tips

The ultimate guide to keeping your diet during the holidays.

We know what you’re all thinking, keeping your diet during the most wonderful time of the year is not as easy as eating pumpkin pie. But we’ve done our research! The CDC and American Heart Association have come out with two awesome guidelines to help you keep up your diet through the holidays– And they are more simple than you think.

Let us start with a few pointers from the CDC shall we…

1. Holiday-Proof Your Plan by Planning Ahead

  • If your meal is served later than normal, eat a small snack at your usual mealtime and eat a little less when dinner is served.
  • Invited to a party? Bring a healthy dish along. Plenty of people will bring the sweets. (Be the change).
  • Don’t skip meals to save up for a feast. You’ll be really hungry and more likely to overeat (we’ve all done it, but you’ll be sorry about it later).

2. Outsmart the Buffet

When you face a spread of delicious holiday food, make healthy choices easier:

  • Make a small plate of the foods you like best. Portion control is everything.
  • Start with vegetables to take the edge off your appetite.
  • Eat slowly. It takes at least 20 minutes for your brain to realize you’re full.
  • Avoid or limit alcohol. If you do have an alcoholic drink, have it with food.

3. Fit in Favorites

Choose the dishes you really love and can’t get any other time of year, like Aunt Edna’s pumpkin pie (which has a lot less calories than pecan pie). Slow down and savor a small serving, and make sure to count it in your meal plan.

4. Gotta Keep Moving

You’ve got a lot on your plate this time of year (literally), and physical activity can get crowded out. But being active is your secret holiday weapon; it can help make up for eating more than usual and reduce stress during this most stressful time of year. Get moving with friends and family, such as taking a walk after a holiday meal. 

5. Get Your Zzz’s In

Going out more and staying out later often means cutting back on sleep. Sleep loss can make it harder to control your blood sugar, and when you’re sleep deprived you’ll tend to eat more and prefer high-fat, high-sugar food.  Aim for 7 hours per night to guard against mindless eating.

“Most of all, remember what the season is about—celebrating and connecting with the people you care about. When you focus more on the fun, it’s easier to focus less on the food.” 

See that wasn’t so bad! Now lets move along to what the American Heart Association has to say…

“This guide includes great tips and recipes to help you navigate the holiday season in a healthy way. Here are some simple ways you and your family can eat healthy. Visit heart.org/healthyeating to learn more.”

Include

• Fruits and vegetables • Whole grains • Beans and legumes • Nuts and seeds • Fish & skinless poultry, or plant-based alternatives • Fat-free and low-fat dairy products • Healthier fats and nontropical oils.

Limit

• Sodium and salt • Saturated fat • Sweets and added sugars, including sugar-sweetened beverages • Red meats — if you choose to eat red meat, select the leanest cuts.

Avoid

• Trans fat and partially hydrogenated oils

Tips

  • Choose wisely, even with healthier foods. Ingredients and nutrient content can vary by brand and preparation.
  • Compare nutrition information on package labels and select products with the lowest amounts of sodium, added sugars, saturated fat and trans fat, and no partially hydrogenated oils.
  • Watch your calorie intake. To maintain weight, consume only as many calories as you use up through physical activity. If you want to lose weight, consume fewer calories or burn more calories.
  • Eat reasonable portions. Often this is less than you are served.
  • Eat a wide variety of foods to get all the nutrients your body needs.
  • Prepare and eat healthier meals at home. You’ll have more control over ingredients.
  • Look for the Heart-Check mark to easily identify foods that can be part of an overall healthy diet. Learn more at heartcheck.org 

    **You can find delicious alternative recipes for family meals from the A.H.A. here.

 

“9 Physical Therapist Tips to Help You Age Well” via Move Forward PT

 

We can’t stop time. Or can we? The right type and amount of physical activity can help stave off many age-related health problems. Physical therapists, who are movement experts, prescribe physical activity that can help you overcome pain, gain and maintain movement, and preserve your independence—often helping you avoid the need for surgery or long-term use of prescription drugs.

Here are nine things physical therapists want you to know to #AgeWell.

(Download the list in Adobe PDF)

1. Chronic pain doesn’t have to be the boss of you.
Each year 116 million Americans experience chronic pain from arthritis or other conditions, costing billions of dollars in medical treatment, lost work time, and lost wages. Proper exercise, mobility, and pain management techniques can ease pain while moving and at rest, improving your overall quality of life.

