by Dan | Jun 4, 2017 | Etc.
Many of us in the Watertown Area Run Club, WARC, have signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon on Oct 1 this year, and many others for the 10 mile run. We are jumping in anticipation of why we are doing this race. It is for charity, and a very special charity. We are running for ongoing research in regards to Friedreich’s Ataxia. Friedreich’s Ataxia is a rare inherited disease that causes a gradual breakdown of the nervous system. It affects nerves in the brain and the spinal cord that control movement. It also affects sensory nerves that help with coordination. About one in 50,000 people in the United States have Friedreich’s Ataxia. In Watertown alone, there have been at least 4 people. For me, they are family members of friends, and also, relatives. I have had at least 3 cousins affected by this. So, Sarah and I have decided, along with many members of our WARC, to run for a cause this Fall. We are going to run for Team FARA!
Team FARA is Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance. All money raised will go towards continuing research in the hopes of finding a cure. Sarah and I have many charities requesting financial assistance from us throughout the year. It is impossible to give to all of them, even though we want to. We have to pick and choose. Tom Batta, whose is a member of WARC, has a daughter with this disease. And as I said above, I have multiple cousins/relatives affected by this. I can’t think of a better cause to run for, and donate to. So, Sarah has signed up to run the marathon. This will be her first marathon ever! She is very nervous about this, but thinks if she were ever going to do one, she could not think of a better reason to try than this. Not only are we going to run, I am donating $1000.00 to her fundraising efforts, and she is going to donate $1000.00 to mine. We will continue to ask repeatedly, through Facebook, or this site, for anyone who wants to donate for this cause. You can get on the internet and type out Team FARA 2017 Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, and it will direct you to the website. A direct website is http://fara.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1371&pg=entry. It then has listed on the left side where you can type in the participants name, so either Sarah or I, or our team, which is Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and 10 Mile. It does not matter who to list if for otherwise, it can be put under our team. We are all working for the cause. As of this writing, there are currently 12 full marathon participants, 10 of which are members of WARC, and 9 people that are running the 10 mile! One of our WARC members, and my good friend and training partner, Tom Beaudry, is donating $26.20 for each member of WARC participating…to represent the 26.2 miles we will be running for the marathon!
Sarah and I will continue our training together, and running for a very good cause! Please consider joining us. How much more motivation could there be than to run for a charity…to exercise and run when we have the ability, in order to help somebody who cannot? People with Friedreich’s Ataxia would run in this if they could, so we will help them out by running for them. That is what becoming a better you is all about! Appreciate all of our abilities, physical and mental, and join in. The rest of us have no other excuses, except what our mind is telling us. Take advantage of our abilities, and put them to good use. For those of us running this event, we can use all the support we can get…motivational, encouragement, and financial. Please consider donating!
Run for someone else. Exercise for someone else! Become a better you, and…
Doing this for another cause can be more rewarding than anything else life has to offer. Not only do we need to Strive to Survive, but let’s help someone else achieve this too! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3536
by kelsey | Jun 1, 2017 | Diet, Family, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Summer has officially started now that school is out! The kids are back home and they’re going to be eating more of the foods that you keep stocked for them at home. Active children burn through their energy stores very quickly and need to replenish them often. Snacking is an important part of keeping your kids energized for their play-filled summer days.
Snacks should be a combination of fiber and protein so that they are filling and satisfying. Pistachios are a good snack as they contain both fiber and protein. You can also pick out two foods that will meet the fiber and protein combination needs. Some ideas are:
- An apple and a teaspoon of peanut butter
- String cheese and a few whole wheat crackers
- Baby carrots and hummus
- Low-fat yogurt and almonds
- Mixed nuts and raisins
- Celery sticks filled with peanut or almond butter
Just be sure to keep in mind that snacks are just to get by until the next mealtime, so snacks should not be a significant source of calories. Kids have small stomachs so keep the portion sizes small as well. This is a good time to instill healthy habits in your child so try to avoid having the TV or video games going during snack time in order to discourage mindless munching. Any fruit, vegetable, low-fat dairy product, or whole wheat grain product makes a good snack so find out what your child likes and get creative with the combinations!
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
by kelsey | May 31, 2017 | Diet, Etc., Goals, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Fad diets are short-term quick fixes that promise great results, but actually set up most dieters for failure in weight-loss. If you find a product or routine that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
One of the most popular diets to take over social media lately is THRIVE by Le-Vel. This is an 8 week program that promises a completely different person at the end. It utilizes a few products as well as goal setting for weight loss. Marketers claim that individuals will “Live, look and feel ultra premium like never before” through the use of Derma Fusion Technology (skin patches), shake mixes and lifestyle capsules. Their products are said to be naturopathic, synergistic, and gender specific. However, science has not found any reason for grouping together the vitamins and minerals in any of the products.
The idea of setting an 8-week goal for weight loss is a good one, but you can accomplish the same results with a balanced diet paired with exercise at a much lesser cost.
Another popular diet to hit the market recently is The Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan by Take Shape For Life. This plan is based around the routine of consuming 6 small meals everyday instead of three large meals. Five of these meals consumed are purchased from the company and they are meal replacements. The sixth meal is a lean and green meal.
