Associates in Nutrition & Sports Specialty

It’s that time of year again for annual office holiday parties! Visions of cookies, cakes and candy fill our heads and unfortunately, our bellies. Keep the party festive and fun while avoiding the mounds of chips, dip and junk by offering healthy alternatives.

Here are some ideas:

• Bring or suggest a meat and cheese tray to include lean cuts of deli meats and a variety of cheeses
• A fresh vegetable platter with some low-fat dips
• A fruit tray with yogurt dip and granola topping
• Salads can be festive and nutritious by adding nuts, cranberries and low-calorie and low-fat dressing options
• Make a traditional recipe a little healthier by adding low-calorie and low-fat ingredients

To get your colleagues on board, take requests via a suggestion box or board. Maybe you can even try a theme. By making some simple substitutions, no one has to forgo the festivities or their healthy eating routine.

Looking for the perfect holiday present for the family?  Give the gift of fitness!  Local gyms are offering membership specials for the holidays. Another idea is to buy sports equipment to encourage your family to be active. So while you are walking the malls this weekend in search of the perfect gift, consider your family’s fitness goals.

Here are just a few suggestions:

-A pedometer to track your steps
-Tennis racket and balls
-Footballs, baseballs, soccer equipment
-Yoga mat
-A bicycle and helmet
-A treadmill or home equipment
-Weights
-Exercise videos
-Headset/music for the gym, jogging or walking
-Workout clothes
-Gym bags
-Water bottles

Traveling during this holiday season doesn’t have to wreak havoc on your healthy eating and exercise routine. The best approach is to plan ahead to avoid overeating and to fit exercise into your travel plans.

Just as you would schedule vacation activities, you should think about your meals or dining plans. Planning ahead is the best way to avoid unwanted pounds and enjoy a “guilt-free” vacation.

Whether you are traveling by airplane or automobile, you can plan your snacks and meals with nutritious options. Eating healthy snacks every two to four hours can help you feel energized and keep you from overeating when it is time to stop for a meal.

For example, pack small plastic bags or containers with snacks such as nuts, dried fruit, trail mix, low-sugar and low-fat power or granola bars, low-fat cheese, hard-boiled eggs, pretzels, baked whole grain crackers, sandwiches made with whole grain bread with peanut butter or lean meats, or fresh fruits and vegetables. A combination of a carbohydrates and proteins are a good choice as these foods are absorbed more slowly, helping to curb hunger and provide more satisfaction.

In addition, drink lots of water and keep it accessible.

If you plan to dine out during your travels, avoid fast food restaurants or those with limited choices. Sub shops offer better choices for brief stops. Select sandwich ingredients including whole grain bread, lean meats and lots of vegetables. A quick and nutritious breakfast choice is a bowl of oatmeal with fresh fruit, filled with vitamins and fiber. In addition, yogurt and hard-boiled eggs are excellent sources of protein. You can also look for single-serving whole grain cereals with low-fat milk.

Another option is to split a restaurant meal with your traveling buddy. Most restaurants provide more than enough food for two people in one entree. Eat the vegetables that come with the meal first. If the meal does not come with a vegetable ask for a side dish. Another idea is to skip the entree and replace a meal with a healthy soup and salad.

Choose wisely when ordering salads. Stay away from taco salads or ones that are topped with fried chicken strips. Remember to select foods that are prepared with healthier, low-fat ingredients and choose grilled over fried foods.

In addition to maintaining good eating habits, you should include exercise during your travels. If you are driving, it is best to stop in a safe location every two to three hours to stretch your legs. Take a quick walk around a rest area, do a few jumping jacks and take time to stretch your muscles. If you are traveling by plane, you can get up, walk briefly and stretch as well. Moving around will help keep your metabolism going while preventing you from feeling drowsy.

Traveling is not an excuse for making unhealthy choices. By planning ahead and making smart decisions, you can stay on track, eat well and enjoy your holiday vacation.

As much as we look forward to the feast, family and friends, we could all do without the pounds that sometimes come along.

Here are some ideas to help you and your family burn some holiday calories:

• House cleaning for guests
• Food preparation
• Flag football
• Clearing dishes from the table
• A hike after dinner
• Loading and unloading suitcases, groceries and kids
• Mowing lawn
• Playing a game of catch
• Wrapping gifts
• Making holiday crafts

If you are finding it hard this time of year to fit in the gym, these simple holiday chores or family activities will help you avoid holiday weight gain while enjoying time with family and friends.

To help prevent weight gain during the holidays, you may want to avoid indulging in high-calorie leftovers by planning ahead and creating healthy snacks and meals.

Make the most of your leftover ham, turkey and trimmings by creating nutritious meals and snacks to keep them from weighing you down. As a host for holiday meals, plan ahead and buy plenty of plastic containers to send your guests home with food to limit the amount of extra food in your refrigerator.

In addition, you can take a few containers into the office for your colleagues to enjoy. If you prefer, keep some of the lower-calorie options such as fruits, vegetables and white meat from the turkey for you and your family. These leftovers can be used to make healthy meals or snacks over the next several days.

There are several simple ways to use your holiday leftovers.

Be creative and seek out healthy, low-carbohydrate and low-fat recipes. For example, use low- or fat-free tortillas to wrap up turkey and vegetables for a healthy lunch. Add a small amount of cranberry sauce to give your turkey wrap more festive flavor.

Use turkey, ham or other meat on top of greens and vegetables to create a healthy salad. Add fruit, low- or fat-free cheese and a few nuts into the salad for a scrumptious mix.

For a high-protein breakfast, use egg whites, turkey or ham, vegetables and a hint of low-fat cheese. It’s also a great time of year to make homemade soups using extra meats and vegetables.

