Marathon Week Nutrition - Strategies to Run Your Best Race!

Sioux Falls Marathon weekend is fast approaching!

Next Sunday, September 11th 2016, runners from Sioux Falls and beyond will toe the starting line to run the Miracle 5K, half marathon, full marathon or marathon relay. This year, the race has some big changes, including a new start/finish location inside the Sioux Falls arena.

If you're running one of the Sioux Falls races, now is the time to really start thinking about your race week nutrition.

You don't have to be an elite runner to apply some science-based recommendations about carbohydrate loading and nutrition to your race week planning - your meals in the week leading up to a big race can really make or break your performance, no matter what your race goals are.

The Lowdown on Carbohydrates

When you run out of carbohydrates on a run, you can "hit the wall" or get that feeling of fatigue, where you think you can't take another step. Runners are notorious for eating a high carbohydrate diet, but during race week, it's important to note who needs to pay special attention to carbohydrates, why they're needed, when it's necessary and how many grams of carbohydrates are needed.

• Carbohydrate loading is the traditional practice of runners focusing on eating carbohydrates in the days leading up  to their race to optimize their glycogen stores. 
• Runners who are racing over 90 minutes should be thinking about carbohydrate loading. When we eat carbohydrates, it is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles, and our muscles use this fuel primarily during a race. Having high energy stores won't necessarily make you faster, but it can help you delay fatigue. 
• Research shows that as few as 2-3 days of carbohydrate loading in addition to rest (tapering) can optimize glycogen stores! You'll find so many methods for the best way to carbohydrate load, but one of the easiest ways is to make sure your mileage is low the week before your marathon, and focus on increasing your carbohydrate intake 2-3 days before your race. 
• Start several days before your race by increasing your normal amount of carbohydrates from 55-65% to 70% in those several days before your race. This can easily be done by increasing your portions of carbohydrate foods (add an extra serving of carbohydrates during the day) and decreasing your protein and healthy fats.
• This doesn't mean eliminating protein and fat completely for carbohydrates - you still need some good balance to feel great on race day!
• The numbers end up being 4.5 - 5.5 grams of carbs per lb. body weight, sounds like a lot or carbohydrates...so just focus on those whole grains, vegetables, fruits, potatoes/sweet potatoes, and dairy foods as tolerated several days before the race by adding a serving of those foods at each meal and decreasing protein and fat servings. 
• You don't need to eat extra food or more calories - you'll be less active during this time, so try to keep your portions and amount of calories you're eating the same and change the composition of your plate to focus on carbs. Some runners tend to think they can eat whatever they want the week of their race, or focus too much on carbohydrates and show up to race day feeling lethargic and heavy. Save that ice cream/pizza/donuts/whatever for after the race!

Many runners experience moderate weight gain of 1-3 lbs. due to the fact that glycogen stores water along with it. If you experience this, don't worry! Your body is just preparing itself for race day.

The Day Before Your Race

The day before your race, your eating plan should be to eat throughout the day, focusing on carbohydrate rich foods because you aren't going to be able to fill your glycogen stores in just one big pre-race meal. 

Choose easy carbohydrate options at each meal - 

• Grains such as rice, oatmeal, quinoa, pasta
• Baked and roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Bread/buns/toast
• Pancakes
• Bagels
• Tortillas
• Yogurt
• Juice/sports drinks

Fruit and vegetables are also good carbohydrate options, but watch the fiber content! Bananas are always a good go-to fruit, and you can cook your vegetables to make them easier to digest. 

Instead of the traditional heavy pasta dinner, try eating your main pre-race meal for lunch the day before your race to ensure you have enough time to digest that food, and try having a lighter carbohydrate-rich dinner and a carbohydrate snack before bed. 

Pre-Race Breakfast

The morning of a half or full marathon, you should ideally wake up 3-4 hours before  your race to top off those glycogen stores with carbohydrates by eating a meal that contains mostly carbohydrates with moderate protein and fat. You want this meal to hold you over throughout your race without weighing you down, so the closer you get to the race, the smaller your meal becomes.

Again, stick what has worked for YOU in the past and don't stress out over it!

