So, you’ve finished your workout and head to the grocery store. You waltz down the beverage aisle wondering if you should pick up that Gatorade or Powerade that’s on sale for your next workout. Chances are, if your usual cardiovascular workout is less than an hour long, you probably do not need that sports drink.

However, if you are an endurance athlete (triathlete, marathoner) or if you typically work out for over an hour, then read on.

Endurance Nutrition

In order to make it through that long-distance run or ride, it really is important to keep your body fueled throughout the trip. I found this out last year while training for the Marine Corps Marathon; there were times when I was not well-fueled, and my body and my workout suffered. I was sluggish, and being tired and out of energy caused me to run poorly and injure myself. So, the proper fuel really IS important!

During an endurance workout, you need to eat or drink about 30 - 60 grams of carbs every hour of your workout. If you’re a slim woman, you need less carbs. If you’re a larger man, you’ll need more carbs. You also want foods that have minimal amount of protein and fat so that the carbs are digested more quickly.

How do you know what the appropriate amount of carbs are? See the “total carbohydrate” on the food label. You can also see my article about Pre-Workout Nutrition to learn more about carbs. So, say you’re expecting to be working out for 3 hours. For every 30 minutes, you should consume about 15 grams of carbohydrates. Make sense?

Workout Eating Options

Read the rest of this entry »

When I was growing up, my parents had a vegetable garden in our backyard. I learned how to plant seeds, water them, weed around them, watch them grow and then pick the vegetable to eat (yum!). In turn, I learned to love the vegetables I planted!! There’s nothing like eating vegetables out of your own garden!

This spring, think about planting some seeds in your backyard or in a pot. Great examples of veggies to plant include: tomatoes, peas, string beans, radishes, onions, cabbage, zucchini, beets….The list goes on and on! Be forewarned, though, that just a couple zucchini plants can produce a dozen GIANT zucchinis, and you’ll need to figure out how much you like zucchini.

A great website to learn how to care for your vegetable garden is Better Homes and Gardens. They have a great vegetable growing guide resource that explains the best growing methods from Asparagus to Winter Squash.

As well, a recent study informs us that when a family has a vegetable garden, it increases the likelihood that the child will eat more vegetables. This in turn will help them meet the guidelines for vegetable servings AND give them lots of nutrients for growth and health!!

As a registered dietitian, I am offered samples of products to try, and hopefully recommend to my clients. I know that living with food allergies can be challenging at times, and your diet may suddenly feel restrictive. You may wonder if you’ll ever get to taste some of the foods you used to enjoy.

Tasty Gluten Free Baking

Cherrybrook Kitchen (www.cherrybrookkitchen.com) has a variety of baking products (cookie mixes, muffin mixes, cake mixes and frosting mixes, pancake mixes, brownie mixes) that are peanut-free, nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free. Some are also soy-free and gluten-free.

Today, I made gluten-free chocolate chip cookies for my husband and myself, and we both loved them! The dough was good (and you could eat raw dough because it does not contain eggs), the chocolate chips were good, and the cookies looked yummy when they came out of the oven. They had a slightly different texture than “regular” chocolate chip cookies (made with wheat flour), but they were still a hit in our home.

Additionally, all of the Cherrybrook Kitchen products are relatively low in fat or fat free. So, if you or someone you know has multiple food allergies, try Cherrybrook Kitchen’s products.

_{Although it may sound like it, this was NOT a sponsored article}

Did you know that over 50% of us have tried some sort of diet at one point in our lives?

Unfortunately, many of us who diet end up regaining the weight we lost. We may have tried Weight Watchers, the Atkins Diet, Sugar Busters, the Cabbage Diet, South Beach Diet….the list goes on!

So what can you do to change this statistic? How can you lose weight and keep it off? Over the next several posts, I plan to give you the tools (advice, really) to help you lose weight and hopefully keep it off.

As a registered dietitian, I believe in a diet called the “Forever Diet”, or your “diet for life”.

As society changes, our knowledge of nutrition is sure to change (look at how many food groups we’ve gone through over the years–I remember learning the “Basic 4 food groups!), so this “Forever Diet” is sure to change. The meal plan that I believe in is based on the MyPyramid and Dietary Guidelines put out by the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health, which are based on reputable scientific studies. Basically, it’s legit.

So, with that in mind, how can we lose weight and keep it off forever? There are a few points to remember throughout your journey:

Point #1: You can lose weight and keep it off. Remember that. It’s important.

Point #2: You do not have to cut out any food group or many foods in order to lose weight.

Point #3: You need to engage in physical activity. Every day.

Point #4: We’re not perfect. If you have one bad day, your weight loss efforts do not have to be lost forever.

Point #5: Most of weight loss is a mental game. See point #1.

Point #6: Portions are important.

Point #7: You are in control. Don’t let anyone else discourage you.

Stay tuned for more information on the “Forever Diet”!

While pondering if my gym membership is really worth the cost versus owning gym equipment, buying several videos, or just running/biking outdoors, I decided to price several different fitness clubs. I called around to several clubs in the area today (and looked at several websites), and most cost between $40 – 50 a month plus an initiation fee.

How to choose the right fitness club

• Most clubs have an initiation fee. These fees range from $50-$150, so be prepared to dish out a chunk of cash up-front. You may be able to negotiate a lower fee, or no fee at all, so try!
• In order to find out how much the club membership costs, expect to spend about 30-60 minutes at the gym talking numbers with their “sales representative”. As I found out, most clubs are not willing to give you pricing online or via phone without making an appointment first. They know it’s too easy for you to just hang up the phone versus walk out the door.
• Ask for a trial membership—most clubs offer between a 1-day free membership to a 30-day trial membership.
• Only buy the amount of membership you need. If your club offers the ability to use other clubs for an extra fee , would you really use it? Do you expect to move anytime soon? Do you usually travel and plan to use the gym there?

Read the rest of this entry »