Get Your Plate in Shape!

Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month? Every March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (The American Dietetics Association) picks a theme related to encouraging a variety of food groups into the average American diet. This year, as Americans focus not only on eating healthier but also on increasing their physical activity, the theme “Get Your Plate in Shape” was born. 

This month, let’s breakdown the new “MyPlate” guide which replaced the food pyramid late last year and assists people in choosing healthier foods in the correct portion size. The plate offers a simpler solution to portion control and causes people to be more mindful when sitting down to a meal, by providing a visual of what your plate should look like. Another great thing about “the plate” is that it is an easy teaching tool for children, so they can start recognizing healthy portions from the get go.
 
So what makes up the plate? Imagine you are looking at a lunch or dinner plate and cut it into four sections. Two sections should hold fruits and vegetables, one section should include a lean protein, and the last section should hold a grain, preferably a whole grain. That’s it! Simple, right? These foods, in balance, help us maintain active, healthy lifestyles and healthy weights.
 
Here are the ADA recommendations to keep your plate in tip-top shape.
Make half your plate fruit and veggies:

• Choose a variety of both. Try different dark green, red and orange varieties to maximize your antioxidant intake.
• Rinse canned vegetables, if you buy them, so that you can decrease the sodium you consume. Look for low or reduced sodium on the label.
• Dried and frozen fruit can be a good option, if fresh isn’t possible. Review labels to avoid added sweeteners.
• Make veggies and fruits part of snack time, too.

Vary your protein sources:

• Keep meat and poultry to three ounces at a meal.
• Try more plant-based proteins such as nuts, beans, and whole soy foods (tofu, edamame, soy milk).
• Whole grains can be a great source of protein as well, think quinoa or kamut.
• For another heart-healthy alternative, try fish 2-3 times a week instead of meat.

Choose “smart” carbs:

• At least half of your grains should be “whole.”
• Choose brown rice, barley, and oats for your sides or ingredients in recipes.
• Always double check the label to see that the first ingredients are “whole,” not “enriched.”

The plate doesn’t leave much room for “extras.” While you can choose to fill one-quarter of your plate for your grain portion with french fries or your protein section with chicken strips, you aren’t going to be getting the most nutrition for the calories consumed. The purpose behind the “plate” is to fill up healthfully, and leave the foods that are high in “empty” calories (e.g., desserts, chips, fried foods) for occasional consumption. No food is off-limit in the plate but the beauty of the tool is that it keeps everything in the proper portion, even the foods we think of as “unhealthy.”

Take Time for your Ticker

Take Time for your Ticker

It is only appropriate that the month that holds the holiday of love is also the month for American Heart Health. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in America. Did you know that 1 out of every three adults has some form of heart disease. Here is some information to help decrease your risks.

Heart Healthy Tips:

· Take time to see your doctor. Knowing where your heart health stands is the first step to taking action either to help prevent damage in the first place or control problems from getting worse.

· Cut the cholesterol down, but not out. Your body needs cholesterol to function, but not a lot. Shoot for 200 mg max daily. Dietary sources of cholesterol include: eggs, meat, dairy, and shellfish.

· Fill your plate with fiber. Fiber helps lower your cholesterol and can also help fill you up, which may help you lose weight. Fill your plate up at meals with fruits, veggies, and whole grains and you will have no problem getting the 25-35 recommended grams daily.

· Move it! Aim for 30 minutes of activity daily. New studies show strength training is just as important as cardio for heart health because it strengthens your muscles, including your heart. Both help lower blood pressure as well. Exercise also helps increase your HDL or "good" cholesterol. Check in with a Wellness Coach today for a routine that fits your goals and schedule.

· Speaking of HDL…Eat more fatty fish and nuts. Tuna, salmon, and mackerel are great sources. Walnuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews, and flaxseeds are also a great snack to enjoy. You will absorb more omega-3 Fatty Acids from food than supplements.

