Associates in Nutrition & Sports Specialty

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!

Thanksgiving Day meals are often referred to as a “feast” among friends and family. The hosts strive to outdo themselves in the culinary arts as guests oblige and indulge.

For many, Thanksgiving is a day we allow ourselves to eat as much as we want or take a “cheat day” from routine balanced meals. Unfortunately, after the feast, many people find themselves feeling miserable about overeating.

While turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie are all considered staples in Thanksgiving cuisine, these traditional favorites can be filled with unhealthy fat and calories. The average Thanksgiving dinner has more than 2,000 calories – a real challenge if you are watching your waistline or trying to keep within a recommended daily calorie intake.

Fortunately, there is a way to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day feast with plenty of simple, delicious recipes that will leave you satisfied. Preparing a traditional Thanksgiving meal that’s lower in fat and calories requires a little planning and research to find recipes that are healthier and lower in calories and fat, but well worth it.

For those responsible for planning and cooking the meal, you can reduce calories by substituting butter and cream sauces with lower-fat or fat-free ingredients such as fat-free sour cream, fat-free cream of mushroom soup and fat-free cheese.

Whole milk can be substituted with 2 percent or skim milk and whole eggs replaced with egg whites.

If you plan to serve turkey, select the turkey breast rather than the whole bird because breast meat is lower in calories. If you do buy a whole turkey, avoid “self-basting” turkeys, as they often contain added fat. Rather than rubbing the skin with butter or oil, use fat-free cooking spray and season it with salt, pepper or a favorite seasoning.

Resist the old tradition of filling the turkey with breads and stuffing. Instead, stuff the cavity with halved onions, lemons, apples and sprigs of fresh herbs. To make healthy but tasty homemade gravy, use vegetable oil instead of turkey drippings to limit saturated fat and cholesterol.

For those who insist on adding stuffing, consider using wild rice and grains, which are more nutritious than bread stuffing. Add roasted nuts instead of meat for added flavor.

Instead of sweet potato and yam casseroles, baked whole sweet potatoes are a low-calorie alternative. Fresh vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, asparagus, beans or salad are nutritious options compared to traditional vegetable casseroles filled with heavy creams and sauces.

Make a healthy cranberry relish instead of a sauce to cut down on the sugar. Because most of the fat in pies is found in the crust, use a reduced-fat graham cracker crust or make a crust-free pie. To reduce calories even more, offer fruit, sherbet or frozen yogurt for dessert.

If you are a guest and cannot control the preparation of the meal, simply limit yourself to smaller portions. In addition, guests can forgo appetizers or bring a vegetable tray to share and enjoy. Raw vegetables are filling and can reduce the risk of overeating during the meal.

Another way to limit calorie intake is to drink lots of water, which is both filling and hydrating.

In addition to proper hydration and portion control, staying active can help you avoid overeating and feel better. Take a walk around the neighborhood or engage the family in a game of football. Avoid eating and sitting, which can contribute to overeating and weight gain.

With a little planning, discipline and increased activity, you can enjoy the Thanksgiving meal and time with family without the guilt. Thanksgiving Day is a great opportunity to create healthy new traditions with family and friends.

Recording your daily calories and exercise can help you meet or maintain your nutritional goals. Diaries can be created in a notebook or tracked online. There are numerous programs available. Generally, food diaries are meant to be used for a whole week, but studies have shown that keeping track of what you eat for even one day can help you make changes in your diet.

A diary should include the following:

-Include amount and type of food you ate. Estimate the size. Online diaries will populate the calories.

-Write the time of day you ate the food. Keeping track of meals and snacks can help you monitor your intake.

-Include the location where you ate the food such as a kitchen, restaurant or in your car.

-Include your daily activity or exercise. Write down the activity, the intensity level (low, medium or high) and number of minutes. Online diaries can help track your calories burned.

Some basic rules to remember:

Write everything down: Keep your diary updated, including everything you eat or drink. A piece of candy, a handful of pretzels, a can of soda may not seem like much at the time, but over a week those calories add up!

Do it now: Don’t depend on your memory at the end of the day. Record your eating as you go.

Be specific: Make sure you include “extras,” such as gravy on your meat or cheese on your vegetables. Do not generalize. For example, record french fries as french fries, not as potatoes.

