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The Small Business BC Awards celebrates 20 years of BC’s top entrepreneurs

Nominations open for Lower Mainland entrepreneurs to compete for $40,000 in prize money

Small business owners across BC are invited to compete for $40,000 in prize money as SBBC celebrates the 20th anniversary of the province’s largest award contest for entrepreneurs, the Small Business BC Awards.

“Over the past 20 years, SBBC has been honored to shine a spotlight on BC’s entrepreneurs, celebrating those who put everything on the line to pursue their dreams,” said SBBC’s CEO, Tom Conway. “To mark our 20th anniversary, we’re thrilled to be returning to an in-person gala where a $40,000 prize purse will be shared among four winning businesses. To help make this year the most inspirational award ever, we’re asking the public to nominate a small business that has impacted your community.”

Every year, the Small Business BC Awards are held as an opportunity to bring attention to the small businesses having a positive impact in our province. To acknowledge and support their hard work, British Columbians are encouraged to nominate their own business or to put forward a local business that has had a strong impact on their community.

Each winner will be awarded with $10,000 in prize money, a top business title, and a one-year of free advisory support from SBBC.

The 20th Anniversary of the Small Business BC Awards features four award categories. Businesses can enter a total of two categories – the Premier’s People’s Choice Award and one of three Business Pitch Categories (Business Impact, E-Commerce, and Youth). The Premier’s People’s Choice Award is decided exclusively by a public vote. In the three business pitch categories, the top five finalists are selected based on public votes and written responses judged by internal business experts. Finalists then proceed to pitch their business to a panel of BC business leaders who decide the winner of each award category.

Premier’s People’s Choice Award

It takes a community to grow a small business. It also takes a community to win the Premier’s People’s Choice Award. This unique award category, sponsored by the Province of British Columbia, is presented to a BC-based small business that can demonstrate the unwavering and loyal support of their community.

Business Impact Awards

The Business Impact Award is sponsored by BCAA and goes to the business owner(s) making a difference in their community. Alongside an aptitude in areas like sales, marketing, logistics, finance and operations, their business has taken positive action to invest in the community and views social responsibility as an integral part of their success.

E-Commerce Experience Award

As Canadians increasingly turn to online shopping, the E-Commerce Experience Award goes to a small business that presents a frictionless experience for their customers online. Whether it’s on mobile or desktop, this business converts visitors into purchasers through an easy-to-navigate store experience and clear, measurable digital marketing strategy.

Best Youth Entrepreneur

Across British Columbia, young entrepreneurs are creating new jobs and shaping our provincial economy with their energy and ingenuity. The Best Youth Entrepreneur Award is sponsored by the Kwantlen Polytechnic University and exists to reward this entrepreneurial spirit, saluting a business leader aged 35 and under who is succeeding.

Award nominations are open from now until March 10 and can be submitted at: sbbc.co/nominate.

Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS)

HEDIS is a set of performance measures that are used to compare health plan performance and measure the quality of health plans. These measures were created by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). About 90% of health plans use HEDIS as a standard to measure the performance of their plan. The data is tracked from year to year to measure the performance of the health plan and thus provide information regarding the population served.

The data that is collected is used to monitor the health of the general population, evaluate treatment outcomes, etc., and the data is collected through administrative, hybrid, and survey methods.

HEDIS Measure Domains:

About 95 HEDIS measures are categorized under the following six “domains of care”.

Effectiveness of Care

Controlling High Blood Pressure
Care for Older Adults
Hemoglobin A1c Control for Patients With Diabetes
Blood Pressure Control for Patients With Diabetes
Eye Exam for Patients With Diabetes
Breast Cancer Screening
Colorectal Cancer Screening

Access/Availability of Care

Adults’ Access to Preventive/Ambulatory Health Services
Utilization and Risk Adjusted Utilization.

Experience of Care (CAHPS)

CAHPS Health Plan Survey 5.1H, Adult Version
Utilization and Risk Adjusted Utilization

Utilization and Risk-adjusted Utilization

Well-Child Visits in the First 30 Months of Life
Child and Adolescent Well-Care Visits

Health Plan Descriptive Information

Language Diversity of Membership
Utilization and Risk Adjusted Utilization

Measures Collected Using Electronic Clinical Data Systems

Childhood Immunization Status
Breast Cancer Screening
Depression Screening and Follow-Up for Adolescents and Adults

How is data collected for HEDIS?

