New Year's Resolutions

After spending more time with family and friends, the second most popular New Year's resolution in the United States is to regularly workout, and the third is to lose weight. Does either resolution sound familiar to you?

Regular physical activity is associated with numerous health benefits, more so than anything else we can do. Regular exercise has been shown to reduce the risks for certain cancers, enhance mood, lower blood pressure, help achieve and maintain weight and even increase longevity. Exercise keeps you healthy and helps you feel and look great.

The statistics on overweight and obese adult Americans are staggering at 66% of the adult population. It is no wonder why exercise and weight loss are such popular New Year's resolutions. Setting goals and staying motivated and focused are key factors in reaching a specific weight and maintaining it long-term. Working closely with a registered dietitian can have a huge impact on staying on track this coming year. Do not hesitate to find a dietitian in your area and set up an appointment to help you get started on a weight loss program that is individualized to fit your current lifestyle.

New Year's resolutions are easy to make and hard to keep but very possible and realistic to meet with the right preparation and outlook. 

Holiday Eating and Health Challenge Updates

Happy Holidays!

We are almost done with 3 months of the challenge! Only 3 month to go! We have calculated the weight loss percentages for those of you who have come in for weigh-ins at Cynergy Health. Our current leader has lost 7% of her total weight since October 1st, which is 16 lbs! We are very proud of all of the participants' success. If you would like to know where you stand in the challenge, email us at cynergyhealthchallenge@mycynergyhealth.com.

Holidays are a difficult time to stick with those health and weight goals but it is possible. If you don't do as well as you hope over the holidays, remember you can always get right back on track. Cynergy Health is here to help if you need extra support.

Also, as the new year approaches, we are encouraging patients to make an appointment with our registered dietitian. Our January Special is NO COPAY for new nutrition patients when you make an appointment to see our dietitian. This is a great opportunity! Call today to make an appointment, 573-447-4400.

From everyone at Cynergy Health, we wish you very Happy Holidays!

Diet Tricks

As the New Year approaches, a resolution can be most successful with a plan in place. If you want to lose weight, think of the weight at which you would be happiest. Is it reasonable? Set up an appointment with a registered dietitian to help you plan your diet and help you be as prepared as you can be to reach your goals.

Some diet tricks to keep in mind to reach that New Year's resolution:

Don't skip breakfast. Breakfast helps give you energy and keeps you on track with your diet.

Question your cravings. Before you eat a food, take a moment to consider if you are truly hungry or if you are emotionally eating, whether out of stress, boredom, or another emotion.

Get plenty of sleep. Many studies have shown that inadequate or poor quality sleep can affect your appetite hormones and cause you to eat more than you normally would had you slept well for 6-8 hours each night.

Make your own lunch. This can save you several hundred calories a day compared to eating out at a fast food establishment. If you make your lunch, you know what you are putting into your food.

Take notes. Keep a food record to help track calories and also physical activity.

Don't go shopping hungry. Better yet, always go to the store with a grocery list and stick to it.

The last two pieces of advice: remember moderation and exercise. A successful diet entails moderate portions of foods and regular physical activity.

Holiday Cookies: Chocolate Chip and Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Chip and Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup regular oats
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup apple sauce, drained
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate mini chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. 

3. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients: oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
4. Place sugars and drained applesauce in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. 

5. Add vanilla and egg; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. 

6. Stir in pecans and mini chips. 

7. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. 

8. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. 

9. Cool on pans 2 minutes. 

10.Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies, Serving Size: 1 cookie: 75 calories, 2.5 g fat

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light recipe

Goal Setting

Ten weeks of the challenge have come and gone. Are you as motivated at this moment in the challenge as you were on day one?

If you are, great! Keep doing what you know works for you! If you have lost motivation somewhere along the way, either due to the holidays, being busy, or something else, it is time to re-evaluate your goals.

If you haven't done so already, write down 3 goals you hope to achieve by participating in this challenge. Are your goals reasonable and feasible for you to reach? By making your goals small and attainable, you will keep motivation high. It is best not to make a goal of wanting to lose 100 lbs. Break your weight loss goals down by week or month. 'I want to lose 5-8 lbs each month' is a much more attainable goal. You also need to plan how you will lose weight. If you want to lose weight, think about how you will achieve this goal. Plan a regular workout schedule to follow. Plan your meals the day before. If you want to quit smoking, rather than make a goal to 'just quit smoking.' Start small. Think about how you will most successfully reach this goal.

Goal planning may seem simple but it can influence your motivation, progress, and success. Email us your goals, if you have not done so already, so we can check in with your progress.

Also, as the new year approaches, we are encouraging patients to make an appointment with our registered dietitian. Our January Special is NO COPAY for new nutrition patients when you make an appointment to see our dietitian. This is a great opportunity! Call today to make an appointment, 573-447-4400.

