Kamie's Tip of the Week:

There are people all over the world who eat all sorts of different things. Where different foods are available, the culture has adapted to a diet that includes those foods, and for the most part, those people are alive and healthy. So, what we consider in the U.S. to be a healthy diet is completely different from a healthy diet somewhere else in the world. Isn't that so cool!

I'm working on a post about the native foods of El Salvador (my husband and I just got back from visiting there), so be looking forward to that.

-Kamie

Kamie's Tip of the Week:

Your motivation for being healthy will directly affect your success.  Be healthy because you want to be alive to see your grandchildren get married.  Be healthy so your body will be fit enough to do what you love till the day you die.  Be healthy so you can live up to your great potential. Sure, looking great can be reason enough for some, but in the hour when you are about to give up, will that be motivation enough to keep you going?

From left to right: My mother-in-law, my husband Nate, and myself at my sister-in-law's wedding this weekend. My family is my motivation for being healthy. What's yours?

-Kamie

Why Should I Move?

There are too many days that I wake up in the morning and ask myself, "Why should I move? Do I really need to get up and exercise?  I don't care about being buff, so what's the point?" Well, there is a point, a very important one. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims that exercise decreases your risk for many chronic diseases, and increases your likelihood of living longer.  I happen to agree :)


In the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for America, there are specific guidelines set for daily physical activity.  I will briefly list them:

• At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, above your usual activity, on most days of the week to reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood.
•  About 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity most days of the week to help manage body weight and prevent gradual, unhealthy body-weight gain in adulthood.
•  At least 60 to 90 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity daily to sustain weight loss in adulthood.

You are probably wondering what the difference between "moderate-intensity activity" and "vigorous-intensity activity" is.  Moderate-intensity exercises include walking-briskly or jogging, light dancing, biking, or other aerobic activities, light weight lifting, yoga or stretching, household chores, and many other activities along those lines.  Vigorous-intensity activities include running, biking with resistance, and heavy lifting, dancing, sports, or aerobic activities that really get your heart rate up.  The more you exercise, the better shape you will be in, and you may have to do some harder exercises in order to get the same intensity workout.  I'm not an expert on exercise, but I would say that in general, it is best to start with the lighter activities and work your way up.  


I found a great website (http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/information/usda-aerobic-exercise-guidelines-ga.htm) that explains all of this in more detail and gives some great tips on getting started with an exercise routine.  If that's a little overwhelming, here's my VERY simplified advice:

1. Do something fun that gets your heart-rate up and uses some of your muscles for A MINIMUM of 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week.  60 minutes is better, and 90 minutes, if you've got the time, is the best. 
2. It is best to do all of your exercise at the same time, but you can also split up the time if necessary. 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there, etc. As long as it adds up to the recommended time, it works.
3. Don't do the same exercises everyday! It is best to mix it up.  You need to get at least some cardiovascular exercise everyday (walking briskly, running, aerobics, biking..anything that makes you breathe harder), but you need to fit in strength, flexibility, and endurance as well.  The best way to do this is to start with a good warm up that gets your heart pumping (about 10 minutes long) and then do weight lifting 2 days a week, yoga or another form of stretching 1-2 days a week, and the rest of the days do purely cardio workouts. 

 So that's Kamie's very simple workout plan.  Obviously those of you looking for more advanced workouts will need to step it up a notch or two more.  


Remember, exercise does not need to be miserable.  Choose activities that you enjoy, and becoming healthier will be a breeze.  If the long-term benefits of exercise are too distant to motivate you in the moment, there are lots of short-term benefits as well.  They include feeling stronger, healthier and more confident, sleeping better, thinking clearer (I've noticed this one personally), building a stronger immune system, and being able to perform everyday tasks more efficiently.  If there are others you can think of, comment and let us know!


Good luck everyone!  And don't forget to keep moving! :)


-Kamie
 
Norwood, Peggy.  "USDA Exercise Guidelines"  08 August 2011.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/information/usda-aerobic-exercise-guidelines-ga.htm>  12 August 2011.

CDC: http://longevity.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=longevity&cdn=health&tm=146&f=00&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/importance/why.htm 

Kamie's Tip of the Week:

True or false: To be healthy you have to either give up something or do something that as a result will make you unhappy.  I say FALSE! Yes, being healthy often involves SACRIFICE, but the definition of sacrifice is to give up something good for something better. 

For example, say you struggle with exercise because you HATE running (don't worry, I'm right with you).  Well then, that doesn't mean you have to consign yourself to the couch.  Find something that you like better than running.  Maybe its sports, or maybe its dancing.  Yoga or aerobics might be your best fit.  Perhaps you just enjoy taking long walks by the beach.  Anything is better than nothing!  Find something that you enjoy, and though you may have made a sacrifice (given up numbing your brain cells by sitting on the couch watching T.V.), you will most likely find that you are enjoying life a lot more than your were before. 

