You've chowed down all the holiday sweets and second helpings your body can handle and then some. Now it's time to get back in shape in the new year.

You don't have to do it alone.

UC and your medical plan offer programs and tools — many of them free or at reduced cost — to help you eat right, get fit, quit smoking and adopt healthy habits that can improve your well-being.

Here are just some of the resources available to you:

• Leave smoking behind. Smoking is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer and is to blame for other health problems such as lung disease and coronary heart disease. Quitting is hard but your medical plan has tools to help. Depending on your plan, tobacco cessation aids can range from classes and coaching to prescription medicine and meditation. To find out what your plan offers, contact your medical plan or visit your plan's website.
• Be well. Your campus offers wellness programs from workout groups and Tai Chi to cooking and nutrition classes — and it's all free. Visit the UC Living Well website at www.uclivingwell.ucop.edu to view the campus programs. Don't forget that tasty and healthy recipes are also available at the UC Living Well website.
• Take care of your mental self. Being mentally healthy is just as important as being physically healthy. Find time to relax and do things that are fun. Accept that some things are out of your control and move on. Learn relaxation methods such as yoga or meditation. If you need help, talk to someone — a family member, friend, co-worker or a psychologist.
  • Licensed mental health providers are at your fingertips. Your campus Employee Assistance Program offers free, confidential one-on-one counseling.
  • United Behavioral Health Services will refer you for counseling services to a local provider. The first three appointments with a network provider are free of charge. Contact UBH at 888-440-8225 or visit the website: www.liveandworkwell.com/public/
• Get fit. Most medical plans offer discounts for gyms and weight management programs that will help you get fit. Research has shown that exercise might be an effective way to prevent or reduce depressive symptoms. And a modest weight loss can improve your health and help you ward off certain diseases. See what your plan offers by visiting your plan's website.

Your location may also offer wellness discounts and activities.

• Assess your health for free. Take a free, confidential health assessment to learn how your lifestyle affects your health. Then take the follow-up wellness coaching.
  • Through Staywell, UC offers $100 gift cards as an incentive to employees who complete the assessment by June 15, 2012 and follow-up coaching by Dec. 31, 2012. Employees must be enrolled in a UC medical plan on Jan. 1, 2012 to qualify. Spouses and domestic partners also are eligible and can receive a $50 gift card.
  • Kaiser Permanente members are not eligible for the Staywell incentive, but they can participate in Healthworks, Kaiser's health assessment and follow-up program.
  • For more information on these health assessment programs, visit the UC Living Well website and select either Staywell or Kaiser Permanente.
  • Some unions have opted out of Staywell. If you are a represented employee and want to see if your union is participating, check the list.

Quick links to your plan's wellness websites

• Anthem Blue Cross
  
• Kaiser Permanente
  
• Health Net & Health Net Blue and Gold
  
• Western Health Advantage

• The information presented in these news archive articles may no longer be current. Please note the date when the article was first published.