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!
MyFitnessPal is the number one that I recommend….they have a huge database of foods and it’s pretty easy to use. LoseIt is another free app. Noom is a great site that encourages mindful eating along with tracking, but it does require payment 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! -Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, , LN 605-884-4426 strive2survive@brownclinic.org
Are you at a breaking point yet? Are you ready to lose it? Here we are half way through January, and how many of us have kept up with our plans for the new year yet? COVID has changed nothing yet, and now the stress is coming in relation to the vaccine. Who is going to get it? Who is going to get it first? Who ranks higher than somebody else? Why were they called before me? On and on it goes!
This is how it feels to me some days. How about you? Some days you just feel like you can’t do anything right, or make anybody happy. We all have days like that. We need to figure out how to deal with them. I used to go into my office and not come out until I counted to 1 million. I never got anything done then! We need to figure out what it will take for each of us to learn how to relax, and cope with stress.
All of these listed help! Prioritize them. The last one talking about making a list…exactly! Write it down! Follow it! Check if off when you are done so you realize you are actually accomplishing something. Each of us has different things that we like that is relaxing to us. Fishing, hunting, walking, sight seeing, taking pictures…whatever works for us. I love going out and taking scenery pictures. My mind is only focused on that for that time away.
No matter how many times I go out to take pictures, I see something different. Or I think I have seen it, but am seeing it differently now. No two days have been the same. Escape! Make something of it that makes it mean something to you!
Spend time with your kids, or grandkids, or pets. They always want attention. That is what has made COVID so tough to deal with is because of the social distancing. As humans, we want that social interaction. We need that social interaction. Believe me, our pets need it too. We all need to care!
Exercise! Blow off some steam. Work out your frustrations, and improve your health at the same time! The different exercises can be as creative as you want them to be.
Time to show people how tough you are! Have that mentality of “Don’t mess with me!” Laugh while you are at it. Enjoy life. It has been miserable enough this past year, so don’t make it more miserable then it has to be. It is going to take work, but it will be well worth it!. You don’t want to waste the days you have. You do have to look at things differently, and may have to be more creative, but there are things to do. Just do them!
Figure out when and where your stress free zone is at, and then go there frequently! Make it your escape place. Make it individual to you. What do you want? What do you want to accomplish? Where do you see yourself in the future, and how are you going to get there? Be creative. Imagine. Dream. Find your stress free zone frequently! And…keep moving everybody!
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 as creamy soups 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
This picture still always cracks me up! It was a few years ago, and still in the Summer, and we were posing on the bridge by what is now North Shore, and Jill thought we were supposed to kick our leg up on the railing for the picture, but apparently she was the only one that heard her say that! Only Jill! A true example of just living life as it comes! Laugh, run, be with friends…and just be you! Of course there are many other times many of us in run club got a little goofy!
I think Jill brought the oranges, and I think it may have been her who came up with the idea of taking a picture of us like this too. Live each day like no one is watching!
We need to pay attention to those things around us as well. Many of these things, or scenes, we have seen many times, yet we never really paid any attention to them. On the weekend, or when I am driving to work, I am now paying attention to the scenery as well, and if the sky looks really neat, I pull over to take some pictures, or I just park out at the lake and watch and see what develops.
On the second picture the small bright dot is not the moon, but the sun trying to break through the clouds. We have had quite a few cloudy days this week, so it has been a little tough to get some good pictures. We just have to relax, and when we have the time, take advantage of it, and watch things develop. I was doing things at home yesterday, and it all of a sudden got bright out, and I looked out the window, and could this changing. Jackson Park is a mile from my house, so I took off, and had a good 30 minutes of taking some really cool pictures, and just watching it patiently develop.
I have said many times we could learn a lot from a dog. Dakota is no exception. When she plays, it is all out. When she relaxes, she is completely into it, and drops where she is at, and takes a nap. Now if it could always be this easy, and convenient!
She is always at your side, and ready to cheer you up, and just be with you! A true, loyal friend! Never any grudges. Each day is a new day for new adventures. Any time we are ready to go for a walk or a run, she is just tearing around the house like life cannot possible get any better. If we could all get this excited, and just be like this when it came to exercising! She is always ready to go no matter the weather, or time of day, or evening. Let’s go!
Enjoy your day like you enjoy your first cup of coffee each day! Be positive. Smile! Each day is a new adventure, and we do not know what is in store for us when it starts!
This was our Run Club picture from last Sunday. We are always ready to go, and spend time with people we know, and do something we all like to do. You can enjoy your life where you are, with what you already have, and especially, with friends you already have. This is what living here in Watertown is all about. Small community, with big hearts, and great friends! So remember…
Get ready for what life holds for us each day. Try to block out and forget everything in regards to the pandemic, and politics, and who is doing what. Enjoy the time, and enjoy the people, and enjoy where we live, and it will be easy to remember to enjoy each day like no one is watching! Keep moving everybody!