Estimate amounts: If you had a piece of cake, estimate the size (2” x 1” x 2”) or the weight (3 ounces). If you had a vegetable, record how much you ate (1/4 cup). When eating meat, remember that a 3-ounce cooked portion is about the size of a deck of cards.

After tracking your activities for a week, review your calorie intake and exercise level. If you feel your calorie intake is too high or low or you need additional support to increase your exercise, schedule an appointment with your physician or a registered dietician. Be sure to bring your diary or print out your online diary to review at your appointment. By tracking your habits, you can make small but effective changes to improve your lifestyle.

While it may be a challenge to get kids away from the television and computer,

studies suggest that short bursts of exercise – as little as 15 minutes – can dramatically reduce your child’s risk of Type 2 diabetes. For adults, 30 minutes a day or more of exercise is recommended to reduce yours.

Need ideas for fitting in fitness? Here are some suggestions:

1. Enjoy a canoe trip
2. Plant a garden
3. Explore a local park
4. Roller skate
5. Shoot baskets
6. Play catch
7. Take walks after dinner
8. Clean the house in time to music
9. Walk on the beach
10. Visit a museum 

The health risks associated with smoking are well researched and documented. In fact, studies have linked smoking with some of the most serious health issues such as cancer, emphysema and heart disease. However, what many people don’t realize is that smoking leads to nutritional deficiencies that may contribute to these and other illnesses.

Smokers should be aware of the impact that cigarette smoking has on their body’s ability to digest and use food, use nutrients and support the body’s immune system. Smoking prevents absorption of vitamins and minerals, interfering with the body’s ability to use vital nutrients properly.

In addition, smoking has a significant effect on vitamins. For example, smoking interferes with your body’s ability to use nutrients and depletes the body of vitamin C, an antioxidant that protects the body from disease. The more people smoke, the more vitamin C they lose from tissue and blood. The damage done by smoking may not be reversed by just increasing vitamin C intake through diet alone, so a supplement may be needed.

In addition, research shows that vitamin E is more rapidly depleted in tissue concentration in smokers than in non-smokers. As a result, tissue, including lung tissue, is more vulnerable to toxins. Vitamin E is also believed to inhibit fatty deposits on the inner walls of the arteries. Loss of those fatty deposits due to smoking can also cause hardening of the arteries and impaired blood flow from the heart. All of these factors contribute to an increased risk of disease.

While supplements or antioxidants may not protect the body against the damage caused by smoking, they can help increase the nutrients that the body needs. In addition, smokers should increase their intake of antioxidants by eating more fruits and vegetables. In fact, smokers need to eat more healthy foods than non-smokers just to get the same nutrients. To help the body properly use these nutrients, smokers can drink green tea, eat fruit and vegetables, and take vitamin C and E supplements.

Many smokers do not want to quit due to the risk of gaining weight. However, the risks of smoking greatly “outweigh” the risk of weight gain. While you may be tempted to diet while smoking or trying to quit, you should increase your intake of healthy, vitamin-fortified foods, drink plenty of water and increase your physical activity. When dietary changes combined with regular exercise become part of your daily routine, weight can be more effectively managed. However it’s recommended that you begin your dietary and nutritional changes before you actually quit smoking. That way, you will already be on your way to feeling healthy and have your diet plan integrated into your lifestyle before you quit.

For those who quit smoking, exercise and healthy eating may actually become more manageable. When you stop the smoking habit, you can usually breathe easier and move more quickly.

– Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition in Florida. Contact her at AssociatesinNutrition.com or Elaine@eatrightRD.com.

One of the most common nutrition myths is that sugar causes diabetes. If you have diabetes, you do need to watch your sugar and carbohydrate intake, with the help of a nutritionist or dietician, to properly manage your blood sugar level. However, if you do not have diabetes, sugar intake will not cause you to develop the disease. The main risk factors for type 2 diabetes are a diet high in calories, being overweight, and an inactive lifestyle. For more nutrition information, visit www.associatesinnutrition.com

It’s Halloween weekend, so while you are enjoying treats, make sure you fit in fitness to offset any extra calories you may enjoy this holiday!

