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ByAnn
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Setting Realistic Goals and Keeping Your Expectations Realistic

Once you feel ready to make changes to your lifestyle, the next step is setting what your goals will be. They can be anything you want: weight loss, building strength at the gym, eliminating medications, or all of the above! However, many set goals based on what they think they SHOULD be verses what’s realistic. Setting goals that don’t make sense will just set you up for frustration and not being able to achieve them. If you don’t achieve what you set out to do, it’s easy to just stop and give up! Of course, this is what we want to avoid. Work with your dietitian to achieve attainable, reasonable, and time appropriate goals. Change takes time, so allow yourself the time and practice. For example, if you gained 20 pounds over a period of 3 years, you won’t be able to lose all 20 pounds in 1 month!

Set SMART Goals

A good goal-setting strategy is the SMART goal checklist. Be sure that your weight-loss goals meet the following criteria:

  • Specific: A good goal includes details, such as what you will do, how long you will do it, and when you will do it. For example: A goal to walk 30 minutes after work every day.
  • Measurable: If you can measure a goal, then you can determine how successful you are at meeting your goal. For example: A goal of incorporating more vegetables into lunches and dinners.
  • Attainable: An attainable goal is one that you have enough time and resources to achieve. This can help you to set goals that are achievable and sustainable. For example: You don’t have time to go to the gym 1 hour per day, so a more realistic goal would be 3 days per week for 30 minutes each time.
  • Relevant: Don’t set goals that someone else wants you to achieve. Ask yourself what’s most important to you and then determine your goals. For example: If weight loss is a priority, then your dietitian can help you come up with realistic goals and a reasonable plan on how to achieve them.
  • Time-limited: Giving yourself a time limit can motivate you to get started and stay on course.

Long-term vs. Short-term Goals

Short-term goals will help you to start making changes and stay motivated, which will then lead to long-term success. Long-term goals help you to focus on the big picture. You will hear us dietitians talk ALL the time about lifestyle changes, not diets! Shifting your thought process will help tremendously.

Allow For Setbacks

Setbacks are a natural part of behavior change. Life happens! If you have had a challenging period of time, don’t waste time being so hard on yourself. Just take steps to move forward day by day. This could also become a time for you to re-evaluate your goals and adjust them as needed.

ByAnn
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Beating the Cold Weather Blues

It’s normal to feel your mood change as the weather gets colder. You may feel a bit more down or “blah”, but here are a few simple tips that can help you beat the blues until it gets warmer again*:

—Wake up a few minutes earlier and get moving—

The sun will be shining through your windows earlier in the day during the winter. While it may appear to be a negative thing, it’s actually good. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea earlier than usual or get up and go for a chilly morning walk. You can even do both!

Vitamin D levels are typically lower during the winter months, so going for a walk in the sun can help boost your vitamin D levels. Just adding a few more minutes to your day can help set the tone for your day and boost your mood instead of the mad-rush before work starts or rolling out of bed and logging onto your laptop.

—Find a hobby—

Read a new book, learn a language, craft, dance, sing, laugh with friends, exercise, etc. Find something that occupies your time instead of just sitting and watching TV.

When you are happy, you boost your endorphins. Endorphins are your body’s natural pain relievers and are also responsible for feelings of pleasure after doing activities you enjoy, whether it’s hiking or running, eating chocolate, or laughing with friends. More research is needed, but here are some other known benefits of having a healthy level of endorphins:

  • Help reduce stress and anxiety
  • Potentially decrease pain
  • Boost self-esteem
  • Help with depression

—Make healthy food choices (most of the time)—

Of course, all of us will be indulging more during the holiday season. However, use moderation when you can! Eat slowly, stay hydrated, and stop eating when you’re full. There’s no reason to feel completely stuffed after every single meal. Also, avoid keeping too many tempting snacks and foods in the house you may pick at (e.g. a plate of cookies in the kitchen). Some foods have been linked to helping you have a more positive mood, such as:

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Dark chocolate
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Fruits
  • Salmon
  • Spinach and other dark leafy greens
  • Brightly colored veggies

*If you notice that you can’t seem to get rid of that sadness feeling, please speak with your doctor.

ByAnn
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Exercising Through the Winter Season

As the weather gets colder, it’s challenging to feel motivated to go outside for a walk or run when you can just stay cozy inside of your home. Sure, we may rather go outside when it’s warm or stay in bed when it’s dark and cold outside, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are lots of exercise options that we can do during this time instead of giving excuses every single time. A very good first step is to get up and start moving, but what type of exercises can you do after that? Here’s some options that you can be consistent with AND actually enjoy:

For those who love cold weather (be sure to bundle up and grab the proper gear first):

  • Hiking
  • Walking
  • Jogging or Running
  • Bike riding
  • Snow shoe-ing
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Walking the dog
  • Ice skating
  • Raking the leaves
  • Splitting wood

For those who want to stay warm indoors:

