by kelsey | Nov 21, 2017 | Cooking Tips, Diabetes, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Happy Thanksgiving to you! The Thanksgiving holiday is always a fun one enjoyed by all as we stuff ourselves and then resort to the couch to watch football or the start of the holiday tv shows. Here are some tips for you to get through the holiday without putting on all those undesired extra pounds.
- Survey the entire table before you take any food. Decide what foods are worth eating and what can be ignored, and then stick to that decision. Why waste calories on foods that don’t bring you pleasure?
- Eat a snack before you leave home. If you arrive at a party starving, you’ll be more likely to overindulge.
- Eat your calories instead of drinking them. Stick to lower calorie or calorie-free drinks (diet sodas, water, light beer, or wine spritzer) instead of punches, eggnogs, and mixed drinks that can have up to 500 calories per cup.
- Sip a large glass of water between every alcoholic drink or non-alcoholic punch or eggnog. This will help keep you hydrated and you’ll drink fewer calories by the end of the night.
- When you are the host or hostess, include nutritious and lower-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats on the menu. When you are a guest, bring along a lower-calorie dish to share.
- Try not to hang out near the food. Find a comfortable spot across the room and focus on people instead of eating.
- Watch your portion sizes. Don’t cover your plate completely with food. In most cases, especially when it comes to holiday sweets and alcoholic beverages, less is better. Use a smaller plate or bowl and have just a sliver of pie like the picture shows.
- Drop out of the “clean plate club”. Leave a few bites behind every time you eat, especially if you are eating something you don’t really care for.
- Enjoy your favorite holiday treats but take a small portion, eat slowly, and savor the taste and texture of the wonderful foods of the season.
- Skip the pie crust and go for the filling.
- Choose light meat over dark meat.
- Use home-made cranberry sauce over canned cranberries that are jam packed with added sugars.
- In soups, sauces, puddings, and desserts: Replace whole milk or cream with low-fat milk, evaporated fat-free milk, or nonfat dry milk.
Lighten up your recipes:
- To make dips and toppings: Use low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese or sour cream, or non-fat Greek yogurt.
- To make salad dressings: Use nonfat Greek yogurt or low-fat buttermilk.
- In place of 1 whole egg in recipes: Use 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute.
- In place of regular cheese: Use fat-free or reduced-fat cheese.
- In place of full sugar: replace half with Splenda or reduce half completely.
- In place of fats: use unsweetened applesauce or oil (1-1 replacement), or prune puree (1 cup of fat=1/2 cup puree).
More importantly is ENJOY your family and friends and all that have to the THANKful for!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 16, 2017 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Holidays, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
I always overeat at holiday functions. Can you give me some tips to help keep me on track?
There are many ways to keep your calorie intake under control during the festivities. Try these tips and see which ones work for you:
• Survey the entire table before you take any food. Decide what foods are worth eating and what can be ignored, and then stick to that decision. Why waste calories on foods that don’t bring you pleasure?
• Eat a snack before you leave home. If you arrive at a party starving, you’ll be more likely to overindulge.
• Eat your calories instead of drinking them. Stick to lower calorie or calorie-free drinks (diet sodas, water, light beer, or wine spritzer) instead of punches, eggnogs, and mixed drinks that can have up to 500 calories per cup.
• Sip a large glass of water between every alcoholic drink or non-alcoholic punch or eggnog. This will help keep you hydrated and you’ll drink fewer calories by the end of the night.
• When you are the host or hostess, include nutritious and lower-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats on the menu. When you are a guest, bring along a lower-calorie dish to share.
• Try not to hang out near the food. Find a comfortable spot across the room and focus on people instead of eating.
• Watch your portion sizes. Don’t cover your plate completely with food. In most cases, especially when it comes to holiday sweets and alcoholic beverages, less is better. Use a smaller plate or bowl.
• Drop out of the “clean plate club”. Leave a few bites behind every time you eat, especially if you are eating something you don’t really care for.
