I Pledge to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain!

Today is St Andrew's Day, the Patron Saint of Scotland.  Growing up in Scotland but now living in America, I find it really amazing that my children are doing things we used to consider 'very American,' such as riding a yellow school bus, going on 'vacations' & learning to spell color & favorite without a letter u after the letter o!

Another very American thing my children do is say the Pledge of Allegiance at school each morning. They also say a school pledge which mentions trying their best in all they do, making good choices & respecting others. I like to hear them recite these when I volunteer in class, it seems to me a good way to start the day by promising to work hard & treat others with respect & reminding ourselves to make good choices.

As the Holiday Season is just starting it's a good time to make a pledge to ourselves about our health.  Food has always been involved in feasts & celebrations & there's no reason it can't be enjoyed at this time of year without being laden with guilt about thoughts of weight gain or high fat intake.
You have the power to influence how you'll feel when January arrives - you can choose to start the New Year with great memories of the Holidays and no regret about your weight or health having not over-indulged in all the food you'll be offered this month.  What a great feeling that will be!

Take time today to look at your schedule for the coming month & highlight events which will involve celebrating with food - family gatherings, office parties, Mom's nights out and so on.  Pledge to yourself that at those events you'll enjoy the food  and also pledge that on the other days this month you'll choose your food carefully to balance out those times where you're going to indulge.

Tips:
~ Walk the length of the buffet table first & decide what you'll choose before starting to put food on your plate
~ Have a glass of water before eating
~ Make half your plate fruit & veggies
~ If you're drinking alcohol don't underestimate the calories from drinks & set a limit or alternate with water
~ Have a 2 course meal instead of 3 - have starter & entree at one event then entree & dessert at another event
~ Maintain or increase you exercise regimen throughout the month
~ Decide to eat the office treats only on Fridays rather than nibbling every time you go to the break room
~ Suggest an inexpensive gift exchange instead of a cookie exchange for your Mom's group

This is my Pledge to myself this Holiday Season:

I Pledge to myself on this day

To eat & drink the Healthy way

I'll plan ahead & enjoy my food

And always make my choices good

I respect myself, I want no regret

This will be my healthiest year yet!

~ Lyn Turton

Feel free to use my Pledge or write a personal one then put it somewhere you can see it every day.  If you need motivation to make healthy choices while celebrating this Holiday Season recite the Pledge in your head & think how great you'll feel when the New Year arrives! Take the pledge Facebook !

March of Dimes World Prematurity Day

November is Prematurity Awareness Month & November 17th 2011 is World Prematurity Day   1 in 8 babies are born prematurely in the United States & worldwide 13 million babies are born pre-term each year.

To raise awareness March of Dimes is asking people to share their experiences of premature babies.  

I remember well the mixture of excitement and anxiety you feel every day of your pregnancy.   Although my own children were born full term I have worked as a dietitian in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and shared the highs and lows of my friends experiences with premature babies.

As dietitians we work very closely with the NICU Doctors to nourish these precious babies and we celebrate every ounce of weight gain along with the parents.  Due to it's many benefits we promote the use of breast milk whenever possible & provide encouragement & support for Mom's trying to build up their supply ready for when their baby is able to tolerate breast milk. We never underestimate the physical & emotional effects on families, especially new Moms.

As a Mom I have seen how my friends have coped and been so strong for their premature babies.  One couple suffered several miscarriages before their baby was born 10 weeks early.  They sent regular photos to allow us to follow her progress and despite the many tubes she was beautiful from day 1!

 Another friend has had 3 premature babies and her energy & strength never fail to amaze me despite the many days spent at a hospital 50 miles away and the late night hospital admissions when a cold took hold of her little ones chest. 

As a friend you can help by providing meals for the family who spend many hours at the hospital plus additional time traveling to the specialist units, which may not be local to them.  Offer to babysit for siblings or do school pick-up & drop-off.  Or just be there for parents if they want to talk & let them know you're available to help with whatever they need.
 
For more information or ways to help please visit  March of Dimes

One size does not fit all!

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We are all different - we have many similarities but in the end of the day we are all individuals.

I have a sister who is a nurse.  While I have spent my life helping others through my work and volunteering I could not do the kind of work she does.  I'm eternally grateful that many people are passionate about nursing but my 3 weeks nursing experience during my dietetic training was enough for me. 

We're all different - some people are squeamish, some are not.  Some people are brave enough to run in and fight a fire while everyone else is running out.  Some people love to sing or dance while others can think of nothing worse than performing in front of an audience.

When it comes to our diet there are similarities and differences too.  Some people love pickles - others hate them.  Marmite even based their entire advertising campaign around whether you love or hate their product!

We are similar in that everyone's body needs to be fed in order to function.  We all need protein, vitamins & minerals & so on and the basis of healthy eating is the same for everyone - we all need a certain amount of these nutrients each day.

But we are different in that a man's nutritional requirements are different to a woman's; an adult's requirements are different to a child's; requirements vary depending on age and level of activity.  So when it comes to choosing food for health or for managing our weight it doesn't make sense to promote one way of eating for everyone.

Many factors influence food choice:

~ knowledge
~ availablity
~ habit
~ cooking skills
~ likes & dislikes
~ environment
~ time constraints
~ emotions

These are some of the areas  that need to be considered when making changes to our diet to improve health or lose weight and they will be different for everybody.  That's part of the challenge I enjoy when working with clients - finding out about them and who they are, what their lifestyle is and what's going to work for them.

We are all unique and we are all amazing - take time for yourself, nourish your body and cherish  what you have to offer.