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Posts Tagged ‘habits’
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September 1st, 2009
It’s an Optical Illusion! /// 2 Comments ///
By Cheney
Let’s take it back to the 1960s. Not only would we be running around in hot pants and miniskirts, singing “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon – but we would be [smaller] eating off of a groovy 10 inch plate.
Now fast forward to the year 2009- where after we spend hours watching reality TV, drive thru Hardees for a hearty dinner - a Monster Thickburger (all 2/3 pounds of meat, cheese and bacon), and later come home to Twitter about it all…And we wonder why we have an ever growing obesity epidemic?
Over the years, many different health initiatives have been put in place to encourage America to take steps to get active, eat healthy and lose weight. One of my favorites is the Small Plate Movement.
The Small Plate Movement encourages American families to lose weight and feel healthier by simply reducing the size of their dinnerware, without having an effect on their perceived fullness or satisfaction. Since 1960, the surface area of the average dinner plate has increased 36%.
Research shows that people perceive serving size not by the label on the box, but rather in relation to the size of their dish. Let me put this into perspective- a 3 ounce portion on a 10 inch plate will look like a huge helping so you’ll most likely stop there, whereas a 3 ounce portion on a 12 inch plate will much smaller (like you’re not getting enough food). As a result, we tend to over-serve, over-consume (the Clean Plate Club) and over-eat on larger plates.
A two inch difference in plate diameter or will result in 22% less calories at each meal. To put this in perspective – if the average dinner is 800 calories, a smaller plate would lead to a weight loss of around 18 lbs per year for the average sized adult.
Starting today – September 1st – I challenge you to join the Small Plate Movement and eat off a 10 inch plate for your largest meal of the day for the whole month.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised…
Are you interested in learning more? Click here to read more about the 5 W’s of Portion Control.
Source: Smallplatemovement.org
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August 11th, 2009
You’re HOW Old?! /// 2 Comments ///
By Cheney
Another year has passed. If I’m lucky, there will be many more to count.
A birthday is about celebrating life – your life. Although many people think of birthdays (or either forget) as a reminder that they’re getting older, we should think of each year as a victory!
As an effort to create a world with less cancer and MORE birthdays, the American Cancer Society and the Culinary Institute of America teamed up to create a healthier birthday cake. A quote from ACS sums it up perfectly,
“Birthday cakes help people celebrate important milestones in meaningful ways. We see a significant opportunity to use the American Cancer Society’s new official birthday cake to inspire people to stay well and lead healthier lives through simple lifestyle changes.”
A healthy lifestyle is the key to reducing your risk of cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. By making small steps to live healthy, you will ultimately improve your chances to live a long and healthy life – and maybe even make it to 100 CAKES!
To make the ACS the official sponsor of your birthday, click here. (You can also download the winning cake recipe!)
I will take this day to celebrate my life and give thanks for my health – and even enjoy a slice of my own [healthier] birthday cake!
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August 7th, 2009
I Like to Move It, Move It /// No Comments ///
By Cheney
It’s a proven fact that music gets you moving! Not only does it help you move faster, but longer too.
A recent study showed that when listening to music, the subjects exercised 15 percent longer than when exercising in silence – shoot for 30 minutes and chances are you will go for 10 minutes more!
Download these songs from iTunes and GET MOVING!
DANCE, DANCE Playlist
- I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
- Just Dance – Lady Gaga
- SOS – Rihanna
- Ring the Alarm – Beyonce
- Right Round – Flo Rida
- Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
- Crazy – Gnarls Barkley
- Heartbreaker – Pat Benetar
- Rock That Body – Black Eyed Peas
- Fergalicious – Fergie
- I Know You Want Me – Pit Bull
- This is How a Heart Breaks – Rob Thomas
- With Love – Hillary Duff
- Beautiful – Akon
- Fire Burning – Sean Kingston
- So What – Pink
- Survivor – Destiny’s Child
- Sweet Dream – Beyonce
- Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
- I Hate This Part – The Pussycat Dolls
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August 3rd, 2009
Breaking the Routine /// No Comments ///
By Cheney
Everyone has fallen victim to a routine. It’s easy to find something that works and continue to do it over and over again. The problem though is that you get bored and so do your muscles. After boredom sets in, motivation begins to drop. Not to mention your workouts become less effective. The key is to keep your muscles and your mind guessing. We encourage you to try new things and keep that dreaded word “routine” out of your vocabulary.