• Enjoy your favorite holiday treats but take a small portion, eat slowly, and savor the taste and texture of the wonderful foods of the season.
• Skip the pie crust and go for the filling.
• Choose light meat over dark meat.
• Use home-made cranberry sauce over canned cranberries that are jam packed with added sugars.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 15, 2017 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Holidays, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Holiday time is quickly approaching and this is not normally the best time to adhere to a strict diet. The typical meals with turkey, dressing, rolls, potatoes with butter and whipped cream pie can contain a whopping 2,200 calories or more. For most of us, that is our typical daily caloric intake. If you are concerned about your weight, try some smart choices and substitutions to curb that caloric excess without the sacrificing the fulfillment of Christmas dinners with some dessert too. Here are some smart choices during the holiday season:
Choose white meat. A 6-ounce portion (about the size of a deck of cards or size of your palm) of white meat turkey without skin has 230 calories, while a mixed portion of white and dark meat with skin has about 345 calories.
Limit rolls and butter. An average roll has 80-85 calories but when you add the butter that number jumps to 120 calories instead.
Eat steamed rather than buttered vegetables. Buttered vegetables have about twice as many calories per cup as steamed vegetables. Even cutting back on the amount of butter you use on vegetables can be significant. Remember that every tablespoon of butter adds about 100 calories to a dish. Lemon juice or low-fat salad dressings are alternative ways to top vegetables if you’re craving a sauce.
Avoid eggnog. A cup of eggnog at 340 calories is a calorically dense aperitif. Try a glass of white wine or champagne (about 160 calories) instead and save calorie consumption for the main meal.
If you’re having appetizers, offer vegetables with low-fat dip instead of cheeses and crackers. With the rich meal to follow, you won’t feel deprived.
If you’re preparing the stuffing, omit some of the fat. A rich, buttery stuffing with sausage can top out at 500 calories per cup. Some suggestions for fat reduction include omitting sausage or meats and replacing that butter or oil with low-fat products. A cup of low-fat stuffing contains only 125 calories, well below that 500 calorie range.
Finally, enjoy that pumpkin pie. A piece of pumpkin pie has about 175 calories compared to a slice of pecan pie, which has 495 calories.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 2, 2017 | Diabetes, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
There’s a lot of buzz about carbohydrates….are they good? Are they bad? How much should you have? , etc etc etc. In celebration of National Diabetes Month, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the main (and best) source of energy for your brain and central nervous system. Carbohydrates are essential for energy; however they raise your blood sugar levels higher and faster than any other kind of food. Carbohydrates are essential for your body to be able to sustain energy, so just like a car needs the right type of fuel (gas) to run, you need the right kind of fuel (food) to function and be healthy. To sustain energy, your body needs adequate carbohydrates: 50% of your total calories should come from carbohydrates. Cutting out all carbs can be very detrimental to our body, especially our brain, central nervous system, liver, kidneys, and heart. Because they are an excellent source of energy, but they do raise blood sugars, it’s important to recognize the types of carbohydrates and how to count them in efforts of controlling your blood sugars while still maintaining good health and adequate energy..
Carbohydrates are found in the following:
Starches: found in grains, some vegetables, and beans.
- Grains: bread, pasta, cereal, tortillas, rice
- Starchy Vegetables: potatoes, peas, corn, yams, squash
- Beans: kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, and lentils
- **The best and recommended sources of starches are whole grains…choose them over the white, refined grains!
Sugars: found naturally in foods or added to foods.
- Natural Sugars: fruits, fruit juices, dairy products, honey, and molasses.
- Added Sugars: desserts, processed foods, candy, regular soda, and fruit drinks.
- **Natural sugars are better than added sugars, but large quantities of them can still raise your blood sugars…we recommend getting at 2-3 fruits and 3 servings of veggies/day. Anytime you can limit or eliminate the added sugars, do so!