• 1-4 hours before: 1-4 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram body weight (150 lbs/2.2 = 78 kg)
• 1/2 cup oatmeal cooked in 1 cup milk, a banana, peanut butter, raisins, sweetened with honey and cinnamon and a dash of salt
• A turkey sandwich 
• 1/2 or full large bagel with peanut butter, honey and a banana
• 2 pieces of toast with banana and honey, some sports drink or juice
• 1 Nature Valley granola bar and a banana

There is a lot of research and information on carbohydrate loading, with results showing it is beneficial and other results showing it doesn't make a difference.

The bottom line is - if you can eat extra carbs in the days leading up to your race, it isn't going to cause you any harm and you might actually be able to help your performance, so it's worth a try!

Nutrition for a 5K or Short Relay Legs of a Race

If you're running a 5K or marathon relay, you'll be running pretty hard for those 3.1 miles or however long your relay leg is. As mentioned above, you don't necessarily need to carbohydrate load or focus on diet during race week as much as a half or full marathon runner, as you will likely be running under 90 minutes total and your body has plenty of glycogen stored away to get you through your race. 

Follow the same "day before" plan as a marathon runner, though you probably won't need as many calories. You should consider what you eat the day before the race - focus on eating healthy carbohydrates (potatoes, whole grains such as whole grain bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, fruits and vegetables), lean proteins and limit the amount of fats you eat. 

Again, avoid high fat and high fiber foods the day before if you know your stomach is sensitive - cook your vegetables, peel your fruit or choose fruit juice, and avoid those high-fiber grains and vegetables. 

A big breakfast on race morning might cause stomach upset, so instead, try to eat at least an hour before the race. Many people opt for easy-on-the-stomach carbohydrate foods, like a banana with peanut butter, toast and jam, a granola bar and a piece of fruit, or some sports drink/juice. Eat enough to hold you over throughout the race, but not too much that you're feeling stuffed and heavy at the starting line. 

Rules to remember on race week:

1. Now isn't the time to experiment. You might have some tried and true pre-run meals you know sit well with you - go with those foods and relax!
2. Everyone is different! Some people might be able to handle high fiber, high fat foods the day before a run or race, but others may do better with a higher carbohydrate, low fiber diet. You know yourself best, so if your running partner is eating a huge plate of pasta and you haven't eaten that before your run before, do yourself a favor and stick to foods you know!

If you have any last-minute race nutrition questions before your race, give the Sanford Sports Science Institute Nutritionist a call at 605-312-7878 or e-mail her at Elizabeth.Kuckuk@SanfordHealth.org

Back-to-School Nutrition for Active Kids

This article was featured in The 'Hood Magazine in June, so it is worth posting here now that some kids are going back to school and starting sports, and because August is Kids Eat Right Month.

Back to school time is a great "fresh start" for things like school supplies and clothing, but it can also be a great chance to get kids into new habits, like packing snacks, making their own lunches, and eating breakfast on a regular basis. 

Returning to school can also mean returning to busy schedules filled with extra curricular activities and sports for kids and teens. Don’t forget to make good nutrition a part of that back-to-school routine to support growth and development, and help fuel your kids throughout the day.

Good nutrition has benefits beyond healthy growth and development. Breakfast, in particular, has been linked to better school performance, less weight gain, and lower body mass indexes (BMIs) in kids. A healthy breakfast sets kids up for healthy meals and snacks the rest of the day, and reduces the likelihood of overeating or choosing junk foods to curb their hunger later in the day.

Kids involved in sports have even greater nutrient needs. They require extra calories to fuel exercise or training schedules in addition to calories and nutrients needed to maintain normal growth and development. Plan for three balanced meals, healthy snacks, and plenty of water during the day.

Create balanced meals by including as many of these food groups as possible at each meal. For example, if your child likes toast for breakfast, add a piece of fruit and a source of protein, like eggs, to make the meal complete.

• ·        Lean protein (meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, beans, nuts and seeds): Better options are usually grilled, baked, or roasted.
• ·        Vegetables and fruit (mostly vegetables): Eat at least one serving per meal and snack.
• ·        Whole grains (bread, pasta, rice, cereal, oatmeal, etc.): Choose products that say “100% whole grain” for more fiber and nutrients, and help your child feel fuller for longer.
• ·        Dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt): These foods are a good source of protein and carbohydrates, and contain calcium and vitamin D to promote healthy bones.
• ·        Water is important, especially if kids are exercising. Encourage kids to carry a refillable water bottle and refill it several times per day. Sports drinks should really only be consumed if kids are exercising for  a long duration, or very intensely, in a hot/humid environment - water should be the drink of choice most of the time. 