Health plans collect and report performance data about specific services and types of care to NCQA. NCQA health insurance rates based on 90-plus measures.

HEDIS data is collected through three methods:

Administrative data: Data collected from office visits, hospitalizations, and pharmacy data
Hybrid data: It’s a combination of administrative data from claims as well as from patient’s medical records
Data surveys: This is data collected through survey questionnaires from members.

Why do HEDIS scores matter?

HEDIS scores are critical for health care planning. HEDIS scores help payers understand the quality of care their members receive for chronic and acute conditions. The better the score, the more effectively the payer competes with other payers in the market.

Benefits of HEDIS measures:

It helps health plans assess the quality and variance of health care provided to enrollees.
It determines how the plan is best for chronic disease management and preventive care.
The use of preventive screening measures helps to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs
Quality interventions are based on closing gaps in care and expanding preventive services such as vaccinations, pap smears, mammograms, and treatment for hypertension or cholesterol.
Star ratings enable providers to measure the success of their improvement initiatives

Effects of HEDIS on Reimbursement:

CMS has directly tied reimbursement of medical costs to patient outcomes. As a result, health insurance providers face the challenge of bridging coverage gaps and improving quality. By focusing on quality results, members can maximize their benefits and ultimately make better use of limited resources.

HEDIS is recognized as the highest standard of reimbursement by health care providers and payers. Health care plans take HEDIS tests and quality measures seriously because they know that money is at stake. Leaders need to be more aware of the importance of organizations continuing to engage in all quality improvement activities.

Ultimately, CMS penalizes health plans if they underperform for more than three years. HEDIS as a whole is changing the company’s understanding of the importance of measuring quality, a fundamental concept underlying performance-related quality initiatives.

Effects of HEDIS on gaps in care

HEDIS measures can help identify gaps in care for participants who have not been screened for breast cancer or who have not been vaccinated against HPV. This can affect your quality score. Improving Star and HEDIS performance requires closing the gap. These gaps can be filled by reaching these participants through home testing kits, home health care, and screening visits.

Why is HEDIS important to providers?

Ensure timely and appropriate care for their patients.
Help identify and address gaps in patient care.
As HEDIS rates rise, providers are able to capture maximum or additional revenue through a pay-for-quality, value-based service, and pay-for-performance model.

Why is HEDIS important to payers?

HEDIS scores help health plans understand the quality of care provided to people with chronic and acute conditions.
Helps identify gaps in health network performance and care delivery
Helps improve patient outcomes and reduce care costs through preventive services
HEDIS identifies public health impacts such as heart diseases, cancer, smoking, and asthma which provides useful data on health issues.
Care is provided to help identify and treat at-risk groups who have not completed immunizations, dental care, screenings, etc.

NCQA Health Plan Rating vs Medicare Star Ratings:

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) uses a five-star rating system to rate how well Medicare Advantage (MA) health plans (Parts C and D) and providers serve their members. Assessment results are based on the implementation of the plan, the quality of care provided, and customer service. Ratings range from 1 to 5 stars. 5 is the highest score for excellent performance, and 1 is the lowest score for poor performance.

Both the NCQA Health Plan Rating (HPR) and the Medicare Star Rating are used to assess health insurance quality and performance, and both rate and report plan performance. The goal of HPR and star ratings is to provide the plan with a metric to assess its current operational status. This allows us to ensure the quality of our plans so that consumers can choose a quality health plan that meets their needs.

HEDIS and Star ratings are important because they represent the effectiveness of patient care provided by healthcare organizations, and HEDIS and Star ratings decrease when there are gaps in care. Another reason HEDIS and Stars need to maintain high ratings is for reimbursement purposes. Healthcare organizations with a lower rating are not eligible for bonus payments and are subject to fines.

What Happens When You Don’t Fund Your Trust?

After you work with your estate planning attorney to draft a carefully tailored estate plan, it is usually your responsibility to “fund” the trust.

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What does funding the trust mean?

Funding the trust is simply transferring assets into your trust.

If you have a trust, you will want to put your assets into the trust, by retitling bank accounts, re-designating beneficiaries of life insurance, etc. We walk our clients through the process, but we usually recommend that the clients make the transfers themselves.