To aid in ideal blood sugar control, we recommend a moderate intake of carbohydrates which means about 45-60g/meal and 15-30g/snack with several small meals and snacks throughout the day. I visit with patients daily about finding the right balance in their intake. If you would like help managing your blood sugars, to learn more about diabetes self care, or a personalized nutrition plan, be sure to contact me for further help!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 1, 2017 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health, Winter
As the weather starts getting colder and dryer, I thought it was perfect timing to discuss nutrition for skin health! Winter will be here before we know it and the winter months make it hard on our skin as the air is dry and cold! The beauty industry has a variety of products to help promote healthy and glowing skin, however diet is also an important factor. Research on the best foods for healthy skin is limited, but what we do know is that antioxidant rich foods are effective in promoting healthy and glowing skin. Antioxidants are substances that protect our cells against free radical damage. Free radicals are molecules made when our body breaks down food or by environmental exposures such as tobacco use or radiation. They damage the cells and may play a role in diseases such as heart disease and cancer. A colorful diet is most effective for skin health and each color offers specific vitamins and minerals such as: beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. A diet rich in the following foods will help you get beautiful and healthy skin you’re wanting!
- Red, Orange, & Yellow Produce: carrots, tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, apricots, etc
- Green Leafy Vegetables: spinach, romaine lettuce, broccoli, etc
- Blue & Purple Produce: blueberries, raspberries, eggplant, etc
- Lean Proteins: beans, lentils, nuts
- Fatty Fish: salmon, mackerel, sea bass
It’s also important to be mindful of foods that can cause greasy and oily skin such as high sugar and high fat foods: pastries, cookies, fried foods, etc. These foods should be avoided or limited and instead focus on a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, low fat dairy, and whole grains. In addition to diet, eliminating tobacco abuse and using sunscreen are effective in promoting healthy skin. These recommendations are not only going to benefit your skin, but also your overall health. Color and variety in your diet will help you look stunning always!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Oct 29, 2017 | Diet, Exercise, Food, Goals, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
The weather is beginning to change outside, but that does not mean you can’t still get out for some adventures. Halloween is coming up, and a great time for kids, and grandkids, as well as adults, to get dressed up and get creative…and also enjoy some sweets. If you make up for some of it by walking, running, biking, or other activity, then it is easier to enjoy the “sweet”. Many from our run club joined in on the fun at the Wellness Centers Halloween 5k run/walk. The majority of them dressed up as a unicorn, and they were known at the “unicorn herd”.
I think Jill Makepeace was the brains behind the group theme this year. It started out kind of cold earlier on Saturday morning, so you still had to dress well for it.
The McElroy family went as the Wizard of Oz theme, and Jenn and Owen each ran with one of their daughters. Talk about a great way to get your kids involved with running, and just being active in general! Great role models!
Steve Arbogast went as “Jawsome”. What a hilarious costume! Very well done Steve! Way to be creative.
Like I said, when you do the extra activity, then you get to partake in some of the other fun activities…eating candy…especially peanut M & M’s. My weakness! It is ok once in awhile to treat yourself, and enjoy life. Just make up for it in other ways. If you don’t do the activity, or watch your portions in other ways, then all this will accomplish is helping you gain weight. Does it take work? Absolutely! Can it be done? Absolutely! It takes some planning, creative ways of thinking, and making a little bit more effort to accomplish, but overall those extra rewards in life are what make life fun! Enjoy once in a while. I also celebrated my birthday earlier this week, and my nurse Chris made me one of her famous M & M cakes again!
It was excellent! I had to make some accommodations that day, and even that week, for what I planned on having for “extras”, but it was not that hard to do. Plan, make changes, learn to go with the flow, and keep working at it. Working on our diet and increasing our activity is a lifetime goal. One day here or there will not blow your whole plan…as long as you make those accommodations. Be diligent! Be honest with yourself, and still enjoy the pleasures in life! Just remember: Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3683