2. You can get stronger when you’re older.
Research shows that improvements in strength and physical function are possible in your 60s, 70s, and even 80s and older with an appropriate exercise program. Progressive resistance training, in which muscles are exercised against resistance that gets more difficult as strength improves, has been shown to prevent frailty.

3. You may not need surgery or drugs for low back pain.
Low back pain is often over-treated with surgery and drugs despite a wealth of scientific evidence demonstrating that physical therapy can be an effective alternative—and with much less risk than surgery and long-term use of prescription medications.

4. You can lower your risk of diabetes with exercise. 
One in four Americans over the age of 60 has diabetes. Obesity and physical inactivity can put you at risk for this disease. But a regular, appropriate physical activity routine is one of the best ways to prevent—and manage—type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

5. Exercise can help you avoid falls—and keep your independence
About one in three U.S. adults age 65 or older falls each year. More than half of adults over 65 report problems with movement, including walking 1/4 mile, stooping and standing. Group-based exercises led by a physical therapist can improve movement and balance and reduce your risk of falls. It can also reduce your risk of hip fractures (95 percent of which are caused by falls).

6. Your bones want you to exercise.
Osteoporosis or weak bones affects more than half of Americans over the age of 54. Exercises that keep you on your feet, like walking, jogging, or dancing, and exercises using resistance, such as weightlifting, can improve bone strength or reduce bone loss.

7. Your heart wants you to exercise.
Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the US. One of the top ways of preventing it and other cardiovascular diseases? Exercise! Research shows that if you already have heart disease, appropriate exercise can improve your health.

8. Your brain wants you to exercise. 
People who are physically active—even later in life—are less likely to develop memory problems or Alzheimer’s disease, a condition which affects more than 40% of people over the age of 85.

9. You don’t “just have to live with” bladder leakage.
More than 13 million women and men in the US have bladder leakage. Don’t spend years relying on pads or rushing to the bathroom. Seek help from a physical therapist.

 

*This article was taken from the Move Forward PT website and can be found at this link: http://www.moveforwardpt.com/Resources/Detail/9-physical-therapist-tips-to-help-you-agewell

“10 easy tips for eating healthy while on the road or on vacation this summer.” by AL.com

“Laura Newton, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), offers these 10 suggestions:

Plan ahead: “Choose foods to take in the car, eat before arriving at the airport and consider the options available upon arrival at the destination,” Newton said in a UAB news release this week.

Keep it on ice: Put a cooler in the car and pack it with such healthy treats as fruit, yogurt, water, cut-up vegetables and sandwiches on whole-grain bread.

Eat this, not that: Make the best food choices you can when you’re on the road. At convenience stores, go for yogurt, fresh fruit, fruit cups or nuts (which are good in moderation.) At burger joints, the most simply prepared items are the healthiest choices, according to Newton. She suggests a plain hamburger with lettuce and tomatoes or a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes. You can also hold the mayo and dressing and choose kid-size portions.

Don’t eat out all the time: If possible, rent a hotel room or vacation home with a refrigerator and stock it with good food. “It can be easier to eat healthful meals when cooking yourself,” Newton said.

Moderation, moderation: Try not to miss meals, because this can cause you to overeat at the next meal. “Pack a cooler for the beach and take water, fruit, maybe some nuts and string cheese,” Newton said. “This type of mini-meal is easily portable and can help tide people over until they can have a regular meal.”

Go ahead, be good to yourself: Don’t feel you have to completely give up favorite vacation foods. “You should definitely indulge, but in moderation, maybe one small treat a day or one splurge day during the week,” Newton said. “Ask for a small portion of the regional favorite or order from the appetizer menu.”

Start restaurant meals with salad or veggies: “This will help fill you up so you don’t eat more of a higher-calorie item,” Newton said. “Ask for extra vegetables or substitute another vegetable in place of a starch.”

Search the web: Look online for restaurants in the area you’re visiting. Review the menus in advance and decide what to eat before you go.

Drink lots of water: People often mistake dehydration for hunger, according to Newton.

Stay active! “This doesn’t need to be strenuous exercise, such as running or lifting weights, but do go sightseeing on foot or take a hike, swim in the pool or at the beach,” Newton said.”

Source: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2014/05/post_1150.html