Fuel for Your Work-outs

Most of us who exercise regularly don't need a lot of extra "fuel" to keep us going if we are getting regular healthy meals and a couple small (about 100 calories) healthy snacks during the day. And that's because most of us exercise for less than an hour at a moderate rate of intensity. So for us, a bottle of water to sip on is about all we need.

You can't read about exercising, however, with out seeing ads for "energy bars" and you might wonder if this is something you need. So I thought I would do a little investigating to clear up this mystery for you:

Before hitting the gym or starting a long run, your body needs carbohydrates. It is best to avoid protein, fat, fiber and sugar alcohols, all of which can delay the emptying time of the stomach and slow digestion, causing cramps and sluggish energy levels. Energy bars are usually too high in protein, fat, fiber, and possibly sugar alcohols to be used for pre-exercise nourishment. Instead, try another carbohydrate-rich food.
During an brief aerobic workout, energy bars are not an a great refueling choice because aerobic and high-intensity exercises require blood flow to the muscles, not to the stomach for the digestion of foods. But after exercising for more than 60-90 minutes, you might want to consider a sports drink or sports gel to boost your energy levels, promote hydration, and balance electrolytes in the body.

Energy bars may work for low-intensity, very long-duration activities such as a long, slow hike or bike ride., or slow-speed marathon training (During lower-intensity exercise, less blood is diverted to the muscles.)

After your exercise session, your body needs mostly carbohydrates (to replenish glycogen stores in the muscles), some protein (to help repair damaged muscle tissue), and a little fat (for cellular repair). Eating a "real" and complete meal is your best bet. But if you cannot eat a meal within two hours working out, then an energy bar paired with a glass of water and a piece of fruit is a good option. Look for a meal replacement bar ( with at least 30 grams of carbohydrate, 10 grams (or more) of protein, and 5-10 gram of fat. (This information is courtesy of Sparkpeople.com)

I often tell my exercise partner, who favors Powerbars, that he might as well eat a Snickers - which would be my personal energy bar of choice.  So I looked for some comparison information which you might like to to read too:

Snickers vs Energy Bars

Lesson learned: as with an food choice, it is always best to read the label! Then you can make in informed decision.

Final recommendation from Sparkpeople on fueling your workouts:

Don't ever feel that you have to rely on energy bars to meet your calorie and nutritional needs. These snack ideas provide energy, nutrition and flavor in a convenient, budget-friendly package:

Fresh fruits: apples, oranges, pears, plums, grapes, bananas Individually packaged fruit and applesauce

Yogurt or string cheese

Whole grain crackers (plain or with cheese or peanut butter)

Bagels and muffins

Homemade trail mix

Granola bars
Carton of milk or juice

Graham crackers

Sitting: Is it the New Smoking?

That was a cover headline on an AARP Bulletin earlier this year.

And the evidence is mounting that being sedentary - literally sitting too much - is just as hazardous to your health and longevity as smoking or other unhealthy activity. Naturally it's a catchy headline that makes people look twice -- and hopefully, think twice-- because many of us who don't smoke and incorporate other healthy habits like drinking water and eating low-fat, low-sugar foods think we are pretty well doing enough -- even though we fail to get regular physical activity most days. Most of us say and think we are "too busy" to be active.

There has been a world-wide shift toward less physically demanding work, we depend on cars to take us around the block, we bus our children to school even when they live less than a mile from the door, we have many labor saving devices in our homes ( hello, remote control!) and we all amass more screen time than ever before - at work, at home. The result is that 60% of the world's population gets insufficient physical activity every single day. Sadly our children are leading this same lifestyle at an even earlier age: enjoying less active playtime both at school and at home.

Diabetes, obesity, cancer and early death are now linked to sitting for prolonged periods of time.

If you work in an office, or drive for a living, or find yourself sitting for many hours of the day, do your body a favor and get up after every hour and move around for at least three minutes. Set a timer if you must.



Posts to this blog have focused largely on food choices as a way to control overweight because it is true that you can make a quick, significant difference in your weight by changing the kind and amount of food you eat. But you can  profoundly change the way you look and feel and the way your body metabolizes food by moving more- and more often throughout the day!

Wherever you are as you are reading this, I encourage you to commit to moving at least 20 minutes more each day - and a good way to keep that commitment is to make it public.  Davis Health System is kicking off its annual 100 Miles in 100 Days campaign - please join hundreds of your neighbors as they begin the journey of 100 miles (and more) with their first mile - about 20 minutes - of walking (or jogging, swimming, biking, or exercise class) - on May 27. Register and find out more at http://www.dhs100miles.com/.

What's On Your Plate?

 What's on Your Plate?  This year, the experts at the USDA who decide what makes a healthy diet, dumped the old food pyramid and introduced the fresh "MyPlate" as the guideline for Americans to use in planning healthy meals.
Visit Choose MyPlate.gov
This fresh approach  is simple to understand and remember. Basically, one half of your dinner plate should be fruits and vegetables (and you know I recommend favoring the veggies), 1/4 protein, and 1/4 whole grain.
With a serving of low-fat dairy on the side.
Here's what the graphic looks like:

And here's how it looks in practice, on my dinner plate:

 On my plate are roasted squash and potatoes, green salad with more vegetables and feta cheese, 4 ounces of grilled salmon with a mango and tomato salsa. I had a whole grain roll on the side.

With fresh vegetables in-season and plentiful now, you can fix many vegetable-rich dinners for very little expense.