Because snacks can make up a significant part of kids’ diets, suggest healthier snacks that combine protein with a complex carbohydrate (whole grain, fruit or vegetable). For example, instead of traditional chips or cookies, go for mixed nuts and an apple, half a peanut butter and jelly or Greek yogurt with berries and granola. It’s okay to eat sweets or snack foods once in a while, but there are more nutrient-dense options kids should be eating most of the time to fuel their active bodies. 

Check out these 5 school lunches kids can make themselves, or these 10 back to school lunches, which are great for kids and adults with busy schedules. 

This article on Sports Nutrition for the School-Aged Athlete talks about making sports nutrition part of your daily ROUTINE, which is an important topic. Good nutrition only works when families are in a nutrition routine, where meals and snacks are either planned ahead of time or they know which options are healthy when eating out or throwing together a quick meal with what's available.

Sports Fueling for Kids is a fun infographic that emphasizes the importance of breakfast, snacks, and post-game meals!

Meal Prep 101 for Busy Athletes

One of the biggest roadblocks athletes report in their journey towards healthier eating is simply not having enough time in the day to cook or prepare meals and snacks.

Many busy athletes and their families have tight schedules, where they might be eating meals at strange hours, on the road and in the bleachers, and sometimes get so busy that they resort to stopping for fast food or relying on convenience bars and shakes for too many meals.

Fast food and convenience snacks are fine once in a while, but what if we all had a strategy for making sure we had healthy snacks and meals prepared ahead of time? What if we could throw together said snacks and meals during the week in a matter of MINUTES? I'm sure all busy families and athletes would be on board.

This is where a food preparation (or meal prep) plan comes in! 

By spending some time ONE day of the week washing, cutting, baking, cooking, and portioning food into containers, athletes and their families will not have healthy food to eat during the busiest timesof the week - they'll also save time by not having to cook so much, and save money by not eating out or buying pre-packaged snacks.

There are many of resources online for "How to Food Prep" - Lindsay from the Lean Green Bean blog writes about food prep every week and is a great source for easy-to-make, healthy recipes.

Having a plan is the hardest part of meal prep. The first time you meal prep, it's important to start out small and let your meal prep game plan change each week in a way that fits your schedule. 

1. Decide which day works best for you! Many people choose to make all their food on one day (like Sunday, before the week starts!), while others might choose two days (maybe by preparing half on Sunday, and a new batch of foods on Wednesday).

It usually takes at least one hour (usually more if you do it all on one day), to prepare your meals, so keep that in mind. 

2. Make sure you have plenty of storage containers. Storage containers with lids are essential for easy storage and transportation of meals.

3. Choose which meals you want to prep. Some people just want to prepare lunches for the week to bring to school or work, while others make breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and a random assortment of throw-together foods. One easy way to start preparing EXTRA food at dinner meals to bring for lunch the next day or the next several days. Many people also start out by preparing some "basics" that you can make throw-together meals throughout the week. Some good examples include:

• Washed and cut fruits and vegetables - You're much more likely to eat these healthy foods if they're all washed and ready-to-eat. Some suggestions are: grapes, salad greens, carrots, diced vegetables for salads/omelets/stir fry.
• Roasted vegetables - These can be easily thrown onto a salad or sandwich for more flavor! Toss some sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, broccoli, or any other vegetables in olive oil, salt, pepper and any other seasonings you like and roast them in the oven until tender. 
• Cooked grains - You can prepare whole grains, such as rice and quinoa ahead of time to throw into salads or for easy grain bowls.

Check out some easy whole grain bowl recipes!

• Protein options - Having some protein options ready can be a huge life-saver for athletes. Keep it simple by making chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs or scrambled egg muffins, lean ground beef, bacon, or have some lunch meat on hand. 

• Breakfast foods - If you're typically a breakfast-skipper, preparing some easy breakfast options can be a huge time saver.

4. Make a list and go shopping - This may be the most dreaded part of meal prep for people who don't go into the grocery store weekly (or more than once per week!), but this part becomes easier each week as you figure out what works for your schedule, and which basics you KNOW you need to get you through the week.

