by kelsey | Jan 12, 2012 | Diet, Etc., Exercise, Food, Weight Management
I was recently asked about the use and benefit of energy drinks during exercise and I thought this would be a great topic to share on our blog as well! Usually the quick rule of thumb is that water is best for low to moderate intensity workouts that last one hour or less. If your workouts are more moderate to high intensity and last more than an hour, then a sports drink may be a good choice. If you are working out in a hot environment and you usually sweat alot, then you will need additional fluids. The sports drinks help replenish our electrolytes that are lost during high intensity, longer workouts, however they do have sugars which is why they are not really necessary for lighter-moderate workouts. There are now lower sugar options such as Gatorade’s G2, which is a nice alternative to the higher sugar content in the regular product. Another helpful tip is to be sure to get adequate hydration before and after your workouts to keep your body’s fluids more balanced.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Jan 11, 2012 | Wellness/Health
Are you looking to boost your immune system to get rid of that cold bug or maybe you are trying to avoid getting it. A great way to boost your immune system is to have a diet rich in fruits and vegetables to help ward off those infections. These super foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, all disease fighting properties. As you plan our your day’s intake, make sure you’re including a variety of fruits and vegetables to help those bugs stay away!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Jan 10, 2012 | Diet, Food, Weight Management
Have you ever wondered how many calories or fat grams are in a hot dog? Or what about the big pasta dish you had yesterday? Well there are excellent online tools that can help you with this information. Two of my favorite sites are USDA sites:
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/SuperTracker/foodapedia.aspx
and
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
Both of these sites allow you to select the food you’re looking for, then serving size and give you a complete nutrient breakdown. Sometimes we really don’t want to know what’s all in our food or how bad it is, but looking it up is sure enlightening and can help you make better choices in the future! I highly recommend checking these sites out!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Jan 5, 2012 | Food
One of my favorite parts of our STRIVE lectures is the treats County Fair provides. Jeff Gamber and his staff do an excellent job showcasing their produce and healthier products. On Tuesday, we had veggies, oranges, and low sugar hot chocolate. I will talk about the hot chocolate in another post as I didn’t feel it was very fitting on such a WARM (and beautiful) January day like today! Rather today, I want to focus on oranges. As you should know by now, we need at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Since we live in a more northern state that is land-locked, produce can be more expensive. To reduce costs, I try to select the produce that is in season and right now the oranges are awesome! Oranges are an especially great source of vitamin C, but also include many other great vitamins and minerals. Instead of grabbing the chips or candy, try treating yourself to a tasty orange for your next treat.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Jan 4, 2012 | Exercise
Last night was an awesome start to our winter STRIVE program. We are thrilled to have such a great group of people to work with! As always, Dr. Dan kicks off our first lecture discussing the importance of adequate exercise and ways to get more. I usually leave the exercise talk up to him on this blog, however I wanted to share one exercise topic he hasn’t: zumba! As a dietitian, I am the food/nutrition expert, but I also spend a portion of my visits discussing ways to be more active as you really can’t just do one or the other…you have to do both in order to be more successful with healthy living.
Jogging is usually my preferred activity of choice, but I get tired of it after a while so I asked for a Wii Zumba video for Christmas. When I tried it out for the first time a few days ago, I was amazed. I was in a full sweat in the first 5 minutes! It’s not only a great workout…it’s even FUN! Zumba is a great aerobic activity that involves dancing and aerobic type moves for all parts of your body. If you are looking to spice up your activity routine and still burn a good deal of calories, I’d highly recommend checking out Zumba. Adding variety to your workout will not only keep you interested and motivated, it will keep your metabolism going!
(The picture I included is a snapshot of my Wii video).
-Kelsey
