by kelsey | May 17, 2012 | Etc., Exercise, Wellness/Health
As most of you know Dr. Dan and his wife, Dr. Sarah are exercise fanatics! They truly take their health seriously and make an effort to practice what they preach to their patients daily. Our STRIVE Team often times jokes about how we may not feel like we have the time or energy to exercise, but then Dr. Dan pops into our head and we hear his saying from our first STRIVE lecture: “get out of bed, get out the door, and get moving!” ….and then we think about how busy he is and that he finds time to exercise daily, and suddenly our little time management issue and lack of energy aren’t so big of a deal anymore! Dr. Dan is truly an inspiration to us and we thank him for helping get all of us excited about exercise. Even if you aren’t able to run or bike 20 miles like he does, he inspires us to get moving and do something we enjoy! Dr. Dan will be running the Fargo Marathon this weekend and Dr. Sarah will be running the half marathon. Our STRIVE Team wants to wish both of them GOOD LUCK and thank them for being an inspiration to us. We also want to wish the other Watertown area runners good luck this weekend!
-Kelsey
by Dan | May 13, 2012 | Exercise, Family, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there. I hope you have a great day. It is a day you have earned, and deserve. We all appreciate everything you do, even if you are not always told. I spent the last few days in SF telling my mom this, now it is time to spend the day telling Sarah this as well. I made her breakfast in bed, gave her some gifts, and then we went for a 4 mile walk. Later this afternoon we are going to spend time outside getting some things done. It just goes to show, you can spend time together, and be active.
Here Sarah is with the kids taking a break for a picture while we were climbing Harney Peak a few years ago. You have to stay in shape just to keep up with your kids. What better way to get your point across than to lead by example. Don’t just say “you have to exercise”. Do it with them. We all had a good time on this trip. Of course, you can always make it a little more competitive, and create more fun at the same time. Here Sarah shows them just how tough she can be.
Remember, lead by example. Nothing says it better than that. Happy Mothers day Sarah, and to all you moms out there. I hope your day is wonderful. You deserve it! Stay active everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1690
by Dan | May 10, 2012 | Family, Motivation, Wellness/Health
The Annual Avera Race Against Breast Cancer is this coming saturday, in celebration of all those women who are survivors of breast cancer. The Reiffenbergers will be out in full force running on a team for my sister-in-law Joni. We are the Pink Panthers! It is a great way to start off mothers day weekend. We all know someone with breast cancer…either our mother, sister, spouse, friend, relative of some sort. Go out and help raise money and awareness for this. We are all affected by it in some way. It is a great way to go out and exercise for the day as well. Hope to see you there. Keep moving!
Also, Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad! 57 years of marriage! Love ya!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1687
by kelsey | May 10, 2012 | Diet, Etc., Food, Heart Health, Wellness/Health
Today I had the honor of being part of the Senior Issues Forum at the Codington County Extension Complex. It was a nice event with a good showing! During our open panel discussion, the topic of blood pressure and sodium came up frequently. Deb Sundem, Extention Specialist had a booth displaying various portions of salt and the amount of sodium in them. We recommend limiting your sodium intake to 1500-2400 mg/day. If you have high blood pressure and/or heart disease or are at risk for these diseases, it’s recommended to stay under 1500 mg to reduce risk for complications. This is very hard to do because salt is in everything! I included a picture of fried foods as processed foods and foods eaten out are typically highest in sodium. 1500 mg of sodium is less than 1 tsp of salt. Most Americans are getting anywhere from 3000-5000 mg/day!
It’s very important to choose low sodium options when you can and to try to use a salt substitute or herbs and spices over the regular salt when cooking. I was also asked about sea salt as some think it’s a better choice. Sea salt is processed differently which results in a more vibrant taste which makes some people use less. It does have a little less sodium than our regular iodized salt, however salt is salt! It’s best to use the salt substitute and/or herbs and spices as the sodium can really add up in a day!
