by kelsey | Jan 11, 2018 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health, Winter
Winter is a great time to enjoy tasty soups and hotdishes. If you are watching your waist line, it’s important to be careful of how much you consume of these foods as they 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
by kelsey | Jan 10, 2018 | Diet, Goals, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
There are no doubts about it….weight loss is tough….but even tougher is maintaining that weight loss. Every New Year, many re-focus on their weight or health goals. They do well in the beginning of the year and then slip back into their old ways and gain weight back later on. This yo-yo dieting or weight cycling results in a variety of issues including poor self esteem, lack of motivation, binge eating, etc. I like to compare this cycle to being stuck in a revolving door like you’d find at a hotel…you just keep going around and around and can’t seem to get out! To help you put a stop to weight cycling, follow these tips:
- Change your mindset: No one ever wants to go on a “diet” and being a diet is never any fun, so ditch the word. Diet usually has a time period to it, so instead think of this has a lifestyle improvement. Think of healthy eating as a lifelong commitment, not a short period of time. Fad diets never work as you can’t live that way forever, so instead focus on a well-balanced nutrition plan that incorporates whole foods and portion control.
- Get adequate sleep: sleep is often overlooked in the equation to success as we tend to put a large amount of focus on food and activity….but in reality, getting adequate sleep is just as important as your exercise and nutrition. You need to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep/night to allow your body to reset and repair itself. Lack of sleep or poor sleep habits typically result in poor eating habits, increasing cravings for junk foods, and a higher BMI.
- De-stress: stress can cause an increase in the hormone cortisol and when this hormone is increased, you may experience a greater desire for junk foods or unhealthy foods. Examine your stress levels and think critically about ways you could improve the stress in your life. You may consider journaling, yoga, or meditation to help you. Engaging in regular activity also helps reduce stress as it gives your body natural endorphins that aid in mood boosting.
- Practice mindful eating: Slow the eating process down and think critically about your hunger and fullness factors. Think of food as fuel and you want to choose healthy foods to provide your body with the appropriate nutrients and energy. When we think of food as “good” or “bad” it tends to make us want those bad foods even more, so instead change your mindset about food and work on portion control and feeling confident about your decisions.
I don’t expect these tips to happen overnight, but I do encourage you to examine your life and look at each part of the equation to help you stop the weight cycling and get on a path of healthy living for the long run!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Jan 4, 2018 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
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! Below are a few of my favorite sites. MyFitnessPal is the number one that I recommend….they have a huge database of foods and it’s pretty easy to use. SuperTracker is the government’s tracking site and I like that one for different reasons than MyFitnessPal. It allows you to see how your intake compares to the dietary guidelines in regards to servings of each food group and then gives you tips on ways to improve. It does not have as extensive of a food database as MyFitnessPal, but if you are mainly looking at ways to improve your intake to meet the dietary guidelines, then this is a great choice! 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
by kelsey | Jan 3, 2018 | Weight Management, Wellness/Health
We’ve had some questions and interest in our next session of STRIVE 2 Survive so we thought it was timely to let you all know our next session starts March 13th!! For those wanting to learn more about our 12 week wellness program, check out the details below and contact us today to get your spot reserved for the spring session! If you want to work on your New Year’s wellness goals now, I would be happy to see you individually in the clinic and work out an individualized plan for you! Insurance does cover this visit in the primary care setting. To set up an appointment, you can call 886-8482 and select scheduling or email me at strive2survive@brownclinic.org.
STRIVE 2 Survive:
Over 20 years ago Dr. Dan Reiffenberger wrote a grant for the American College of Sports Medicine about the development of a fitness program entitled STRIVE to Survive. The STRIVE represents “Securing Time for Regular Involvement in a Variety of Exercise”. Since that time, it has become our Brown Clinic Wellness Program, with modifications and improvements along the way. It is a 12 week program incorporating exercise and nutrition, with the goal of continuing these types of habits for a lifetime. Our dietitian Kelsey Raml has helped incorporate the nutrition component and Dr. Clark Likness, Dr. Jon McAreavey, and Deidra Van Gilder, PharmD are also involved creating a multi-disciplinary approach to health and wellness. We also have a great assistant, Barb, that keep us organized.
We the 12 week program periodically throughout the year. During the 12 weeks, we meet every other Tuesday at the County Fair Banquet Hall from 5:30-6:30pm. During the weeks we don’t meet, each participant gets a take home lesson focused on our two main components: diet and exercise. The meetings are held in a group atmosphere, but we can also work with you individually in the clinic if desired.
12 Weeks to a Better You!
Brown’s Diet and Exercise Wellness Program.
Who:
– The Strive2Survive Wellness Program is open to everyone, young and old.
– Conducted by Dr. Dan Reiffenberger, Board Certified in both Family Medicine and Sports Medicine and Registered Dietitian Kelsey Raml.
What:
– Lose Weight- Gain Strength – Maintain Fitness- Improve Diet.
– Evaluations: lab work- lipid and glucose, body composition testing-weight, height, BMI, body fat mass and percent, muscle mass…all pre and post the 12 week program.
– Free T-shirt
– 6 class lectures and 6 take home lessons.
Where:
– County Fair Banquet Hall
When:
March 13 “Healthy Eating Made Easy” Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
March 27: “Exercise for the Health of It” Dr. Dan Reiffenberger & Dr. Torness
April 10: “Your Equation to Success” Dr. Jon McAreavey
April 24: “A Walk thru the Wellness Wheel” Dr. Clark Likness
May 8: “Medications…to do or not to do” Deidra VanGilder, PharmD
May 22: “Making Health a Way of Life” STRIVE Team
Cost:
– $130
Call, e-mail or use the contact form for more information.
Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
605-884-4226
strive2survive@brownclinic.org
by Dan | Jan 1, 2018 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Heart Health, Holidays, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health, Winter
2017 is done, and 2018 is here! How was the year for you? Did you accomplish things you wanted? Is there anything in particular you want to accomplish in 2018? What is it you want? That is a good question for all of us. We have to decide what is personally important to us, and how bad do we want. At the same time, what kind of work are we willing to do to achieve. In general, New Years Resolutions don’t always have a good track record. It may be a good time to try to focus on things, and we all have good intentions, but the secret is how are we going to keep doing this year round, year after year? You need to keep going back to your original goals, your original reasons as to why you even want to accomplish certain goals. Why is it important to you?
Here we celebrated yesterday Jill reaching her 1000 mile running for the year, and Jenn reaching 1500 miles. Is the total important? No. It was a goal for them, and they achieved it, and we helped celebrate by running outside with them for the final mile, in what was unquestionably the coldest day of the year! That is what friends do…that is what family does…in this case, our running family. It always makes goals more achievable, and more meaningful, if you have someone else helping you along the way, motivating you along the way!
How truer can this be! Don’t think about it too hard, it will just give you more time to back out of your goals, or come up with excuses not to work for something you know would be of benefit to you. Just Go!
This was the group that came out yesterday to go for their final ceremonial run. We all did a mile (well, a couple of us did 3.5 miles!). I spent 45 minutes on the elliptical prior to going to meet for this run because of the cold…-22, with a wind chill of -40! Far from ideal, but also, if you wear the right clothing, far from impossible as well. We did it, and we helped them get to their final goal. Then we all went out to Caribou to celebrate! That is a reason to do this…spend time with your friends and family…people who truly do care about you, and who you care about. We want to be here more to have more of these moments. Always striving…
I will be the first to admit it…it was cold. If we were not meeting for this specific reason, and for a mile, there is no way I would have gone outside on my own. My workout would have been inside for all of it. It does prove to yourself as well how tough you really are (or stupid! Sometimes this is a very thin line!). You always have to take into account the conditions, the weather. When you are in a group, we all look out for each other. If I had been out there on my own, I would have been worried. What if I would have fallen, and it was that cold out? You have to be smart in this regards as well.
We stick together…look out for each other…are there for each other! There is even more of us when the weather is good! Your friends and family who help push you when things get uncomfortable make things or goals what would otherwise seem impossible, possible! Sometimes you even amaze yourself what you are capable of. Our biggest limitations tend to be between our ears! Believe in yourself, and good things happen.
Just remember, there is never a perfect time. If we keep waiting for that perfect time, we won’t get off of the couch. We won’t achieve our goals, and we won’t live our lives to the fullest that it could be. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Don’t wait for perfect weather. And…normally, I would say don’t wait until Jan 1 to make a start…start anytime, just keep it going. Since today is Jan 1…then this is a good day to start. Come on, what are you waiting for? We are not guaranteed tomorrow! Live today, achieve our goals, be happy, and be around to enjoy the things in life we find worthwhile! Just be safe as well!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3750
by kelsey | Dec 28, 2017 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Exercise, Food, Goals, Heart Health, Holidays, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
As we approach the weekend and New Year, many of our conversations involve discussion of New Years resolutions….a common topic for the month of January. Personally, I don’t really like resolutions…I don’t think you need to wait for a certain time of the year to focus on your health! You can do that anytime! I also don’t really agree with the mentality we have of binging on everything over the holidays followed by a “starvation” period in January. What fun is that!! Usually those drastic changes don’t last and you are back to eating normally and once again stuck in that revolving door of overeating followed by guilt and then restriction…which then leads us back to overeating because we can’t stick with it! Instead, I like to focus on healthy living all year round!
Choosing a few small things to work on over time that will help you create new habits that you can stick with. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Eat balanced! Strive for well balanced meals and snacks that are nutrient rich and portioned. Make half your plate fruits and veggies, a quarter lean protein, and a quarter whole grains.
- Eat consistently-eat several small meals and snacks a day instead of one or two big meals. This will keep your metabolism going and prevent you from being starving which always leads to overeating.
- Start your day off right with breakfast- this will help get your metabolism going and provide adequate nutrients to fuel you through your day.
- Focus on health, not weight. We put so much focus on the number on the scale it can drive us half crazy! Instead focus on healthy habits such as getting more fruits and veggies, using smaller plates and portions sizes, engaging in regular activity, etc etc. The weight will come when you achieve healthy habits!
- Eat dinner as a family. Take time to visit and enjoy. This will slow down your eating process and allow you to think more mindfully about your hunger and fullness. Ask yourself: Should I stop now? Do I really need seconds? etc.
- Get active-strive to get at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity most days of the week. If you can get up to 60 minutes, even better! Can’t do it all at once? That’s ok, research has shown that even 10 minutes at a time provides benefit so split it up between your day. We all have a million excuses to not exercise, so you need to throw out the excuse book and just put your mind to it! Start with 5-10 minutes and go from there. You will most likely find that you feel so much better after you exercise which makes doing it so much more enjoyable!
- Think positive- winter is a tough time for us…it’s dark, cold, and dreary. It can really wear us down at times, so instead focus on the positives. Positive thinking will help you be healthier instead and out!
- Get help from a qualified professional. If you need assistance with reaching your health goals, reach out for help! A Registered Dietitian (RD)/Licensed Nutrition (LN) like myself is your best source of reliable and credible food and nutrition information. Our next group wellness program STRIVE 2 Survive starts March 13th, but I can certainly work with you individually now!
Baby steps turn into big ones, so start slow and small and put more of a focus on health and wellness long term versus the quick fix! You CAN do this! Happy New Year!
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