If clients fail to make the transfers or fail to title them correctly, the assets will not be a part of the trust.

This means that the assets outside of the trust will still need to go through the probate court. Any assets in your name alone will require probate administration.

Probate administration is costly and can be time consuming. Avoiding probate is one of the main reasons people love using trusts. To fail to fund your trust is unfortunate, in that you will have taken the time to draft your trust, paid for your trust, and then your assets will still have to accrue the costs of probate.

Further, if the assets are not in your trust, they will not follow your wishes that you set out in the trust.

If you are overwhelmed by funding your trust, work with your attorney.

We help our clients understand the funding process and know exactly what they need to do to complete the funding. However, if our clients do not wish to fund their own trusts, we offer funding services.

It is essential to know that your trust is a living document that requires care during your life to get the full benefits of your trust. You need to ensure it is updated to reflect your wishes and assets, and that it is fully funded.

Once you have gone through the process of funding it initially, additional assets are easy to transfer in as you will know what to do and will only need to perform transfers as your assets increase.

Let us know if you have questions about your estate plan or funding your trust.

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.

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Defense Department Releases Small-Business Strategy

The Department of Defense (DoD) released its Small Business Strategy today. The strategy promotes a strong, dynamic, and robust small business industrial base by focusing on reducing barriers to entry, increasing set-aside competitions, and leveraging programs to grow the industrial base.

“From manufacturers providing the critical parts that we need for our arsenal – to technology companies developing innovative systems and capabilities – small businesses are vital along the entire spectrum of the Department’s needs,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks said. “Reducing barriers and creating more opportunities for small businesses will allow us to expand, innovate, and diversify, increasing our warfighter advantage, strengthening our supply chains, increasing competition in our marketplace, and growing our economy here at home.”

Small businesses make up 99.9 percent of all US businesses as well as 73 percent of companies in the defense industrial base, and last year small businesses were awarded over 25 percent of all DoD prime contracts. As the economic engine of our nation, small businesses create jobs, generate innovation, and are essential, daily contributors to national security and the defense mission. This strategy will help DoD harness the full potential of small businesses through three objectives: implement a unified management approach for small business programs and activities; ensure the Department’s small business activities align with national security priorities; and strengthen the Department’s engagement and support of small businesses.

“Fostering a resilient and robust industrial base is one of my top priorities,” said Dr. William LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. “Supporting small businesses is not just about meeting a goal or checking a box; it’s about building advantages for our warfighters. All of American industry, especially our innovative small businesses, has a role in developing, delivering, and sustaining the critical capabilities that are required to further implement the National Defense Strategy.”

“Small businesses are crucial to national security,” Director of the Office of Small Business Programs Farooq Mitha added. “Our military depends on small businesses that bring innovation and agility to support DoD’s mission. From providing critical component parts, to cutting edge software platforms, to essential services, small businesses provide support across nearly the entirety of the Department of Defense.”

As part of DoD’s efforts to strengthen support of small businesses, this strategy focuses on stepping up engagement with industry, including providing more tools and resources. This engagement and training effort will be facilitated by the Department’s ninety-six APEX Accelerators located across the country, formerly known as the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, which serve as a resource for small businesses to increase their readiness, helping them find opportunities to do business with the Department and accelerate their insertion into the defense marketplace.

The Office of Small Business Programs encourages those interested in working with DoD to read a “Guide to Marketing to DoD” on https://business.defense.gov

The Small Business Strategy can be found here: https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/26/2003150429/-1/-1/0/SMALL-BUSINESS-STRATEGY.PDF

How Can I Protect My Children in Estate Planning?

Many of our clients have concerns related to their children when planning estates. Concerns can range from making sure they are taken care of financially, choosing appropriate guardians, and more.