In addition, you can make nutritious snacks such as vegetable trays and turkey and cheese on whole grain crackers.

Another way to prevent overeating during the holidays is to control the portions you serve yourself and guests. After dishing out appropriate serving sizes to your friends and family, you can immediately put the leftovers into a container and place them into the refrigerator or freezer.

Be proactive and dish out a serving size that equals approximately 200 calories or less to control your portion sizes. By removing the food from the table, you can curb the temptation for a second helping.

While it is often tradition for guests to move from the dining table to the couch to watch football or take a rest, invite the group outside for a stroll around the neighborhood or engage them in a friendly game of football. Encouraging guests to be active will limit the urge to overeat while burning some of those high-calorie helpings they’ve enjoyed.

By serving your guests appropriate portion sizes and providing them with the remaining food to create healthy meals and snacks, you can help your loved ones avoid those extra holiday pounds. Now that’s something to be thankful for!

– Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition Therapy in Fort Myers. Hastings can be contacted at Elaine@eatrightRD.com or by visiting AssociatesinNutrition.com. Visit her blog for the latest information on nutrition and great tips for staying healthy: AssociatesinNutrition.com/wordpress.

Need some ideas to help you keep your waist trim and avoid the trimmings during your Thanksgiving or another upcoming holiday meal? Here are a few tips to help you with planning a healthy, delicious meal:

• Buy and cook with lower-fat or fat-free ingredients
• Avoid self-basting turkeys that contain added fat
• Instead of stuffing, choose fruit, herbs or vegetables
• Serve healthy alternatives for dessert, such as pies made with graham cracker crust or fruit
• Buy plastic containers so you can send your guests home with leftovers

With the holidays upon us, indulging in festive foods including turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie often motivate people to rev up their fitness goals. As you make your holiday plans, schedule time for exercise. Community “turkey trots” offer families a great way to exercise over the Thanksgiving weekend. The traditional “turkey trots” usually include a one or three mile family fun walk, as well as several options to participate in more competitive jogging events. Check your local newspaper listings or online for more information on events in your community.

The holidays are gaining on us. Be careful, or the pounds will follow close behind. While you should enjoy the holiday season, keep a watchful eye on your calorie intake and weight by checking the scale. Another useful tool for tracking your weight is to calculate your body mass index (BMI).

Do you know if you are within a healthy weight range, overweight or even obese? Do you know how your weight measures up according to your height? BMI is a fairly good indicator of a person’s body fat based on height and weight. It also is used to assess your risk of certain weight-related health conditions.

To calculate your BMI, you will need to divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared and multiply that by 703. The formula is: weight/(height in inches)2 x 703.

A safe range for most healthy people is between 18.5 and 25. A number below 18.5 could indicate that you are underweight or even malnourished. If your number is above 25, you may be overweight. A BMI over 30 indicates that you could be obese.

This does not take into consideration different body types, including bodybuilders who accumulate an increased weight due to muscle. Because BMI is used to calculate weight and height, someone with large muscle mass and a low percentage of body fat may have the same number as someone who is obese.

Also, it could underestimate body fat if there is a lack of muscle mass in elderly people as well. It is good to keep in mind that this is just one factor to help measure weight. Additional factors to consider include waist circumference, physical activity, diet and lifestyle habits, including smoking.

As your BMI increases, so does the risk of developing diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Along with tracking your BMI, people can measure their waist to help determine if they are overweight or obese. Those who have a waist size of more than 35 inches for women, or more than 40 inches for men, have a higher risk of developing obesity-related health problems. Other risk factors for disease include family history, diet, blood pressure, cholesterol and activity levels.

While gaining a few pounds over the holidays is common, the pounds can quickly add up. Tracking your BMI is one of several important tools to help you understand your weight and potential risk of developing disease. If your BMI is in the overweight or obese range, you should consider contacting a professional to help you.

Regardless of your BMI, if you are planning to change your diet or exercise routine, you should consult a registered, licensed dietitian or your physician. For an at-home resource, you can track your healthy habits by visiting NETThealthyDiet. com for your free personalized diet profile, including your BMI and daily caloric needs.

Americans typically eat only one-third of the recommended daily intake (three servings instead of nine) of fruits and vegetables. While a vegetable in any form is better than no vegetable at all, fresh is generally better than frozen. When vegetables are in-season, I recommend they be purchased fresh and ripe but “off-season,” frozen vegetables still give you a high concentration of nutrients. Choose packages marked with a USDA “U.S. Fancy” shield, which designates produce of the best size, shape and color; vegetables of this standard also tend to be more nutrient-rich than the lower grades “U.S. No. 1” or “U.S. No. 2.” Eat them soon after purchase: over many months, nutrients in frozen vegetables do inevitably degrade. Finally, steam or microwave rather than boil your produce to minimize the loss of water-soluble vitamins.

Take time this weekend to evaluate your family’s fitness goals. Creating a routine that works for the entire family is the best way to stick to your exercise goals and improve your health.

Here are a few suggestions to make exercise a part of your family’s routine:

• Plan to exercise at a certain time every day, so it becomes part of your schedule.
• Write up and sign a contract, where you agree to exercise.
• Mark your family calendar with a daily appointment for exercise.
• Keep a diary of all of your exercises. Log everything you do, and your progress.
• If you need support, have your doctor write out an exercise prescription, including how much exercise you should do and how often.
• Try joining a health club or gym. Paying a membership fee may prompt you to get your money’s worth and go more frequently. Many gyms offer family memberships. If you have children, find a gym that provides daycare for young ones or offers fitness programs for older children.

By getting the entire family involved, you can support one another and make fitness more fun!