August 2011
Wellness Advocate
Back to Basics, Back to School and Pass the Pizza
Refreshing Your Goals for Healthy Weight Loss
While there are plenty of ways
to lose weight, maintaining your
weight loss over the long term is
often unsuccessful. If you've lost
and found the same pounds several
times before, it's probably time to
go back to the basics of a healthy
weight! Health can improve with
relatively minor weight reduction
(5 percent to 10 percent of body
weight). Adopting a healthy lifestyle
by eating smarter and moving more
can improve your health status even
if you don't lose any weight at all.
If you want to maintain a healthy
weight for the rest of your life, it's all about energy balance. Here are
three basic steps for success:
Make Smart Choices from Every Food Group
Your body needs the right fuel for your hectic, stress-filled schedule.
The best way to get what you need is to enjoy a wide variety of nutrientrich foods that are packed with energy, protein, vitamins and minerals
from all the food groups. Here's an easy way to eat more produce: enjoy
one fruit and one vegetable as a snack each day. It's quick, easy, tasty and
very nutrient-rich.
Get the Most Nutrition from Your Calories
The biggest nutrition problem for most Americans is posed by high-fat,
high-sugar foods and drinks, such as snack foods, candies and soft drinks.
Eating smarter does not mean you have to immediately go sugar-free
and fat-free. You can make a big difference in your calorie intake by
just eating and drinking smaller portions and by making empty calorie
choices less often.
The key is to moderate, not eliminate. Watching portion size is an easy
way to cut back without cutting out. If you want to consume less sugar,
limit your soft drink intake to one can a day and switch to sparkling or
regular water the rest of the time.
Balance Food and Physical Activity
What you eat is just one part of the energy balance equation. The other
is your physical activity. Most of us take in more calories than we spend
on our daily activities.
Finding a healthier balance means fitting more activity into your day. The
minimum for good health is 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity
each day. To reach a healthy weight, you may need to be physically active
longer (60 minutes a day) or participate in more intense activities. How
much activity do you usually get now? If it's only 15 minutes, try adding
a 15- or 20-minute walk during your lunch break.
Fuel for School!
A healthy breakfast includes a variety of foods such as
fiber-rich and whole-grain cereals with low fat milk; yogurt
and berries; toast, eggs and 100 percent fruit juice; or
whole wheat bagels and cream cheese with low fat milk.
For lunch, create a chef's salad
by adding frozen chicken
strips and a sliced boiled egg
to romaine lettuce, tomatoes,
cucumbers and mozzarella
cheese. Add ranch dressing
on the side, whole wheat
crackers, a bottle of water and
a box of raisins. The chicken
strips will thaw by lunchtime
and be ready to eat. Also,
invest in insulated lunch totes
to ensure food safety!
One way to prevent children from becoming bored
with their lunches is to use pitas, bagels, English muffins,
crackers or tortillas to make sandwiches instead of using
bread all the time.
You can also pack fruit such as grapes, strawberries, apple
wedges or melon chunks that's quick and easy to eat.
Including a toothpick and a dipping sauce made with yogurt
can coax reluctant fruit eaters to try it.
Short Takes: Pedestrian Safety
Children and teens may feel like they are invincible and
that they can take care of themselves. But whether they're
walking to school or hustling to a nearby friend's house, it's
important to remind them about pedestrian safety.
Safe Kids USA offers these suggestions:
• Always look left, right, then left again before you cross
the street, and pay attention while crossing.
• Walk across an intersection, don't run.
• Follow all traffic signs and signals.
• Whenever sunlight is dim, carry a flashlight and wear
something reflective.
7 Reasons to Strengthen
Your Core Muscles
(and you can even do them while you watch TV)
You know core exercises are good for you — but do you include
them in your fitness routine? Core exercises are an important part
of a well-rounded fitness program. Aside from occasional sit-ups
and push-ups, core exercises are often neglected. Still, it pays to
get your core muscles — the muscles around your trunk and pelvis — in better shape. Check out seven specific reasons to include
core exercises in your fitness routine:
1. Improve your balance and stability
Core exercises train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips
and abdomen to work in harmony. This leads to better balance and
stability, whether on the playing field or in daily activities.
2. No special equipment or a gym required
Any exercise that uses the trunk of your body without support
counts as a core exercise. Abdominal crunches are a classic core
exercise. Try lying on your back and placing your feet on a wall so
that your knees and hips are bent at 90-degree angles. Tighten
your abdominal muscles, then raise your head and shoulders off
the floor. Classic push-ups count, too. You can also do push-ups on
your knees or standing up against a wall.
3. Core exercises can help tone your abs
Want more defined abdominal muscles? Core exercises are important. Although it takes aerobic activity to burn abdominal fat, core
exercises can strengthen and tone the underlying muscles.
4. They make it easier to do most physical activities
Strong core muscles make it easier to do everything from swinging
a golf club to getting a glass from the top shelf or bending down to
tie your shoes. Weak core muscles leave you susceptible to poor
posture, lower back pain and muscle injuries.
5. You can take it slow
You don't have to dedicate hours a day to core exercises.
Instead, concentrate on doing each exercise with correct
technique and proper form. Gradually build up to 10 to 15
repetitions of each exercise. Remember to take a break when
you need one. If you work your core muscles to fatigue during
an exercise session, wait at least a day in between workouts to
give your muscles time to recover.
6. You can do core exercises at home
Remember, you don't have to trek to the gym to do core exercises. Try them on the floor at home while you're watching
your favorite shows. You can even do core exercises with a
fitness ball. To do abdominal crunches with a fitness ball, for
example, sit on the ball with your feet resting on the floor,
about hip-width apart. Cross your arms on your chest, tighten
your abdominal muscles and lean back until your abdominal
muscles kick in. Hold for three deep breaths, then return to
the starting position and repeat.
7. Core exercises can help you reach your fitness goals
Aerobic exercise and muscular fitness are the primary elements
of most fitness programs — and stretching counts, too. But to
have a truly well-rounded fitness program, you should include
core exercises in the mix as well. Whether you're a novice
taking the first steps toward fitness or a committed fitness
fanatic hoping to optimize your results, a well-rounded fitness
program is the best way to reach your fitness goals.*
end of summer pizza
* Always check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-ounce) baked or ready to cook pizza
crust, whole wheat if possible
1 cup marinara sauce (read the label and
get the healthiest choice!)
1/4 cup sliced, sun-dried tomatoes
4 ounces shredded, part-skim mozzarella
cheese (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (low-fat
preferred!)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium
heat. Add mushrooms and onions and
cook until tender and most of the liquid
evaporates, about 5 minutes. Stir in the
garlic and remove from the heat.
Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet.
Spread the sauce over the crust leaving
a 1-inch border. Top with the mushroom mixture and sun-dried tomatoes.
Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan
cheeses. Bake until the crust is crisp and
the cheese is nicely melted, about 13
minutes. Sprinkle with basil, cut into 8
slices and serve.
The Wellness Advocate Newsletter is compliments of HealthSmart Care Management Solutions and is not intended to offer medical advice.
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