  • Exercising at a gym (if you’re comfortable)
  • Fitness apps (I LOVE the Peloton app – you don’t need their bike to use this)
  • Yoga
  • Strength training (weights, resistance bands, etc.)
  • Jump rope
  • Indoor swimming pool
  • YouTube workout videos
  • Barre
  • Dancing
  • Walking up and down stairs
  • Qubii (foot pedaling
  • Home equipment (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, total gym, etc.)
  • Build your own workout (lunges, squats, push ups, sit-ups)

It’s recommended to stretch both before and after workouts. If you haven’t exercised much before, it’s okay to start small and work your way up to longer exercise periods. Do only what you can tolerate since you could injure yourself if you don’t. Start with five minutes and then go from there. Don’t compare your abilities to others, but start somewhere: something is better than nothing! If you aren’t sure if a certain exercise is okay for you, be sure to contact your doctor and get clearance before trying it.

ByAnn
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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

We all have been affected by cancer, whether it was you, a friend, or a family member. While we know there’s no one magical change that you can make to completely avoid all risk of cancer, it’s a group of changes and adopting a healthy lifestyle that can help you take preventative measures.

One change that you can make is eating your fruits and vegetables! We know, you hear this from us ALL the time. However, we wanted to share in more detail the “behind the scenes” benefits of them that you may not know about.

The term phytonutrients is a name for a wide variety of compounds produced by plants. Each phytonutrient comes from a variety of different plants and has different effects on and benefits for the body. Although scientists have only studied closely a small fraction of phytonutrients, researchers estimate there are up to 4,000 of them!

How do you get phytonutrients? They’re found in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains. If you try to improve your balance of meals by including different colors of fruits and vegetables, you’ll be able to provide your body with a wide variety of nutritional benefits.

What are the health benefits of phytonutrients? New experimental studies are emerging and suggesting that phytonutrients may have an even greater role to play in human health than the already positive results that have been discovered to date. See below for some foods that you can incorporate into your daily intake to get these phytonutrients. It’s easier than you think!

PhytonutrientProposed BenefitsFood Sources
AnthocyanidinsBlood vessel healthBlackberries
Blueberries
Cranberries
Plums
Raspberries
Red onions
Red potatoes
Red radishes
Strawberries
Beta CaroteneImmune system
Vision
Skin health
Bone health		Apricots
Broccoli
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Collard greens
Kale
Pumpkin
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes
Winter squash
IsoflavonesBone health
Breast cancer
Joint inflammation
Lower cholesterol
Menopause		Soybeans
LuteinCancer
Eye health
Heart health		Artichokes
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Collard greens
Kale
Lettuce
Spinach
LycopeneHeart health
Prostate cancer		Pink grapefruit
Red peppers
Tomatoes
Tomato products
Watermelon
ResveratrolCancer
Heart health
Inflammation
Lung health		Grapes
Peanuts
Red wine
Information adapted from https://fruitsandveggies.org
ByAnn
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Blasting Through Weight Loss Plateaus

We all know that weight loss is a journey and not a destination. As you start your journey, keep in mind two things: (1) your weight loss will slow down as you get closer to your weight goal, and (2) you want to achieve a weight that you can actually maintain. There will be ups and downs, so you need to have a plan for when you are on a weight loss plateau. A plateau is a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress.

Do you think you are on a weight loss plateau right now? Here are some tips to help you get through it:

  • Review what you’re eating: Make sure you haven’t become more lax, slowly increased portions without realizing, or are mindlessly eating. Did you remember to track that handful of potato chips you grabbed while walking through the kitchen? Extra nibbles here and there start adding up, so always ask yourself: “Am I hungry or am I bored?”
  • Track your exercise AND food: This is the best way to see what’s going on. If you think you’re in a plateau, track closely what you’re eating for 1 to 2 weeks and then let your dietitian review it with you to suggest possible changes.
  • Focus on the quality of your calories: It’s not only about calories but the type of foods you eat.
  • Change your workout routine: Your muscles become familiar with a workout that’s done repeately, so try a new fitness routine. Muscle mass is active tissues, so your body will burn more calories at rest if your muscle mass is greater than your fat mass. Gradually increasing the time and intensity of your exercise is beneficial too, but only do as much as you can tolerate!
  • Get adequate sleep: Sleep deprivation lowers leptin (an appetite-suppressing hormone), increases ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates hunger), and cortisol (a “stress hormone” that rises during tension-filled times).
  • Increase your fluid intake: Drink 80 to 100 oz of water per day (10 to 12 cups). The signs of dehydration can feel like hunger and trick your body into feeling hungry.

REMEMBER: Focus on the health benefits of your weight loss and celebrate your victories other than that number on the scale. Some other victories to celebrate include coming off of medication, increased energy levels, better mobility, improved quality of life, and feeling comfortable in your own skin. Any health goal that you have is important and worth working towards. Just because making lifestyle changes are hard doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You’re worth it!

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