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Some of our clients biggest concerns are:

I don’t want my child to blow all the money they inherit right away. We always tell clients the best way to ruin a great kid is by giving them tons of money. We work with clients to put a plan in place to help their children. One way we do this is to stagger their disbursements from a trust at certain ages. We usually allow the child to ask the trustee for money at any time for certain purposes. For example, if a child wanted money to pay for college, they would usually be able to get money from the trust for educational expenses. We work with our clients to alleviate their concerns regarding each of their children.
I want to make sure my child will be cared for if something happens to me. This is almost always the primary concern of parents of young children. It is essential to draft documents and choose who would be the guardian of minor children, should something happen to the parents. We help our clients walk through this process to make sure they are comfortable with the language and guardians. We also help clients set up documents to keep assets in trust for minor children, should something happen to parents.
I want to make sure my children will be taken care of if I die and my partner remarries. While this situation can be difficult to navigate, it is very important to consider and discuss while both parents are alive and well. Draft documents now so that you and your spouse know the plan and have documents in place to protect the children, should a parent retire after the death of a spouse.
My children are no longer minors, but I want to be able to participate in their healthcare decisions if something happens to them. This is a major concern of parents with children away at college. As soon as your children turn 18, it is important to draft healthcare powers of attorney and even financial documents so that parents can still be aware of and involved in their care, should the child become injured or incapacitated.
I want to make sure that my child is still able to do the things that are important to us, if something happens to me. For example, a client takes her child on vacation every year to the same location. If something happened to her, she wanted the appointed guardian to still take her child to their vacation spot each year. We were able to put language in her trust regarding the vacation and discuss this wish with her trustee. We also helped her draft a letter with helpful instructions.

Our clients all have unique concerns regarding their children. We help them tailor their estate plans to protect their children and protect against the concerns they have.

Estate planning requires thoughtful drafting to meet the needs of each individual.

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.

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Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps – Eat Yourself Skinny

Inspired by PF Changs’ famous recipe, these Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps are quick, easy to make and are full of so much flavor! Perfect as an appetizer, side or even main dish for a healthy meal the whole family will love!

If you are a fan of PF Changs’ lettuce wraps like us are then you will seriously LOVE these. Not only are the flavors in this dish insane, but the entire recipe literally only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. These lettuce wraps are perfect for an easy weeknight meal, but they also make a delicious appetizer when having friends over. In fact, they’re so highly requested that I have passed this recipe out more times than I can count to friends and family would want to make them which is why I wanted to re-new this recipe for you all! So. much. FLAVORS

Ingredients You’ll Need

ground turkey – I use lean ground turkey for the filling in these wraps because of the lower fat content while being a great source of protein, but you could also make these using ground chicken, ground beef or ground pork (we LOVE chicken lettuce wraps too!)
soy sauce – I always use low-sodium soy sauce as I find that regular soy sauce can make dishes too salty. You could also swap the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos to make these gluten-free
Hoisin sauce – sticky sweet boost of flavor!
Rice Vinegar – adds a touch of acidity that helps balance all these flavors, but if you don’t have rice vinegar, feel free to substitute with white vinegar, apple cider vinegar or even a little lime juice
Roasted red chili paste – adds a little heat along with a boost of flavor, you can also add some red chili flakes or sriracha if you want even more spice
Garlic + ginger – fresh garlic and ginger are definitely the best in this dish,
Water chestnuts – add a nice crunch to these wraps, you could also add in shredded carrots and chopped mushrooms for some added nutrition
green onions – adds flavor and a pop of color
Red pepper flakes – this is optional, but adds a nice kick of spice to these wraps
Bibb lettuce – also known as butter lettuce, this is my favorite lettuce for wraps because of their perfect cup shape and how soft and buttery they are. Other great options include romaine lettuce leaves or iceberg lettuce

How to Make Healthy Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Brown the ground turkey. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for about 6 minutes or until turkey is browned. Stir to crumble.
Make the sauce. While the turkey is cooking, whisk together hoisin, soy sauce, rice vinegar and roasted red chili paste in a small bowl.
Mix together. Once the ground turkey is cooked through, turn the heat off and add in the chopped green onions and water chestnuts. Drizzle with sauce and stir well until completely coated.
Assemble lettuce wraps. Spoon about a ¼ cup of the turkey mixture onto each lettuce leaf, serve and enjoy!

Prepping and Storage

To-Store: The delicious filling for these Asian lettuce wraps will last up to 4 to 5 days in the fridge stored in a sealed, airtight container. Trust me when I say, this meal tastes even better the next day! Make sure you don’t store the wraps already assembled as the turkey filling will wilt the leaves.

To Freeze: Let the turkey mixture cool completely and store in a sealed, airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let the filling thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating in a skillet or microwave.