· Get some sleep. Too little sleep causes stress, which puts your heart at risk. Aim for 8 hours a night.

· Relax and revive. Take time for deep breathing, relaxation, meditation, or yoga.Exercises like these help regulate your heart rate and blood pressure. Check our group ex schedules to find a time that will work for you.

· Use your heart! Spending time with the ones you love helps relieve stress and may help you live longer. Always have a small support system that you can count on when you need them.

Be well,

Angela

Resolve To Do More for Yourself

This time of year is often about resolving to change something about you. Rather than looking at making a resolution from a negative angle and feeling as though that you need to change yourself, challenge yourself to resolve to do something FOR yourself. It is tiring to hear, year after year, thoughts and feelings that a person’s outward appearance or behaviors are “ugly” and needs improved upon. This year, try to refocus your efforts. For instance: increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables will help to increase the fiber in your diet, lower your risk of cancer, help decrease your cholesterol, and your blood pressure. Aside from all of those great benefits, you stand to lose a few pounds as well.

Another idea, making a commitment to give yourself daily, physical activity which will not only leave you feeling refreshed and energized, but also lower your blood pressure and help your body utilize glucose more effectively. It can also help you lower your number on the scale. The final example is to resolve to get more sleep every night. This will most certainly help you feel less stressed and fatigued, and it may also help you lose weight. The heart of the matter is this: focus on your health and well-being first and foremost. The side effect of taking care of you through healthy diet, exercise, and stress management is that other desires, such as weight loss and a better attitude start happening.

I hope to see you at the Y working on doing more for the most important person, You.

Happy, Healthy New Year!

-Angela

Food Pushers

Last month, the focus was on spending time with family and enjoying the traditions, meals, and time together. This month, as parties start to increase in frequency and duration, many people find it harder to calm their anxieties. The hardest part for many is something that should come very easy to us, saying the word, “No.” While you certainly will sample old favorites and have a drink or two; truly being healthy means knowing when and where to exercise control of yourself, especially when in direct fire of a “food pusher”. A food pusher is a person that has good intentions deep down (think grandma), but will coerce you to consume food and drink until s/he feels you have consumed enough.

First of all, the worst approach to handling the phrase, “have another cookie/meatball/cocktail,” is to exclaim you are watching your weight. This only stirs up other questions and will likely extend the “push” at hand until said item has been consumed. The best phrases include focusing on what you can’t wait to dive into such as, “Wow, those green beans look divine,” or “I can’t wait to have seconds of the crudité.” Sayings such as this help calm the pusher into feeling like you want to consume, in mass quantity, other items at the party. Another trick to try, especially after the main dish has been served is, “I am so full; I can’t imagine another thing crossing my lips.”

Remember, if all else fails a simple, “no, thank you,” is polite and to the point. Enjoy the holidays!

Holiday Survival Mode

As the holiday season soon approaches, a lot of people get anxious about all the food, family, and festivities. Many worry that the season will derail them from starting or continuing efforts to eat a healthy diet or incorporate exercise into their daily lives. However, it is important to take a deep breath and recall the true joys and purpose of the season: to enjoy time with family and friends. It is a time to focus on giving thanks and rejoicing over the blessings in your life, rather than fret about perceived failures to yourself. Take this time to evaluate how far you have come with creating new, healthier habits. Set small goals to control portion sizes of not so healthy foods or to choose healthier foods to add to your menu.

Keep a log of exercise that you can fit in, even if it is just a quick walk around the block.

And don’t forget, sharing the gift of a healthier lifestyle is just as important as living it for yourself. Make it a priority to have several healthy options at parties, either by modifying a recipe you love or by adding a salad or fruit tray to the table. Talk about being active with your loved ones and see if you can encourage everyone to go for a walk together or play a game outside. Chances are, others in the family want to prevent holiday weight gain too!

The following are some tips to help you get through parties without needing to go up a size after the season is through.

