Drink More Water- New Years Resolution Series

Through my Community Nutrition internship this past fall semester, I have seen a variety of nutrition presentations directed towards adults and the aging. I gave a presentation on high blood pressure, talked about food safety, worked a health fair table about MyPlate, taught proper portion sizes, and choosing better beverages. The presentation I enjoyed the most and thought the audience got the most out of was, Water-The Better Beverage Choice. After reflecting on my semester and presentations I have given, I thought that this was one of the most important topics I talked about.

Soda and sweetened drinks are everywhere. They are in the check-out line at Wegmans, sitting in the aisle at Home Depot, and at children's eye level in gas stations and rest stops. They are sweet, fruity, fizzy, and oh so addicting. BUT, soda and sweetened beverages are the common downfall of people's diets and healthy habits. I'm not saying that you need to cut out soda and sweetened beverages from your diet completely. I am asking that, maybe, you switch a few of your sodas or sweet teas to water. Better yet, let's make it fruit infused water.

It is proven that the human body cannot go more than 3 days without water, and it is true that we do get some of our water from foods we eat, as well as other beverages like milk, tea and coffee. But that doesn't mean that we are getting enough of it! The human body needs about 30mL/kg of body weight daily. Here's how to figure out how much you need-

Take your weight and divide it by 2.2 to find out your weight in kilograms
135/2.2=61.36 kg

Take your weight in kilograms and multiply it by 30 to get the ammount of mililiters you need
61.36 x 30= 1840 mL

Then divide that number by 240 (which the is amount of mL in a cup)
1840/240=7.67c

So, if you weigh 135 pounds, you need 7  2/3 cups of water each day to ensure that you are hydrated!

If you want to drink something more flavorful without sacraficing up tons of empty calories, cut up some of your favorite fruits and put them into your water! There are water bottles at stores like Target and Walmart that have special compartments in them to diffuse the fruit flavor into your water. The best part about this is, is that your getting all the antioxidants and vitamins from the fruit!

Here are some of my favorite infused water mix-ins
-cucumber and mint
-watermelon and basil
-strawberries, blueberries and raspberries
-orange, lemon and lime
-cherry and lime

You can use frozen fruit instead of fresh to cut cost, and keep your water cold
Get creative as you like! I've even seen someone out jalapenos and pineapple in their water! This will cut sugar and calories off your diet, and help keep you healthy!

Eating Well at Your Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and that means lots of family time, and lots and lots of food. But you don't have to be nervous about spoiling your healthy eating habits because of the holidays. You can enjoy all the food and still stay on the right track! 

I won't be having a normal Thanksgiving this year. I am actually meeting my parents and brother out in Arizona for a few days for vacation and to celebrate Thanksgiving. Our dinner is going to be at a seafood restaurant so I don't believe I will be having a regular Thanksgiving meal. However, yesterday my friends and I celebrated Friendsgiving. We made turkey tenderloins, stuffing, green beans, masheb potatoes, and an apple crisp pie. The dinner was absolutely delicious and I am so happy we were able to get together before we all go home for a few days.

If you're still trying to think of things to add to your menu for Thursday, https://diningwithadinergirl.blogspot.com/ has some great ideas and tons of tasty recipes to be sure to satisfy everyone. And she's my mom too!

So now to the good part; how to make sure you're not going to go overboard at dinner.

Let's start at the appetizer- Try everything! Don't feel like you have to limit or cut things out because you're watching what you eat. Get a plate, put a little bit of everything on it and then slowly munch on it 'til dinner time. By putting it all on your plate and portioning it out first, you will make sure that you're not over-stuffing yourself before the main course. And having only a little bit of the heavier appetizers won't throw you off at all.

Main Course-
When selecting your piece of the turkey, go for breast meat. You'll be getting  lots of protein and cutting out the fat that is in the thigh and drumsticks.
Vegetable- It's best to just go with vegetables that were steamed or pan fried. I know green bean casserole is mighty tasty, but it is full of saturated fat and lots of calories. Choosing steamed vegetables will leave you room for other sides and for dessert, where the casseroles will fill you up fast.
Potatoes- If you normally have mashed potatoes and baked potatoes at your feast, choose the baked potato with the skin still on. The skin of the potato is full of vitamins and mineral and fiber too, which will aid in digestion. If you only have mashed potatoes or scalloped potatoes, grab yourself about a fist size worth of potatoes and skip all the butter. Instead of butter, put gravy on them. It is more nutrient dense than butter is, and a lot less fatty and calorie heavy.
Biscuit- If you really, really want to add a biscuit to your plate, try to save it to be the last thing eaten. Use all your calories for the stuff that is nutrient dense, and if you're still hungry at the end, then indulge in the biscuit or roll. They are often high in fat and empty calories, which could have been ate through more vegetables and poatoes.
Stuffing- This is my favorite part of the meal. I love the stuffing my mom makes, especially because she puts sausage and mushrooms in it. Start with about a half a cup on your plate, and if you're still hungry after you finish everything else, go back and get more.

Dessert-
Pie has always been a staple in my house for Thanksgiving, especially apple pie. When cutting your pie, or even piece of cake, cut your piece to about 2 inches wide, or the size of your pinky finger. You can still enjoy your dessert without spending 1000 calories on it!  If you have cookies, limit yourself to about 2 small 2in diameter cookies. You can enjoy dessert and still feel great too.