More Recipes You’ll Love

Hope you all enjoy these Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps and if you love this recipe as much as we do, please leave me a five-star rating below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love seeing all your delicious recreations!

Prep Time: 5mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 15mins

Ingredients

1¼ lb. lean ground turkey (or ground chicken)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons roasted red chili paste
Pinch of salt
12 Bibb/Butter lettuce leaves

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for about 6 minutes or until turkey is browned. Stir to crumble.
Combine turkey mixture, onions and chopped water chestnuts in a large bowl, stirring well and set aside.
Meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk together hoisin, soy sauce, rice vinegar and roasted red chili paste and drizzle over the turkey mixture. Toss to coat completely.
Add about ¼ cup turkey mixture to each lettuce leaf, serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 2 lettuce cups
Calories: 162
Sugar: 3.4 g
Sodium: 441.5 mg
Fats: 4.3 g
Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
Carbohydrates: 7.8 g
Fibers: 0.9 g
Proteins: 23.5 g

* Please note that all nutrition information is just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for the most accurate results.

A shortage of pilots is making travel chaos in Canada even worse

From pandemic-related travel restrictions to extreme weather events, Canada’s travel industry has navigated an unprecedented amount of uncertainty of late. And now, just as demand for travel has returned to its 2019 level, airlines are navigating their next patch of turbulence: a lack of qualified pilots.

According to Transport Canada, in a typical pre-pandemic year, roughly 1,100 pilot licenses were issued. When complemented by foreign-trained pilots, that was generally more than enough to satisfy the needs of carriers as large as WestJet and Air Canada, all the way down to regional, charter and cargo airlines.

But as demand for flying collapsed in 2020, so did the number of new pilots get their paperwork. Government data shows less than 500 licenses were awarded in 2020, a figure that fell to less than 300 in 2021 and just 238 last year.

The department told CBC News in a statement that while labor shortages in the airline sector have been “identified as a priority area for action,” there are no current plans to loosen regulations. But the agency says it’s doing what it can to “increase the competitiveness of the Canadian flight training industry as well as improve the viability of aviation careers to address any shortages.”

Whatever changes do come will do little to help anyone in the short term, and travelers are already seeing the impact of the industry’s current labor crunch.

Staff shortages were a factor in charter airline Sunwing’s cancellation of 67 flights over the last two weeks of December, along with extreme weather.

Salaries for experienced pilots generally go up faster and higher at the major airlines than they do at most others, they are so typically able to have their pick among those available. That causes shortages just about everywhere else.

The head of the Air Transport Association of Canada says it’s a problem that has been brewing for many years, even before the pandemic.

“We haven’t had enough pilots for a long time, mostly at the regional level,” John McKenna said.

Long, expensive process

Getting a commercial license is the last step in a multi-year process of becoming a pilot, a journey that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take years.

In Canada, for many that journey ends with a dream job at either WestJet or Air Canada, but because of the expense and time commitment of training a new pilot, the major airlines often hire top staff from smaller carriers instead of methodically developing their own.

“Their fishing grounds are the regional carriers. And the regional carriers go down to the smaller carriers, air taxi groups … those levels have been hurting for many years,” McKenna said.

Canada’s two biggest airlines told CBC News in emailed statements that while there is indeed a higher than normal demand for pilots right now, both of them are managing to meet their needs.

“As a large global carrier operating the most modern, largest aircraft, we are a very desirable destination for talented pilots,” AIr Canada said. “As a result, we are able to attract pilots as required.”

“We have and continue to responsibly manage and plan our operations to meet the anticipated demand of our guests and are fully staffed across our network to support our operations,” WestJet said.

That’s not the case for everyone else. Small airlines often have so few pilots on staff that it doesn’t take the loss of very many to stop planes from flying.

Dave Boston is a licensed pilot and also runs a job board to help other pilots find work. (Dave Boston)

In the fall, Sunwing applied to bring in more than 60 temporary foreign workers to meet the demand for pilots, but that application was rejected, which exacerbated the chaos seen at the end of 2022. The airline has since canceled almost all flights out of Saskatchewan and most out of Manitoba for the rest of the winter travel season.

Pandemic reduced numbers, too

It’s not just the big boys gobbling up all the qualified pilots, either. Many simply left the profession during the pandemic.