• Plan ahead. If you know you have a social event, eat a light snack or meal beforehand so you are not ravenous at the party and eat everything in sight. Plan to have small portions of foods you enjoy and avoid foods that don’t give you pleasure.
• If you host an event, remember you have control over the menu!
• Keep your distance from food and drink, busy yourself with conversation with people you don’t get to see often through the year.
• Limit alcohol to two drinks. Just because you sip it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t add up, and fast. Alcohol is stored directly as fat in the body and decreases your metabolism. Not only that, it can inhibit your decision-making skills and encourage you to eat more.
• Be the last in line for a buffet, you will be less likely to go back for seconds.
• Leave leftovers or send them home with others. Out of sight, out of mind.
• Split high calorie entrees or deserts with a friend.
• If someone continues to offer you something you would regret eating or prefer not to eat, ask them to get you something else instead.
• Practice the art of saying, “No.”
• Above all, don’t feel guilty about small slip-ups. Guilt can move you onto a path of making unhealthy decisions for days on end.

For the Girls

For the Girls

Big or small, save them all. For the girls. Thanks for the mammaries. I pink I can. Save the tatas...Every October, we think for a month about our chests. We bring attention to a disease that currently affects or will affect 1 in 8 women. If you are reading this right now, you probably are doing so because you know someone close to you that has been affected by the disease.

Luckily, as time marches on, and more awareness and money is raised, we get closer to improving outcomes for those that receive the diagnosis. Take the time this month to learn a little more about what you can do to educate yourself or a woman you care about taking steps to help prevent breast cancer.

Here are some prevention strategies:

1. Get routine physicals, every year. As with any disease, early detection is key and can result in stopping the disease in it’s tracks. Every woman should have a regular family physician and gynecologist. Regular mammograms should start at 40.
2. Maintain your weight at a healthy weight. Not only a good prevention idea for breast cancer, but other cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke as well. Being overweight increases the risk of cancer, especially if your weight increases after menopause.
3. Eat a healthy diet. The jury is still out on how much this affects your risk of cancer, but a healthy diet keeps your immunity strong, prevents other disease, and helps maintain your weight at a healthy level. Emphasize healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and limit high sodium, processed, and fried foods.
4. Move more. Being physically active, like a healthy diet, helps you maintain a healthy weight and increases your immunity. Current recommendations are for 150 minutes of vigorous activity a week. Try a class at your local Y or get a walking buddy to help motivate you. Find something you truly enjoy doing. If you are just starting an exercise program, start slow and gradually build up to prevent an injury.
5. Breastfeed. Women who breastfeed are less likely to develop breast cancer than those that don’t. The longer you do so for, the less risk you are at. The bonus here is that it is also great for the baby.
6. Moderate your alcohol intake. A high intake of alcohol increases your risk of cancer. If you are going to drink, be sure to limit yourself to one drink a day.

These are just some of the guidelines. Sure, a lot of women who were diagnosed, were healthy individuals that followed all of these rules. Breast cancer can affect anyone. However, the more we know and the more conscious we are about our health and vigilant about it, the more we decrease our risk of breast cancer and other diseases as well.

What is the definition of wellness?

Director’s Corner

As I sat down and started to think about what I wanted to cover in this month’s newsletter, I looked down at my name tag and thought to myself; “What is the definition of wellness?” 

Interestingly, after attending several years of college, earning two degrees, holding numerous certifications and an extensive internet search, I realized that there seems to be no universally accepted definition. How is this possible? It seems like wellness is everywhere these days, we hear and see it on the news, written across billboards, discuss it with each other, and many of our workplaces even promote it, but yet, we can’t agree on what wellness actually is!

Generally, wellness is vaguely referred to as a state of well-being or a state of acceptance or satisfaction with our present condition, but the truth is that wellness is a very difficult word to define because it is an active process, which involves becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence.

