Moderating Candy Consumption

Halloween is here! Trick or treating is on your mind and undoubtedly is on your children's minds. As the evening approaches and the dressing up begins, have a plan set for moderating candy consumption. We've all eaten too much sugar before and probably remember that feeling we had in our stomach. To avoid eating too many sweets and the sugar crash that follows, you need to remember one thing: portion sizes.

Portion sizes are always important whether it comes to our daily meals or the candy we get on Halloween. There are a variety of ways to keep candy consumption to a single serving. One is by eating a balanced dinner the night of trick or treating. Getting full on the good food will help limit eating a lot of candy and chocolate.

Predividing candy and chocolate into single-serving portions in Ziplocs is a great way to keep sugar consumption low. Allowing a child to have just one bag a day or every other day to satisfy their sweet tooth without as many calories.

Give away extra candy to eliminate the temptation. Or you can use the trick of "out of sight, out of mind" to keep you or your children from overeating.

And I hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Halloween Fruit Recipe

Below is a great, healthful Halloween treat for you and your kids. Plus, it allows your kids to get creative!

Ingredients: 
-6 medium oranges
-2 16-oz cans fruit cocktail
-1 16-oz can pineapple chunks
-1 sharpie marker; black

Directions:
1. Cut the tops off of the oranges (as if it was a pumpkin you were carving). 

2. Scoop out the orange being careful not to rip the peel. 

3. Cut up the oranges to use with the fruit mixture. 

4. Using the sharpie marker, draw jack o’ lantern faces on the oranges. 

5. Set them aside to dry. 

6. In a large bowl combine the fruit cocktail, pineapple chunks, and the orange pieces. 

7. Scoop fruit mixture into the oranges and chill for at least one hour before serving.

This snack is sweet with the natural sugars from the fruit cocktail, pineapple, and oranges, without adding the calories from the added sugars of the usual Halloween candy and chocolate treats. Holidays do not have to be full of high calorie foods to treat yourself. 

Lifestyle Changes

Nutrition Tip: Take your time in this challenge. Good nutrition needs to be a lifestyle change, something you follow the rest of your life. Don’t make the mistake of trying to change everything overnight. Remember it took your life thus far to adopt your current eating habits; it will take a time to change them. When you make a change, focus on reaching a week or two doing it, then review how you have been doing and look into how you can improve. Many small changes lead to bigger and better changes. That is how you reach a goal.  

 

Fitness Prescription: Walk 30 minutes. Doing at least 30 minutes of activity most days of the week (4-5 days) is the goal. Continue to walk and add in a variety of exercises to your workout routine. Keeping physically active is the key to losing weight and keeping it off.

 

You can do this. This is the last daily email of the Cynergy Health Challenge; however, we will continue to email you weekly throughout the challenge. Never hesitate to email or call us with any questions or to make any appointments.

 

As of this date, we have a collective weight loss of 31 lbs! (That is only counting the one-sixth of the participants who have done a second weigh-in so imagine what our weight loss really is!) Keep it up!

Dieting & Eating Out

Eating out can be hard to do on a diet but dieting does not mean you cannot eat at a restaurant occasionally.

 

In general, 400-500 calories for a meal is ideal. Again, plan ahead. If you know you are going to a specific restaurant, look up the nutrition information before you go. Almost every restaurant has their nutrition facts displayed either on their website or on their menu. If you don't see calories listed, you can always ask an employee for that information.

 

Some tips: Order off the kids' menu at a restaurant to save money and calories from eating smaller portions sizes (Some restaurants let you do this, others will not. It won't hurt to ask). Split your meal with a significant other or a friend. And you can always ask to have your meal cooked a certain way to meet your needs.

 

Fitness Prescription: walk 25 minutes at a brisk pace. Do 5 jumping jacks, 5 crunches, 5 lunges (each leg), 5 squats.

 

We have almost completed a month of the challenge! Rewards are known to keep motivation strong. Reward yourself. Rather than using food as reward, choose an activity that you will enjoy. Make an appointment for a relaxing massage with our massage therapist, Kelly. Go to the mall to get new clothes for your wardrobe. Do anything you feel would be a reward, but stay clear of food and drink rewards.

 

And remember, you could win a free 6-month massage membership...

Drinking Calories

Nutrition Tip: After breakfast tomorrow, make water your primary drink. At breakfast, drink your cup of coffee or your glass of orange juice. However, throughout the rest of your day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. The average American consumes an extra 245 calories daily from caloric beverages. Research shows that despite the calories, these drinks don’t trigger a sense of fullness the way that food does and leads to us taking in more calories than we expend, which results in weight gain.

Fitness Prescription: Walk 25 minutes at a brisk pace. Do 25 jumping jacks and 25 crunches.

Grocery Lists

Make a grocery list before you head to the store. This will save you money and keep you from buying high calorie foods that look appetizing. If you shop when you are hungry, you are more likely to have a cart full of soft drinks, chips, and sweets. By having a list, you are planning ahead, which helps you stay on track to only buy foods that fit into your meal plan. For ideas on healthful groceries to buy, make an appointment with our dietitian, Megan. She is more than happy to help!

