Resolutions to Be Healthier

Hi all! I know, like me, a lot of you made resolutions (or at least tossed the ideas around) to be healthier in 2018. If I had to bet I’d say most of us are already struggling to stay on track. It’s hard, right!? I mean, how can we eat right when we live such fast lives? How do we enjoy life with our friends and family in the real world, like eating out or going to a family get-together and stay on track? Well, good ol’ Google is full of tips -some good and some that are terrifying! So I’ve weeded them down for you all. And, as always, here’s the links incase you’d like to read the full articles.

https://www.choosemyplate.gov    http://www.eatright.org    https://www.rd.com/

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1. Ask for it your way. Dining out is no time to be a meek consumer, notes Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and coauthor of the book Restaurant Confidential. “You need to be an assertive consumer by asking for changes on the menu,” he says. For instance, if an item is fried, ask for it grilled. If it comes with french fries, ask for a side of veggies instead. Ask for a smaller portion of the meat and a larger portion of the salad; for salad instead of coleslaw; baked potato instead of fried.
2. Beware of the low-carb options. Restaurant chains have jumped on the low-carb bandwagon, offering numerous low-carb options on their menu. But low-carb doesn’t mean low-cal. For instance, at Ruby Tuesday the Low-Carb New Orleans Seafood packs 710 calories and 42 grams of fat—ouch! A much better bet—the Low Carb Veggie Platter—leaves you with just 297 calories and 16 grams of fat.
3. Ask to box half your entrée before it ever gets to the table. Or split an entrée with your dining partner. A CSPI survey found that restaurants often serve two to three times more than food labels list as a serving.
4. Consider your drink. Choose water, fat-free or low-fat milk, unsweetened tea, and other drinks without added sugars to complement your meal.
5. Pack your snack.  Pack fruit, sliced vegetables, low-fat string cheese, or unsalted nuts to eat during road trips or long commutes. No need to stop for other food when these snacks are ready-to-eat.
6. Quit the "clean your plate" club. Decide to save some for another meal. Take leftovers home in a container and chill in the refrigerator right away.
7. Eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the message from your stomach that you are no longer hungry. Fast eaters often are overeaters, while slow eaters tend to eat less and are still satisfied.

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“The Groundwork for all happiness is good health.” -Leigh Hunt

Thank you,

Wenona Mertens

Do You Know Your Credit Score?

Do you know your credit score? Are you happy with where it’s at? If you’re like the average American you either don’t know your score or you need to make some improvements to that very important number. Finding your credit score is easy and you can do it through several websites without doing damage to your score. I personally use Credit Karma to keep up with mine but there are other websites out there or you can request your score directly through Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. But where do you begin to do the work towards growing your credit score into that “Excellent” range? Here are some useful tips:  

1. Watch those credit card balances

One major factor in your credit score is how much revolving credit you have versus how much you’re actually using. The smaller that percentage is, the better it is for your credit rating. The optimum: 30 percent or lower. To boost your score, “pay down your balances, and keep those balances low,” says Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union.

2. Pay bills on time

If you’re planning a major purchase (like a home or a car), you might be scrambling to assemble one big chunk of cash. While you’re juggling bills, you don’t want to start paying bills late. Even if you’re sitting on a pile of savings, a drop in your score could scuttle that dream deal. One of the biggest ingredients in a good credit score is simply month after month of plain-vanilla, on-time payments.

3. Fix Your Late Payments

Even closing an account won’t make your late payments disappear. Your best bet here is to get yourself back on the right track — set up payment due date alerts with all your credit cards and loans, and get organized. You can move credit card payment due dates around pretty easily on your bank or lender’s website. Be sure to check your payment due dates in relation to your paycheck schedule.

Ask your credit card issuer or lender if they can forgive that late payment. Maybe you were out of the country on vacation or the check got lost in the mail and you had no idea the bill existed. Credit card companies in particular are pretty forgiving if you have a long track record of making on-time payments.

4. Get a Credit Card

If you’ve never had a credit card before, your scores may be suffering because of the account mix factor. Just make sure you make on-time payments — a new credit card account with a bad payment history will hurt you, not help you improve your credit scores. If you have a fair, good or excellent credit score, there are many credit card options out there for you. If you have bad credit look into opening a secured credit card.

