by Dan | Sep 11, 2016 | Exercise, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Sarah and I, along with quite a few of the Watertown Area Run Club members were in Sioux Falls this AM for the Half Marathon. It was a little windy, but the temperatures were very nice for running. I forgot what kind of hills there are in SF! It was a great morning for a run. Yesterday, they had an expo at the Arena where they would sell different things related to running. One of the booths had a truck where one side of it had the names of those doing the marathon, and the other side of those doing the marathon. We found our names pretty quickly!
I managed to take a picture of Sarah coming across the finish line. It got a little crowded at the finish. The medals were very nice this year as well.
Another adventure down! It was a nice run. It is always good to run with other people, and there was always somebody around you. If you have never tried, do it! Start with a mile walk/run, or a 5k. You might surprise yourself what you are capable of. We all have to start somewhere. Our bodies are usually not the limiting factor…it is our minds!
Remember, you cannot finish unless you start! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3271
by Dan | May 1, 2016 | Exercise, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, Wellness/Health
When it comes to staying healthy, and in particular, exercising, self doubt always comes into the picture. We doubt we can “keep doing this”, keep working at it, as fatigue sets in, or our busy everyday life takes over. But, we need to make it a priority. We need to be confident that we can keep going. Above all else, we need to accept ourselves!
This is Susan, one of my former nurses. We workout at Anytime Fitness multiple days a week in their Fun Fit program. We both stepped out of our comfort zones, and keep working at it. As her shirt says, “Absolutely Amazing”! Believe you can, and you are half way there. If we don’t have confidence in our own abilities, we won’t get very far in life. We need to step out of our comfort zone, explore new things, do new things. Be confident that we can!
We definitely need to be strong, but there are those times when we need to feel invincible. If we don’t believe in ourselves, then who will we believe? And the only true way to keep getting more confident, is to push ourselves. If we never try, we will never know what we can achieve or attain.
Here Susan is after one of our workouts. Some days the sweat can be pouring off of us. Again, as her shirt says, “Good things come to those who sweat”. I was giving her a hard time about her “fashion wear”. High multi color socks, state of the art boots (we had snow outside!), and here she is just exuding confidence! We had just done one intense workout, and we worked at it, and she could have cared less what anybody else would have thought…it just happen to be me right then (which made it even easier for her to not care! Ha!) Believe in ourselves, not what someone else may think! If we get too wrapped up in what everybody else might think, we may never get off of the couch. Who cares! You should care about you! You should care about all of the reasons why you are trying to stay in shape; why you are trying to stay healthy. You/we want to be around longer, enjoy life, and enjoy our friends and family more!
Susan is a great example of this! Tell me I can’t, and I will show you I can! How true Susan! Way to go! You also know that this does not come easy. It has been fun having you in this class. We give each other a hard time, but believe me, it helps get me fired up, and motivated to keep going. This goes for everybody. We should not have to do all of this ourselves. Sure, there may be times when we want to go for a walk, or a run, by ourselves. But other times, it is much more enjoyable to work out with somebody else. The times goes by faster, and you keep each other going. That is why Sarah is one of my best running partners as well. These are all times to burn off frustrations, and to prove to yourself what you are truly capable of doing. Confidence! Never underestimate its power.
Here is my daughter Megan diving in at one of her meets (she is second from the left). Straight as an arrow heading into the water. Confidence! For her, this picture shows determination, power, and above all else, no fear! She is confident in what she is doing! “Get out of my way, because nothing is going to hold me back!”
How much better can I say it than this? Believe you can, and you will! Believe you can, and you will show how you can! Believe in yourself, and you are half way there to achieving your goals! Just be sure to have some time for yourself as well…
…after all, you earned it! So, go run for yourself, or walk for yourself, or bike for yourself…exercise for yourself! You deserve it. You are worth it after all!
Keep moving everybody! For yourself! Be confident in your abilities!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3138
by kelsey | Apr 13, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diabetes, Diet, Food, Heart Health, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Last night’s STRIVE treats were extra tasty and healthy! Be sure to give these recipes a try!
Crisp Cucumber Salad
Ingredients:
2 c finely chopped, seeded, peeled cucumbers
1/4 c chopped red onion
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 c finely chopped and seeded tomato
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
4 1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1/4 c low fat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Baked or whole grain tortilla chips
Directions: In a small bowl, combine first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin, and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with whole grain chips or crackers.
Creamy Feta-Spinach Dip (pictured above)
8 oz fat free yogurt
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 oz reduced fat cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups finely chopped fresh spinach
1 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp pepper
Fresh veggies, pretzels, or sliced bread
- Line a strainer with a coffee filter; place over bowl. Place yogurt in prepared strainer; cover yogurt with coffee filter. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until yogurt has thickened to the consistency of whipped cream.
- Transfer yogurt to a food processor (discard liquid from bowl). Add the feta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and garlic; cover and process until smooth.
- Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in spinach, dill, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with vegetables or bread.