Basically what I am trying to get at with this post, is to listen to your body. Eat slow and when you start to feel full, stop eating. Your body and brain knows when you've had enough to eat. If you're still hungry after your first plate, grab a little more. Just be conscious of what you're putting on your plate and how much you're eating and then you won't feel bad the next day.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Waist Circumference and Your Health

Some people are very fixated on what the scale says. They believe that if they are a certain weight, that they are unhealthy and that they are worthless and need a change. A scale is just a machine. It measures the force of gravity you exert on the earth. A number does not define you. Yes, I believe that everyone should live healthy and active lifestyles, but you don't need to tie a number to your health. I already know that when I am a practicing dietitian, I will not be weighing my patients unless it is absolutely necessary. People fear going to the doctor because they do not want to know what they weigh or what a doctor will say about their weight. We can make changes without tying a number to ourselves. By simply focusing on our eating and health habits, we can achieve goals. I personally do not step on the scale unless I absolutely need to. A better way to gauge health is to do waist circumference. Women should strive to have a waist circumference of 35 inches at most and men should have a waist circumference of 40 inches at most. Waist circumference can be a good predictor for being overweight and obese, and can help dietitians predict if you more likely to develop a disease. There are two main types of adiposity, Central adiposity and Gynoid adipostiy. Central adipostity is excessive amounts of fat around the abdominal area. When there is a significant amount of fat in the abdominal region, there is a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension. Less harmful but still bad is Gynoid adipostiy. This is where fat deposits around the hips and glutes; less harmful but still an issue. These two types help dietitians and physicians to describe where fat is gathering and storing on the body. Gauging waist circumference and adipostiy type can help you and a dietitian figure out an action plan to achieve your goals and become healthier.  

         
Want to figure out how healthy you are without stepping on the scale? Try measuring your waist circumference and figure out where you stand! Need help reaching your goals and making a change? Message me and we can get you on the right track!

A Workout For You!

As promised in my last post, today I am sharing my personal workout routine. For a while, I would find workout routines that would look interesting on Pinterest and from Women's Health Magazine, but I realized that they weren't working the best for me nor they weren't targeting what I wanted to work on. We have been learning in my weight lifting class about program design and how to make an effective program for a variety of clients. My own personal goals are to Increase Strength and Tone a bit. If you have the same or similar goals as I do, I highly recommend giving this workout a try. I've been doing it for the past two weeks and I feel great and am starting to see some great results! Cardio is to be done 4 days of the week for only 30 minutes each day. I recommend doing 15 minutes of moderate cardio before starting the exercises and then doing the last 15 minutes of cardio after the exercises are complete. The cardio in the beginning helps to warm up the body and muscle to perform the exercises, and the 15 minutes of cardio at the end helps to decrease the likelihood of soreness the next day. The cardio can be walking, jogging, biking, the elliptical, the stepper machine or anything else that will boost your heart rate. Mixing cardio and weight training exercises helps to tone the body and burn fat, while promoting muscle growth and strength. Be sure to refuel after your workout with a good dose of carbohydrates and proteins to replenish your energy stores and support muscle growth and repair. My go-to post workout snack is always a big glass of skim milk and a piece of toast with peanut butter! If you're interested in getting a workout customized to your goals, message me with your goals! Happy Sweating!

DAY 1
Back and Biceps	SETS	REPS
Bicep DB Curl	4	12
DB Hammer Curl	4	12
Cable Curls	3	10
Incline Bench Curls	4	10
Bicep 21s	3	7
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns	4	12
Narrow Grip Lat Pulldowns	4	12
Bent Over Barbell Row	4	12
Seated Row	4	12
Supermans	3	12
30 Minutes of Moderate Cardio

DAY 2
Legs	Sets	Reps
Smith Machine Squats	4	10
Smith Machine Hack Squats	4	10
Leg Press	4	10
DB Side Lunges	3	12
Russian Split Squats	3	12
Goblet Squats	4	12
Seated leg Curl	4	10
Leg Extensions	4	10
Hip Abductor	3	15
Hip Adductor	3	15
Seated Calf Raises	3	15
Stiff Leg Deadlifts	3	15
Standing Calf Raises	3	15

DAY 3
Chest and Triceps	Sets	Reps
DB Chest Press	4	10
DB Flies	4	12
Incline DB Chest Press	4	10
Incline DB Flies	4	10
Decline DB Chest Press	4	10
Overhead Tricep Extensions	3	15
Skullcrushers	3	12
Rope Tricep Pulldowns	4	10
Tricep Kick Backs	4	10
Bench Dips	3	15
30 Minutes of Moderate Cardio

DAY 4

OFF

DAY 5
Shoulders and Abs	Sets	Reps
Military Overhead Press	4	10
Lateral DB Raises	4	10
Arnold Press	4	12
Upright Rows	4	10
Farmers Carrys	4	20 sec
Bent Over Rear Delt Reverse Fly	3	12
Russian Twists	3	40
Leg Raises	3	15
Weighted Decline Sit Ups	3	20
Reverse Cruch	3	15
Oblique Crunches	3	20  Each Side
30 Minutes of Moderate Cardio

DAY 6
Total Body	Sets	Reps
Jumping Jacks	4	20
Burpees	4	10
Kettle Bell Swings	3	15
Single Leg Dead Lift	3	12
Squat with Upright Row	4	12
Box Jumps	3	15
45 Minutes of Moderate Exercise DAY 7 Off Try this program and tell me what you think!