by kelsey | Jan 16, 2014 | Diet, Weight Management, Wellness/Health, Winter
On a blustery day like today, I can’t help but imagine myself on a beach (like the one in my picture I enjoyed last winter in Mexico), drinking a tasty fruit drink, and soaking up the sun. Instead I am inside, with wool socks on and a warm and snuggly sweatshirt. The lack of sun, cold temps, and blizzard temperatures can really bring our spirits down. Here are some tips to help you spark your spirit and stay motivated with working on your wellness goals.
- Get active! Activity produces natural endorphins that boost mood and it will aid in a healthy heart and weight. Try getting at least 30 minutes of activity in a day…if you can do more, the better. Vary your activities to decrease the chances of boredom.
- Eat Right: healthy eating will make you feel healthier inside and out. Aim to get at least 5 fruits and veggies a day, include whole grains, lean meats, and healthy fats. Vitamin D has been proven to aid in seasonal affective disorder, so be sure to get your 3 servings of low fat milk or dairy products. If you aren’t a milk drinker you may consider taking a daily multivitamin with calcium and vitamin D or a vitamin D supplement. Please ask your dietitian, pharmacist, or doctor for the correct dosage.
- Spice up your life: Sometimes getting a new shirt, going to the movies, reading a new and exciting book, or getting new tunes on your ipod will help spice up your life and add some more excitement to your life.
- Get out! Plan a family/friend trip, bum around downtown Watertown, or plain just get out of the house! It’s easy to dwell in our sorrows by becoming a hermit and staying inside. We need to get out and get some socialization!
- Think Positive! Dwelling on the negatives can sure take a person down. Instead think about the positives in your life. Tell yourself one positive thing about yourself and your selfworth daily. Focus on the blessings in your life!
- If you feel you are suffering from the blues very seriously then I encourage you to contact your physician for further assistance as we can help you with this!
Spring and warmer temperatures will be coming. Stay positive, eat right, exercise, and get out…those winter blues will be gone before you know it!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Jan 8, 2014 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
We are getting ready to head out to Orlando for the Disney half and full marathon again. Sarah will be doing the 1/2 marathon saturday, and Steve Hauck and I will be doing the Goofy Challenge: doing the 1/2 marathon on saturday, and then the full marathon on sunday! Little nervous, but fired up as well. First time for doing this. Steve and I did the full marathon last year. It was Steve’s first.
The weather should be great! It will be a little tough being this hot right away. Temps to be in the 60’s to start off, and end in the low 80’s by the finish line. A far cry from 40-50 below zero! Our goal: We are just going to finish. We are not worried about time. We will take our pictures with all of the characters along the way. Training partners sticking together! Stay moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2297
by kelsey | Jan 2, 2014 | Diet, Family, Goals, Holidays, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Happy New Year!! It’s hard to believe another year has gone by! I have been a little quiet on the blog lately as I took some vacation over the holidays. Adam and I enjoyed celebrating the holidays with family and friends for 10 days straight! It was a great time, but we were wiped out by the end of it all! I am sure many of you enjoy special holiday traditions and spent quality time with family and friends, making it a fun and memorable time of the year. One of my favorite holiday traditions is making cookies with my mom. Nothing beats Christmas sugar cookies!! Now these are not low in calories or a healthy choice, but a little bit of indulgence every once in awhile isn’t going to hurt you! They tasted as good as they looked (see picture below)!
Another tradition is that someone usually has to make meatballs. Since it didn’t work out for us to enjoy my Grandma Evelyn’s meatballs, my mom and I made my version of meatballs which uses a BBQ sauce, not a gravy. Now these are a lot healthier for you than the cookies! I use very lean hamburger (Raml beef of course!) and old fashioned oatmeal. This is a recipe from Adam’s grandmother and it is one of our favorites!
As the Christmas and New Years holidays wrapped up, many of our conversations led to 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. I enjoyed all of the goodies and special foods over the holidays, but in moderation. I made sure I included fruits and veggies into my daily intake and got my exercise in most days of the week.
Choosing a few small things to work on over time 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 4th, 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!
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
by Dan | Dec 31, 2013 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
The New Year is upon us! Lead by example…prove to friends and family…and yourself…that you are serious about your health. Take control of it! Work together, and encourage each others, support each other, exercise with each other! You can begin a new year by trying to learn from past mistakes, and make the coming year better the last. Here Sarah and I are with part of the Hauck family when we were at Disney last January for the Half Marathon and Marathon. We are going back again in a few weeks, but will have 2 of my 3 kids along as well. The families that workout together, stay healthy together. You don’t need it to be January 1 to make that new resolution. It can be anytime, just do it! Believe in yourself. But remember to have fun along the way, and you can create memories for a lifetime! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2289
by kelsey | Dec 18, 2013 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Holidays, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Calories and fat consumed over the holiday season can really add up and pack on the pounds over just a few months. Making simple and still delectable swaps in the traditional holiday meal will save you calories and fat in the long run.