We now are in 2021! Time to forget 2020! What goals do you have this year? Are they truly achievable? What did you learn from this year that may actually be a positive going forward? What didn’t work out, and did you make changes to prevent that from reoccurring? Many questions, and hopefully many answers to follow.
There are many goals that we can keep in mind with our health. Those are listed above. But, overall, here are my goals for 2021!
I want to be able to go to work everyday and not have to wear a mask! The N95’s are very tight and uncomfortable. We have been doing this now for 10 months. We will see when this one will end, but it will take a while yet in 2021. It will be a true celebration when they can be gone for good!
I want to run another marathon! More specific, I want to run a marathon with my daughter. Megan decided she was going to run the Fargo Marathon, which normally is in May, and now got moved to September of 2021. I have been given the ok health wise to do this. If it is really hot that day, I may still have to wait. My kidneys are still the problem!
Megan and I ran the Disney World Half Marathon a few years ago. Sarah and Molly ran together. I have always wanted to run a marathon with my kids, and this will be the first. I will have to see how this one goes to decide if I can do anymore.
Sarah is also going to run with us. But, I think her main reason to run is she is going to be keeping an eye on me! We ran the Twin Cities one together a few years ago, so another reason to look forward to this one!
3. I/We need to start doing some more meal planning. Work has been crazy since this pandemic started, and we have not always had the greatest choices. By the time I get home, I am starving and ready to eat whatever I can get my hands on. But, and this is a big but, I have to help! I was talking to Sarah and we are starting to come up with a plan where we need to think ahead for the week of what we want to have each day. Even I have to admit now that chips are not one of the main food groups!
We already have these, so now we just need to start planning on using them!
4. If this pandemic has taught me anything, it is that in the evening I need to take a little time to unwind from the day. I spend 20-30 minutes before going to bed reading. It takes my mind off of the day, and lets me escape for awhile. I need to keep this going. I have so many books that I have not even read yet, it won’t be difficult to keep picking one!
I am currently reading this one!
5. I want to continue to appreciate things that have always been there, but I just never paid much attention to it. The pandemic has brought this out as well, but being sick and having my health in some major jeopardy really started it off. I love taking the sunset and sunrise pictures, and especially pictures of different cloud formations. It is a great way to escape, and it has always been there, I just never paid attention to it before. Every week brings different things to look at. When I look back on all of these, and the beauty in them all, there truly has to be a God!
6. I don’t want to forget about those closest to me. Right now, every day, that is Sarah and Dakota. Sarah has been by my side now for over 30 years, and Dakota never wants to be left out of anything. This dog never gets tired of giving hugs and affection, no matter the time of day.
With Sarah, I have a workout partner all of the time, especially when we go out to the garage and workout in the Reiflex Center! It is always easier to have somebody else push you too!
These are some of my goals for 2021! What are yours? Make you goals whatever you want them to be, but just have some. Achieving your goals is the beginning of true success!
Follow your path to success, and have a great 2021 coming! Each year is a new adventure. Take it for what it is. We do have a lot of say in how the year goes. We may not always have a direct say of things that go on, like a pandemic, but we are always in charge of our attitude. Make the best out of every situation. And remember, keep on moving everybody!
Who is ready to take on a New Year? Are you tired of 2020 and everything we have had to put up with this year? It can only get better, right? Time to flex those muscles, and get ready to take on a New Year! We can figure out ways to stay more active, especially when we have been confined at home quite a bit of this year. With what we have had for the weather this year, take advantage of it and get outside.
Sarah, Megan, and Hannah were out walking with the dogs with the sun setting while I was out taking pictures. We had eaten all day, and it was a great way to get out and burn off some of those calories, and enjoy the weather. While I took a picture of them, some of the next ones were scenes I was taking pictures of at the Lake as well.
Going out and checking the scenery is a great way to relax and unwind. The views lately have been incredible. There are no two days alike. Each time I think I have seen it all, the next day brings about even more views. It is never a dull moment. Of course, Sarah and I keep working out in our garage as well…in the Reiflex Center!
Then with Christmas, my kids were together for a short time. It may have been short, but it was much needed time. Other than eating, we kept our distance, and could at least talk in person. Everybody at least was healthy so we could meet. Then it was off to go do our own things again! We played some games, opened presents, and called it a night.
It was a different Christmas in that I did not get together with all of our brothers and sisters, and our parents, but we hope to make up for lost time soon. 2021 has to be better, right? Keep staying focused. Keep staying positive. Keep looking ahead. Christmas is always a time to look forward to the positives in life.
Our new ornament for the tree kind of sums it all up for the year. We get a new ornament for the tree every year.
Here is to 2021 coming! Make the most of out everyday. Look at the positives in things, and ignore the negatives. Keep moving everybody!