·      Process means that improvement is ALWAYS possible

·      Aware means that we should be continuously seeking more
   information about how we can improve it

·      Choices means that we should consider a variety of options and
   select  those that are best suited for us

·      Success is determined by the collection of life accomplishments of each individual

More specifically, Charles B Corbin of Arizona State University defines wellness as a “multi-dimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and sense of well-being.

So, if wellness is multi-dimensional, what are the dimensions of wellness?  While the exact dimensions of wellness can be debated, we at the YMCA believe that the dimensions of wellness fall into three categories, which are at the core of everything we do, which is:

“To put Judeo-Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.”

Now let’s take a closer look at what dimensions constitute these three categories:

Spirit

·      Spiritual wellness

·      Social wellness

Mind

·      Intellectual Wellness

·      Emotional Wellness

·      Mental Wellness

Body

·      Physical Wellness

·      Medical Wellness

My focus on this month’ edition is to discuss the Spiritual side of wellness because its components are often overlooked as most of the focus falls to mental, physical fitness and chronic disease risk factors.  In order to achieve a true state of wellness in each of our own lives or try to guide others to it, we must pay due diligence to each of these categories. Although, we may not be physically fit or free from disease; we can still strive for increased wellness by working with what we’ve been dealt!

Please enjoy this edition of Wellness News and please use the personal assessments in each category to help you become aware of your current state of spiritual wellness and then begin your process of making the choices you need to make towards making you a better you!

Spiritual Wellness

Spiritual wellness is the process of getting in touch with your spiritual core. It is a dedication that is unique for each individual. This process can vary from attending church to practicing meditation, or both. It is the process of looking within to become more in touch with the spiritual dimensions of your life.

·  Explore your spiritual core — Ask yourself the big questions: Who am I?

   Why did I come here? Why is there evil? What happens after death?

·   Be quiet — Spend time alone and meditate regularly. Meditation is the process of being fully here, with all concentration focused on the now. By living in the present and letting go of the past and not worrying about the future, we can achieve the inner peace that we strive for while practicing meditation. There are many forms of meditation; find out which one is right for you.

·   Be inquisitive and curious — An attitude of active searching increases your options and your potential for spiritual centering. Don't shut doors before you check out what's behind them.

·   Be receptive to grief and pain — Pain is a deepener. Allow yourself to feel the pain fully, then ask what it's trying to teach you.

·   Be and Do — Spirituality is about more than reading; it's about "doing" and being fully in the present moment in everything you do.

·   Witness the choices you make in each moment — Bring them into consciousness; ask yourself what the consequences of a choice are and if the choice will bring fulfillment and happiness. Listen with the heart and be guided by messages of comfort and discomfort. If there is comfort, go for it! If there is discomfort, pause and reevaluate.

·    Practice acceptance — See that life right now is as it "should be." Do not struggle against the universe by struggling against the moment. Take responsibility for your life without blaming anyone, including yourself. See what the situation can teach you and how you can share this teaching with others.

·   Practice detachment — Allow yourself and those around you the freedom to be who they are. Recognize uncertainty as an essential aspect of life. See that solutions come out of problems, confusion, and chaos, and that uncertainty is the path to freedom.

·   Be playful — Spirituality is in music, art, dance, laughter, singing, and all of life.

·    Look for deeper meanings — If you notice that certain themes keep coming up over and over in your life, rather than feeling like you have no control over the situation, ask for the deeper meaning of the pattern to come to you. See the gift in your greatest troubles/problems/challenges. The Chinese word for catastrophe is the same as their word for opportunity.

·   Take "seven breath" breaks — Stop periodically throughout the day, close your eyes, and take seven deep, slow belly breaths (breathe in to the count of seven, breathe out to the count of seven, seven times). Then, open your eyes and see your new world.