Another night, I opted to eat meat-less, and chose beans for my protein:

For this dinner, I had a salad, steamed veggies, and black beans and Parmesan cheese mixed with whole brown rice.  Broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, avocado, tomato, green pepper and mushrooms - 7 different vegetables! The variations for this kind of dinner are endless and best of all: it's low-calorie and takes under 25 minutes to prepare.

So if you are wondering how to feed your family in a way that's healthy and meets the recommended daily nutritional requirements, check out the simple recommendations on http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ --then head to your garden or local farmer's market for the veggies to fill at least half your plate. And let us know -- what's on your plate?

Losing Weight - First steps

I've talked this week with three friends who are on a weight loss journey and having success. So naturally I asked each of them "how are you doing it? What are you doing different that is working?"

All three of them said that the most important change they made was to keep track of what they eat and write it down.

Now as a someone who wants to lose, you may be groaning, "I don't want to count calories! I don't want to write things down!"

But as a wellness educator, this is good news to me: because it confirms what I read in health promotion literature, have been taught and what our registered dietitian Jim Severino says too:  the most successful "losers" know what they are eating because they track it.

One of my friends who in just one week has lost five pounds, says that writing down her food choices has helped her stay away from soda and sweets because she doesn't want to write down the treats and their high calories. This technique can really help you budget your daily calorie allotment toward healthy choices.

I've recommended http://www.calorieking.com/ before as a website that lists the nutritional content of every food you can imagine, but there are fantastic websites that do even more  - like help you choose an eating plan and set up a food journal for you on-line, for free! You just type in the food you ate, and the website does all the calculations for you - even tells you how many calories you have left to spend during the day.

Check out http://www.fitclick.com/, http://www.livestrong.com/ and web.md for free interactive weight loss plans that include food trackers! And yes, there is an app for that! Iphone has many free ones, but you also may want to invest in an inexpensive paid app like that from Livestrong that has a few more bells and whistles....so whether you go online or keep track the old-fashioned way: with a pencil and little notebook - do write down what you eat. It can become the new habit that makes the difference in your weight, too!

You Are What You Eat

Problem is, most of us overestimate how healthy our food is and underestimate how much of it we eat.

This week, the CBS Evening News released a report from Consumer Reports Health, outlining some of the ways Americans demonstrate their confusion about healthy weight and healthy eating. It starts with how we approach weight in general: 79% of the adults interviewed said they never weigh themselves and 85% said they never count calories. 



Many people seem to believe that it's only sweet dessert-type foods that belong in the "unhealthy" category and that they will always be higher in calories and fat than a non-dessert item. In past blogs we've seen that's not always true: overload a green salad with meats, croutons, cheese and too much dressing and you have a meal that can top a Whopper in terms of fat and calories.  On a smaller scale, some containers of yogurt can be higher in calories and sugar than the same size portion of pudding or even ice cream. You really have to lose the assumptions, and  KNOW what you are putting in your mouth!

So if healthy eating and losing weight is on your New Year's list of things to accomplish, you have to start with facts: know what you are eating and know how much you should have as a serving size.  Know how much you should be consuming everyday in order to lose weight. In general, choose fresh, non-processed foods for most of your meals, and if you are wondering about the nutritional or caloric content of a specific food, websites like http://www.calorieking.com/ can give you the nutritional content of nearly every food choice you might want.

I'll be offering a workshop called Make 10 Changes to Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Weeks at Davis Memorial Hospital on January 15. In next week's blog and in the nine that follow, we'll be looking at those 10 changes. Tune in next week to start losing!

Successful Resolutions Start with Real “Resolve”

I love new beginnings, whether it be the start of a new project, the “first day of school”, seeing the “after” in a makeover show, or January first – the beginning of the new year.


The promise that a fresh start is possible – the idea that we really can change something about ourselves – the “new you in the new year” - is the appeal and the fuel for all New Year Resolutions.



Although we sometimes make a laundry list of resolutions, the most important step in having any or all of them be successful and *stick* is to resolve to be resolved. In other words, make the decision to stay committed.



Take quitting smoking. If you have just snubbed out a cigarette, you have quit smoking. If you resolve right now to not light up again, and you take steps to make that happen, you will quit smoking. The tricky part is staying resolved.



Your resolution to lose weight? Well, you have to be resolved to make it your highest priority. You may have to get help in finding out what you have to do to make that happen: change amounts of what you eat, change the types of food you buy, change the amount of exercise you get (or don’t get!); but change begins with making the decision to do it and then sticking with it.



Just do it – resolve to make your self and your health the highest priority of your day every day. My best advice? Have the resolve to change just ONE habit this year – just because you believe you will feel better and be healthier.



Some may think that I’m just talking about will power, but that’s a phrase I really stay away from. To me, “will power’ implies gutting it out, straining against the impossible, getting tough; and that sounds negative to me. But “resolve” - that implies you are in charge of your thoughts, your determination, and your future.



Many years ago, I undertook a habit change with this thought in mind: “if I attempt this every day for a year, I may change – or I may not change; but if I DON’T do it, I am guaranteed NOT to change.” That thought became my biggest motivator; it kept me resolved to stay on track or get back on when I veered off course. I maintained my resolve and reached my goal in 3 months – much less than a year. So my challenge to you is to resolve to be resolved when it comes to making your new year, new you resolution! And best wishes, whatever wellness goal you set for yourself.