Fitness prescription: Walk 25 minutes at a brisk pace. Walk with weights. Pick weights that are appropriate for you at your current fitness level. If you don't have hand weights, use cans of food, carry a heavy book, etc. Be creative. Everything counts, whether you use hand weights or substitute in a heavier object.

Planning & Weight Loss

Plan ahead. Successful weight loss and maintenance comes to those who plan. Plan when and how long you will exercise each day. Do mornings work best; do you have time during lunch; do evenings work best? Making physical activity part of your daily routine will make it easier to do each day. Also, plan when you will go grocery shopping each week and when you will cook. The more you plan, the more physical activity and eating at home will become a normal part of your routine.

Fitness prescription: walk 25 min at a brisk pace; do 10 lunges, 10 crunches, 10 jumping jacks.

Ask the Experts

Week 3 of the challenge has come to an end!

How are we doing? It is time to check-in with yourself. In the past 3 week, what have been your accomplishments, your progress towards your goals, your challenges? It is important to reflect in order to ask for help when needed. Support and accountability can go a long way in motivating you to continue to change your lifestyle habits. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask for it! 

Ask the experts. We have Kelly, a licensed massage therapist, Megan, a registered dietitian, and Dr. Hayes, a family medicine physician. We are here to help and happy to do so!

Fitness Prescription: Walk 25 minutes at a brisk pace today, Saturday, and Sunday. Do 25 jumping jacks today, 25 sit ups Saturday, 10 squats on Sunday.

Don't hesitate to email us with any questions. Have a great weekend!

Stocking Your Home with Healthy Snacks

Look in your pantry and refrigerator. What kind of snacks do you have available? Chances are if you have potato chips, cookies, and other treats available, you will be tempted to eat them when you are hungry, bored or stressed. Next time you are at the store, buy only healthier snacks, such as baked chips, yogurt, fruit, and reduced-fat versions of foods so you will be less tempted to eat higher calorie foods when you need or want a bite to eat.

Fitness prescription: Walk 20 minutes at a brisk pace. Do 10 lunges and 25 crunches.

Daily Chores & Activity

Today, we are focusing solely on physical activity. Since autumn is here, the leaves are falling off the tree and pile up quickly. This afternoon take 15 minutes to rake the leaves in your yard or a neighbor's. If you do not have a yard, walk around the place where you are living for 15 minutes and pick up any trash you see. Not only will you get exercise, you will help the environment.

Remember everything counts! Whether you are going to the gym to workout or you are just vacuuming in your living room, you are still burning calories. Getting a variety of physical activity is an important part of continuing to lose weight or maintain your weight loss.

Daily Fitness Prescription: Do 25 jumping jacks, jog up 2 flights of stairs (walk down them; no tripping!).

Fruit Desserts

To fulfill your sweet tooth, make fruit your dessert. The natural sugars in fruit make a healthier dessert than cake or ice cream, which have added sugars. Fruit is a diet friendly food, but it does still have calories. If your calorie intake exceeds your calorie output, weight gain will result so don't go fruit crazy :)

Example of fruit desserts:
1 cup berries with 6 oz light vanilla yogurt
1 cup sliced peaches with 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 small apple with 1 Tbsp peanut or almond butter

These carbohydrate-protein combinations make for great snacks because they give you quick energy while also keeping you satisfied until your next meal.

Fitness prescription: Today: Do 5 minutes stretching. Walk 15 minutes at a brisk pace. Do 25 jumping jacks. Saturday & Sunday: Do 5 minutes stretching. Walk 20 minutes at a brisk pace. Walk 2 flights of stairs (up and down counts as one flight).

2 weeks have come and gone. Keep up the great work Cynergy Challengers! Feel free to stop by for a weigh-in!

Brown Bag Lunches

Bringing your lunch to work or school everyday may not be a top priority because of convenience or preference for fast foods or restaurants. However, packing a lunch daily can lead to many positive changes in your wallet and your waistline.

Lower Calories and Fat
Undoubtedly, if you pack your own lunch, you will save calories and fat. Fast food joints and restaurants buy food that is convenient, and convenient food tends to be fattier and saltier than food we would make in our homes. While it is true many eatery places are offering healthier and lighter options, they still have many unnecessary added calories and fat, from the dressings they use on salads or the cooking methods they use.

Cost and Quality
In general, when you brown bag it rather than eating out your wallet grows. On average it costs about $3 to bring a sack lunch while it costs about $10 to buy one out. These savings can add up quickly. Another benefit being that you know what you are putting in your foods. When we eat out, we cannot be certain what has gone into our food. We know the quality of the food we are eating when we pack our own lunch.

Food Preferences
The great part of bringing your own lunch is that you don't have to settle on what you are eating. You can bring your favorite foods for lunch rather than stopping by the most convenient fast food establishment and just picking anything on the menu. When you choose foods spontaneously without much thought and you are hungry when doing so, we tend to choose fattier, high-calorie foods that look and sound appetizing.

Bring your lunch to work or school. It will save you calories and money!

Caffeine

Feeling tired this afternoon? Many of us turn to caffeinated drinks like coffee and tea to pick us up when our energy is low. While caffeine has its benefits, it is important to know both the upside and downside to the stimulant.

