by kelsey | Jan 22, 2019 | Etc.
Likness Family Pictured Above. New Years Eve 2018.
2018 was a big year for the Brown Clinic…we had three excellent providers follow suit with Dr.Ed Gerrish and retired (Dr.Ed retired in 2017). Dr.Kim Wilde and Dr.Catherine Gerrish retired at the end of June and Dr.Clark Likness at the end of December. A fun fact is that all four providers went to USD Med School together so they certainly had put their time in and were ready for the next phase of their lives! As most of you know, Dr.Likness is my father and has been a part of our STRIVE 2 Survive team since inception of the 12 week program. Thankfully he has agreed to continue that role into retirement, joining us for his talk of the program each session. We are glad he will still be able to be a part of the program as his talk is truly a key piece of the wellness puzzle we strive to put together to achieve optimal wellness!
On Thursday, January 24th, we will be celebrating Dr.Likness at the Event Center from 5-7pm. Please join us for a time of fellowship, story telling, and of course gratitude for his years of service to this community!
Brown Clinic has been in my blood since day one! My parents moved to Watertown in the early 1980s after my dad finished up his residency at USD’s School of Medicine-Family Medicine Residency program in Sioux Falls. My dad is from Webster and my mom is from Madison, so Watertown was the perfect fit for them…in between both towns and parents! They moved here with my two brothers and I came along in 1984. We have many great memories of my dad’s career–fun trips for medical meetings (of course we thought they were fun…they were probably more work for dad than anything!), wheelchair races at the Main Clinic every Sunday afternoon when dad was here working on his paper charts, rounds at the hospital or nursing home with him, and the list can go on and on. We couldn’t (still can’t) go on a vacation or really anywhere for that matter without someone knowing him and always wanting to visit, he was always ready to lend a helping hand (still is!), and really instilled in us kids the value of hard work and the importance of caring and compassion for others. Most supper table talks were consumed about medicine and science and the real obvious way he made an impact into us kids is that all three of us choose to go into medicine–my two older brothers as physicians and myself as a dietitian. Medicine and helping others be well is our passion and blood.
Left to Right: Kelsey (Dietitian at Brown Clinic), Micah (ENT in Yankton), Dad aka Dr.Likness, Lincoln, (Sports and Spine Physician at Hudson Physicians, WI).
My dad didn’t always have a lot of time for us kids or our activities…but we always knew why….he was helping someone else who needed it more than us at that time….and we were ok with that. We are excited for this next chapter of his life-retirement, as he gets to put himself and his family first and truly be able to take the time to enjoy life’s greatest blessings and make the most of all activities and happenings in life. He’s three weeks in and already enjoying not spending his evenings charting and enjoying less stress in his life. He’s a man that likes to be busy, so I am sure he’ll relax and enjoy but eventually get back to some of his neglected hobbies and enjoy getting to the grandkid’s activities and other happenings in our community.
He made an impact in our community–touching the young and old (I’m pretty sure he delivered over half the kids in my class and I graduated with 325–that’s a lot of babies in a year!). If he made an impact in you or a loved one’s life, please join us Thursday. We would love to see you and hear your story! We are grateful for our great community and a great place to work all of these 37++ years for my dad and most of all, I am grateful for the last 9+ years that I got to work with him! He is a great teacher and educator and I am sure that won’t stop in retirement!
See you Thursday at the Event Center from 5-7pm!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Jan 16, 2019 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food
Winter is a great time to enjoy tasty soups and hot dishes. If you are watching your waist line, it’s important to be careful of how much you consume of these foods as they can be high in calories, fat, and carbs… depending on how you prepare them. Broth based soups and stews are lower in calories and fat than cream based. In addition, if you’re making a hot dish, you may consider cutting calories by choosing fat free soups to add to your dish, such as fat free cream of chicken or mushroom soup. They also have low sodium varieties of these so if you’re watching your blood pressure or sodium intake, you may consider using this variety. And, as always, be sure to incorporate your lean proteins and plenty of fruits and veggies to your meal. You may consider doubling the veggies in your soups to make them a bit heartier and healthy. A few of my favorite cold weather soups are beef stew that has carrots, peas, potatoes, onion, and roast meat, bean and ham soup (plenty of protein and fiber!), and chicken noodle soup that also has plenty of veggies with white meat chicken. Try out batch cooking with these hearty meals–make a big batch and portion out into smaller containers and freeze. Take one out at a time to enjoy a healthy, hearty meal without all the prep time!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Jan 9, 2019 | Diet, Food, Goals, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Many of you are working on your New Year’s goals and that may include improving your nutrition, activity, health, and wellness. Keeping track of your intake is an excellent tool to help you with increased awareness of your intake (what exactly are you eating and how much) and help with accountability (you may think twice about the choice or amount when you have to write it down!!).
