KTK-Nutrition

So many people say they will exercise more as the new year starts.   Always good intentions, they join a gym, go a few times and by late February or early March they stop going or go to the gym rarely.   But one doesn’t have to “go to the gym” to exercise and burn off calories.   Engaging in some simple, everyday activities can put some exercise in your day and help burn off some calories.   Going to the gym is fine and I go a few times a week. But one can also “exercise” in many ways throughout the day.   The goal is to be more active, Sit Less and Move More .   Shape and Self have some ways to “Burn More Calories In A Day”.   Here are a few:    1.  Cook – who ever thought one could “work out” by cooking a meal?   But when you cut, chop and dice you are burning up some calories.    Shape estimates about 128 calories before you sit down to eat. 2.   Cleaning – add in some 25 minutes of cleaning – scrubbing, ...

Exercise.   Who has time to fit exercise into their day during the holiday season?   And what are the guidelines for how much exercise we should get each day?   A frequently asked question from my students is “How much exercise do I need each day?”   Well, recently, November 2018 to be precise, the federal guidelines on physical activity were updated.   So, what are the latest recommendations and who sets those guidelines anyway? Who sets the guidelines for exercise? The federal government sets guidelines for what we should eat at MyPlate.   A number of federal agencies worked together to update the physical activity guidelines including:   Centers for Disease Control, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, National Institutes of Health and the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.   The guidelines were first issued in 2008 and November, 2018 is the first time the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans have...

Last week we looked at five ways you can lose weight without going on a “diet”.   Let’s look at five more habits you can adopt to drop a few pounds and start to get in shape for the summer.   Too often we go on a “diet”, lose some weight and then regain it once we go off the “diet”.   But what if we adopted habits that helped us not only lose a few pounds but keep the weight off when we do lose it.   So instead quick diets, quack diets, fad diets, try some new eating habits and lifestyle habits to take off the extra holiday pounds.   Here are five more habits to try from the article:   10 ways to Start Losing Weight, No Matter How Unmotivated You Are. 1.  Set some health goals that have nothing to do with the number on the scale Rather than just focus on losing pounds, focus on getting some health measure healthier.   Have cholesterol a little high, how can you change eating and exercise habits to bring down your cholesterol?   A r...

   So many people think they have to make huge changes in their diet and lifestyle to be healthier.    Others think they have to give up all the “good” food they eat to be healthier or they have to join a gym to get exercise.   But small changes can lead to big benefits to your health.   Jo-Ann Heslin is a registered dietitian who focuses on making small changes to a better you.   I have used some of her suggestions and added my own.   So what SMALL CHANGES can you make for a healthier you?    Sit Less, Move More –    Many studies have found that many Americans don’t necessarily eat too much but they move too little.   Less TV and more movement –   if you are watching TV, get up during every commercial and move around your home.    Cut back on how much TV you watch   Walk more – going to the gym is great but a walk around your neighborhood is also healthy.   Start with 15 minutes and work...

Too many Americans are couch potatoes.   Not just sitting or lying on the couch but sitting and being sedentary for a good portion of the day.   In my recent nutrition class, we talked about overweight children.   A number of studies have shown overweight children don’t necessarily eat more than their peers but they do sit more than their peers and get much less exercise.   Not only is exercise beneficial to our health in many ways, it may actually reduce our risk of cancer and reduce inflammation.   An article in Environmental Nutrition notes, “Regular physical activity seems to reduce chronic low-grade inflammation that can lead to DNA damage and promotes unhealthy cell growth that can lead to cancer.”   (Cancer-fighting plant foods ) More physical exercise lowers our risk of a number of cancers. But one can’t just exercise for 30 minutes and then sit the rest of the day.   Studies have also shown sitting too much seems to negate some of the...