Snacks in Under 100 Calories

Snacks are a great way to insure you get enough calories in a day, a problem many of us do not have. However, snacking also helps keep our blood sugars even and metabolism going. Choosing healthful snacks are much more beneficial than those that are less than so. Monitoring the calories you take in from snacks can be an important part of any diet. Too much snacking can lead to eating excess calories and cause unwanted weight gain.

One way to control snacking is to know how many calories are in a serving of your favorite healthful snacks. Great snacks under 100 calories are listed below for your convenience:

1 cup blueberries= 85 cal

1 medium apple= 70 cal

1 small banana= 60 cal

2 cups popcorn= 95 cal

1/2 cup oatmeal= 75 cal

1 sheet graham crackers= 55 cal

1 cup carrots= 25 cal

1/2 medium cucumber= 20 cal

1/2 cup fat free fruit yogurt=85 cal

1 oz reduced fat cheese= 80 cal

3/4 oz sharp cheddar= 90 cal

1.5 oz chicken breast without skin= 70 cal

1 oz deli turkey breast= 30 cal

1 large egg= 75 cal

13 almonds= 90 cal

1 Tbsp peanut butter= 95 cal

Marathon Nutrition

Proper nutrition is a huge part of training for a marathon. Most people believe the focus is on building muscle and increasing endurance. Without a balanced diet and the right combination of nutrients, reaching your physical activity goals or even the finish line can be even more difficult or seem impossible.

Ideally, when training for any major athletic event, your diet should focus on complex carbohydrates and lean proteins.

50 – 65% calories from complex carbohydrates
15 – 25% calories from fat, unsaturated as much as possible
20 – 25% calories from protein

Complex carbohydrates include whole grain pastas, rices, and breads. Lean proteins include peanut butter, chicken, fish, nuts, and beans. The amount of calories needed for each is dependent on your activity level and your current weight, which can be determined by a registered dietitian.

If you need help making your meal plan while training, set up an appointment with a dietitian today to get you started out right. 

Vitamin A

What Vitamin A does: Important for maintenance of healthy skin, hair and mucous membranes. Helps us see in dim light and important for proper bone and tooth growth.

Daily Vitamin A needs: 900 mcg (men); 700 mcg (women).

Where to find Vitamin A: Found in animal-based foods like dairy and fish, naturally. Dietary carotenoids found in fruits, vegetables and oil are converted by the body to vitamin A.

How much Vitamin A is in each food: 1 sweet potato (1,403 mcg); 1/2 cup frozen spinach (573 mcg);1/2 cup raw cantaloupe (135 mcg); 1/2 cup raw red peppers (117 mcg)

Chronic Illnesses

Friendly reminder: we need a weight for each participant to be taken sometime this week to track your progress and for you to be eligible for the big final prize.

There is an article in Medical Economics that discussed the news and trends affecting the business of medicine. It acknowledges the 8 risks and behaviors that drive 15 chronic conditions that account for 80% of total costs for all chronic illness worldwide.

Those 8 behaviors are listed as 1. Poor diet, 2. Physical inactivity, 3. Smoking, 4. Lack of health screening, 5. Poor stress management, 6. Poor standard of care, 7. Insufficient sleep, 8. Excessive alcohol consumption.

These risks and behaviors increase your risks to developing several chronic conditions: diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypertension, obesity, cancer, high cholesterol, and many more. By focusing on limiting the risks and behaviors associated with these illnesses, you can help prevent or control them.

Start today. The Cynergy Health Challenge is, as the name implies, meant to challenge you. Start with small positive changes to your lifestyle habits to encourage you to stay with them. Smoke 2 cigarettes less per day if you usually smoke a pack per day. Exercise 5-10 minutes if you are usually sedentary. Add 1 cup of fruits and vegetable to your diet if you usually eat few fruits and vegetables. Every positive change counts.

Paleo Diet

The Paleolithic diet, or Paleo diet, has been gaining publicity in the past few years as an effective weight loss diet and nutritional plan. It is also known as the hunter-gatherer diet, the Stone Age diet, and the caveman diet. This nutrition plan  is based on a diet full of plants and animals, similar to the diet of nomads and cavemen who lived before the time of agriculture. The diet focuses mainly on fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and excludes grains, refined sugar, and dairy products. The purpose of this diet is to prevent those common health problems in the United States: obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

While many people have positive opinions after trying this diet, it is still not highly accepted and encouraged. As with the gluten-free diet, if it is not medically necessary to cut food groups because of a food intolerance or allergy, then it is not advised to do so. It can often do more harm than good. Specifically, the Paleo diet eliminates grains and dairy products (which make up approximately 70% of the foods we eat daily in the US). Since this makes what you can and cannot eat restrictive, it is difficult to follow the diet long-term. It isn't feasible to continue to avoid foods for a lifetime. The most successful diets are those that are not restrictive and keep you from feeling deprived. Long-term weight loss and maintenance most often follows a typical diet while watching portion sizes and getting regular physical activity.