Physical Activity and Heart Health

February is American Heart Health Month, so we are looking at lifestyle changes you can make to be more heart healthy. Today we are focusing on healthy lifestyle choices to be more heart healthy. 

Types of Physical Activity
There are two types of physical activity, aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity. Aerobic activity, also known as "cardio," is any activity that elevates your heart rate. There are different levels of intensity for aerobic activity. Some examples of moderate-intensity aerobic activities are walking (< 3 mph), riding your bicycle (< 10 mph), doubles tennis, and ballroom dancing. Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity is more intense that moderate; some examples of vigorous-intensity aerobic activities include: running, biking (> 10 mph), singles tennis, aerobic dance, and jumping rope.

Recommendations for Physical Activity from the American Heart Association

For Cardiovascular Health the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity:

• Aerobic Activity
• > or = 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150 minutes per week; or > or = 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75 minutes per week; or a combination of both moderate-intensity aerobic activity and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity

• Muscle-Strengthening Activity
• > or = 2 days per week moderate-intensity to high-intensity muscle-strengthening for additional health benefits.

If your goal is to lower blood pressure or cholesterol levels, the AHA recommends "an average 40 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity 3 or 4 times per week."

Health Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity has many healthy benefits including lowering blood pressure, raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol), reducing risk of diabetes, and it has been shown to help with weight management

If you have a family history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart attack (myocardial infarctions), please check in with your doctor to get a physical. Tell your doctor your family history of heart disease, your concerns for your health, and ask about what screening you should do. I am a register dietitian, not your personal dietitian. Check with your personal RD or MD before starting a new diet or exercise program to make sure it is healthy, safe, and the right choice for you.

This week, we discussed dietary and lifestyle choices that promote heart health. If you missed anything, check out these posts:

Cholesterol and Heart Health

Dietary Fats and Heart Health

Fiber and Heart Health

Sodium and Heart Health

So, how can you be heart healthy? 
- Eat a Healthy Diet. 
- Be Physically Active.
- Check in with Your Doctor.
- See a Registered Dietitian.

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter . You can subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin.
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Recipe for Health

What’s the recipe for being healthy?

I would say it’s fueling your body with healthy foods + mental health + emotional health + adequate rest + activity. Today, we are focusing on one piece of the health recipe, physical activity. Activity is any form of movement that you enjoy.

I feel like the term "exercise" gets a bad rap. For most of my clients, exercise is kind of a dirty word. It tends to be associated with a “should do” or “have to” mentality. What I mean by that is, most people say a “should exercise” or I “have to” exercise.

Physical activity or movement is something that is important to your health. We know physical activity increases in strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, and so much more.

How do you change a “should” into a “want to”?

I think we can enjoy exercise. Find something you love to do that gets you moving. I love dancing, so I tried several types of dance and barre classes. I also LOVE the water, so water sports are one of my favorite ways to be physically active, when the weather is cooperative. 

What are examples of physical activity?

Physical activity can be done anywhere – inside your home, at a park, at the gym. It doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t have to join a gym. You can walk around your neighborhood or dance to music in the comfort and privacy of your own home. You can join a recreational sports league. There are so many different types of physical activity: sports, walking, swimming, exercise classes, strength-training, cycling, dance, yoga, Pilates, rock climbing, step class, kayaking, etc. I challenge you to try something new.

My challenge to you is to try something new.

What are your thoughts?

What type of physical activity do you enjoy?

What keeps you motivated to be physically active?

Have you tried any new types of physical activity?

I would love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or on Instagram, and Twitter.

If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy:

Be Physically Active

 

Physical Activity and Heart Health

5 Tips to Eat More Fruits & Vegetables 

For more tips, encouragement, and recipes for a healthy lifestyle, you can follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Vacation Tips ROUNDUP

Eating Healthy While Traveling

It’s that time of year. The end of school is approaching. Some students are graduating and others are finishing up this school year. Some are celebrating the end of the year. Others are focused on new starts in the Fall. Either way, the end of school signifies the beginning of Summer! I always looked forward to Summer vacation with my family.