Eat this Not that
3 oz Light Meat Turkey 3 oz Prime Rib
125cal 222cal
3g fat 18g fat
25.6g Pro 15g Pro
The big difference between the two proteins is the fat and fat calories. Prime Rib is the part of beef that has some of the highest fat amount, along with the ribs. Boneless and skinless turkey, chicken and fish are lean, or lower in fat. Sometimes the lean meats also provide higher amounts of protein, which will keep you full longer. Another good substitute would be sirloin over the prime rib.
½ C Whole Wheat
Stovetop Stuffing 1 Pillsbury Biscuit
150cal 170cal
1.5g fat 6g fat
3g Pro 3g Pro
Although close calorically, the whole wheat stuffing also provides 3g of filling fiber compared to the 0.5 g in a biscuit. And besides, stuffing is unique to the holiday season whereas biscuits you can have any time of year!
Mulled Wine (1/2 C) Egg Nog (1/2 C)
90cal 170cal
0g Fat 9g Fat
4 g Sugar 18g Sugar
If you decide to have a festive holiday cocktail remember that most are loaded with sugar and empty calories, so consume in moderation. Beverages such as wine and champagne are the better options compared to egg nog or hot buttered rum.
1 Inch Fudge
90cal
2.5g Fat
3 pieces (1/2 oz) Peanut Brittle
73cal
2.5g Fat
Molasses Cookie (2 inch) Pecan Pie (1/8 pie)
57 cal 503 cal
2g Fat 27 g Fat
Candy Cane
55cal
0g Fat
Frosted Sugar Cookie (2 inch)
160 cal
6g Fat
435cal
13 g Fat
All of these treats add up to less calories than a piece of pecan pie! Now I am not saying to eat all these treats, but if you do have a sweet tooth, and like trying everything, you are still able to do so if you keep your portion sizes reasonable. All of the sweets are still considered empty calories and contain enough sugar for a week, but by swapping out better choices you will save excess fat and calories over the holiday.
-Submitted by Lauren Lambert, USD Dietetic Intern
by kelsey | Dec 17, 2013 | Diet, Exercise, Family, Food, Goals, Holidays, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
The holidays are in full swing, which means festive food, and busy schedules. Many families are enjoying old traditions, or making new ones. Unfortunately also during these Christmas experiences, many people find themselves experiencing weight gain. Countless family gatherings and baking Christmas goodies all month are grounds for overeating, without any time to spare for exercise. By making few simple changes over the day, the holidays do not have to mean weight gain! Here are some simple tips to try out between traveling, parties, cooking, and company.
- An Early Resolution? – Rather than waiting for New Years to start a resolution, make it easier on yourself and gradually work up to your resolution by New Years. This will also help you to stay focused and maintain weight over the holidays, so you can see faster results after. If your goal is to lose weight, maybe you will try to walk two days a week now, and by New Year’s you will be built up to walking 5 days a week!
- Stress less about Exercise- Rather than stressing about shopping and cleaning this year, think of this as a time to multitask. Housework is one of the best ways to get in a workout over the holidays. Whether it’s moving around the kitchen while you bake, or vacuuming before company…it all burn calories! Shopping through the mall crowds, standing in line, and bringing bags out to your car all are positive experiences now that you can count it as a workout, right?
- Quality Time– Rather than taking away from family time to work out, invite your family to do something as a group. Wake up on Christmas morning and enjoy some yoga together before presents, or take the kids out ice-skating or sledding after the famous Christmas dinner. Just remember, building a snowman or looking at Christmas lights will also provide memories that last longer than the memories watching a movie would.
- Think Before You Eat – Eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed. If you find yourself overeating at one meal, go light on the next. Try to fill your plate with the lower calorie items such as vegetable dishes, and lean proteins, then take smaller portions of the rich foods. Eat slowly, socialize, and enjoy every bite!
Overall, it’s the holidays and you need to enjoy yourself! Don’t restrict yourself from family time and enjoying some of your favorite holiday foods, but be mindful and plan ahead! Stay healthy this season, then after the holidays, your mind and body will thank you!
-Submitted by USD Dietetic Intern Lauren Lambert
