Move More, Eat Less, Live Better

I think we can all agree that we could clean up our daily routines to create a healthier “us”. Whether you want to lose a few pesky pounds for that wedding, run that 5k, or to be able to keep up with the kids, eating healthy & getting a daily dose of exercise can benefit anyone at any age.

 

 

A Few Simple Ways to Begin Making a Change:

 

1. Add movement to your Day
2. Portion Control is Under Your Control
3. Be Wise About Serving Size

1. Add movement to your Day
Many health & fitness organizations (including ACSM) recommend that we accumulate a minimum of 30 minutes per day, 5-7 days per week, of moderate intensity aerobic activity to increase our health (to lower the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc).
Children & teenagers should accumulate approximately 60 minutes most days.

 

Ways to Add Movement to Your Day:

• Park as far away from any building as you can. Take the longest path possible, whether it’s walking in every aisle of the grocery store or parking on the opposite side of the shopping mall.
• Take the stairs.
• Ride your bike or walk to your destination.
• When at work, don’t call a coworker. Go to their cubicle/office and take the long way around the office to get there.
• Take a walk at lunch time or during break time.
• Make an after dinner walk part of the family routine.
• Walk or bike to the park. Let the kids play and be active and then head home. You’ve most likely met your family’s daily activity needs by walking both ways and having some fun in between.

 

 

How Much Did I Just Eat?

Two of the most misunderstood terms in regard to the amount of food we ingest are “portion” and “serving size”. These terms are often interchanged, causing the public to become confused as to the correct amount of calories they are actually consuming.

 

 

2. Portion Control is Under Your Control.
Portion size = the amount you put on your plate, in a bowl, in a glass. The amount of food served for one meal/snack.
Restaurant portion sizes have been steadily increasing over the past few years. This is the one area that can be directly controlled by each person.

 

Tips to keep control of portions:

 

• Use smaller plates or bowls when preparing meals at home. This instantly creates smaller portions.
• Pause before going back for a second helping. Have a glass of water and wait 20-30 minutes. Your stomach will tell you if it needs more.
• Embrace snacks! Have healthy snacks nearby during the day and don’t be afraid to have an apple, carrot sticks or a granola bar in between meals. This should help you from overeating during the next meal.
• Leave the box/bag in the kitchen. Portion snacks into a bowl or small container when watching TV. Never take the bag or box with you.
• Keep water nearby. Whenever you feel like having a snack or an extra portion, have a glass of water first. Sometimes the body is thirsty, but we mistake that for hunger.
• Share a meal or Save ½ to take home when eating at a restaurant. If you’re still hungry when you get home the rest of your meal is there if you need it.

 

3. Be Wise about Serving Size
'Serving size' and 'Servings per container' is a standard unit of measuring foods (ie: 8oz or 1 cup).
Daily percentages shown on food labels indicate the amount of essential nutrients based on that serving size alone. A box of cereal may seem like a healthy choice based on the serving size, but there may be 7-8 servings per box. Using a large bowl and not paying mind to how much your pour into that bowl can turn a lower calorie serving size into a high calorie meal (or portion).

 

 

Tip: Keep a measuring cup for cereal and milk nearby so you can begin to get a sense of how much you are really eating. You may be surprised at how much milk you are actually using or that 1 bowl of cereal is actually 2-3 servings worth of calories.

 

 

Realizing that a box of snack food or a bottle of Gatorade or tea contains multiple servings is a big step in taking control of one’s caloric intake.  A quick glance at the serving size/servings per container and the number of calories per serving can save you many unnecessary calories. Ingesting calories unintentionally happens often with teas and 'sports drinks' for example.  See the seemingly 'innocent' bottle of all-natural Snapple below:

 

 

300 Calories per bottle of 24oz Snapple. If you've figured this into your daily caloric intake, okay. If not, you may reconsider drinking this, pour it into a smaller glass, or dilute it with H2O to avoid unintended calorie intake.

 

THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK FROM COACH MARK:

• Eat only when your stomach is growling or you experience that empty feeling in the bottom of your stomach. If you feel like eating something, drink water first.
•  Eat based on having one portion of one serving size (based on the food label). Follow this for both meals and snacks.
•  Pay attention to how you feel after your meals. Are you tired or sleepy? Do you have the energy for those 30 minutes of activity?
• Take note on how much food you have left after the week.
• Notice how much less your grocery bill is since you still have food at home 

 

Some of these simple steps can lead you to a smaller waistline and a healthier you. But they can also help fatten the wallet!

 

 

And please remember: Move more. Eat less. Live better.
Coach Mark