Spiritual Wellness Assessment

The spiritual dimension of wellness involves seeking meaning and purpose in one's life. Read each statement carefully and respond honestly by using the following scoring:

Almost always = 2 pts  Sometimes/occasionally = 1 pt Very seldom = 0 pts

_____  1.  I feel comfortable and at ease with my spiritual life. 

_____  2.  There is a direct relationship between my personal values and
                daily actions. 

_____  3.    When I get depressed or frustrated, my spiritual beliefs and values give my direction. 
 

_____  4.  Prayer, meditation, and/or quiet personal reflection is/are important in my life. 

_____  5.  Life is meaningful for me, and I feel a purpose in life. 

_____  6.  I am able to speak comfortably about my personal values and beliefs.

_____  7.  I am consistently striving to grow spiritually and I see it as a lifelong process. 

_____  8.  I am tolerant of and try to learn about others' beliefs and values. 

_____  9.  I have a strong sense of life optimism and use my thoughts and 
                attitudes in life-affirming ways.  

_____ 10. I appreciate the natural forces that exist in the universe.

_____ 11. Total for Spiritual Wellness Dimension

Score: 15 to 20 Points -  Excellent strength in this dimension of wellness.

Score:  9 to 14 Points - There is room for improvement. Look again at the items in which you scored 1 or 0.  What changes can you make to improve your score?

Score:  0 to 8 Points - This dimension needs a lot of work. Look again at  this dimension and challenge yourself to begin making small steps toward growth here.  Remember:  The goal is balanced wellness.

Social Wellness

The social dimension of wellness encourages contributing to one's human and physical environment to the common welfare of one's community. Social wellness is having positive interactions with and enjoying being with others. It is having comfort and ease during work and leisure situations and communicating feelings and needs to others. It involves developing and building close friendships and intimacy, practicing empathy and effective listening, caring for others and for the common good, and allowing others to care for you. It is recognizing the need for leisure and recreation and budgeting time for those activities.

Social Wellness Facts and Tips

·      Socially isolated people are more susceptible to illness and have
   a death rate two to three times higher than those who are not
   socially isolated.

·      People who maintain their social network and support systems do        better under stress.

·      20% of Americans feel lonely and isolated during their free time.

·      Touching, stroking, and hugging can improve health.

·      Laughter really is good medicine.

·      Cholesterol levels go up when human companionship is lacking.

·      Warm, close friendships cause higher levels of antibodies that help
   keep away illness.

·      A strong social network can create a good mood and enhance
   self-esteem.

Social Wellness Assessment

The social dimension of wellness involves developing, nourishing and encouraging satisfying relationships.  Read each statement carefully and respond honestly by using the following scoring:

Almost always = 2 pts     Sometimes/occasionally = 1 pt      Very seldom = 0 pts

_____ 1. I contribute time and/or money to social and community projects.

_____ 2. I am committed to a lifetime of volunteerism.

_____ 3. I exhibit fairness and justice in dealing with people.

_____ 4. I have a network of close friends and/or family.

_____ 5. I am interested in others, including those from different backgrounds than my own.

_____ 6. I am able to balance my own needs with the needs of others.

_____ 7. I am able to communicate with and get along with a wide variety of people.

_____ 8. I obey the laws and rules of our society.

_____ 9. I am a compassionate person and try to help others when I can.

_____ 10. I support and help with family, neighborhood, and work social gatherings.

_______ Total for Social Wellness Dimension

Score: 15 to 20 Points - Excellent strength in this dimension.

Score:  9 to 14 Points - There is room for improvement.  Look again at the items in which you scored 1 or 0.  What changes can you make to improve your score?

Score:  0 to 8 Points - This dimension needs a lot of work.  Look again at this dimension and challenge yourself to begin making small steps toward growth here.  Remember: The goal is balanced wellness.

Sources:

1.    http://www.definitionofwellness.com/index.html

2.    http://www.wellsource.org/

3.    http://www.wellness.com/

4.    http://www.welcoa.org/

5.    http://www.nationalwellness.org/index.php?id_tier=91&id_c=55

6.    http://wellness-assessments.com/