Yep, its starting to get dark earlier and earlier this time of year. The nights are getting a little chilly, maybe even cold, depending on just where you live.  Autumn is upon us and soon, it will be time for those little trick-or-treaters to come knocking at your door.

Its also the time for Halloween parties and get-togethers.  Everyone likes to come out, dressed in what they think is a great costume for the annual parties.  But  with the parties comes the party foods.  If you’ve been looking after yourself, weight and fitness wise through the course of the year, you know how tempting all those Halloween treats will be.  Most party-hosts go out of their  way to have a big variety of delicious foods on hand for you to choose from.  The problem is, eating a few of these treats can wind up adding about 3,000 calories to your already daily caloric intake.

Tempting treats are everywhere and it can be difficult to avoid them when you attend parties and other festivities. Plus, it’s the beginning of the holiday season, and if you get off track on Halloween, it can be the beginning of a downward spiral—and the end of your diet.

So because its going to be so easy to give into those temptations, we listed below a few tips you can follow so that just maybe you won’t over do it on the snicker-doodles and possibly more than a few glasses of spirits, and we don’t mean the enchanted ones, after all a ghostly apparition never put weight on your body, right?  We mean the liquid refreshments that are so readily available at adult parties.

1. Schedule a workout on the morning of Halloween. Whether you plan on hitting parties and imbibing or escorting your little ones for some trick-or-treating, make sure to schedule some time for exercise on Halloween day. Aim for the morning so that you get it out of the way and don’t find excuses for skipping the workout.

2. Strive for balance. Load up on protein and fiber all day long, so that you’re not feeling hungry by the time your get started with your Halloween activities. At your event, fill three quarters of your plate with healthy choices such as veggies and leave only a quarter free for treats. Yes, we know this is a hard thing to do, especially when you’re faced with some of your favorite delicacies, but moderation is always  the key to any well planned life choice. So,  go ahead, take a few of your  favorites, but make sure your plate size won't increase your waist size!

3. Hydrate. Proper hydration is key to all diets and programs for weight management. When you attend special events or are going to be around lots of tempting treats, drink lots of water to fill you up. This is even more essential if you plan to have alcoholic drinks.

4. Buy your least favorite candy. If you plan to stay home and hand out candy, buy types that you don’t really like. You’ll be less tempted to get off track.

5. Buy treats on Halloween day. Don’t hit the store early and have bags of candy sitting on your shelves for days on end,that temptation is  hard one to overcome. Go at the last possible minute, as in the day of. In addition to minimizing temptation, you’ll get your treats on sale as well.

Another great way to keep yourself under control and on track with your  current health conscious lifestyle  is to make sure  your  wearing your Fitness Tracker.  This way, depending on the make and model, you can be constantly reminded on just how well you’ve been doing so far this day.  Using your fitness tracker can be just the thing you need to be able to walk away from that buffet table once you’ve made up your  plate.  And believe me, people will take notice of what your eating and what you’re not, especially if they know you’ve been trying to eat right and exercise in order to have your body do an uptick for a healthier lifestyle.

If you don’t currently have a fitness tracker, first, why not?  Second, let me recommend one that can be a companion to you in providing the necessary “push” you need in order to stay committed to your healthier lifestyle.

The activity monitor I’m talking about is the Garmin Vivosmart 4 Wellness and Fitness Tracker    This small but powerful fitness monitor can be that conscious reminder of just how far you’ve come on your  fitness journey and may be just that “push” you need to stay away from those tempting treats and candy.  The Vivo 4 will not only track your daily activity, but it will also give smart notifications from your phone, track stress levels and has a pulse ox sensor. 

The  Garmin Vivosmart 4 Fitness Tracker comes loaded with fitness and wellness features to help you make the most of a healthier, more active lifestyle. A wrist-based Pulse Ox sensor lets you estimate blood oxygen saturation, even while you’re sleeping, or you can spot-check your oxygen levels anytime during the day. The device also monitors heart rate at the wrist and includes helpful tools such as all-day stress tracking, a relaxation breathing timer.  Using the Elevate™ heart rate data collected from your wrist, Vívosmart 4 can give you an idea of your current fitness level.  For added insight, Vívosmart 4 will notify you if your heart rate unexpectedly rises above a threshold you’ve set. If you’re inactive for more than 10 minutes and your heart rate stays above your set threshold, you’ll get an alert, that you can act on!

So, what better way than to have your own personal conscious like Disney’s Pinocchio’s “Jiminy Cricket” on your  wrist like the Garmin Vivosmart 4 Activity Tracker  to help keep you aware that fitness is a commitment that you  elected to make.

So, with your  Garmin at your wrist, it just might make it a little easier to forego those Halloween Treats, in and around that buffet table.

Happy Halloween!

You’re on the fitness bandwagon, good for you! You’ve embraced the idea of getting healthy in order to live a longer, more active lifestyle and are urging your family and friends to do the same. Lead by example, right? Well, this type of lifestyle change can not only make a difference in your life by improving your health but an added bonus to this is your probably going to have to visit your doctor less. Why, well because your working out, eating better, getting more active while exercising more. So, this all helps you become a better you, so you probably won’t fall victim to diseases unlike those who have to deal with being overweight.