Make a list of ingredients you would need for specific recipes you want to make, and a list of "basics" you want to have at hand (grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, dairy, etc.)

If you're a beginner, don't be overwhelmed! It will get easier, and you can take satisfaction in knowing you will have healthy options to eat throughout the week. Good nutrition can have an immediate impact on sports performance - if you eat well and fuel your body with healthy foods, you will feel better and perform better, so start today!

Is Your Snack Holding You Back? Tips for Packing a Snack Made for an Athlete

Athletes love to snack, but when speaking with young athletes about snacking, the first foods that come to mind are pre-packaged salty snacks and sweet treats. Instead of wanting to know which foods are healthy, which foods they should avoid, and what the healthier alternatives to their favorite snacks are, young athletes often get stuck in the habit of reaching for junk foods in-between meals - that's what everyone is doing! Most active people and young athletes know which foods aren't necessarily healthy without being told. When they're asked what snack foods they reach for, they're usually laughing over Poptarts or Cheetos, but even if that's what everyone else is reaching for, those junk foods aren't made to fuel an athlete's body. Putting the right fuel in our bodies helps us push harder and get stronger in our sport, so even though fruit and nuts aren't cool, those foods are going to make you a better athlete, while those junk foods might be holding you back.

Unhealthy snacking isn't uncommon - snacking has become much more popular and widely accepted, and many people (not just athletes) have moved from eating 3 main meals a day to 5-6 mini meals throughout the day or eating several smaller meals and several snacks per day.

An online poll found:

• Snack food sales are increasing globally, not just in the U.S. 
• Many people are snacking at least once per day, and the most popular snacks globally are chocolate and fruit
• The most popular snack in North America is chips and chocolate
• People are snacking to satisfy that between-meal hunger they get from 3 square meals...AND people are also eating more snacks to replace meals - instead of regular meals, they might just be grazing throughout the day.

Many athletes, people training for a certain event or race, and very active people may have higher calorie needs and snacking can help those people meet their calorie and nutrient needs...but they shouldn't be replacing a well-rounded vegetable-protein-starch meal with chips and chocolate candy. If athletes are hungry between meals, snacks should be more than just a package of junk foods - snacks are an opportunity add nutrition. Athletes should ask themselves, "How can I make this snack or meal more nutrient-dense?" because every eating opportunity is an opportunity to fuel your body for practice, competition, or recovery.

One athlete asked, "When does a healthy snack become unhealthy?" (Such as adding caramel to apple slices). 

This snack isn't necessarily unhealthy, but caramel, just like any sweet/candy/sugary treat is a "sometimes food". You could lower the amount of sugar in the snack and add some protein and healthy fats (which would make the snack a healthier option) by swapping out the caramel with a healthier side.

For example, you could make your own cinnamon dip with Greek yogurt, peanut butter and cinnamon. You could dip the apples in almond butter or have some cheese slices or hard-boiled egg on the side.

Snacking tips for athletes:

1. Pairing carbohydrates with protein can increase satiety and keep blood sugar levels even.
2. Eating protein throughout the day (including that post-workout snack) can help promote muscle protein synthesis. Don't forget the carbs, though! Adequate carbohydrate intake allows your body to spare the protein you eat to promote recovery and build muscle. 
3. If there's several hours between the snack and your next meal, choose a larger snack with several different food groups, containing protein and healthy fats to hold you over, plus some carbs to give you energy.  
4. If you just need to be held over for a short time before your next real meal (60-90 minutes), choose a smaller snack (100-200 calories). 
5. For athletes with a weight  gain goal, larger snacks can act as "mini meals" to help them add calories to your day. Add high-calorie foods such as nuts/nut butter and full fat dairy to snacks and meals. 
6. For athletes with a weight loss goal, eating smaller snacks and choosing crunchy vegetables and fruit, which have a high water and fiber content can help keep them full.
•  Crunchy foods usually take a little bit longer to eat, too, so instead of reaching for a 100-calorie bar or packet of snacks, choose vegetables and/or fruit paired with some protein. 

