by Dan | Aug 24, 2014 | Equipment, Exercise, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
Today was the 30th Annual Lake Kampeska Hy-Vee mini triathon. It was originally scheduled for the second saturday in July, but we were stormed out for that day, and it was postponed to today. Weather started out great, but as the morning went on the wind picked up. We were done with the majority of it before it got too strong. Here is our bikes in the transition station…Sarah and I.
It is a broader view of the transition station, and the finish line. It started to get warm by the time we were getting done, but the weather overall was still very nice. And it was not raining! It was a good turnout again. We all start with a 1/4 mile swim, followed by a 14 mile bike ride around the lake, and then finish with a 5K run.
One of our memeber of the Watertown Area Run club, Jill, set out her things at the transtion station. Talk about organization! You want to have everything set and easily accessible so you can change shoes, and gear for each of the phases. The time for the finish is from the start to the finish line. There is no break in time for the transition stations. You want to move as fast as you can in between because the clock is still moving. Most of us can be proficient in 1 or 2 of the events, and have a weak event for the 3rd phase. My weak phase is the swim. Thank heaven for the Reiffenberger stroke in the swim…stand up and run like he…!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2522
by kelsey | Aug 20, 2014 | Diet, Exercise, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
It’s hard to believe school is back in session and fall is approaching quickly. We are always sad to see summer go as it seems to fly by faster every year, but I am excited for my favorite season (fall) to get here and to start another session of STRIVE 2 Survive! I always like to highlight a few of our success stories and previous participants to show what STRIVE can do for you! Laurie Danforth and her husband Mike participated in STRIVE 2 Survive and found great value in it. If you are on the fence or wondering if you should join us, check out Laurie’s feedback below. We hope you will consider it and let us help you improve your health and well-being through improved nutrition and activity! If you have any questions or want to learn more, please email us at strive2survive@brownclinic.org or call 884-4226. Fall STRIVE starts September 16th!
- What pushed you to join STRIVE? After sending our last child off to college and becoming empty nesters we decided it was time to change our eating habits. Mike wanted to lose a few pounds so I suggested we do S2S and do it the right way.
- What was your goal? (weight loss, cholesterol, B/P, healthy eating, etc.) My goal was to develop better healthy eating and to maintain of improve lab values.
- Have you met your goal? Yes until the kids came home for the summer then our eating changes some but I always have S2S on my mind and look for healthier ways to fix meals.
- If so, what are you doing to maintain? Looking forward to 2 of the boys returning to college to help with our change of habits when had adapted to.
- How did STRIVE help? Brought awareness to foods and their contents and also the ability to prepare foods differently to make them healthier. The frequent e mails and updates on the web also help.
- What is your motivation to continue? My competitiveness to keep my lab values where they were after being diligent of changing habits. I challenge myself to make sure they stay in good healthy ranges. I also feel much better after changing my diet habits.
- If you could tell anyone about Strive to Survive, what would you say? By all means join the program. Don’t think of it as a “diet” but a way of changing your daily eating habits along with exercise. It is not all about weight loss but eating healthier and making changes to adding or increasing exercise. I lost inches and improved lab values but did not lose much weight, all with feeling better. (Side note–Laurie didn’t have much to lose, so she focused on toning, lab improvement, and overall health improvements)
- Do you feel that the program has a lifetime change for you? By all means.
- What do you think they biggest highlight of the program is? Learning how to label read and prepare foods bought at the grocery store to change habits. It is much cheaper and healthier to buy foods at the grocery store for weight loss versus buying a program of mixes and shakes that may produce rapid weight loss. I know with this program I was making healthy choices that were not inadvertently affecting my lab values.
- Would you tell a friend about us? I have told friends about this program and encouraged them to join. The cost of the program is far less than “buying” weight loss with the many advertised programs out there.
- If people are in doubt of joining, what would you tell them? Give it a try!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Aug 19, 2014 | Etc.
