Fran Johnson's Blog

According to Wikipedia.org, "pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita".  We all know what they look like but in October they acquire those cute and scary faces that we so artistically carve into them.  When we are working our masterpieces, we have to first scoop out all that orange meat from the pumpkin.  The best and healthiest part!  The first clue about pumpkin is the orange color which tells us it has beta-carotene.  Pumpkin also contains alpha-carotene which when containing both those anti-oxidants they convert to Vitamin A which promotes your vision.  It also contains fiber, vitamins C and E, along with other mineral sources.  The pumpkin also contains seeds called pepitas which have an abundance of health benefits including prostate health, cholesterol lowering, aids as a natural anti-inflammatory, as well as osteoporosis prevention.  Wow, so far so good! Did you also know that canned pumpkin is a natural remedy for your dog's digestive health?  It can assist in both constipation as well as diarrhea when your dog has an upset stomach. Cooking with pumpkin is my favorite.  Countless numbers of choices like pumpkin cookies, bread, muffins, soup, bagels, and even pancakes.  And let's not forget those lattes.   As to those lattes, did you know that the Starbuck's Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte made with skim milk and no whipped cream is 260 cal with 48 grams of sugar versus a Grande skinny vanilla latte (skim milk and sugar free syrup) is 120 cal with 16 grams of sugar?  Maybe the skinny vanilla is a better choice and sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice into it. Well the season is here for all us pumpkin lovers.   Eat that pumpkin in it's purest form and be sure to share with your pet!

I have to say I do enjoy dining out. I like having someone else wait on me. I like not having to clean up and do dishes after the meal. I find it to be a fun treat. Another good thing is that if you don't like something about the meal you have someone else to blame other than yourself. Sometimes, though, I find the disadvantages of dining out are greater than dining in. When your watching weight, it's so much easier to control exactly what you are eating at home. Foods can be cooked according to your liking with less fat, salt, and/or sugar. If a low sodium diet is what you are looking for, you can definitely control how much sodium is used. According to the Food and Drug Administration your RDI or regular dietary intake of sodium is as follows: "For males and females between ages 9 and 50, IOM states that 1,500 mg of sodium is an adequate intake. After age 50, adequate intake is 1,300 mg and 1,200 at age 70. IOM sets the upper limit at 2,200 mg for males and females ages 9 to 13, and at 2,300 for all adults". Sodium is necessary for maintaining electrolyte balance in the body and helping with the nerves and muscles of the body. At the same time, sodium can be harmful by causing increased blood pressure and bloating. Our food can also be prepared more simply at home which a lot of times means healthier. Restaurants need to make foods take good so that's where you also get a lot more added fat in the sauces and let's not forget about the salad dressings. Controlling the fat on the salad dressing and sauces is pretty easy just ask for it on the side. Also, when you dine out versus dining in you eat larger portions. Normally, you wouldn't maybe have had that piece of bread or that added appetizer or dessert. Some of the appetizers offered in restaurants can be almost half or three-quarters of our total calorie requirement for the day. Excuses are not an available option for us. We have the wide world of internet in order that we can be better prepared for making wiser choices prior to dining out and so as not to succumb to impulsive decisions.

I had to become more educated on good fats and bad fats due to slightly elevated cholesterol levels that I have. It runs throughout my family so I felt it was necessary to give appropriate attention to the subject. Our bodies produce most of the cholesterol but the balance comes from the foods we eat. You must remember when there was that fat free food craze and everyone was getting heavier. Everyone felt because the product was fat free it was ok to eat not just one serving but multiple servings. Let's face it, it was fat free! That didn't work out well for most Americans. Remember this acronym I made up "most portant" where the "m" stands for monosaturated fats which would be your most desirable fats and the "p" stands for polyunsaturated which are the next healthy fat group. Monosaturated fats are your avocados, pistachios, almonds, olive oil which are the popular ones and the poly is in corn oil and some seeds, along with yourmfatty fishes, among other things. The bad fats we want to avoid are the saturated fats and trans fats. I was so happy when products were required to show on labels the trans fats that were so well hidden in a food. Watch those full fat milk products because the saturated fats like to hang out there amongst them. Those nasty trans fats are found in all those yummy baked goods like doughnuts which I grew up on every Sunday. That explains it! According to the RDA, we should limit our fat intake to less than 30% of our total caloric intake for the day. Why do those fats have to make some foods taste so good! Well, for myself, I would just assume not to take medication versus a few pleasurable dessert moments

