Researchers Have Discovered the “Fountain of Youth!”
Many researchers have called this lifestyle behavior the “magic pill” or the “fountain of youth.” Best of all, the effects are positive for everyone and it’s free. Do you know what it is? Read Full Post
Are You Ready for a PUSH?
Here’s a question for YOU: are you happy with your current weight and level of fitness? Are there healthy behaviors and strategies from the past that have fallen out of your routine? If so, is it time to take on a “push” to build more momentum around your health behaviors? Read Full Post
Is it Really More Expensive to Eat Healthy?
How often have you heard people say they choose fast food because it is less expensive than healthier foods? How much data is there to support that claim? The answer – not much! It is possible to eat healthy foods without adding on extra costs. If you are trying to cut costs, here are some practical ways to keep food costs down… Read Full Post
The Guinea Pig Diet
The Guinea Pig Diet. No, it’s not a book on the New York Times best seller list or a fad diet that is endorsed by a famous actor or musician. It’s actually an observation I made when we recently bought my son a guinea pig to have as a pet… Read Full Post
Jackson’s Drawing
An alternative title to this blog could have been: Healthy vs. Unhealthy Foods: Are my children listening? Read on to know more… Read Full Post
Take Control of Your Food Environment
Let me tell you a story about Rebecca* and her attempt to stick to her diet in the face of an un-supportive environment. Perhaps you can relate to her experience… Read Full Post
Teach Your Children Well
Think of the good example you set for your family by eating more fruits and vegetables, using low-calorie meal replacements and exercising routinely. If your kids are younger and you’re wondering if they even notice… well, I’d like to give you confidence that they do. Here is an example that convinced me. Read Full Post
5-2-1-0 Let’s Go! The Mileage Club
Have you ever heard of a Mileage Club Toe Token? Well, if you are a primary school student in my town, you are working very hard every week to keep earning them - in all different colors. I recently blogged about some of the “5-2-1-0 Let’s Go!” initiatives that my town is doing, and I have to say, Mileage Club is one of my personal favorites. Read Full Post
Gluten-Free Diets – A Closer Look
Have you noticed how many food brands today are marketing to consumers about their new “healthier” gluten-free products? Is a gluten-free diet a.) healthier, and b.) does it lead to long-term weight-loss? I was curious… Read Full Post
March is National Nutrition Month
March can be such a challenging month, weather-wise. At least in the northeast, it truly can come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. The cold and gloom of still-wintery weather can lead to hibernation from healthy behaviors. So what can you do to reverse this? Read Full Post
The 78-year-old Titan
Most of us seek out role models in our personal and professional lives to guide us and inspire us to be our best. However, when it comes to health and weight, most people have very few healthy role models in their lives. Read Full Post
Family Matters: Being Active Together
One of the resolutions I made this year is to be more active with my family - particularly with my 7-year-old daughter. The troubling headlines about childhood obesity do not paint a pretty picture. According to the CDC- approximately 17%, or 12.5 million, children and adolescents aged 2-19 are obese. Read Full Post
5-2-1-0: Eating through the Rainbow
Eating through the Rainbow…what a fun way to inspire kids to eat different colors of fruits and vegetables! As part of the 5-2-1-0 program that I recently blogged about, my daughter’s primary school, along with the School Nutrition Program, participated in this 5-2-1-0 activity: Eating through the Rainbow. Read Full Post
Tell your Honey to Take a Hike!
So many holidays and celebrations are centered around food. It doesn’t have to be that way! Read Full Post
Your HEART is in Your Hands!
The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign raises awareness of heart disease in women and encourages them to make healthy lifestyle changes. On National Wear Red Day® (the first Friday in February), wearing red is a way to show support for cardiovascular prevention and education. Read Full Post
5-2-1-0 Let’s Go!