One of the biggest fallbacks of this diet is the cost of the meal replacements purchased; the 30-day bundle available is just under $430, which calculates out to be about $15 every day. The 5&1 diet plan utilizes a very structured routine that promotes quick weight loss, but fails to teach clients the basics of a healthy, well-balanced diet. When this is the outcome, dieters usually see the weight that they lost come back on as soon as they step away from the diet.
What healthy weight loss SHOULD look like:
- Fill half of your plate with veggies
- Eat whole wheat/whole grain breads, pastas, etc. instead of white.
- Get 30-60 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
- Limit consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (Pop, juice, sports drinks, etc.) and alcohol.
- Water does wonders for our bodies!
- 13 cups for men (3 liters); 9 cups for women (2.2 liters)
- Eat smaller portions
- Don’t skip meals…especially breakfast!
- A healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds each week
- This may seem slow, but a steady weight loss such as this is much more likely to be kept off in the long run.
- Track your intake
- We often don’t realize the quality and quantity of the food we feed our bodies until we have it drawn out in front of us.
- Be mindful when you eat
-Written by Kala Nurnberg, SDSU Dietetic Student
NOTE: Usually we get desperate and succumb to the promises the fad diets make us and we sign up. However down the road we realize that it’s too expensive, can’t stick with, we want normal food again, etc etc. If you are wanting to work on weight loss or nutrition and lifestyle improvement, please come visit me in the clinic! We can work out an individual plan that you can do and stick with long term…and it will be much cheaper and more enjoyable than these fad diets! Call or email me!
Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
Direct Dial: 884-4226
Email: strive2survive@brownclinic.org
by Dan | May 29, 2017 | Family, Motivation, Wellness/Health
This Memorial Day, take the time to remember what other people have done for us. Things like our freedom, and in this case for me, a home, a family, and a great role model to follow: My Dad! It has been 3 years now since he has passed away, and not one day goes by where I don’t think of him. It is nice to have pictures to sit back and look back at, and then all of those memories come flooding back, both smiles and tears! Looking back especially at these pictures of my Dad when he was in the Army. To think of what he had to give up, in order for us to have what we have now.
To be away from home when you are that young, and then not knowing whether you are going to get to go back home to see everybody again. I can’t imagine what things would have been like under those circumstances. On this Memorial Day, we need to appreciate everything all of those people did for our freedom, and remember those who not only came home, but those who did not. Just REMEMBER!
We always have our memories to look back on, it is just taking the time to be doing this, and to realize they truly are timeless treasures.
My Family and I have changed a lot over the years. As times continues to go on, the same people may not be in the picture anymore, but that does not mean we forget about them. It does mean we have to appreciate them even more while they are still here, and to remember to tell them how much you care about them while they can hear it. We need to remember to take care of ourselves as well, so we can have more time to be around, and enjoy life with them as well.
This is one of the last pictures I have of me with my Dad. It is both good and bad. Good, because I got to spend time with him, bad because his memory was getting so bad I had to keep telling him who I was. That is why memories are so important to have, and to keep thinking of at times. This can help us to not forget. He could not remember something that just happened, or what was going on at the time, but if you brought up things when he was younger, he could talk on and on about that. So, that is what we talked about. They truly were timeless treasures. He did not forget about those things. Everything cannot be taken away from us. So I am also going to be taking the time today to remember my Day…remember all of the good times, and will again realize how much I miss him! Become a better you…REMEMBER!
Keep moving everybody! Remember what Memorial Day is really about!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3530
by kelsey | May 25, 2017 | Etc., Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
The Watertown Intermediate School recently added Girls on the Run to their list of school activities. Girls on the Run inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum, which creatively integrates running. This program is a nation-wide non-profit organization dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.
The program in Watertown specifically involved a group of 19 5th grade girls ages 10-11 led by a group of 6 women from the community. Meeting twice a week for 10 weeks, the girls were given great opportunities to build relationships with their coaches and peers.
Each week focused on one of the following themes: empowerment, Responsibility, Intentionality, Diversity, Connectedness, Joy, Optimism, Gratitude, Nurturing, Healthy, Open-hearted, and Compassion. The themes are then used to create a warm-up, lesson, activity, and motivation for that session. All of these themes fall under one main goal of the program: self-confidence.
The girls would spend a large portion of the sessions learning to run a 5K by running laps around the school. For each lap they ran throughout the 10 weeks, they were given a bead. At the send off session, the girls were given a bag with all of the beads they had earned and string to make jewelry that represented their accomplishments. In addition to jewelry making, the girls were each given an award unique to them in celebration of their individuality.
At the end of the 10 week program, the Watertown coaches held a local 5K for the girls to show off their progress. Families, teachers, and peers came to the event to cheer on the girls. In addition to the local 5K, the girls were invited to attend the state-wide Girls on the Run 5K in Sioux Falls. However, the state-wide 5K was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
Girls on the Run-Watertown plans to continue this program in the coming school year, however, they are unsure of age groups and session dates at this time. To learn more about this program you can contact Michelle Achterberg at michelle.achterberg@k12.sd.us. This is an awesome program to encourage wellness and fitness along with self confidence and individuality! Thank you Michelle, Jill Makepeace, Paula Nurnberg, Erika Zink, Jennifer McElroy, Dr.Sarah Reiffenberger, and many others for getting this program up and running and inspiring these young women! You rock!!
-Written by Kala Nurberg, SDSU Dietetics Student
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