Probably one of my least favorite things to do is grocery shop.  There are just so many challenges in grocery shopping.  We are constantly being sidetracked by all the many BOGO's, seasonal promotions, in-store deli specials, never mind the tastings that may be cooking at the time I happen to be shopping.  I wonder if the music they play carries subliminal messages "buy one of each".   I'll share a few things that do help me out while shopping.  First, I never shop hungry.  That is a big no no for me.  Hunger makes me cave into the temptations all around the store.  Cookies are a major downfall for me or I'll buy some "appetizers" to have before dinner.  Basically, my eyes are bigger than my stomach.  Appetizer before dinner is totally not necessary.   Another thing I do, is keep to the perimeter of the store.  Unfortunately, my store has the bakery right over there by the meat department.  Sometimes, in order to avoid the bakery, I take the canned veggie aisle over to meats so I am not tempted.  I love my proteins and I always pick the leanest ones.  I try not to let their seasonal specials like spring time and the barbecue grill goes hand in hand with barbecue ribs sway me from my healthier choices of chicken, lean pork and beef. I try to spend a lot of time in fresh produce, fruits and vegetable department.  What is so cool there is you don't have to read labels.  All you have to do is pick what looks fresh and appeals to the senses at the moment.  I enjoy that department the most!  It's real easy. Then the more complex area of the grocery store.  Did you know that companies pay big bucks to be right at eye level in the aisles? Shelves are also arranged by color to draw your attention to particular items. This is where my list is most handy and where my skills on reading labels are challenged.  Especially watch out when you take the corners around the aisles.  Those impulse items loom in your sight of vision.   I take  my time when looking to be sure I buy what I need making a better product choice based on product content versus how the box or can looks.  Trans fats, sugar, salt and "enriched foods" that carry those savvy labels like "low fat", "sugar free", and the likes.  I check out the ingredients and if the first few are sugar, sodium or "enriched" whatever back it goes on the shelf.  Buyer beware because if there is no fat then something has to make it taste good so it probably is sugar and if there's "no sugar added" then watch out for those fats. Finally, I get through the maze of aisles and to the check out I go.  So far so good.  Uh oh, I stood in line too long and there are those last minute impulse items calling my name.  That little bag of M&M's!

So how did you do in February with making simple modifications to your lifestyle in order to create positive lifestyle changes? 

 

One of our lifestyle changes was to drink more water.  So how did you do?  Did you know that water is essential in order for our bodies to perform properly?  Water is essential in transporting waste from the body, it helps to regulate body temperature, and helps with the digestive process.  When you are dehydrated it can lead to fatigue and have an affect on your performance because it can cause cramping. 

 

What's stopping you from hydrating? Learn to sip a little bit throughout the day.   You not only get fluids from water but also from your fruits and veggies and other beverages.  Monitor your hydration by the color of your urine.  A more pale yellow color is a sign of healthy hydration.

 

Cheers to healthy hydration!

Let's create a fresh start for 2012.  Let's begin with creating healthy habits that will become for us lifestyle changes.  Start out with small manageable changes and easy very specific short term goals such as adding one more glass of water each day.  Don't immediately set yourself up for failure and instead pride ourselves on healthy accomplishments that will become a part of our lifestyle. 

 

Look at the following healthy habits I challenge you to make for the Month of February.  Are you up for the challenge?

• Eat breakfast daily (protein, carb and fat)
• Drink one more glass of water per day
• Create acccountability with someone
• Take a minimum of 5 minutes in the day starting with 3 x's per week for spiritual nourishment

Let's share our accomplishments!  Now let me go get that glass of water :))

I'm having a little weight loss competition with Olive, one of the girls in my exercise class, with our short term goal for final weigh in on February 14th.  So far I've lost 4.5 lbs. due to journaling on fitday.com daily.  When I journal, I can actually see what I'm eating and how much.  I'm a very visual person so they have all kinds of neat graphs on that site that you can use.  Anyway, first weigh in was this past Monday, Jan. 17th and I gladly took Olive's $1.00 since I lost more weight than her.  Now she claims she will be taking the balance of my $ but who knows.  We'll see!

We appreciate our Fitness Instructor, Fran Johnson. Her dedication, determination, and enthusiasm working with her 50+ classes are really note worthy. We Seniors are in better health and are aging well because of our Teacher, Fran Johnson. Her professonalism shows in her continuing education, and it shows in her implementation of new ideas. We love and respect our instuctor for her outstanding dedication to us and physical fitness. June Clenney  PS  We award her five stars. *****