But, traveling can bring challenges for healthy eating. So, today we will discuss some ways to be healthy when you are traveling.

1) Pack healthy snacks

 It is great to have healthy options accessible. Plan to bring snacks for traveling and while on vacation. Think about healthy, portable snacks like: fruits, vegetables, peanut butter for dipping, low fat popcorn, etc.

2) Cook one meal at “home”

While on vacation, I would encourage you to cook or make one meal per day at your vacation home or hotel. This creates some normalcy to your eating routine and saves money. I usually think about packing or purchasing breakfast items that way your morning is easy and not rushed.

I also think making a picnic is a great vacation lunch idea. You can easily purchase or pack some picnic snacks. Picnics are a great way to enjoy your vacation surroundings. 

3) Incorporate physical activity into your vacation

Physical activity is a great way to see different cities while traveling. You can walk or bike around most cities hike in parks, swim on the beach.

Being physically active is one component of a healthy lifestyle. Physical activity can help offset some of the additional vacation calories that you will incur. So, make it fun! Incorporate some physical activity on your vacation and be active!

4) Enjoy your vacation

 All diets (aka eating patterns) should be flexible. Your diet should be a healthy pattern of eating that allows some flexibility. So, relax and enjoy your vacation!

I hope these ideas will make it easy for you and your family or friends to have a healthy vacation. What are your ideas for a healthy vacation? Share them with me on Instagram and Twitter. I would love to hear your tips on incorporating physical activity and healthy eating into your vacation.

Let's Move Challenge: Gimme Five

Are you trying to be healthier and be more physically active? Being more physically active is something that is being promoted by our First Lady's Let's Move campaign. She completed a #momdance with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show. She also danced the #GimmeFiveDance on the Ellen Show with Ellen and some of the So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) all-stars and mentors. If you want more information about the First Lady's initiative take a look at Let's Move.

So, how often should I be physically active?

For Cardiovascular Health the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity:

• Aerobic Activity
• > or = 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150 minutes per week 
• or 
• > or = 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75 minutes per week
• or 
• a combination of both moderate-intensity aerobic activity and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity

• Muscle-Strengthening Activity
• > or = 2 days per week moderate-intensity to high-intensity muscle-strengthening for additional health benefits.

If your goal is to lower blood pressure or cholesterol levels, the AHA recommends "an average 40 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity 3 or 4 times per week." 

Why should I be physically active?
Physical activity has many healthy benefits including lowering blood pressure, raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol), reducing risk of diabetes, and it has been shown to help with weight management. Physical activity is a great way to be social. You can play a team sport,   take a walk with your family, try a group fitness class, or learn something new. Being physically active can be fun! So, find a sport or activity that you enjoy and #movemore. 

Gimme Five
Will you take the #GimmeFiveChallenge? What are 5 things you can do this week to be healthier and live a healthy lifestyle?

Need Some Ideas?
March was National Nutrition Month. Last month we discussed some healthy diet changes to include into our daily lives. To make healthy lifestyle changes, we discussed several ways to be healthy including eating more fruits and vegetables & eating breakfast 7 days per week. A healthy diet is one component of a healthy lifestyle. Another component of a healthy lifestyle is being physically active. Check out these links for more information. 
How will you choose to be healthy today?

Check with your personal RD or MD before starting a new diet or exercise program to make sure it is healthy, safe, and the right choice for you.

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter . You can subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin.

Cholesterol and Heart Health

February is American Heart Health Month, so we are looking at lifestyle changes you can make to be more heart healthy.

Today we are focusing on healthy dietary choices to be more heart healthy. A diet moderate in fat can help keep your heart healthy. Yesterday we discussed the importance of the types of dietary fat you choose. For more on saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fats, check on this post on dietary fats and heart health.

