SuperTracker

The USDA's SuperTracker is a great nutrition tool for those interested in weight loss, weight maintenance, or even general menu planning. Tracking calories and physical activity has been shown to be very beneficial in reaching nutrition goals and being held accountable to them.

From this tool, you are able to get a personalized meal plan that is tailored to meet your needs and goals. You also have the ability to get a break down of your eating and exercise habits and are given tips of how to improve them in the form of reports. It is comprehensive yet user friendly.

Click on the SuperTracker above to check out this great tool for yourself!

Calories Used in Physical Activity

The number of calories you burn while exercising depends on several factors, such as weight, age, and weather conditions.

Vigorous physical activity burns more calories per 10 minutes of exercise than moderate physical activity. Vigorous physical activity includes aerobic dancing, heavy gardening, hiking uphill, jumping rope, and swimming, while general gardening, baseball, walking briskly and water aerobics are considered moderate physical activity. Physical activity can be doing chores, such as vacuuming; taking the stairs, or running errands.

Every movement counts, whether it is walking in the grocery store or you are taking a workout class at the gym. Hours do not need to be spent exercising each day; 10 minute increments add up to an equivalent workout. Challenge yourself to move more. Grab a friend for motivation. Use a tool like a pedometer to track your progress. And move!

Children Then Vs Children Now

During nutrition counseling, I often have parents compare their children's eating habits with their own as a child. Parents often use it to excuse their child's poor eating patterns. However, times have changed since we  were kids and that changes the big picture.

Today, 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese. They are the first generation who is believed not to outlive their parents. Kids are getting adult diseases. Their increasing weight is one piece of proof that a problem exists and high nutrition-related lab values is another. We ate junk food as a child, and we turned out fine; so what changed?

Advancing technology has made it easier for the younger generation to be sedentary. We had to find entertainment by playing outside and using creativity to keep us occupied. We were more active than children today.

Foods were simpler. We had nowhere near the variety of foods kids have today. The food market has grown and keeps expanding. The grocery store is filled with nutritious foods but it is also filled with overly processed, high fat, and low nutritional value foods. Desserts used to be an occasional treat whereas now they are becoming part of each meal. Food is readily available in our society so it no wonder the new issues are arising.

Obesity in childhood increases the likelihood of obesity as an adult. It also increases those risks of developing weight-related health conditions. Schools are focusing their efforts in battling the obesity epidemic, but parents are primary role models for their children. Unfortunately, children cannot eat as we did because the world we live in has changed, so we need to instill healthy eating habits in our children at a young age to fight back.

Fitting Exercise into a Busy Schedule

Getting regular physical activity is easier said than done. Many people have busy schedules, and this is where priority comes into play. If you make exercise a priority, you are more likely to engage in it than someone who has not. Whether it be because you know of the health benefits or because you enjoy exercising, regular physical activity will bring positive benefits, either physical, mental or emotional. 

Physical activity does not have to all be done at the same time in your day. Short periods of exercise have been found to be just as beneficial than if you had gone to the gym for 30 minutes to 1 hour. This means using the stairs, taking walks on coffee breaks, and doing a few jumping jacks here and a few there, add up. You can wake up 15 minutes early to go on a short run or walk. You can set 15 minutes aside before bedtime to do some stretching. If you typically watch television each night, use that time to get some exercise. If you have free hand weights at home, use them. If you have a treadmill or elliptical, use it during this time. If you do not enjoy physical activity, doing an activity at the same time that you do enjoy will help pass the time. 

Take pictures on a walk, hike with a friend, walk briskly while shopping at the mall. Everything counts. 

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...

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.

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!).

Easy Ways to Save Calories

The concept of weight loss seems easy enough. Calories out need to be greater than calories in. Sounds easier than it really is. In many cases, we do not realize when we take in more calories than needed or at the exact age our metabolism begins to slow and almost unknowingly our weights begin to creep upward.

Keeping a food record can be an eye-opening experience to help us pinpoint where we can cut calories to aid our weight loss efforts. Limiting condiments and caloric beverages are two of the easiest ways to take in less calories. Instead of putting condiments directly on food, use them on the side, such as dipping your salad in the dressing, your sandwich in bbq sauce or ketchup, or your pancakes in syrup. We tend to take in less calories from condiments by eating them on the side.

Calories in beverages add up fast. Soft drinks and many fruit juices have added sugars and have a lot of calories for little, if any, nutritional value. Switching to diet soda or to a calorie-free additive, like Crystal Lite, you can immediately cut a few hundred calories, especially if you are an all-day soda drinker.

Saving calories is not the only way to help in weight loss, but also burning more calories through physical activity. Taking the stairs more often or parking further from the grocery store are a few examples to increase activity with little effort.

Evaluate your own eating habits or see a registered dietitian to help you determine where you can trim some calories.

Pedometers

A pedometer senses body motion and counts your steps.  It is a great motivational tool to use for weight loss and to set goals for activity.  Start small and try to increase your steps each day.  Pedometers are relatively inexpensive compared to other workout gear, and have different features depending on the model. 

Distance estimate, calories burned estimate, ability to time and track specific workouts, memory, clock, stopwatch/exercise timer, alarm, speed or pace estimate, goal setting, and upload to computer or cell phone app are all feature options for a pedometer.

Pedometers are one way to stay motivated in reaching a weight loss goal and keep up on your physical activity.

Physical Activity

Physical activity is a great way to expend calories and to lose weight. 

Everything counts.  Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking further away from the grocery store to increase walking, sitting at your desk and tensing your muscles and relaxing.  Doing a little exercise throughout your day adds up and can have positive health benefits, both physically and mentally.

Being overweight or obese makes exercise more difficult, but not impossible.  Start small.  Even 5 minutes at a time is beneficial.  Wear a pedometer and aim to increase your steps each day.  Go for a swim or ride your bike.  Aerobic exercise is important but so is strength training.  Lift 5 lb weights to increase your strength.  Do an internet search on weight exercises to try.

The statement I hear the most is "I am too busy to exercise."  Work, school, kids, and stressful events in one's life are the main reasons why most people do not engage in any physical activity. 

Make it a priority.  The health benefits are numerous, from feeling more confident to helping prevent heart disease (the number one killer in the United States).  Set a timer to remind you to exercise.  Find a workout buddy.  Buy a pedometer. 

Any amount of physical activity is better than nothing.

Why Diet Pills Don't Work

Diet pills do not work for long-term weight loss or maintenance.  Not even the ones endorsed by Kim Kardashian or Dr. Oz.

Here's why.  Weight loss and maintenance are difficult to achieve.  You have to make changes in your diet and activity level for a lifetime.  Eating a well-balanced meal, along with regular exercise, are your best bet for reaching your desired goal.

The reasons diet pills and fad diets do not work is because they do not change our eating habits ultimately.  A diet pill may suppress your appetite for the time being or cutting out carbohydrates may help you drop a few pant sizes.  However, realistically we cannot take a pill or avoid carbohydrates forever.  These methods of weight loss do not change the way we eat or think about food.  If you cut out a food, it is natural to crave it. 

Changing our eating habits slowly and introducing physical activity into our daily lives are realistic changes.  They take time to achieve when our old habits have been with us for years, maybe decades.  Overtime, and with the help of a registered dietitian, you can achieve your weight goals.

Weight loss, done in a healthy and gradual manner, is easier to maintain than weight loss achieved by pills or restrictive diets.  It takes hardwork but the health benefits are worth it.