5. Limit Applications

The 10% discount for signing up for a store credit card may seem worth it in the moment, but your credit score will take a hit for applying, whether you get approved or not. A inquiry will impact your credit score for a full year, though your score will start improving almost immediately after you apply. The hit is small (normally around 3 to 5 points) but if you’re on the edge of two credit score tiers or applying for lots of credit offers in a short time span, you can do a lot of damage. 

Info From:

http://www.creditkarma.com/          http://www.credit.com          http://www.bankrate.com/

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“The best person to “face” the problem is also the best person to “fix” the problem – that is you!!! - The Credit Repair Book: The Credit Repair Company's Secret Weapon.” 

Thank you,

Wenona Mertens

How to Become a More Active and Healthier Person

If you’ve been thinking about how to become a more active and healthier person then you may have thrown around the idea of starting a new workout regimen. If so, GO YOU!! It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to lower you blood pressure, drop some pounds, or just find your center; any reason that motivates you to improve is a wonderful starting point toward a healthier you. But where do you start? How do you stay motivated? Do you really have to go run miles and miles to be healthier?  Well, I’ve dug up some answers for you all. Links to the full articles are at the bottom 😊 :

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1.  Consult your doctor first.  Before you begin any exercise program it is really important to make sure you’re physically up for it.  This is particularly important if you’re not normally physically active.  A doctor can advise you on how to approach a new exercise routine and tell you what signs to look for if you’re overdoing it.

2. Do something fun.  Exercising doesn’t have to be running around a track until you can’t breathe anymore.  Dancing is exercise, walking in nature is exercise, jumping on a trampoline is exercise, as is tennis, yoga, etc.  Find a sport that you enjoy, and reaching your goals will become easy and fun.

3. Set small goals.  While it may be really exciting to set a large goal like running a marathon or going to the gym every day, it can be difficult to motivate yourself to actually achieve the goal.  The goal may begin to feel overwhelming.  The solution?  Set smaller goals.  For example, if your goal is to go to the gym every day, just go to the gym one day a week for three weeks.  Once you’ve accomplish that goal, step it up.  Decide to go to the gym twice a week for three weeks.  Once you’ve accomplished that goal, step it up again. Soon you’ll be going to the gym every day.

4. Break things up if you have to. You don't have to do all your exercise at one time, so you can weave in activity throughout your day. Shorter but more-frequent sessions have aerobic benefits, too. Exercising in 10-minute sessions three times a day may fit into your schedule better than a single 30-minute session.

5. Start slowly and build up gradually. Give yourself plenty of time to warm up and cool down with easy walking or gentle stretching. Then speed up to a pace you can continue for five to 10 minutes without getting overly tired. As your stamina improves, gradually increase the amount of time you exercise. Work your way up to 30 to 60 minutes of exercise most days of the week.

6. Your body will change when you challenge it, not when you punish it. The harder you train, the faster you’ll see results – up to a point.  And that point isn’t very extreme if you’re just getting started. If it’s been months, or years since you were last on a serious exercise program, you need a very mild amount of exercise to start creating change.

7. Exercise is just a stimulus. Nutrition and sleep are what actually change your body. Exercise is a signal to your heart, muscles and metabolism that you need to change. In order to rebuild, repair and burn fat you have to provide the right nutrients and get enough sleep. Without quality nutrition and sufficient sleep, you won’t be able to recover from the training sessions.

https://www.core3training.com                https://www.mayoclinic.org                       https://www.fitwatch.com/

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“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” —John Pierpont “J.P.” Morgan

 Thank you,

Wenona Mertens

March C2 Employee Spotlight

This month we celebrate Tonya Turner. Tonya has been with C2 Freight since 2003 as our Accounting Manager. She and husband, Mike Turner, have been married for 35 years. They call Addison, Alabama home. 
They have two children, Nyssa Hinkle and Blake Turner. She and Mike stay busy with their 4 grandchildren ages 12, 9, 5, and 3. Georgia, Andrew, Kaiden, and Madyson keep them on their toes for sure. They love helping their community and have pastored a church in Addison for 5 years. 
Tonya is an integral part of C2 Freight. She is the "Resource" that you go to when you need anything Accounting related. She's more than happy to help!