Most of us that have taken that lifestyle change, keeping track of our progress, by tracking certain metrics, depending on how much we want to delve into the data, that’s available from smart watches, smartphone apps, and our fitness communities that we are connected with via various fitness trackers partnering with them.

One Fitness/Activity monitor that can keep track of all that pertinent data for you is the Garmin Vivosport GPS Sport & Activity Tracker .This activity monitor will help you grow from a couch potato into an avid exerciser. In addition to its wrist-based Heart Rate monitoring, the Vívosport offers Stress Monitoring that will display a stress score and Graph (on Garmin Connect). So, it’s not only going to monitor just how well and how much you’re doing each day, even while your sleeping but it’s also going to let you know when you need to take a minute and step back from whatever may be causing you a little stress, so you can have a calmer and more productive day. How great is that?

Monitoring that data on a daily, weekly, monthly basis keeps us all on track on just how well, we, I mean our bodies are doing. Well, the health industry is paying attention to this as well, and many of them have made allowances for those of us that are trying to turn our lives around by getting healthier, which in turn, as mentioned above means fewer health issues for you and less the insurance companies have to pay out for tests that are no longer necessary because you have made improvements to the lifestyle your living now.

Some of our companies that still offer health insurance benefits are always looking to save costs that help make their bottom lines healthier as well. By offering incentive programs based on employee health measurements, they also can qualify for a better “term-policy” that may be offered to them by their insurance carrier, which many do because of lower health care usage.

The savings come from fewer hospital admissions and re-admissions because patients are using apps and wearables and digital health and wellness programs, to take better care of themselves before a disease becomes more advanced, or in the best of cases, the health issue is resolved by dedicated exercise programs and a healthier dietary program.

The use of digital health wearables for preventative health care, such as for diabetes prevention, diabetes care, asthma, cardiac rehabilitation, and pulmonary rehabilitation, could save the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $7 billion per year, the study says. The savings comes from fewer hospital admissions and readmissions because patients are using apps and wearables and digital health or wellness programs to take better care of themselves before a disease becomes more advanced.

Today, millions of Americans use wearable devices to monitor their health and fitness. Sensors on these devices track everything from body movements to heart rate, blood pressure, and even stress levels. They also include audible alarms to remind users to stay active throughout the day.

The focus of these devices up to now has been on individuals interested in working toward specific health and fitness goals; however, wellness initiatives by businesses both large and small, are incorporating technology progressively more into their programs with the aim to improve overall employee health. Many companies are already jumping on the wearable technology bandwagon. It was reported in December 2017 that an estimated 13 million wearable fitness and activity-tracking devices were projected for workplace wellness programs in 2018 -- a dramatic upswing from 200,000 devices just a few years ago.

Employers are creating more and more benefit programs that focus on wellness with initiatives that support physical health. Many of these are being developed in partnership with health insurers to provide access to activity and wellness devices, along with program designs that are cost-effective to manage for employees. Ultimately, this method leads to a more productive workforce.

As we said earlier, with most of us tracking our activity, heart rate, pressure and VO2 max levels using a good, accurate activity monitor is a must. Another one that fits the bill for us, while being moderately priced, and is available for just about everyone to use is the Garmin Vivosmart 4 Wellness and Fitness Tracker  The name of this activity monitor says it all, the “Wellness and Fitness Tracker”! It truly monitors multiple facets of a person’s active life, even while sleeping, by monitoring your true sleep (REM Sleep) and can gauge blood oxygen saturation levels during the night with the wrist-based Pulse Ox sensor.

And because it’s a Garmin, a brand that has been a leader in GPS technology and has become a name synonymous with fitness and health-based technology. The Vivosmart 4’s fitness and health monitoring tools include wrist-based heart rate, it also comes with all-day stress tracking, relaxation breathing timer, VO2 max, Body Battery™ energy monitor and more.

More and more companies are becoming aware of incorporating various fitness devices to get their employees motivated to get healthier and in so doing benefit by having lower insurance costs when they partner with an insurance company that offers a lower overall cost profile.

And don’t just think that its only your company that can benefit by seeing lower health insurance costs, you would be surprised that if you contact your own insurance company and discuss what savings you can see by providing them with the necessary data to show them that you are indeed living a more healthy lifestyle and are constantly working on maintaining that regimen by daily exercise routines.

If you’re an individual, contact your insurance agent to discuss how keeping track of your fitness can benefit you in regard to your premiums. And more importantly, if you’re a company looking to lower their health care riders, also get in touch with your carrier and see for yourself how being healthy company can start saving you money all the way around. But don’t forget to pick up that Garmin Vivosmart 4 today, or the Garmin Vivosport GPS Sport & Activity Tracker  whichever one fits your current lifestyle.

And make sure your taking advantage of all that important data they provide so that you can continue to achieve your goal of living a healthier, active lifestyle, and saving money at the same time!