PROTEIN	CARBS
½ - 1 cup Greek yogurt	Apple or banana
1 – 2 Tbsp peanut or almond butter	½ cup oatmeal
2 Tbsp – ¼ cup hummus	1 – 2 slices whole grain toast
10-30 almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.	½ - 1 bagel
1 piece of string cheese	1 cup raw baby carrots
½ - 1 cup cottage cheese	Wheat crackers (Triscuits, Wheat Thins)
Beef jerky	1 cup berries
¼ - 1 cup edamame	Corn  tortilla
Hardboiled eggs	Sweet potato
Lean deli meat (turkey, chicken, ham, roast beef)	Raisins/Craisins
Milk	Whole grain cereal
Cheese	Graham crackers
	Pretzels

For more ideas, check out these smart snacking ideas from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics!

Strive for excellence in each meal - if you're putting in the work at practice and competition, put some thought into what goes on your plate throughout the day. 

The Nutrition Facts Label Got a Makeover: Check Out What's New!

Have you every looked at the Nutrition Facts Label on a product and scratched your head over what it listed as a serving?

For example, who listed a serving of ice cream as ONLY half a cup? Why are there more than one servings listed in a seemingly "snack sized" bag of chips, soda, or granola bar, when a person would likely open the package and eat it all at once?

Those numbers are about to change, as the FDA just finalized the new Nutrition Facts Label, giving a makeover to the 20-year-old Nutrition Facts Label design.

The Sanford Sports Nutrition Blog previously wrote about the proposed new food label when it was developed in 2014, but now the label is finalized, and most food manufacturers will have until July 2018 to switch over to the new label.

Updates to the New Label

• The calorie count is bigger, and the serving size will be in bold.
• The serving size is changing reflects a serving that Americans are actually eating (Again, have you actually ever measured out 1/2 a cup of ice cream? Or drank only 1/2 of a bottle of a beverage that says it contains 2 servings?)
• Added sugars will be added to the label, which shows how much sugar is added to the food during processing (versus sugar found naturally in fruit and dairy products).
• "Calories from Fat" will be eliminated, as more people need to be focusing on the types of fats they're consuming, not just the amount. (Focus more on healthy fats, avoiding trans fats). 
• Different daily value percentages for sodium, fiber, and vitamin D to reflect the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines amounts. 
• Actual amounts of vitamins (versus the old label that only listed percentages) and changes to WHICH vitamins are listed. Vitamin D and Potassium are now listed (instead of Vitamin C and Vitamin A) because the majority of people aren't getting enough of those key nutrients. 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

In addition, foods that contain between 1-2 servings, or could be eaten up in one sitting (such as a whole bag of microwave popcorn or a pint of ice cream...) will have a dual column label to show the nutrition for one serving and for the whole package.

Old label (Left) vs. New Label (Right)
The Food and Drug Administration

The Nutrition Facts Label is important for active people and athletes, and this "Athlete's Guide to the Nutrition Facts Label" goes through what you should be looking for on the label. The new design should make healthy eating a little easier by being able to choose between comparable products with different nutrition.

Note: As a dietitian who works with athletes, I am excited to see the "Added Sugars" on the label. Many athletes need a diet rich in carbohydrates, but sometimes they're relying on that quick energy from sports bars and drinks to fuel their training and performance, and get stuck in the habit of eating those high-sugar foods all the time, when they should be eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains and lean protein to fuel themselves outside of training. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 have emphasized how much sugar Americans are eating, including sugar in seemingly "healthy" foods like whole grain cereals or yogurts. This added part of the new label makes it easier to compare packaged products and choose more nutritious options!

What do you think of the new label?

Why the Color Green Belongs on Your Plate All Year Long

St. Patrick's Day is this week, and every store and restaurant is having deals on the traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage...and also on green-dyed food and drinks. A lot of people probably feel the pull to buy those festive foods because it feels as if we can ONLY get that green-tinted cookie/cake/donut/beverage/milkshake ONE day a year. But, let's be honest...those foods appear on the shelves weeks (or even months!) before the actual holiday, and we end up indulging in more than one-day's worth of green treats.

Maybe those desserts don't appeal to you...but if you can't remember the last time you ate something green (we're talking vegetables, not desserts), then we're here to help you understand why the color green deserves to be on your plate all year long.

"Eat more greens" is one of the most common recommendations we make to athletes - green vegetables pack a powerful nutrient punch, boasting phytochemicals, fiber, calcium, iron,  and other vitamins and minerals, and they also have very little calories. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2015-2020 were recently published and highlighted the fact that the majority of Americans aren't eating enough vegetables, including dark green vegetables. That means the majority of Americans (including athletes) are also missing out on all those awesome health benefits that green vegetables provide.