Enjoy!
by Dan | Mar 6, 2016 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Courage is the ability to do something that frightens us, and to have strength in the face of adversity, whatever that adversity may be. For many of us, exercise brings out fears in us, and excuses! “There is no way I can do that!”, or “my body is just not designed to do that”. Find the courage to move past our own mind! Here Sarah is riding her bike in the triathlon, or I should say, restarting the triathlon. She had gone about 2 miles and had a flat tire, and had to be taken back to start line, where she got her tire fixed. Because she got help, she got disqualified. She did not let that stop her though. She got on her bike, and took off, in last place, knowing that her time would not be given, but she had trained for this, and was going to finish it regardless. That was her personal goal…and she did it. To me, that took courage. She could have just quit, and sat there, and been even more unhappy because she did not get to do it. She overcame that set back, and took off anyway.
Steve had the courage to overcome issues with his heart…serious issues…but he did not let that stop him from wanting to participate in, and complete a marathon. We are crossing the finish line at the Disney marathon, his first, and after an 8 month struggle with issues with his heart. He found strength in the face of adversity, and found the ability to do something that would have frightened many others…he too had courage!
Tom had his own issues with his heart as well. My first marathon partner. But he was out joining me in a run on those long run days to help me get through, and achieve my goal of doing another marathon. He continues to run as well…having the courage to do this, when many others would have long quit. He is another example of you “live your life”, and do what you want to do, and enjoy life, and don’t let things hold you back, or allow you to come up with excuses that hold you back. Find that courage! It is in all of us…and even though it may be located deeper in some of us than others, it is there. So this is why I remind you…find the courage to overcome your fears, and do what we as individuals are capable of! Our minds are our biggest obstacles…our bodies are ready to go, if are mind convinces us that we are capable. And we are!
Find the courage to move past that fear! Whether you are a regular to exercise or not, we all need to be moving. A body in motion stays in motion!
Take those risks! Live life to the fullest. Another future blog post will cover the topic of “risk” as well.
Be who your are! Do what is right and important for you. Have the courage to do the things you enjoy, and push yourselves into those things that you think your are not capable of doing. If you do, you will have Success in Life!
Keep moving everybody…find the courage!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3082
by Dan | Feb 21, 2016 | Exercise, Family, Heart Health, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Persistence! That quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something, even though it is difficult or opposed by other people. For me, it shows in my consecutive exercise day streak. The hard part is convincing everybody else to get moving, and making an attempt also. The following quote by one of our former Presidents, Calvin Coolidge, hits it right on!
Persistence and Determination–what a combination! “Press on”, or as the ad for Nike states, “Just do it!”. Both have deep meaning and can solve a lot of our problems. Never give in—especially to our own minds! What it takes to be a success in life is Persistence!
How true this is! Simple, but true! Sarah and I went hiking out in Colorado, and the mountains can be a challenge. But, if you are persistent, you open the door to many more sites, and have a deeper appreciation for all of the things in life, especially the little things!
More important, I get to spend time with someone who is my world! How much more of a success in life can this be?
Next time that thought enters your head telling you that you can’t exercise, or come up with some other excuse to not do it, refuse to quit! It is much easier to step back and go at things at a slower pace then to quit altogether, only later to restart again, and face those struggles all over again as well. Exercise is one of my passions, and I believe in this with all of my heart. Hopefully, it is also doing my heart some good as well. But the ride along the way has been wonderful! Bottom line–Persistence! Believing in a cause, and being distracted by nothing! JUST KEEP GOING!
Keep moving everybody! Persistence is the Key!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day#: 3068
by Dan | Feb 14, 2016 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Desire: a strong feeling of wanting to crave something, or wishing for something to happen. Or maybe even just wishing for something to be better, or even appreciating what you already have!
It can mean a lot of different things for different people, but bottom line, we want something, or to hold on to something, more than anything else. We DESIRE it! We appreciate it! We work for it, or it is something worth working for! What is that desire for you? What is it you don’t have, but want? A relationship? A healthier life? A happier life? Are you willing to work for it? How bad do you want it?
I desire to spend time with my family, and my wife. It does not get any better when we have the same interests, and exercise is one of those interests. It brings us closer than many other things in our life. We have been able to travel and explore more things, and more places, because of it. Together! We have gotten to experience life more fully. In the process, we have become healthier, so that hopefully we will have even more time to spend together, and explore more things. A desire to spend time together, and be happy. Is that not the desire of everybody? To be happy in our lives? Are we willing to work for it, and work through many obstacles and challenges that come along the way?
If it is important to you, then it is important to work for. Nothing in life can be taken for granted. One day we have it, and another day we may not. Appreciate it all while you can!
Nobody ever said it would be easy. If it was easy, then you would not appreciate it when you do earn it, or work for it. There will always be “bumps” along the way, and challenges.
On this Valentines Day, appreciate even more those are close to you, and important to you. Especially with your spouse, or significant other. 2 hearts really can become one…one to share everything with, explore with, and work those challenges in life…TOGETHER! Just like 25 years ago, when Sarah and I were married…we new already then, as our wedding announcement shows…2 hearts were to become one! Forever and for always! Never lose that DESIRE in your life!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3061