Halloween is the perfect time to enjoy dancing as a way to burn calories and have fun. Try “the monster mash” or other Halloween tunes and dance while you party! If you plan to trick or treat, enjoy a few extra laps around the neighborhood without stopping at every house for a treat! Instead, take the opportunity to enjoy the fall weather and take in the eerie sights and sounds of Halloween as you walk through a park, neighborhood or local trail.

It is common to hear advertisements about products containing high fructose corn syrup instead of regular white sugar. So what is the difference, and which is a better nutritional choice?

Let’s begin by defining high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is a highly processed sweetener. It is extracted from corn and highly processed to increase its fructose content and make it sweeter.

Because it is sweeter and less expensive than regular sugar, it is found more often than sugar in cereals, soda and even energy bars. It is very hard to avoid consuming it because it is put in so much food.

While high fructose corn syrup is a processed sweetener, pure white sugar is a natural substance that has not been processed or chemically derived.

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup can be damaging to our bodies. Excessive use over time can lead to obesity, liver damage and even heart disease. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are often linked to stomach, colon and breast cancer studies. Both are found to raise insulin levels and decrease growth hormone.

In addition, research shows that a diet high in sugar can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of diseases and premature death.

The differences between table sugar and high fructose corn syrup are minimal. Neither sugar nor high fructose corn syrup offer any nutritional value. Instead, you are gaining empty calories while increasing your risk for obesity and related disease. To that end, sugar should be limited to approximately 40 grams of sugar a day, which is the equivalent of approximately three and a half tablespoons.

For those looking for a sweet alternative, new natural, organic sugar substitutes are gaining popularity. Early studies are proving Stevia and Xylitol as safe and beneficial options.

Stevia is a very sweet herb from South America that is available in powder and liquid form at health food stores. The main benefit is that it is calorie-free, which means it has no effect on our bodies’ production of insulin. The only complaint is that it may be a little bitter-tasting for some people.

The other natural alternative is called Xylitol. Xylitol is a natural substance found in fibrous vegetables and fruits. Xylitol looks, feels and tastes like sugar but instead of being harmful, it is shown to increase the activity of white blood cells involved in fighting infection, thus helping to build immunity. In its crystalline form, it can replace sugar in cooking, baking, and as a sweetener for beverages.

Unlike many artificial sweeteners, it leaves no unpleasant aftertaste. Used in combination with Stevia, it makes for an ideal sugar replacement.

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup can be harmful when used excessively. By reading food labels and restricting intake of sweeteners, we can limit our risk of obesity and related health conditions while improving our overall diet and well-being.

– Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition Therapy in Fort Myers. Contact her at AssociatesinNutrition.com or Elaine@eatrightRD.com.

For parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and many others, Halloween week if filled with more treats than tricks. Here are some helpful hints that will help you avoid belly aches while still having fun!

• Make sure you and your child eat a nutritious meal before parties and trick or treating. If you fill up with a healthy meal, you and your children will be less likely to eat too much candy along the way or when you get home.
• Limit sugar intake. While the day may be filled with parties and trick or treating, try to avoid unnecessary sugar that day. Forgo the juice boxes or sugary cereals so that they can enjoy a few treats without overindulging.
• Try non-candy options. Instead of giving out candy, consider apples, pretzels or other snacks. Small toys, such as temporary tattoos, stickers, crayons or coins can be enjoyed by children just as much, if not more than candy. Kids will enjoy the surprise and parents will appreciate a break from the candy!
• Set limits, but enjoy! If you monitor your child’s intake and set limits rather than restrict it all together, your child can enjoy the fun of Halloween without arguments or tummy aches.
• Ration leftover candy or toss it out. Save some candy to enjoy over the coming weeks or toss out candy that won’t be eaten.
• Have your child brush and floss his teeth thoroughly before going to bed. While this should be part of your evening ritual, it’s especially important to brush well after eating candy.

Happy Friday!  It’s time to plan your family fitness activity for the weekend. Here are a few tips that are perfect for this time of year:

• Visit a nature center and enjoy a hike.
• Enjoy a canoe or kayak trip.
• Go camping where you can pitch a tent, gather firewood, fish, bike, and walk.
• Visit a local farm where you can pick your own strawberries, peaches and apples.

Remember to keep your family active to enjoy a healthy lifestyle!