Recommended amounts of dark green vegetables. 1 cup-equivalent = 1 cup raw, cooked, or vegetable juice, or 2 cups of leafy greens! The average weekly intake is under one cup for many, especially kids and adolescents under 18. 

When athletes ask, "How many vegetables do I need?", the answer is usually, "As many as possible, the more variety, the better." 

The "MyPlate" recommendations encourage people to fill up 1/2 their plate with vegetables and fruit (mostly vegetables), or about 3-5 servings of vegetables per day, coming from the dark-green, red-orange, legumes and beans, starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn and peas), and other vegetables.

For 19-30 year old males, the Dietary Guidelines are recommending 2-2.5 cup equivalents of dark-green vegetables per week, which equates to eating a couple salads, greens on your sandwiches, green smoothies, or cooked broccoli with dinner each week. Of course, there are other colored vegetables to include in your diet, but if you really break down the recommendations to eating a serving per meal, or filling half your plate with vegetables, it becomes easy to eat enough of those foods. It doesn't mean eating salads every day -  green vegetables can be one of the easiest types of vegetables for people to incorporate into their diets. 

Green Recipes for St. Patrick's Day and Beyond

Shamrock Shake Green Smoothie from Brianne at Cupcakes and Kale Chips (It has Greek yogurt in it, so it would make the perfect post-workout treat, without eating 73 grams of sugar.)

You can add spinach to ANY berry smoothie (like this blueberry one!) to hide greens, which works great for kids and even adults who don't like vegetables.

Superfood Shamrock Smoothie or Vegan Cauliflower Colcannon from Kara at The Foodie Dietitian
Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes with kale or cabbage. This healthified version looks awesome!

Nourish Bowls or Massaged Kale Salad, 3 Ways from McKel at Nutrition Stripped
Massaged kale sounds like a silly new trend, but massaging the kale really just means you add dressing to your kale (olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar, salt and pepper, etc.) and actually "massage" it into the leaves, which makes the kale leaves softer and easier to chew. You can use the massaged kale as a super nutritious base for any salad recipe!

Photo by Ryan, a Registered Dietitian who writes at i.run.on.nutrition

Collard Green Wraps from Ryan at I Run On Nutrition
You can substitute regular wheat wraps with collard green leaves. Try adding your regular sandwich fixings to the leaves!

14 Green Breakfasts from the Kitchn
Adding spinach/kale/collards to your eggs in the morning for extra nutrition

Tempeh and Broccoli Stir Fry from Dietitian Debbie Dishes
Tempeh is a great soybean protein that meat-lovers and vegetarians enjoy. It has a great texture and absorbs the flavor of whatever sauce and seasonings you're using - try subbing out your usual meat in stir fry and try this plant-based protein instead!

Picture by Brittany at Eating Bird Food

Okay, so maybe this recipe for Creamy Lime and Avocado Tarts from Brittany at Eating Bird Food DOESN'T contain any green vegetables, but it DOES contain super-healthy avocados and nuts, and it's green, so it deserves to get included in case you're looking for a St. Patrick's Day recipe.

Why National Nutrition Month is Worth Celebrating

March is National Nutrition Month!

Right when our healthy New Year's habit's begin to fade, National Nutrition Month® rolls around in March to remind you of those healthy eating habits.

The theme for the 2016 National Nutrition Month® is "Savor the Flavor of Eating Right," which is all about bringing back the enjoyment factor of mealtimes. It's important to remember that food isn't just food/energy/fuel - there's so many reasons why you eat the foods you eat, when you eat them, and how those foods make you feel. In a diet-filled world, it's so easy to forget that mealtime doesn't have to be about eating certain foods because you have to and that healthy eating can actually be enjoyable.

This month's blog posts are going to focus on this year's National Nutrition Month theme, celebrating all the ways healthy eating can be enjoyable and fun. Here are some easy ways develop healthy eating habits during National Nutrition Month®, and to "Savor the Flavor of Eating Right."

Be more mindful during meals

This tip goes back to the "mindful eating" strategies outlined in last week's blog, How To Adopt These Healthy Habits From People Who Maintain a Healthy Weight (Without Dieting).