With this month’s Trainer’s Palette we begin a new video series that does just that. With each video, a new group of muscles will be worked using a variety of equipment. Changing equipment is a great way to add variety to any strength training program. This month’s video will focus on the Back and Biceps. We will show you different ways to train these muscle groups using dumbbells, a resistance band and a Fitball.
This is just the beginning of the Breaking the Routine video series. Join Adam Martin, H3 Fitness Director, as he takes you step-by-step through each move. So let’s fight boredom and try some new exercises!
*The Trainer’s Palette is a feature in our monthly e-newsletter, Living the Healthy Lifestyle. You can sign up to receive these emails here.
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July 21st, 2009
Back to the Bike /// 2 Comments ///
By Allie
After a 10 year hiatus, I have rediscovered my love for biking. However, I must admit, it was a scary, heart-pounding journey. Several weeks ago, my fellow intern, Maggie, asked if I wanted to bike down to the beach with her during our break. I agreed thinking ‘it can’t be that hard to pick back up.’ After all, I biked every single day with my brother around the neighborhood…back in the day.
Boy was I wrong. I could have crawled at a faster pace than my biking speed. Maggie was practically biking in circles around me! My body head to toe was sweating, my heart was bursting out of my chest, and my forearms were stiff from grasping onto the handles for dear life.
Since that day, I have biked several times each week—to the beach, to the grocery store, around Shipyard Plantation. I still can’t believe it took me so much time to get back on a bike, but I’m sure glad I did.
If you are thinking of getting back on a bike for fitness, environmental and/or recreational reasons, here are some things that helped me get back to the bike:
1) The steering took some time to get used to, but it came back to me after a couple bike rides. Having to bike on the twisty paths in Shipyard on my first try was quite an experience!
2) Making sure my seat was adjusted to the right height. For the first couple of weeks I had been biking with my seat too low and my legs had been pedaling an awkward motion. See http://www.bicycletutor.com/adjust-seat for tips.
3) Biking with a friend that knew where the paths started/ended, could watch the stop lights while my heart pounded away, and watched for oncoming traffic (!!). Plus, biking with another person encouraged me to keep pedaling along rather than turning around and giving up.
4) Practice, practice, practice. After that first day, I thought I’d never get back on a bike again. That was enough stress to last several weeks! But I didn’t let my horrible biking skills keep me away. It was challenging for me but I figured it would be an excellent way to cross train, enjoy the warm weather/outdoors, relieve stress, and exercise on the beach.
So, if you have been meaning to get back on your bike, I encourage you to go get it out of your garage/storage room and get pedaling! If anything, it’ll help you save some [expensive] gas!
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July 16th, 2009
Move Your Bum[mer] This Summer! /// No Comments ///
By Allie
Summertime is the perfect time to get a jumpstart on (or continue living) a healthy lifestyle. The weather is warm, the pool is open, people are outside, and the sun is shining. It’s the perfect season to get active outdoors, play with your kids/pets, eat delicious and nutritious food, and try new activities! Here are just a few suggestions. I challenge you to check off 3!
- Bike to the park, around town, to the grocery store, to work, etc.
- Go rollerblading
- Play a round of golf
- Hand wash your car
- Do some gardening
- Mow the lawn
- Go on a hike
- Play catch
- Go shopping (leave your wallet at home if you don’t want to spend $$)
- Make a bookshelf
- Do an outdoor workout with your family, group of friends or neighborhood (Check back next week for a no-equipment-needed workout routine with photos!).
- Teach your kids some outdoor games (i.e. hopscotch, freeze tag, red light green light)
- Pack a picnic lunch instead of going out to eat
What are some ideas that you have come up with for staying active outdoors? Share it with us by making a comment!
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July 14th, 2009
Hello Everyone! /// 1 Comment ///
By Allie
Hello all past, present and future H3 Guests! My name is Allie and I am interning here at Hilton Head Health this summer. You can read more about me in the “About Us” section. Whether you came last week or three years ago or you are hoping to come in the near future, this blog will give you the information to help you stay on track and continue living your healthy lifestyle.
What will be on here?
Posts will feature workouts to try, current events/research finds, tips, guides (i.e. dining out, grocery shopping), recipes, success stories, H3 updates, tutorials, videos and much more—all with a personal touch. However, I want to post what you all want to read! Feel free to suggest content that you would like to see on this blog by making a comment on a post or by emailing me at getinspired@hhhealth.com.
Be sure to check back daily, weekly, or whenever you need a nudge in the healthy direction. Use our blog as part of your morning routine—that way you start your day with the right mindset. Sometimes all we need is a good start to the day.
So please follow me on this journey—to spreading health and happiness!
Take care,
Allie
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