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 Dan | Jan 7, 2012 | Exercise, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
I have never seen the golf course here, with the bike trail, like this in January. It has been great continuing to be able to use the bike trail yet this winter, and not having the snow. It makes it much easier to go outside and continue to stay active. How are the rest of you doing with your New Year’s resolutions to get more active, and to watch your diet? Well, it definitely makes things a little easier when the weather cooperates. This last week, with some of the days getting up in the 50’s, people have been out like crazy walking, biking, or running, and taking advantage of this weather. Appreciate it, and take advantage as long as we can.
Buddy was saying, “Enough of this taking picture stuff, we came out here to go walking. Get moving!”. You are right Buddy, but sometimes you have to sit back and enjoy the day as well. You all do the same. The next few days are going to be in the upper 40’s. Hope to see you outside! Keep working on those resolutions. Persistence is the key…
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1563
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
by Dan | Jan 1, 2012 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Once again, we have finished out another year, and ready to begin another. Hope 2012 will be good for you. New Year’s is also a time for people to set new resolutions. They are determined to do better with exercise and their diet. What it really boils down to more is a re-organization of our time. We need to reset our priorities. The time is there, but it may not always be the most convenient.
We often times just need to make adjustments to our daily schedule, making time for it. Adjustments on how we are going to make the time to accomplish our goals, without making them such a burden or chore that we can’t stay committed to them, often leading to more frustration, and even less attempt at trying to make a change or difference, are not always easy. Focus on things that have worked well for you before, and then continue to “fine tune” these even more. Make the time. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Good luck!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1557
by Dan | Dec 31, 2011 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Holidays, Motivation, Wellness/Health
The holidays are always a good time to sit back and reflect upon this past year. What went right? What went wrong? What do we need to change? What do we need to do to improve? This is particularly true when it comes to ourselves, our health, and trying to do better with doing more exercise, and watching our diets/food intake. Setting new goals, or adjusting old goals can be good, but instead of making ourselves commit to another goal, often times unrealistic, how about if we work on trying to improve upon what we have already done well. This is also a time to take advantage to learn from what we have not done well.
This was my daughter, Molly, and her response to what she thought of her christmas presents this year. This should actually be our response to what we have accomplished this year, and realize that we are not going to do everything right. What is more important out of all of this is to realize what we have done right and appreciate it, and to keep moving forward and learn from what we did wrong. We can all do a better job when it comes to our own health. We can all do better with exercise and diet. It is a continuous committment we must make, and we can do it, but it does take effort. Anything worth having in life does not come easy. So remember as we get ready to go forward to 2012–Stay active, spend time with family and friends, and continue to take care of ourselves. There are a lot of people out there that would miss you if you were gone. Have a happy upcoming New Year!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1556
by Dan | Dec 26, 2011 | Exercise, Family, Holidays, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
Hopefully you all had a great Christmas! The weater was great, and we got to spend some of the time outside enjoying the weather. We spent part of it in Huron seeing Grandma and Grandpa Folk. Then after we got done eating, it was so nice out we all went out for about a 2 mile walk. I don’t remember the last Christmas we went out as a family for a walk!
Here we are getting ready to go. Just waiting for Nick and Grandpa, who were out riding a 4 wheeler. Some kids never grow up! Hope everybody’s holidays were fun, and that you all got to spend time with your family. Enjoy! Stay active!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1551