Basically, healthy is not equal to misery.  In fact, I think being healthy is one factor that leads to happiness and increased self-confidence.

-Kamie 

What Can I Make for a Healthy Dinner?

My husband Nate and I are not perfect dieters, but occasionally we strike gold with a deliciously healthy meal.  Today was one of those days, so  I thought I would share with you :)  Here's what was on the menu:

Nate treated me to a 3 oz piece of Alaskan salmon (yes it came frozen, there is no shame in this) and a half cup or so of brown rice.  I whipped up a delicious summer salad to go with.  In it I included:

• Iceberg Lettuce, but truthfully, any kind of lettuce would suffice.  My favorite is actually spinach, which might be a stretch for some of you. If so, stick with the iceberg or the romaine.
• A few slices of Walla Walla sweet onion (Nate is from Walla Walla, so of course we have to eat the onions), but your favorite flavor of onion would be perfectly fine.
• 1 chopped slicing tomato.
• 1 gala apple.  Again, your favorite apple would suffice. 

We topped it with some Caesar vinaigrette dressing, which was tasty.  Raspberry vinaigrette is also delicious with salads that have fruit on them.  You may be freaking out about the calories in the dressing, but don't.  An oil based dressing is perfectly okay because it will contain mostly unsaturated fat, which if you remember from my post How Should I Really Feel About Fat, is not terrible for you.  I would choose oil based dressings or low fat dressings, but if you are a lover of the good old whole fat ranch, go for it, just calculate that into your discretionary calories (for more info look under the heading personalization after you click on the link).

The great thing about salads is that you really don't need a recipe, which is fabulous for me because I often feel restricted by recipes.  So basically, I just throw in anything that sounds good and try it out.  Also delicious on salads are mandarin oranges, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (any berry really), sliced almonds or walnuts, dried cranberries or raisins, and various cheeses.  Throw in some chicken to make the salad a full meal, and top with your favorite dressing.

Now it's your turn to try.  Mix it up and try it out.  I'm sure you'll discover something truly satisfying (and healthy too).

-Kamie

Kamie's Tip of the Week:

The person most affected by your diet (the food you eat everyday) is YOU.  You absolutely have the right to treat your body as a garbage can and throw any old junk into it, but it's yourself that you're punishing.  On the other hand, making healthy changes in your diet will benefit YOU.  You see, it's all a matter of how YOU want to feel.  So ask yourself, is it worth the hard work to feel healthier? The choice is up to YOU :)

What Can I Eat For a Healthy Summer Snack?

This post is in honor of my parents, who taught me how to eat right.  Now, you might be a parent, and your children might be depending on you to teach them to eat right (and even if you're not a parent, these skills will still be beneficial for you personally).  Summer is a great season to start eating well because everything wonderful and deliciously healthy is in season.

So what are you going to eat on this fine summer day? Let's look at some of your options.

1) Mixed fruit with fruit dip

This snack is one of my favorites, although I must admit I usually don't add the fruit dip. I've added it here for those of you who don't particularly love fruit plain.  You can cut up various fruits, mix them together, and dip away.  My favorites to mix are strawberries, bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew, raspberries, blueberries, mango, and many more (you can probably tell that fruit is my favorite food group). Pick up some fruit dip from the store or make your own.  You may be able to feed your picky eaters by making a game out of dipping the fruit (be careful though, this could get messy).

2) Celery and Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter is surprisingly delicious as a topping for many fruits and vegetables.  Celery is one of them (apples is another).  Fill the crevice of the celery with a bit of low fat peanut butter, and eat up.  Most kids can't resist a peanut butter filled airplane flying into their mouth.  It's a fun snack to try.

3) Cheese and Crackers

Kids need a lot of calcium for their growing bones, and a little extra milk fat won't hurt them (or you), so cheese is a good choice.  Slice a couple of pieces of low fat cheese and stick 'em on top of some whole-grain Ritz crackers, and you've got a simple but beautiful masterpiece.  If you prefer, you can microwave the cheese-cracker combo for a few seconds and melt the cheese on top.  Both are delicious!

4) Whole Watermelon

My personal FAVORITE!  I love watermelon, and summer is the best time to dig in.  Most kids love watermelon because it is messy (kids love making messes lol) and sweet enough for their taste buds.  The great thing is that they can get both vitamins and the extra water they need in the summer from this delicious treat.  I like to cut a whole cross section and eat the whole thing! When it comes to watermelon, I forget all about moderation lol :)

Kamie's Diet Sin

Most importantly, if you can convince your kids (or yourself) to have fun while eating in the sun, they will learn to love these and other fun  and healthy summer snacks.

-Kamie