Up side to caffeine: improves alertness, increases energy, improves productivity, increases mood

Down side to caffeine: causes increased tiredness later in the day, can interfere with normal sleep, elevates blood pressure, can increase anxiety

The Mayo Clinic recommends a maximum of 200-400 mg caffeine daily, about 2-4 cups of coffee per day. I recommend staying at 1-2 cups of coffee or 1-2 cans of soda, however, because caffeine is not needed for our bodies to work properly. It also can start replacing foods that have nutritional value.

Fitness prescription: Walk 15 minutes at a brisk pace, do 15 sit ups, walk up 1 flight of stairs (up and down counting as one flight).

 

Focus on Fitness

Before the daily nutrition and fitness prescription, we need a response for how many Cynergy Health Challenge participants would be interested in taking fitness classes at Wilson's Fitness. Wilson's has generously agreed to team with us for our challenge. They are willing to offer classes for just our participants if enough are interested.

If you are interested, please email us back with whether you prefer a 4-week class or 6-week, how many times weekly you would like the class, and what time would you prefer classes.

We hope you can take advantage of this opportunity!
_________________________________________________________________________________

Make an effort to increase your activity today. Take a walk on a break or at lunchtime. Park further away at the grocery store, at work, or at school. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Anything to get you moving.

Bring your lunch to work tomorrow if you normally eat in the cafeteria or at a fast food establishment. Pack your lunch the night before if you are usually short on time in the mornings. Remember food safety if you do not have a refrigerator available at work. If this is the case, a peanut butter sandwich will be safer than bringing something that may spoil, like a deli sandwich.

Try to get a variety of the food groups in your packed lunch: grains, proteins, vegetables, fruits, dairy.

Example:
3 thin slices of deli ham
2 pieces wheat bread
1 cup baby carrots
1 small banana
6 oz yogurt

Fitness prescription: walk 15 minutes at a brisk pace, do 15 jumping jacks, do 10 lunges

Keep it up! If you have any questions, remember our dietitian, Megan, is here to help!

Healthy Tailgating Snacks

Tailgating is one of the great parts of college football games. While it is associated with unhealthful snacks, there are ways to make those high calorie and high fat foods we love so much lighter and healthier.

Traditional snack: Nachos & Cheese

Swap the fried tortilla chips for baked lentil chips to save you total fat, trans fat, and calories. Replace the processed cheese for a tomato-based salsa. You will be surprised at how satisfied this snack will leave you feeling, with fewer calories and grams of fat.

Traditional snack: Pizza

Swap the deep dish takeout pizza for a homemade pizza. Use a whole wheat tortilla or pita bread to save calories. Replacing a thick crust with a thin one goes a long way. Use part-skim mozzarella cheese to cut down on fat, and load up on veggie toppings.

Traditional snack: Buffalo Wings

Instead of frying chicken wings, try baking or broiling. You use less butter and add less fat when you bake rather than fry. Add cayenne or crushed red pepper and any other spices for taste.

Next time you tailgate, bring a more health conscious snack. Small changes in your diet can make a big impact on weight and health in the long-run.

Make Your Plate Like MyPlate

Make your dinner plate look like "MyPlate" tonight. MyPlate (below) is a visual plate intended to help you eat a balanced diet at each meal. According to MyPlate, half your plate should be fruits and vegetables, while the other half of your plate should be split between grains and proteins. And don't forget about your dairy! Check out choosemyplate.gov to read more about a balanced diet.



An example of a balanced meal: grapes, salad, brown rice, baked chicken (all making up one-fourth of a plate) and a glass of skim milk on the side.

Post-Exercise Snacking

Regular exercise plays an important role in health and wellness. Many people focus on pre-exercise snacking to help them go the distance but a proper snack after strenuous physical activity is also important. Eating a healthy snack after exercise can help your body repair muscle tissues and replenish glycogen stores.

For after-exercise snacking, focus on getting a protein and carbohydrate combination. Proteins help repair muscle tissues; carbohydrates replenish glycogen stores.

Some examples:

Hummus & Whole Wheat Pita 
Yogurt & Berries
Nut Butter & Apple Slices
Cottage Cheese & Peaches
Tuna & Whole Wheat Toast

A protein and a high fiber carbohydrate snack will help you feel satisfied while also helping your body replenish after a workout. 

Healthful Grocery List

Having a general grocery list to reference makes grocery shopping less stressful. Below is a list of healthful products to guide your purchases at the store.

fresh fruits (example: citrus fruits, berries)
fresh vegetables (example: leafy green or orange vegetables)
skim or 1% milk
light yogurt
low-fat cottage cheese
lean meat (example: tenderloin, sirloin, 90% lean ground beef, skinless chicken breast, skinless turkey breast, salmon, herring, trout, tilapia)
whole wheat bread
whole grain cereal (with <6 grams sugar per serving)
oatmeal

Two important rules to follow during grocery shopping are to not go when you are hungry. People tend to buy more food and more temptation foods when they go grocery shopping when they haven't eaten for awhile. The next rule is always look at food labels. The claims on the box are not always true so do your research!