It’s hard to believe that in less than a month, we’ll be starting our fall STRIVE 2 Survive program! Fall STRIVE starts September 16th and enrollment is just starting. Our 12 week program starts September 16th and we will meet in person every other Tuesday at the County Fair Banquet Hall from 5:30-6:30pm (see dates below). The weeks we do not meet, you will be given a take home lesson mailed or emailed to you, thus every week you will be given education, tips, etc on nutrition and activity. In addition, we include lab work (total lipid panel and glucose) and body composition testing (weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, fat%, and muscle mass) at the beginning and end of the program. The total cost is $130, which includes all lessons, lab work, and body composition testing.
Our main goal is to help you learn how to live a healthier lifestyle that promotes disease prevention, longevity, and quality of life. Weight loss, improved lipids, improved glucose, improved blood pressure, and improved overall health are all results of our program.
If you are interested or know of someone who is, please contact us anytime! You can call me directly at 884-4226 or email strive2survive@brownclinic.org. We are looking forward to another great session!
September 16 “Healthy Eating Made Easy” Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
September 30: “Exercise for the Health of It” Dr. Dan Reiffenberger & Dr. Scott Torness
October 14: “Medications…to do or not to do” Deidra VanGilder, Pharm D
October 28: “Your Equation to Success” Dr. Jon McAreavey
November 11: “A Walk thru the Wellness Wheel” Dr. Clark Likness
November 25: “Making Health a Way of Life” STRIVE Team
-Kelsey
by Dan | Aug 10, 2014 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, weight lifting, Wellness/Health
There is no debate…exercise takes work. But, you can make it fun. It is also a good way to spend time with your family. We just went on vacation for a few days to Minneapolis, and everybody but Molly went with us. Sarah, Nick, Megan and I all went for a run each morning. We then spent the rest of the day doing lots of walking at Mall of America and other adventures. When we got back, Megan and I went into Anytime Fitness to get our weight workout in.
Anytime Fitness is having a selfie contest this month, so we decided to have a little fun with this. The caption I had with this was: Coach Dad…work your “bun” off! We did a lot of laughing, plus got our workout in. Megan will be going back to school in Virginia in 10 days. We are not going to be having many of these times left.
So relax…spend some time with your family, have fun, and you can still workout. Set the tone parents…your kids will follow. Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2508
by kelsey | Aug 5, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diabetes, Diet, Eating Out, Food, Weight Management
As I discussed last week, eating out can be a challenge as you aren’t sure how the foods are prepared, what types of foods are used, and what the food prep consists of. You may question, are the healthier looking choices sometimes worse for you? A salad over a hamburger should always be healthier, right? We find that in some scenarios this is not the case at all. Because of added seasoning, dressing, and breading the choices that appear to be healthier can have more calories. A way to avoid some of these unnecessary calories is to ask for the dressing on the side, or ask for your meats grilled instead of fried. If you eat at a restaurant regularly it’s not a bad idea to look at their menu online for their nutritional values. This could help you make a healthier decision when going out to eat. In addition, you may also consider using a pocket guide book such as Calorie King’s book (www.calorieking.com) or using an app on your smart phone. Besides making a good choices, portion control is essential! Take half of your meal home or share with a friend or family member. That alone will cut down on calories, fat, and sodium.
Here is a fun quiz to help you compare some foods and see which have more calories. The results may surprise you.
1) Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad (with dressing) Vs. Applebee’s Bacon Cheeseburger
2) McDonalds the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes Vs. McDonalds Angus Delight
3) McDonalds Cheeseburger Vs. McDonalds Chocolate Shake
4) Culvers Fresh Fried Chicken Dinner Vs. Culvers Chicken Sandwich Value Basket
5) Arby’s Medium Curly Fries Vs. Arby’s Pecan Chicken Salad Sandwich
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Answer #1 The Bacon Cheeseburger has fewer calories at 970 calories compared to the Oriental Chicken Salad that has 1390 calories.
Answer #2 The Angus Delight has fewer calories at 750 compared to the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes that has 1090 calories.
Answer #3 The Cheeseburger has 300 calories compared to a Chocolate Shake that has 570 calories.
Answer #4 The Chicken Sandwich Value Basket is 422 calories compared to the Fresh Fried Chicken Dinner that has 2220 calories.
Answer #5 The Curly Fries are 540 calories compared to the Pecan Chicken Salad Sandwich that has 840 calories
-Kelsey