Recently, Chris Weithman, HMR’s resident dietitian, blogged about the childhood obesity dilemma that we’re seeing all over the news. As a mother of 3 young children in a Maine school system, I am lucky that the kids in my town are working on their ABCs, 123s, AND 5-2-1-0. Read Full Post
The Childhood Obesity Dilemma
It’s all over the news – the escalating weight problems of our youth. Medical communities, the federal government, and the First Lady are all talking about what is causing childhood obesity and what we need to do about it. Read Full Post
How to Pick a Diet
So you’ve made weight loss a priority for the New Year. But this time you want to make sure you actually have a chance of success. Sound familiar? In fact, studies have shown that 82.5% of people pick a diet that is virtually guaranteed to fail. Weight loss can be successful, however, if you know what factors are important to consider. Read Full Post
The DVR is my Secret Weapon
While working on my health over the past 25 years, I’ve discovered that if I want to sustain a high level of physical activity, I need to have a variety of strategies to do it. I’ve also learned that I need a “go-to” activity that I can count on, no matter what. Read Full Post
Suffering from Holiday Diet Fatigue? Pump up the Volume!
This might be a good time to take a step back and review what’s been happening the past few weeks. So far, you’ve survived Halloween, Thanksgiving, holiday parties, Hanukkah (for some), and Christmas (for others). But, we’re not quite done yet. The New Year’s weekend is coming fast. Read Full Post
To Snack or Not To Snack?
How many times have you heard the advice that it is better to eat smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 meals a day? Eating more frequent meals has been said to help “speed up your metabolism,” decrease your appetite, or increase your energy level. Is this just another diet myth or is there any truth to it? Read Full Post
Banishing the Baking Blues
This time of year, it is so fun to be in the kitchen with my children creating cookie masterpieces! However I also struggle with having baked goods in the house as I could easily eat a lot of calories in baked goods several times a day. This has been a dilemma for me until I found some recipes for baking things that are not meant to be eaten. Read Full Post
Training for White Rock
If you read my last blog, you know I am in the process of recovering from a foot injury AND training for a half marathon. As I’ve trained for this, I have run countless miles, done cross training and conditioning…. and the big question is…. will all of my hard work pay off? Coming back from an injury just isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Read Full Post
My Winter CSA Share
In a previous blog I waxed poetic about the benefits of having a CSA share. But did you know that a CSA share doesn’t have to just be for spring, summer or fall? Yes, there are also winter shares, and shares that go year round. Read Full Post
Un-learning Theory
The other night my daughter was lamenting the fact that I had to teach a class on a night I normally would be home. I explained to her in terms that a 6-year-old would understand that “Mommy needs to go teach grown-ups how to eat veggies and fruits.” My daughter laughed at the idea that adults would need to be taught something like that. Read Full Post
Wondering How to Make Sense Out of Health Information on the Internet?
As a researcher, I find the Internet to be an invaluable tool to research a health-related question. If you know where to look, you can find almost anything. But, sometimes the vast amount of information available on the Internet can be overwhelming. How do you distinguish between sites that contain reputable information and those that do not? Read Full Post
My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Food Processor Edition
I recently wrote about how much I love using my crockpot. With a big family to feed, and small children underfoot, I am able to make healthy and delicious meals without a lot of fuss or time spent in front of a hot stove. I will now share my love and appreciation for another helper in my kitchen: the food processor. Read Full Post
Starting Over: How an Injury Brought My Exercise to a Whole New Level
December 23rd, 2010…a date that will be in my memory forever. It was the day I tore my Lis Franc joint in my foot – an almost guaranteed career-ending injury for most professional athletes – and an injury that would forever change my physical activity. Read Full Post
Can You Reset Your Metabolism?