In addition, a higher intake (5-9 servings) of fruits and vegetables has shown to improve hypertension and heart disease. Be sure to get plenty of these in your daily intake!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | May 9, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Last night’s Relish Cooking Show was a great event and well attended! There were many great vendors and the chef presented his cooking demonstration in a way that was applicable to every day life in the fast lane. For those who didn’t attend, I believe you will be able to watch the show online at www.relish.com. Cooking can sometimes be very overwhelming as it takes planning and time, but once you get the hang of things, it will not only save you money from going out to eat, but it can also be healthier for you! Now the recipes he made last night were not all the healthiest, but he did show us that you can make meals in a timely fashion by reusing ingredients and parts of the meals for other courses at another time. Since the first of the year, I have tried making an effort to plan our meals better. It wasn’t really a resolution, just mainly a wellness goal of mine. It’s easy to get into the habit of not planning and then grabbing something quick or making boxed meals. Now, it’s fine to do that every once in awhile, but the processing isn’t good for us and can make us feel sluggish as we aren’t fueling our bodies with healthy foods.
Everyone’s busy and frankly the busy-ness isn’t ever going to change as that’s the way our society is, so we need to adapt and do better with what we have control of. Here are some tips that have helped me be more organized and enjoy healthy meals during the busy work week. I hope they help you too!
- On a day that you have a little more (example- Sunday) make a plan for your week’s meals. Plan out at least 3-5 days. Ask your family for input on what they would like to help reduce the stress of you having to plan everything out yourself. Since I don’t have any kids to help me with this, I love looking through my cookbooks and finding new recipes and/or meals we haven’t had in awhile to keep variety in our intake.
- Think about how you can re-use items for several meals. An example of this is what we call batch cooking and what Chef Christopher showed last night. Brown up some extra hamburger or slow cook several chicken breasts in a crockpot or oven and pre-portion into a few small containers to use in various meals. Last week I used hamburger in 3 meals: hamburger pizza, spaghetti, and tacos, but I only browned the hamburger once, thus saving me a lot of time.
- Check your cupboards, fridge, and freezer to make sure you have adequate groceries for these meals. If you don’t, you may need to make a trip to the grocery store.
- Ask your family for help! If you have kids old enough to help in the kitchen assign each of them a night to help out.
- Think about MyPlate and make sure you have adequate produce to make a healthy plate with the food groups. Remember half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, a quarter lean meat, and a quarter whole grains. If you’re always short on veggies (which most of us are), I highly recommend the frozen steamer bags as they are super easy and convenient.
Cooking at home doesn’t have to be stressful…with a little planning and pre-preparation, you’ll find that eating at home is truly enjoyable and much healthier than that greasy burger and fries from the drive thru.
The picture I have included is of our very own STRIVE 2 Survive contributor, Dr. Jon McAreavey showing off his knife and cooking skills at the Relish show last night.
-Kelsey
by Dan | May 9, 2012 | Exercise, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Life is a path that continues to keep going, always bringing us different adventures, both good and bad. Friends are there forever. As I am getting ready to do the Fargo marathon in the next 10 days, a big concern of mine has been with a training partner, a Friend. He has been having some health issues, and until they get under control, can be serious. This is the time to reflect back and remember that we all have goals, we all want to be healthy, but we have to remember to be smart and do what is safe. This is not always the answer we may want to hear. My friend has put in a lot of work getting ready for this marathon, and now can’t do it. I want to run it with him, but not at the potential expense of his health. Life is too short already. We want to be active, enjoy life, present ourselves with challenges, but we need to be safe.
We need to look beyond the now, and into the future. There will be another day, another marathon, another challenge. So training partner, FRIEND, I will get ready with you on another one in the future, and help you accomplish your goal. I want you to take care of yourself first and foremost. There will be another race, and I will help you get it done. Be safe! I will still be running with you in my head on May 19 in Fargo.
Keep moving everybody. Be safe!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1686
