·                     2 tablespoons brown sugar

·                     1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

·                     1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

·                     1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Meringue:

·                     2 egg whites

·                     1/2 cup sugar

·                     1/4 cup water

·                     pinch of salt

Directions:

Begin by preparing the sweet potato puree.  Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a knife, and place in the microwave.  Bake the sweet potatoes until they are cooked through and soft, about 8 -10 minutes.  Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, split them down the middle and scoop out the flesh, and add it to a food processor.  Process until a smooth puree forms.  Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the puree for the pie filling, and reserve any remaining puree for another use.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pie crust into a 12-inch circle.  Using a 3 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out rounds of dough (you will need to gather the scraps and re-roll the dough to the same thickness to get all 12 circles).  Gently place each circle into the well of a lightly greased cupcake tin.  It's ok if you need to overlap the dough onto itself.

In a bowl, combine the 1 1/2 cups of sweet potato puree, mashed banana, egg, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.  Use a hand mixer to mix the ingredients together until they are smooth and well combined.  Divide the pie filling equally among the prepared mini pie shells, and smooth the tops with an offset spatula.  Bake the mini pies for about 32 minutes, until the pie crust is a light golden brown and the filling is set and puffed slightly.  Allow the pies to cool to room temperature.

Just before serving the pies, prepare the meringue.  In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water, and heat, without stirring, until it becomes syrupy and reaches 234° degrees on a candy thermometer.  While the syrup is heating, whip the two egg whites until soft peaks form.  Once the sugar has reached the correct temperature, drizzle the syrup into the egg whites, all while mixing and turning the speed up to medium high.  Beat until stiff peaks form.  Beat in the salt.

Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Remove the mini pies from the cupcake tin, and place on a baking tray.  Pipe a swirl of meringue onto each cupcake (you may not use all of the meringue).  Place the tray with the mini pies underneath the broiler set to high for a few minutes.  Keep an eye on them as you don't want them to burn!  Remove the mini pies from the oven once the meringue is a light golden brown color.

Kickboxing Circuit

Check out another Orriant "No Excuse Holdiay Workout!"

Warm Up

Kickboxing Circuit

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Check out the other Tabata workouts here!

Mommy Blog - Meet Emily

My name is Emily. I am a mother of 3 (soon to be 4), a wife and an Orriant Health Coach℠. I continually work towards being and staying fit. As I interact with other moms, I often get asked questions like, “How do you stay so fit?”, “When do you have time to exercise?”, or “When do you spend time with family?”  Well, just like anything else, it’s what you make a priority. Yes, there are situations that “interrupt” my plans. However, I have found that if I schedule the time, and help my kids understand this is something important that mommy needs to do, I can reach my goals.

Personally, I know that committing to regular exercise and doing something healthy for me, has done the following:

1. Increased my patience and attitude with family, work, and neighbor relationships.

2. Given me more energy to keep up with the demands of being a wife, mother, and Health Coach.

3. Provided me with a more positive image of myself - Which I feel rubs off on my daughters.

4. Helped to set an example to my children of how important it is to care for our bodies.

5. My children see that setting goals and accomplishing them is a healthy and beneficial part of life.

Here’s my take on fitness and being a mom: it should be part of every woman’s life. Keep in mind, fitness is about feeling good about you and finding a balance that helps you both physically and mentally.

My relationship with exercise started as a child, playing soccer and ballet dancing. I don’t think I ever thought of it as “exercise”, just going out and doing something I enjoyed. The love of soccer carried me through high school and into college. For me it was a way to pay for school, and as I progressed in my studies, I found the benefits that it had given to my body.

