by kelsey | Nov 21, 2012 | Holidays
Happy Thanksgiving to you! The Thanksgiving holiday is always a fun one enjoyed by all as we stuff ourselves and then resort to the couch to watch football or the start of the holiday tv shows. Here are some tips for you to get through the holiday without putting on all those undesired extra pounds.
- Survey the entire table before you take any food. Decide what foods are worth eating and what can be ignored, and then stick to that decision. Why waste calories on foods that don’t bring you pleasure?
- Eat a snack before you leave home. If you arrive at a party starving, you’ll be more likely to overindulge.
- Eat your calories instead of drinking them. Stick to lower calorie or calorie-free drinks (diet sodas, water, light beer, or wine spritzer) instead of punches, eggnogs, and mixed drinks that can have up to 500 calories per cup.
- Sip a large glass of water between every alcoholic drink or non-alcoholic punch or eggnog. This will help keep you hydrated and you’ll drink fewer calories by the end of the night.
- When you are the host or hostess, include nutritious and lower-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats on the menu. When you are a guest, bring along a lower-calorie dish to share.
- Try not to hang out near the food. Find a comfortable spot across the room and focus on people instead of eating.
- Watch your portion sizes. Don’t cover your plate completely with food. In most cases, especially when it comes to holiday sweets and alcoholic beverages, less is better. Use a smaller plate or bowl.
- Drop out of the “clean plate club”. Leave a few bites behind every time you eat, especially if you are eating something you don’t really care for.
- Enjoy your favorite holiday treats but take a small portion, eat slowly, and savor the taste and texture of the wonderful foods of the season.
- Skip the pie crust and go for the filling.
- Choose light meat over dark meat.
- Use home-made cranberry sauce over canned cranberries that are jam packed with added sugars.
- In soups, sauces, puddings, and desserts: Replace whole milk or cream with low-fat milk, evaporated fat-free milk, or nonfat dry milk.
Lighten up your recipes:
- To make dips and toppings: Use low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese or sour cream.
- To make salad dressings: Use nonfat yogurt or low-fat buttermilk.
- In place of 1 whole egg in recipes: Use 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute.
- In place of regular cheese: Use fat-free or reduced-fat cheese
More importantly is ENJOY your family and friends and all that have to the THANKful for!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 15, 2012 | Wellness/Health
I’m getting very excited about my weekend plans and I can’t resist sharing them with you! This Saturday, the Watertown Chamber of Commerce is hosting the annual Women’s Escape. It’s a wonderful event with over 100 vendors and various speakers all geared towards women. I will be speaking at 9:15am about healthy holiday eating and ways to make it through the holidays without packing on the extra pounds. I have enjoyed going to this event every year and am thrilled to be a speaker this year! I invite you to come join us at the Watertown Extension Complex starting at 9am. Tickets are $5 and you can find more information about the event at www.watertownsd.com.
I usually host a booth at this event to promote our clinic wellness programs and always enjoy visiting with many of our patients and STRIVE 2 Survive participants…but this year I won’t be hosting a both, so be sure to come watch my talk! I will be heading down to Brookings after my talk to support my favorite team the SDSU Jackrabbits as they take on their old rivalry the USD Coyotes. The rivalry runs strong in my own family as my parents and brother and his wife are Coyotes, whereas Adam and myself are Jacks. Family gatherings can never occur without a Jackrabbit/Coyote joke or comment! I’m looking forward to the fun and festivities as this rivalry is re-ignited! I wish you all a great weekend…be sure to come visit me at the Women’s Escape and…. GO JACKS!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 14, 2012 | Diabetes
To celebrate today’s World Diabetes Day, I decided to discuss carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the main (and best) source of energy for your brain and central nervous system. Carbohydrates are essential for energy; however they raise your blood sugar levels higher and faster than any other kind of food. Carbohydrates are essential for your body to be able to sustain energy so just like a car needs the right type of fuel (gas) to run just like you need the right kind of fuel (food) to function and be healthy. To sustain energy, your body needs adequate carbohydrates: 50-60% of your total calories should come from carbohydrates. Cutting out all carbs can be very detrimental to our body, especially our brain, central nervous system, liver, kidneys, and heart. Because they are an excellent source of energy, but they do raise blood sugars, it’s important to recognize the types of carbohydrates and how to count them in efforts of controlling your diabetes.
Carbohydrates are found in the following:
Starches: found in grains, some vegetables, and beans
- Grains: bread, pasta, cereal, tortillas, rice
- Starchy Vegetables: potatoes, peas, corn, yams, squash
- Beans: kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, and lentils
Sugars: found naturally in foods or added to foods.
- Natural Sugars: fruits, fruit juices, dairy products, honey, and molasses.
- Added Sugars: desserts, processed foods, candy, regular soda, and fruit drinks.
To aid in ideal blood sugar control, we recommend a moderate intake of carbohydrates which means about 45-60g/meal and 15-30g/snack with several small meals and snacks throughout the day. I visit with patients daily about finding the right balance in their intake. If you would like help managing your blood sugars, to learn more about diabetes self care, or a personalized nutrition plan, be sure to contact me for further help!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Nov 11, 2012 | Exercise, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
Well, the weather keeps changing, but we don’t have snow staying yet. Yesterday was at least relatively warm, but foggy and rainy. Then the wind came up, and now is very cold. All in all, this just makes it tough to stay motivated to exercise. You just have to realize the time we may be able to spend outside gets more limited, but we have other alternatives. We can do exercise indoors, whether we have our own equipment, belong to an exercise facility, or go walking in the mall. I know I just feel better when I can still exercise, but there is nothing like being outside when it is nice. I have to keep coming up with other things for me, or at least reminding myself, why I keep exercising. I have to continuously focus on this, or it would be too easy to just say “forget it”, and “I don’t feel like it”. I feel worse if I don’t do it.
So, as hard as it may be to do, you have to keep reminding yourself of the positives with all of this. Yesterday, Steve and I went outside for a long run. Yes, it was foggy, rainy on and off, BUT…it was relatively warm, and essentially no wind. It was a very relaxing run. Felt very good, and felt even better after we were done. Sometimes you may have to dig down deep, but keep looking for those positives. I think this will be a good time to start to refocus on motivation aspects to help get us heading into winter, and to keep going. I am no different than all the rest of you. I have to keep myself motivated as well. Keep your chin up, keep looking ahead, and keep moving everybody.
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1872
by kelsey | Nov 6, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Food
Have you ever wondered what the proper storage for certain foods is? I like to read the daily updates and news bits on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website (eatright.org) and today’s post was especially interesting! I encourage you to check out the full story at: http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442472969#.UJmCvpFub4s. From the proper way to store honey, to keeping tomatoes fresh, to olive oil and butter, this short clip provides you the recommendations to keep your foods fresh and safe to consume! I also encourage you to check out the Food Safety site: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/index.html for your complete storage guide! Not only does proper storage keep your food safe to consume, it also allows you to enjoy it and get all of the nutritional benefits.
-Kelsey
