by kelsey | Jun 7, 2012 | Wellness/Health
With the nicer weather, we tend to spend more time outdoors in the summer. With the high temps and humidity – make sure you get enough fluids! It is too late if you wait to get a drink when you feel thirsty. Especially for those older adults, it takes longer for you to feel thirsty even though you may be severely dehydrated.
Tips for getting adequate fluids:
- Keep a glass or bottle of water with you during the day so you can sip on it. Drink when you are thirsty and even when you are not thirsty.
- Start some of your meals with soup
- Drink more water instead of sugary beverages, milk and juice to avoid those extra hidden calories. Alcohol will increase your water loss. Plain water always works the best.
- Increase your fluid intakes if your diet is high in fiber, protein or salt
- Consult with your doctor or dietitian if you are on a fluid restricted diet and would like further help with your hydration needs.
Use the above chart to determine your hydration level by the color of your urine.
This blog post was written by USD Dietetic Intern Mimi To.
-Kelsey
Graphic Reference:http://www.brownsburgathletics.com/images/urine.gif
by Dan | Jun 6, 2012 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
This saturday, June 9, is the 16th annual Hospital Hill run/walk. It will begin at 8AM. Registration fee is now $20 if not pre-registered. There is a 5k run, 5k walk, and a 1 mile walk. All are welcome. Attached is the following registration form which can also be found at the clinics in town, and at the Prairie Lakes Hospital website. Hope to see you there!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1714
by kelsey | Jun 6, 2012 | Food, Weight Management
As the summer temperatures go up, so does our taste and desire and for frosty drinks. Unfortunately, most of those tasty drinks such as margaritas, mudslides, and daiquiri mixes are loaded with extra calories from sugar…and then more calories are added from the alcohol! A tall glass of a frozen drink such as these can give you anywhere from 300-500 calories! Wheras, a glass of beer will have about 180-250 calories and wine will give you about 225-250 calories in about 10 oz.
If you are one who enjoys these fruity drinks, try using a low calorie or calorie free mixer such as diet soda, lime, or diluted juice. In addition, you’ll want to be careful of the tonic water mixer as that can have alot of calories as well. Another way to lessen the added calories, is to use the real fruit instead of the prepared mix.
In addition to alcoholic beverages, beverages like sweet tea, lemonade, and punch are common in the summer. All of these are very tasty and often times hit the spot on a hot summer day, but they do offer a lot of calories as well. Opt for the unsweetened tea or sweeten it yourself with artificial sugars such as Splenda. You can also choose the low calorie lemonade mixes such as Crystal Light to give you that tasty drink without the extra calories.
Liquid calories are hidden calories that we often don’t realize are adding up, so choose wisely…and enjoy!
-Kelsey
by Dan | May 31, 2012 | Exercise, Goals, Heart Health, Wellness/Health
Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in the United States, and includes coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), hypertension, and peripheral vascular disease (claudication of the legs).
An estimated 6 million people in the US have coronary heart disease, 2 million have cerebrovascular disease, and 58 million people have hypertension. The American Heart Association estimates that 63,290,000 people in the US have cardiovascular disease. So, nobody out there can say that they either do not suffer with it themselves, or that they do not nobody somebody directly who deals with this disease.
The chance of an American male developing coronary artery disease before age 60 is one in 5.
The American Heart Association estimates that 4,740,000 Americans alive today have a history of a heart attack, angina (chest pain), or both.
The even scarier statistic: Sudden death is the presenting symptom in 1 out of every 5 coronary attacks.
I could go on and on with statistics. For many of us, it is really not thought about until it affects either someone close to us, such as family, friends, or even ourselves, before we get the wake up call. There are many risk factors that go into this as well, some of which we can control, and others we cannot. These can range from our age/sex; smoking history; cholesterol levels; race; family history; obesity; hypertension itself; diabetes. We have to be able to control the factors that we can as much as possible. We need to be starting now, not after an event happens.
As I go forward on this topic, I will talk about what things can be done to test and evaluate for some of these problems, and what we can do to try and change our risk factors going forward. For a lot of these risk factors, we are “the drivers in control”. The more we know about our individual risk factors, the more we can do to change them, or at least improve our odds.
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 1708
by kelsey | May 31, 2012 | Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
One of the best parts of our trip last week was that our Grandma got to come along at the ripe age of 83. Grandma Evelyn (and Grandpa Marshall who passed away a few years ago due to cancer) have always been great examples to us to show us how to live life to its fullest. It seems it runs in the family as Great Grandma Mary Likness also displayed these awesome qualities and lived life to its fullest all the way to age 95. Grandma Evelyn has some significant heart issues, but they rarely stop her from doing what she loves. She loves gardening, being outside, and spending time with her family and friends. Due to her heart issues, she’s had to slow her pace down a bit, but it still hasn’t stopped her from doing what she loves. Many of us attribute this to her stubborn Norwegian heritage, but I like to think it’s alot about her positive attitude about life.
We can’t always control what’s going on in our lives, but what we can control is our attitude and thoughts about that situation. Disappointments and failures are going to happen, but staying positive and motivated to reach your goal is what will help you eventually reach your goal. As we were standing and gazing over Niagara Falls, I told my Grandma how special it was for her to have come along and she told me she never thought she would have been able to take this trip again with us due to her health. It would have been easy for her to give up and just stay home where it’s easy, but she didn’t. Seeing her family and celebrating life helped motivate her to live life to its fullest.
She’s been a tremendous example for all of us in our family and I hope I can be half of the lady she is. As you are working on your goals, I encourage you to think about what motivates you and evaluate your attitude about the various parts of your life. Sometimes we get so stressed out with various parts of our life, such as our job, our kids, etc that the rest of our life results in chaos as well. Take time to prioritize and change your thinking to more positive thoughts than negative and the rest will fall in place! At our last meeting on Tuesday, as we were re-evaluating our goals, one of our participants said her new goal is to let go of what she can’t control. Even though this doesn’t exactly relate to your weight, activity, or eating habits, it’s directly correlated with overall wellness and is an essential part to a healthy you!
Below is a picture of our special Grandma Evelyn enjoying life and taking in all it has to offer. 🙂
-Kelsey