There are many myths in the area of weight management but perhaps none as daunting as the “set-point”. According to this theory, each person has a set, pre-determined weight and body fat to which his or her body naturally gravitates. Essentially, this theory says that your metabolism adjusts itself to maintain a weight at which it is comfortable. Read Full Post
Yoga with Irene
Imagine you’re stuck in a small log cabin in Vermont with 3 young children while Hurricane Irene is storming outside! I know what you’re thinking – how fun! A day filled with baking bread and crazy art projects! Not so much. That's where we rode out the storm, and my husband and I pulled out all the tricks for what to do on a rainy day. Read Full Post
My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Crockpot Edition
I like to tease my husband that the local Best Buy® store is his best friend. He likes to spend time there visiting his favorite gadgets and daydreaming about bringing them home one day. Since I do most of the meal prep and cooking in the house, I thought I would introduce you to my best kitchen friends (i.e. gadgets that make my life easier)... Read Full Post
Sneaky Chef: The Zucchini Edition
I know there is some debate about being a sneaky chef. I’ve read the pros and cons. A sneaky chef finds a way to “hide” fruits and vegetables in meals and baked goods without it being too visible to the eater (typically kids that might otherwise refuse to eat these vegetables and fruits). Read Full Post
A Conversation with Jason
Jason Asciola has lost 164 lbs. in the HMR Program in Auburndale, MA. He is now in Phase 2 – still losing some weight and working on maintaining his weight loss.
Read Full Post
Are School Lunches Getting Healthier?
Just in time for back to school, there’s a controversy brewing over a proposed rule in the National School Lunch Program. Read Full Post
Misleading Labels: How ‘Zero’ Calorie Foods Contain Hidden Calories
We were having green beans and mushrooms with dinner the other night – one of my favorites. As usual, we had the no-calorie spray butter on the table and I noticed it was getting a little low. Funny, we had just bought a new bottle last week. Oh well, it has zero calories right? Read Full Post
Yo-yo Dieting: Harmful or Harmless?
Let’s face it – gaining and losing weight is a fact of life. Sometimes it’s just a few pounds here and there but, at other times, it can be even more significant amounts of weight. Commonly referred to as “yo-yo dieting,” one question that often comes up is whether losing and then regaining weight is harmful. Read Full Post
Benefits of Weight Loss that Your Doctor Won’t Tell You
There are so many other positive side effects of weight loss you can actually feel almost immediately. Some of these are due to losing weight, some of these are due to the additional exercise you’re doing, and most of them are due to both. So, with that in mind, here are some of the benefits of weight loss that your doctor may not tell you about. Read Full Post
Veggies Undercover
Several years ago, there was a raging debate over the wisdom of hiding pureed vegetables or fruits in children’s food. Parents with picky eaters were at the forefront of this movement. They reasoned that since vegetables and fruits are so important for good health, it was okay to get this nutrition into their children in whatever way they could. Read Full Post
Looking for Straight Talk about Nutrition?
If You’re Confused, You’re Not Alone
Many people have shared with me over the years that nutrition can be a confusing or boring topic. With so many mixed messages in the media, it can be hard to navigate around the facts. Read Full Post
CSA Share, How Do I Love Thee?
CSA Share, how do I love thee, let me count the ways:
I love the bounty of fresh vegetables and fruits you provide.
I love the new vegetables we have never tried that push us to try something new.
I love the interest you pique in my children when they see interesting shapes and colors among the produce. Read Full Post
What’s on the Menu? Lots of Calories!
Would knowing the calories on a restaurant item influence your choice of food? Would seeing that the burgers on a menu could “cost” you over 1200 calories make a difference to you? Would you select a different food item or would you ignore the information? Read Full Post
You + Exercise = Better Mood/Better Brain
At hundreds of HMR trainings and seminars over the years, I have asked this same question: "Raise your hand if you feel better after you exercise..." and the inevitable sea of hands go up - every person, every time. Even those who, you find out later, hardly ever exercise or haven't for a very long time. Their hands go up too. Why is that? Read Full Post
Lose Weight. Save Money!