Most of my successful patients do keep a food log at some point in their weight loss journey…thus it is at the top of my list of tools to help you improve your intake! You can write it out long hand in a notebook or journal or if you have a smart phone or use the internet you can use online trackers. These are very nice because they add up all of the calories and nutrition facts for you…you just need to select the closest match to what you are eating and the appropriate serving size!
Below are a few of my favorite sites. MyFitnessPal is the number one that I recommend….they have a huge database of foods and it’s pretty easy to use. If you need help with getting started, please contact me! I would be happy to set up an individualized nutrition plan for you to help you meet your goals!
•www.myfitnesspal.com
•www.sparkpeople.com
•www.livestrong.com
•www.loseit.com
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, , LN
605-884-4426
strive2survive@brownclinic.org
by kelsey | Jan 8, 2019 | Diet, Exercise, Goals, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
With the New Year and focus on wellness, we’ve had some questions and interest in our next session of STRIVE 2 Survive so we thought it was timely to let you all know our next session starts March 12th!! For those wanting to learn more about our 12 week wellness program, check out the details below and contact us today to get your spot reserved for the spring session! If you want to work on your New Year’s wellness goals now, I would be happy to see you individually in the clinic and work out an individualized plan for you! Insurance does cover this visit in the primary care setting. To set up an appointment, you can call 886-8482 and select scheduling or email me at strive2survive@brownclinic.org.
STRIVE 2 Survive:
Over 20 years ago Dr. Dan Reiffenberger wrote a grant for the American College of Sports Medicine about the development of a fitness program entitled STRIVE to Survive. The STRIVE represents “Securing Time for Regular Involvement in a Variety of Exercise”. Since that time, it has become our Brown Clinic Wellness Program, with modifications and improvements along the way. It is a 12 week program incorporating exercise and nutrition, with the goal of continuing these types of habits for a lifetime. Our dietitian Kelsey Raml has helped incorporate the nutrition component and Dr. Clark Likness, Dr. Jon McAreavey, and Deidra Van Gilder, PharmD are also involved creating a multi-disciplinary approach to health and wellness.
We the 12 week program periodically throughout the year. During the 12 weeks, we meet every other Tuesday at the Park and Rec Fieldhouse from 5:30-6:30pm. During the weeks we don’t meet, each participant gets a take home lesson focused on our two main components: diet and exercise. The meetings are held in a group atmosphere, but we can also work with you individually in the clinic if desired.
12 Weeks to a Better You!
Brown’s Diet and Exercise Wellness Program.
Who:
– The Strive2Survive Wellness Program is open to everyone, young and old.
– Conducted by Dr. Dan Reiffenberger, Board Certified in both Family Medicine and Sports Medicine and Registered Dietitian Kelsey Raml.
What:
– Lose Weight- Gain Strength – Maintain Fitness- Improve Diet.
– Evaluations: lab work- lipid and glucose, body composition testing-weight, height, BMI, body fat mass and percent, muscle mass…all pre and post the 12 week program.
– Free T-shirt
– 6 class lectures and 6 take home lessons.
Where:
– Park & Rec Fieldhouse
When:
March 12: “Healthy Eating Made Easy” Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
March 26: “Exercise for the Health of It” Dr. Dan Reiffenberger & Dr. Eric Woolley
April 9: “Your Equation to Success” Dr. Jon McAreavey
April 23: “A Walk thru the Wellness Wheel” Dr. Clark Likness
May 7: “Medications…to do or not to do” Deidra VanGilder, PharmD
May 21: “Making Health a Way of Life” STRIVE Team
Cost:
– $130
Call, e-mail or use the contact form for more information.
Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
605-884-4226
strive2survive@brownclinic.org
by kelsey | Dec 20, 2018 | Diet, Food, Holidays, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Healthy Holidays! Wait that doesn’t sound right, does it? We all know that it’s hard to stay healthy during the holidays that fill the fall & winter months. Halloween sugar followed by carb and calorie dense Thanksgiving, then non-stop Christmas gatherings with family, friends, & festive foods. Here are some tips to help you through the festivities.
* Don’t skip meals: continue to have a balanced schedule, even though you want to save your appetite for the BIG meal, still eat a small breakfast or lunch that is rich in protein, low fat, and full of fiber.
* Reduce butter & other fats: fats add extra calories, so reducing them will help to reduce amount of calories in the holiday meal.
* Focus on Mindful Eating vs Mindless Eating: eat because you’re hungry, not because everyone else is—think about your hunger and fullness, try new foods being served, but enjoy what you are eating.
* Go for nutrient dense foods: sweet potatoes vs. regular potatoes, veggie tray vs. cheese/cracker tray, fruit vs. cookie/pies.
* Take a walk with the family or do an activity together between the meal and dessert.
*Most of all- enjoy your time with your loved ones! Merry Christmas!
-Kelsey