Once I graduated from college, I had to find something to keep me fit since I no longer had soccer games and training. I turned to running. To be perfectly honest, I was less than excited to take on distance running. At the time, it seemed to be my only choice with my limited income and minimal understanding for other exercises. It was hard to devote myself to it in the beginning, but then I found ways to make it more enjoyable. I recruited friends to run with me and that eventually led to groups preparing for local races. As I became more comfortable with running, I knew it was time to step outside of my shell. I started participating in group fitness classes. I discovered it increased my overall coordination and the variety of exercises is very beneficial to weight management, weight loss, and changing body shape.

Many years, and a few children later, I have really tried to hold onto my ties of being active. It has become a part of who I am. It hasn’t been easy, but my workout begins at 4 am so I can be home when my husband heads off to work at 6 am. It didn’t just happen overnight, this is a pattern I have followed for the last 7 years. I won’t lie - there are days that I struggle to get up either because of a late bed time, or getting up during the night with kids. But since it is important to me, I find a way to make it work.

Sometimes I find ways to include my kids into my workout. I go for runs with kids in the stroller while the older one rides a bike alongside me. I have exercise DVDs that I do in my front room while, yes, the kids watch a 30 minute educational show. Sometimes they watch my exercise DVD with me, and even try to join in. We walk to the park and while they run and play, I can do strength exercises on the playground equipment or I’ll join in on the fun and play tag with them. If nothing else, I complete short, efficient exercises that at least let me accomplish some type of workout.

I don’t know about you, but I started noticing some “selfish” things I was doing. Have you ever snuck a piece of candy when the kids weren’t looking - moments after telling them they couldn’t have a treat? What about the diet soda the kids can’t have, but mom can? I thought, “What am I teaching myself? What am I teaching my kids?” If I didn’t want them taking it into their body, then why was I? Then I thought, “Perhaps I’m being selfish because it’s something that is mine. It seems like I share everything else with the kids. Can’t I have this one thing?” It’s still a work in progress, but I decided if I was going to be “selfish” (as some like to see it) then why not do it with something that’s good for me?

Everyone has to find their niche to feel good about themselves. Wherever you may be in your process of finding what is right for you, remember this: You are important, you are needed. You have the ability to make things happen. Life might say there is not enough time, but to the adage, “where there is a will, there is a way”.

Holiday Hosting

Are you in charge of the annual holiday party?  We all know hosting for the holidays can be stressful and expensive.  Here are some ways to cut back on anxiety and money, while still providing a fun filled holiday party.  

1. Make Lists- Staying organized is key to staying stress free.  Keeping lists of all the things you need to buy, as well as a list of all the things you need to do, allows you to stay in control.  Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks to others as well. 

2. Cook Ahead- Whatever cooking can be done the day before, do it then.  Eliminate having to do it all in only one day.  Many things, especially quiches, tarts, and soups freeze well. 

3. Decorate with Things You Already Have- Need a festive centerpiece?  Place brightly colored ornaments in a glass bowl.  For an extra sparkle, add some twinkle lights. 

4. Clean as You Go- Don’t wait until you’re finished to start washing dishes. If you keep things clean as you go throughout the day, you won’t be overwhelmed with a giant pile of things to clean.  Keep an empty drawer to sweep excess clutter into and worry about filing after the holidays. 

5. Buffet Style- If you have a large number of guests, don’t try to fit them all at the dinner table.  Serve buffet style instead- it will be easier on you and your guests.  If your guest count is through the roof, turn your party into an open house and have guests show up between certain times.  This will keep your home less crowded and allow you to successfully entertain more people.

6. Create your own traditions- Don’t kill yourself trying to recreate your Grandma’s Christmas. Do things your own way.  Keep the best aspects that you enjoyed and get rid of the stressful traditions. 

Hope those are helpful! Happy Hosting!

Orriant Intermediate Workout #3

Here is another "Finish In Minutes Workout."

Warm Up

Intermediate Full Body Strength

Cool Down

In case you missed the previous workouts, here they are.

Beginner 1

Beginner 2

Beginner 3

Intermediate 1

Intermediate 2

Advanced 1

Advanced 2

Advanced 3