If you ask people about their reasons for wanting to lose weight, they usually mention improving their health or quality of their life. They would like to have more energy, feel better, keep up with their family – simply be able to do more. After weight loss however, people often discover another wonderful side effect – reducing or even eliminating medications. Read Full Post
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2012 (56)
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April
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Introducing the 2012 HMR Triple Imperative Challenge Is it Really More Expensive to Eat Healthy? No Longer Black and White! The Guinea Pig Diet Really Simple Soup: Garden Chicken and Rice Common Phase 1 Challenges: Family Pizza Night Jackson’s Drawing Top 5 from the Trenches: Entrees with Veggies Girl about Town: Every Little Bit Counts Take Control of Your Food Environment Healthy Families: Bringing Vegetables and Fruits into Meal Times
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March
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Dixie Dog and My Workout Rut Teach Your Children Well Sneaky Chef: The Purees Edition My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Blender Edition 5-2-1-0 Let’s Go! The Mileage Club Hacking Your HMR Shakes Eating Healthy Fats Gluten-Free Diets – A Closer Look Hacking Your HMR Entrees My Gym Dilemma March is National Nutrition Month Top 5 from the Trenches: High Volume Shakes The Importance of Good Hydration All Year Long
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February
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Sneaky Chef: The Beans Edition The Can Man: Adding Volume to my HMR Entrees Family Matters: Being Active Together Really Easy Meals: The Five-Bean Potato 5-2-1-0: Eating through the Rainbow Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Spices, Coffee and Cocoa Those Little Cuties! Share the Love this Valentine’s Day Tell your Honey to Take a Hike! Working Out in Winter Months Your HEART is in Your Hands!
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January
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The Super Bowl: Who’s Going to Win? 5-2-1-0 Let’s Go! After-School Snack of Champions BBQ that’s PDQ and ITB A Blast from My Past: The Counter-top Blender The Childhood Obesity Dilemma The Secret Life of a Five-Bean Entrée No Time for Morning Exercise? How to Pick a Diet Soup: The Weight-Loss Secret That Comes in a Bowl The DVR is my Secret Weapon So You Made a New Year’s Resolution to Lose Weight. Now What? The Rehabilitation of Brussels Sprouts
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April
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2011 (71)
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December
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Girl about Town: Hot Drinks for Cold Days Suffering from Holiday Diet Fatigue? Pump up the Volume! Demo-licious! To Snack or Not To Snack? Sneaking in Physical Activity during the Busiest Time of the Year Healthy Hanukkah Helpings The Phase 1 ‘Stay In the Box through Year End’ Challenge Banishing the Baking Blues Moo Goo Gai Pan: In the Box Take-Out Food Training for White Rock Girl about Town: The Well-Stocked Pantry Pesto Change-o Turkey Chili with Beans: Three Ways
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November
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The Kids are Back in Town Are You Planning to Stay “In the Box” on Thanksgiving? Un-learning Theory Building the Better Burger: Portabello Burgers The Phase 1 Thanksgiving Challenge Wondering How to Make Sense Out of Health Information on the Internet? Autumn Chili Taking a Bite out of Holiday Weight Gain My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Food Processor Edition Raise the BeneFit Bar Starting Over: How an Injury Brought My Exercise to a Whole New Level On the Road… and on the Decision-Free Diet Lettuce Play With Our Food
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October
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Empty Nest – Empty Fridge! Can You Reset Your Metabolism? Yoga with Irene On the Road: How to Take Your Exercise with You Picnic Beans Girl about Town: Party Down at the Pot Luck My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Crockpot Edition Freeze, Frappe or Float A Train, A Plane, and A Hotel Room Dips Without Chips Sneaky Chef: The Zucchini Edition
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September
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A Conversation with Jason Fast Food for a Family of Five Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Extracts Dynamic Entree Duos Are School Lunches Getting Healthier? Farm Fresh, Any Time of Year Girl About Town: The Lost Weekend Misleading Labels: How ‘Zero’ Calorie Foods Contain Hidden Calories Just Like Mom Used to Make Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Sugar-Free Pudding or Jell-o Yo-yo Dieting: Harmful or Harmless? Kids and Kabobs
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August
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Recipe Substitutions: Great Taste, Less Calories! Benefits of Weight Loss that Your Doctor Won’t Tell You Yikes! The Gym! Veggies Undercover I Eat Whole Cantaloupes No-Bake Entree Recipes, Part 1 Looking for Straight Talk about Nutrition? The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly… of working out with kids in tow Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Sugar-free Syrups Girl About Town: Putting Your Best Foot Forward CSA Share, How Do I Love Thee? Diary of a Demo The 4 O’clock Shake Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Diet Soda or Sugar-free Flavored Water What’s on the Menu? Lots of Calories!
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December
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