Meals Matter

I have been enjoying participating in the Nutrition and Fitness Challenge until this week when I got sick.  I was watching a great deal of television yesterday but was watching drama. I need to switch to comedies - here is why: At the European Congress on Obesity in Athens in June 2005, VUMC’s Maciej Buchowski, Ph.D., reported weighty findings from a study he completed on how laughing — no joke — burns calories. Buchowski found that laughing raises energy expenditure and increases heart rate 10 percent to 20 percent. Ten to 15 minutes of laughter could increase energy expenditure by 10 to 40 calories per day, which could translate into about four pounds a year. (http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=4030)

I went running on Friday for ~ 25 minutes - so met my goals on Friday. My run is more of a jog - but it elevates my heart rate and gets the job done. I was listening to my ipod shuffle - enjoyed the music. The song Harper Valley PTA came on - I forgot we had that song. over the holidays we loaded a bunch of our old CDs onto new ipods - I have not heard it in years. Need to look up that artist.

Saturday we spent hours doing home projects, laundry, mopping, gardening etc. So I spent probably 3 - 4 hours doing these activities but I guess I would consider this about 60 minutes of moderate activity total.

Sunday I did "real" exercise - did the elliptical trainer at the our fitness club. Enjoyed listening to new music from Christmas - one song in particular I enjoyed was Cheeseburgers in Paradise by Jimmy Buffet.

Hmmm, what are my fitness plans for today - perhaps my new strength training video...

I'm going to check into the fitness challenge on Meals Matter today and see what is in store for this week.

Well I used my new exercise video last night. It includes aerobics, weight lifting, balance and stretching. The exercises take 40 minutes to complete and all I needed was two hand weights, a chair and a floor mat. It is nice to have something different to try. My intent is to do this workout two times per week. Perhaps I'll add it onto my calendar for Sunday night.

I've also started an exercise diary. I got 70 minutes of exercise yesterday - so I am off  to a good start. Not sure what I will do today - perhaps go jogging when I get off work.

Here are some useful tips for fitting physical activity into your life.

I am starting a Activity Journal today. It is a seven day journal - I hope I can keep it up. Will report back every day to update on my progress! Accountability makes the action more likely. Help keep me on track with my goals.

I have read that social support is a critical feature in achieving goals and that makes intuitive sense. I set two small health goals this year. First, I want to renew my commitment to strength training (i.e. lifting weights). I have fallen way off the wagon on that one (mostly because I hurt my writsts so had some forced time off - I'm not quite sure how to get started again). Secondly, I want to take my daily vitamins. I eat a good diet - but now that I am over 50, I should take vitamins (people over 50 need extra vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, folate, zinc, vitamin B12 - to name a few). But I am really bad about remembering to take them.

This weekend I told my husband my goals. Hopefully he can help me out. His goal is to walk more. Hopefully writing in the journal and support from my husband will make it happen this year!

I used the Calcium quiz today. Overall, I think I am doing pretty well - 1158 mg calcium in my diet yesterday. I had cereal for breakfast (with milk - it was a huge bowl of cereal :), slice of cheese on my sandwich for lunch and 12 oz glass of fat free milk with my dinner. Almonds in my spinach salad boosted the total as well. I don't do this well every day but would like to since calcium helps control body weight and of course keeps bones strong.

I think I'll do this quiz once a week for the rest of the nutrition challenge (finishes third week of January).

I used the Personal Nutrition Planner on Meals Matter yesterday - and set two personal nutrition and fitness goals. The first is to recommit to strength training - I'm going to buy a video on the topic that I've been meaning to buy for ages. Writing this down will hopefully spur me to action tonight. I will report back on my progress soon. What are your health and fitness goals?

100 Terrific Tools to Help Meet Your Health and Fitness Goals

I found this resource on MassageTherapyCareers.com. It lists a bunch of resources to help you achieve your health goals. Check it out!

Weight loss and becoming physically fit are two of the most common New Year’s resolutions and with the Nutrition and Fitness Challenge kicking off on January 6^th it’s not too late to jump back on track after holiday eating. 

As we all know, regular exercise and healthy eating combined can lead to numerous health benefits including enhanced mood, reduced risk of heart disease and some cancers, weight loss, and much more. Bottom line: Regular exercise and healthy eating keep you feeling and looking your best. 

Your commitment to better health should be carried throughout the entire year and to do so, habits and daily changes need to be made. Whether your goal is to lose weight, become more physically fit, or even to simply increase your awareness of your overall health, the Nutrition and Fitness Challenge is a great place to start. 

One way to boost your nutrition over the holidays is to be sure and include plenty of functional foods in your daily diet. Functional foods are foods and food components that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Functional foods do more than just provide nutrients – they may play a role in reducing your risk of disease or in improving your health. These foods include health-promoting ingredients or natural components found in conventional, fortified, enriched or enhanced foods. There are many potential health benefits of consuming functional foods. Nutritional research has shown that eating functional foods on a regular basis, as part of a balanced and varied diet, can enhance health and reduce the risk of many acute and chronic diseases.

Functional foods can be found in your grocery store and you may even have some of them in your refrigerator and pantry! Remember that to reap the benefits of functional foods they need to be consumed in appropriate amounts. This functional foods list describes some functional foods, their health benefits and active components.

Printer-friendly functional foods list (PDF)

Feeling wound-up, overworked and exhausted? Do you feel a lack of focus or have trouble sleeping at night? Busy schedules brought on by the holidays can leave us stressed out, irritable and run down.

The Meals Matter Nutrition and Fitness Challenge starts on January 6  - register now at http://www.mealsmatter.org/Nutrition-Healthy-Living/Nutrition-Challenge.aspx

This is a great way to get back on track after holiday binging. The number one New Year's resolution is to lose weight and eat better. The Challenge helps you determine how many calories you should be eating for your height and ways to improve your eating and exercise habits long term.

The relatively small holiday weight gain of just a pound or so, when added together year after a year, can contribute significantly to the substantial total weight gain that occurs during adulthood. Since more than half of all Americans are considered overweight, holiday weight gain is something to be taken seriously.
http://www.mealsmatter.org/Nutrition-Healthy-Living/Healthy-Holiday-Eating.aspx

• Cucumber Couscous Salad
• California Grilled Veggie Sandwich
• Vegetable Parmesan Bake