Cholesterol
Cholesterol is found in foods with a liver. Common sources of cholesterol in the typical American diet include animal proteins (beef, chicken, etc), eggs, and full fat dairy products.

The Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting cholesterol to < 300 milligrams per day for a healthy person without heart disease; the recommendation is stricter, <200 milligrams cholesterol per day, for individuals with high blood cholesterol levels or a history of heart disease. 

Did you know that a whole egg has almost 200 milligrams of cholesterol? A large egg white has no cholesterol! Recent research has shown that dietary intake of saturated fat and trans fat has a bigger influence on your blood cholesterol levels than dietary cholesterol intake. 

If you have high blood cholesterol levels, there are simple dietary choices you can make to lower your cholesterol levels. You can replace foods high in saturated or trans fat with foods containing PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) to help lower your blood cholesterol levels.


Blood Cholesterol Goals (milligrams/deciliter)
Total Cholesterol < 200
Triglycerides < 150
LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol <100
HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol > or = 60


What affects blood cholesterol?
Blood cholesterol levels are affected by genetics. Blood cholesterol levels are also influences by the amount and type of dietary fats consume. Saturated fats and trans fats have been shown to raise blood cholesterol more than dietary cholesterol. But intake of dietary cholesterol does matter and can affect blood cholesterol. 

Diet and physical activity choices are modifiable risk factors for heart disease. Lifestyle choices, like being physically active, affect your blood cholesterol levels. Increasing physical activity can raise HDL or good cholesterol levels. A high HDL has a negative association with heart disease. Eating a healthy diet and replacing food sources high in saturated or trans fat with food choices with PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) can lower your LDL. You have control over your diet and lifestyle choices. And, you can lower your risk of heart disease by making healthy diet choices and increasing your physical activity level.

If you have a family history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart attack (myocardial infarctions), please check in with your doctor to get a physical. Tell your doctor your family history of heart disease, your concerns for your health, and ask about what screening you should do. Please talk to your personal RD or MD before starting a new diet or physical activity regimen.

We will continue to go through each of the dietary and lifestyle topics this week to discover how you can be heart healthy. Tomorrow we are discussing fiber and heart health. Stay tuned.

So, how can you be heart healthy? 
- Eat a Healthy Diet
- Be Physically Active
- Check in with Your Doctor

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter . You can subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin.

RDtipoftheday Favorites: August Edition

Welcome to RDtipoftheday's favorites August edition. This is my blog series that highlights some of the best things I've been watching, reading, listening to, cooking, and eating. These are a few of my favorite things this month.

Eating & Cooking

I love something about Summer and fantastic produce. I especially love watermelon. Watermelon day is August 3rd, so celebrate. I bought a watermelon shirt last year; I thought it was very dietitian appropriate. I also found this watermelon cake! So fun!

image via Google

Cooking in Julia Child's kitchen. What a cool experience! I might need to add this to my bucket list. You can rent it for $639 https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/10698076. Julia Child's birthday is August 15.

In a world with a lot of excess, it's nice to simplify. Here are some tips for building a minimalist pantry.

Well, you can't exactly eat these, by they look delicious!  

What's the Difference? Learn the Truth About These 21 Common Ingredients via TheKitchn

16 Kitchen Skills Every Home Chef Must Know per RealSimple.

Reading

With school starting soon, my attention is focused on feeding children well and Kids Eat Right Month. Here are some answers to your questions about the new Dietary Guidelines. 

Watching

I was recently on the news promoting Kids Eat Right Month and healthy nutrition for children. Here is the video if you want to know more. Have a great, healthy semester!

Encouraging
Some people love physical activity. Others find it difficult to include physical activity into their schedule. We know the benefits of physical activity. So, here are 7 workouts you can do in 20 minutes. 

I've recently started bullet journaling to keep myself organized. Do you bullet journal? How do you keep yourself organized? I'd love to hear your tips. Feel free to leave a comment below.

For all the bloggers, it can sometimes feel like you are writing to yourself. Here are some tips for how to write on the Internet and not lose your mind. 

