Build Your Workout Using the FITT Principle

  Putting together a balanced workout plan can feel daunting. Following the FITT principle is an effective way to make that task easier. FITT stands for the Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type of your workout. It helps you design a routine that incorporates a variety of necessary exercises while tailoring it to your personal needs and goals. Frequency Frequency addresses how often you will plan to exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intense aerobic exercise along with at least two days of strength training exercises each week. If you’re beginning an exercise routine or it’s been a while since you’ve exercised consistently, you should gradually build up to this recommended amount. For Aerobic Exercise: Break up your cardio minutes however you wish. On average, you could aim for about thirty minutes of exercise [...]

Debunking the “Dirty Dozen”

  What is the “Dirty Dozen”? Dirty Dozen Foods 1.)   Strawberries 7.) Bell & Hot Peppers 2.)   Spinach 8.) Cherries 3.)   Kale, Collard, Mustard greens 9.) Peaches 4.)   Nectarines 10.) Pears 5.)   Apples 11.) Celery 6.)   Grapes 12.) Tomatoes   The Dirty Dozen refers to the 12 crops that have the most pesticides used on them. It is a list created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit (lobby and education) organization. Note: The rankings are based not only on the percentage of samples with pesticides but also on the number and amount of pesticides on all samples and on individual samples. With the increasing demand of food (based on population) year after year, the food industry heavily relies on the use of pesticides. In recent years, different research groups and public health advocates have been voicing their opinion [...]

Grocery Shopping & Added Sugar

Let’s take a deeper dive into products and look at the added sugar content of some common items. Remember, men want to try to limit added sugar to 9 teaspoons (36g per day) and women to 6 teaspoons (24 grams each day). Dried fruit The serving size for dried fruit is ¼ cup. Craisins: 130 calories, 0g fat, 3g fiber & 26g added sugar (6.5 teaspoons of added sugar) Raisins: 120 calories, 0g fat, 2g fiber & 0g added sugar Dried fruit is a great option to help you eat more produce. However, certain products may contain added sugar and you want to be mindful  of your portion size. Raisins would be an everyday choice since it does not contain added sugar, whereas craisins would be an occasional choice since it is high in added sugar. Condiments Certain condiments can [...]

Practicing Mindfulness 

How often do we find our minds wandering into a frenzy? Maybe we’re dwelling over something that just happened, worrying about the future, or trying to multitask to get everything done. Our busy lives and schedules have made it extremely difficult to mentally and physically be present. Intentionally practicing mindfulness is a great way to pull our thoughts back into the present moment and focus on the here and now. Mindfulness can help manage the stressors of a wandering mind. What is Mindfulness? Maybe you’ve heard the term mindfulness but wonder what it means. According to Mayo Clinic, mindfulness is “a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment.” It’s like hitting the pause button in your brain to intentionally notice yourself and your [...]

Added Sugar- How Much is Too Much?

You might be surprised to hear that most Americans (including teenagers and children) consume about 17 teaspoons of added sugar each day. Too much added sugar can lead to increased health risks including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Added sugar contains calories, but no additional nutrition. With the lack of vitamins and minerals it’s important to limit your intake of added sugar. Let’s take a closer to look to discover how you can reduce your intake of added sugar. Different names for added sugar Added sugar comes in many forms including, but not limited to, maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, molasses, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, coconut sugar, evaporated cane syrup, agave nectar, maltose, dextrose, and malt syrup. Regardless of which type of added sugar you use, you want to limit your intake. Finding added sugar in foods [...]

The Mini Workout

The Answer to “I Don’t Have Time to Exercise” The fact that mini workouts can benefit our health is an obvious advantage. However, there are many other benefits to incorporating these short bursts of exercise into your day. Due to our busy and evolving schedules, it can be hard to commit to long exercise sessions. Mini workouts allow you to incorporate physical activity more easily into your day. While planning for a thirty-minute workout can feel discouraging on an already busy day, it can often be more realistic to wrap our head around 5 to 15 minutes of exercise at a time. A few active moments throughout the day can feel more manageable and less stressful than scheduling a longer workout. This perspective can help our exercise become more consistent over time. Mini workouts help decrease our daily sedentary time [...]

New Year, New You!

  It’s that time of year again. New year, new resolutions. This year, set yourself up for long-term success by making one or two achievable lifestyle changes. If you try to make too many resolutions at once, you have a higher chance of not meeting your goals. Stay away from fad diets that make false promises which will often end in disappointment. Fad diets restrict your food options and do not create a healthy eating pattern that supports your body. How do you create resolutions which set you up for long-term success? Creating Realistic and Achievable Resolutions Start slow; pick an area to work on and focus on that, whether it is exercising more or changing your diet by adding in more fruits and veggies. Remember that healthy weight loss is considered 1 to 2 lbs per week. Resolutions don’t [...]

Top Fitness Apps for 2023

  Welcome to a new year full of new goals! There’s an ever-increasing number of apps that bring fitness right to your fingertips. If you’re looking to establish or change up your exercise this year, we’ve got a list of the top fitness apps you’ll want to check out. AllTrails Available On: App Store & Google Play Price: Free Version or Pro Version for $35.99/Year AllTrails is an app for outdoor fitness lovers. Search and explore nearby trails for hiking, biking, and running. This app helps you find the perfect one to fit your needs, such as being dog-friendly, wheelchair and stroller accessible, or full of scenic attractions. Each trail has a difficulty rating, description, user reviews, full map, and directions to the trailhead. With over 350,000 trails on the app, you'll likely find just what you’re looking for. The [...]

Understanding Activity Tracker Stats

  Activity trackers, smart watches, and heart rate monitors are becoming increasingly popular tools for individual health and wellness. In fact, wearable technology was named the number one fitness trend for 2022 by the American College of Sports Medicine. These fun gadgets can track all kinds of stats. But what does that information really mean? We’re going to take a closer look at some popular trackable features and how you can use that information to positively impact your wellness. Steps The concept of step-tracking has been around since the 1700s. However, the first activity tracker was not invented until 1965 by Dr. Yoshiro Hatano, a Japanese professor. This tracker was a pedometer called a Manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000 steps meter." His research suggested that 10,000 steps per day along with a nutritious diet would help individuals maintain their health [...]

Nutrition Review of Meal-Kit Delivery Programs

  Lock us down and Americans will eat it up. Literally! While in quarantine many of us ate like bears preparing for hibernation. More time at home to cook and limited access to grocery stores spawned an explosion of meal-kit delivery programs. Our lead dietitian tried several of them to assess the nutritional value of these “healthy, convenient meals”. Overall, we found these options to be heavy in salt and fat, and low on produce portions. The meals seemed to be kept at a low price-point by substituting processed foods for fruits and vegetables. In several the produce seemed more of a garnish. Upon closer review of each program, we often found that choices classified as “healthy” seemed to have had a very loose definition of health. For example, Marley Spoon has no information on the site as to the [...]