“Two years ago, to the day, literally almost every pilot [was] out of work,” says Dave Boston, a pilot with 25 years experience who’s also the man behind the Edmonton-based aviation job board, the Pilot Career Centre.

Faced with furloughs and layoffs at airlines big and small, many pilots tried to wait it out, but many simply moved on, he told CBC News in an interview.

“Many who had businesses or other interests, after maybe six months to a year, had to put food on the table, and they left the industry,” Boston said.

For the pilots who are left, headhunting is the new normal. He says he hears from desperate airlines every day, because they either can’t find the staff, or just lost yet another one. “It’s very common for pilots, unfortunately, to work there for six months [then] get a surprise interview that they don’t expect to get, and then they’re gone,” he said.

“It’s a real challenge right now.”

Zona Savic, right, listens to her instructor inside the cockpit of a flight simulator unit at Seneca College. Savic has a long dream of being a pilot, and a lack of qualified flyers means he should have plenty of job prospects once he graduates. (Shawn Benjamin/CBC)

One person hoping to meet that challenge is Zona Savic, a soon-to-be graduate of one of Canada’s premier aviation schools, Seneca College in Peterborough, Ont.

While she had planned to go into engineering, she joined the Air Cadets while in high school, and was quickly bitten by the aviation bug.

“I just knew from the moment that I was in that plane, this is what I was going to do,” she told CBC News in an interview.

She’s on track to get her pilot’s license soon, and while she may do additional training to become an instructor herself, she says it’s a load off her mind to know that she won’t have to worry about finding a job.

And even better for the industry, she has no qualifications about working her way up at smaller carriers flying niches, remote routes.

“I just love the feeling of flying, so if that’s what I’m doing, I don’t really care if I’m in Paris, or in Nunavut,” she says. “Anything is good for me, as long as I get to experience that.”

Maria Mind Body Health

Are you a night owl or a morning bird?

I’ve been a morning bird my whole life. I love waking up before anyone else and having hours to start. I start my day with my morning routines to help my day be the best it can be!

What I find most interesting is that the most influential people in the World have a structured morning routine to help enhance their performance!

The beginning of the year is a great time to start a new health routine and starting your day with a sauna is a great way to start healing and getting healthy!

The Ultimate Morning Routine starts with a sauna where your body gets rejuvenated while your mind can meditate or spend time in prayer.

HOW TO START THE ULTIMATE MORNING ROUTINE

The ultimate morning routine doesn’t start when you wake up, it starts the night before. I make sure to go to bed early so I get a good night of sleep before I wake up early.

If you are new to a morning routine, the evening before is a great time to visualize your new routine and mentally prepare for all the benefits of waking up and doing a sauna. Early on in my health journey, I would often visualize myself as getting healthier and more fit even before I would start a new health routine. It helped me to accomplish and follow through with my goals.

Doing a morning sauna is great for many reasons. One is the convenience as you can do it before your shower. Since you were going to shower anyway, doing it after the sauna in the morning means you don’t waste any time with a second shower later in the day. You also have high cortisol naturally in the morning. It is one of the ways our body wakes us up. There are good stresses like a sauna that can raise cortisol too, and that is OK, but doing it in the morning when your cortisol is already high anyway means you don’t get a cortisol rise later in the day.

AFTER THE SAUNA

Make sure to hydrate! Don’t just drink water, make sure you add electrolytes in.

Also, the more you sweat, you lose zinc, so adding a zinc supplement or focusing on foods high in zinc is important. The thyroid screams for zinc! If you decide to add in zinc, start slowly with a low dose or you might get nauseous.

Consider doing an ice bath or cold shower. Doing a cold plunge after a sauna helps activate brown fat, increases mitochondrial activity and it helps increase dopamine! Even my son Micah asked, “Why do I get so happy after the sauna and cold plunge?” Yep! This morning routine helps make you happier through the day!

WHERE TO GET A SAUNA BLANKET

We do not have a lot of space at our Keto Condo in Maui so a sauna blanket is perfect for getting all the benefits without taking up space!

What I love about Bon Charge is their constant search for creating products that can really enhance our health and wellness! BON CHARGE products help you naturally address the issues of our modern-day way of life effortlessly and with maximum impact.