Here are some tips for using Google Keyword Planner for SEO.

I hope you enjoyed these tips, recipes, and all of my favorites from this month. Let me know if this is a feature that you would like me to continue by commenting below. And, let me know if you have something you want to be featured. Thanks! Have a great weekend!

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy:

7 Tips for Healthy Eating on a Budget

Cooking Class: Part 1

 

July Favorites

Be Physically Active

Happy National Nutrition Month! This week we have discussed some healthy diet changes to include into our daily lives. You have been encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables & eat breakfast 7 days per week. A healthy diet is one component of a healthy lifestyle. Another component of a healthy lifestyle is being physically active.

So how often should I be physically active?

For Cardiovascular Health the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity:

• Aerobic Activity
• > or = 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 15; or > or = 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75 minutes; or a combination of both moderate-intensity aerobic activity and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity
• Muscle-Strengthening Activity
• > or = 2 days per week moderate-intensity to high-intensity muscle-strengthening for additional health benefits.

If your goal is to lower blood pressure or cholesterol levels, the AHA recommends "an average 40 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity 3 or 4 times per week."

Why should I be physically active?
Physical activity has many healthy benefits including lowering blood pressure, raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol), reducing risk of diabetes, and it has been shown to help with weight management Check with your personal RD or MD before starting a new diet or exercise program to make sure it is healthy, safe, and the right choice for you.

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter . You can subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin.

2017 Goals

Each new year provides a fresh start. Each new day provides an opportunity and blank slate. New is fresh. New is clean. Today, I'm sharing my goals for this new year. 

We've talked about setting goals and defining success. Here are my goals for 2017.

1) Try 12 new recipes.
In 2016, I tried more than 30 new recipes. I like to try recipes exactly as written the first time cooking them. Then, I like to tweak the recipe to my tastes. I'm planning to slow down on trying new recipes and work on perfecting a few recipes this year.

If you're looking for some yummy recipes, here are some of my favorite recipes from 2016:

Blueberry Thyme Crisp

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Cordon Blue Sliders

3 Hummus Recipes

Homemade Granola

Jalapeno Chicken Sliders

Fresh Summer Salad

Lasagna Bake

Grilled Shrimp Poboy

2) Read 10 books.
This goal means that I'm reading about 1 book a month. I gave myself a little grace to have more time for longer books or challenging books that take longer to read. I also know how busy certain times of the year are (aka the holiday season), so 10 books it is! 

I have a running list of books to read, but I would love to hear your recommendations. What books should I read in 2017?

Here are some of my favorite books from 2016:
- Bread and Wine by Shauna Neiquist
- Present over Perfect by Shauna Neiquist
- Let's All Be Brave by Annie F. Downs

3) Be physically active consistently.
I've discussed the benefits of physical activity and the American Heart Association's recommendations for adults. I know the benefits and want to continue to be physically active consistently. 

Its important to set short term goals and rewards for long-term goals. My physical activity goal is a long-term goal. So, I set rewards like purchasing new tennis shoes or a work-out outfit. I also motivate myself by making new playlists with fresh, new music, so I'm excited to work-out. What motivates you to be physically active?

4) Learn and improve a skill.
I haven't fully flushed out this goal, and I'm still working on making this a SMART goal. I may continue to take some cooking or baking classes. Or, I may try to learn a new skill like photography. You don't have to limit goal setting to just January. This goals is to be continues, so stay tuned.
 

Last year, I learned to make tortellini and ravioli pasta. 

I took a cake decorating class and a cookie decorating class. They were so fun! Stay tuned for more!!!

What are your 2017 goals? Comment below or share on social media using hashtag #healthyRD. For more tips, encouragement, and recipes for a healthy lifestyle, you can follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you liked this post, you might enjoy:

Thoughts on Goals and Resolutions

2016 Goals

Benefits of Physical Activity: Be Heart Healthy

Setting Healthy Goals

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