Take a look at your meal times and see how many times you're eating with the TV on, while you're on your phone, texting, on the computer, reading a book or magazine...the list goes on for the number of ways we are distracted while eating.

One research study showed that people who were distracted  with playing a computer game while they ate lunch ended up eating more, couldn't quite remember all the foods they had eaten and were less full than those who were not distracted during the meal.

• Take a break from your computer, book, and/or phone, get up out of that desk and enjoy your lunch without distractions.

• If you are eating on-the-go, make sure you have nutritious snacks available, such as fruits, vegetables, mixed nuts, string cheese, hummus, Greek yogurt, sandwiches, etc.

Enjoy the social aspect of mealtimes

Did you know that family meals are associated with healthy weights in children and adolescents and can help promote healthy eating choices? When kids are involved in family meals, they pick up healthy eating habits from mom and dad - eating healthy foods and sitting down to enjoy an undistracted meal becomes the norm.

In adults, the idea of family meal time can be shared with friends: A story recently came out about 5 New York lawyers who called themselves the "Lunch Bunch" - they make 5 portions of a healthy, homemade lunch once a week, and enjoy the others' meals the rest of the week.What a fun way to not only only have to prepare lunch just once a week, but also to try new recipes, taste new foods, and branch out from the typical brown-bag sandwich. 

Set some healthy eating goals this month

Healthy eating can be a challenge, but the good news is that good nutrition has INSTANT benefits. You don't need to go on a 30-day diet or push yourself to the max for 7 days in a row at the gym to feel good about what foods you put on your plate, which in turn will make you feel good. Nobody ever said, "Wow, I really regret making all those healthy choices!"

Tips to get started:

• Try to eat at least one serving of fruit or vegetables at each meal and snack. Try adding a banana to your morning oatmeal or packing carrots in hummus as your afternoon snack.
• Getting 25-30 grams of protein per meal can help you meet your protein needs and feel more satisfied with meals. Eat a variety of  protein sources, from beans, dairy, nuts, seeds, poultry, meat and fish. 
• Make sure to incorporate healthy fats into  your meals and snacks. People often don't feel satisfied or "hungry an hour later" after drinking a smoothie - try adding peanut butter, hemp, chia or flax seeds, or an avocado to your smoothie to make it a more balanced meal.
• Make more grains WHOLE grains. This means having brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, whole grain bread, pasta and wraps at meals.

You might also like:

March 1st is National Peanut Butter Lover's Day! 

Real Mom Nutrition || 6 Amazing Recipes with Peanut Butter

Serious Eats || Rosa Parks' Featherlight Peanut Butter Pancakes Cool!

National Peanut Board || PB&J - The Mighty Mouthful for Athletes PB&J is my go-to snack and meal recommendation for busy athletes.

Nourish RD's || Veggie Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce Would be great with tofu or chicken for extra protein

Sharon Palmer || Eating a Plant Based Diet Doesn't Have to Break the Bank

 Follow Lizzie on Twitter to get the lastest nutrition news, research findings, and nutritious recipes!

Good nutrition is important for everyone, but athletes have increased nutrient needs due to their high activity levels, and each athlete is different in terms of what foods they should eat and when they should be eating to optimize physical performance.

 Stop into the Sanford Fieldhouse today or call 605-312-7878 to set up an appointment with the Sports Nutritionist!

How To Adopt These Healthy Habits From People Who Maintain a Healthy Weight (Without Dieting)

We've probably all been out with friends and family members who ordered the salad "when they really wanted the pizza" or passed on going out for ice cream because they're "on a diet". Or maybe you're reading this thinking of a time you have purposefully restricted certain food groups for a diet or felt guilt after indulging in some sort of "bad foods" or overeating.

It can be hard to lose or maintain a normal weight for some people, but we all probably know a handful of people who seem to be able to eat whatever they want while easily maintaining a healthy body weight. Many factors go into weight and body size - genetics and physical activity play a large role in how much you weight, but what about eating behaviors - how do some people stay thin while seemingly never dieting?

The researchers at the New Cornell Food and Brand Lab wanted to find out the answer to this question -  they looked into what the difference between those people who never worry about food and weight and "stay effortlessly slim" vs. those who struggle to maintain or lose weight and regularly dieted.

Much of the data on successful weight loss comes from the National Weight Control Registry, so in a similar fashion, Cornell researchers created the "Global Healthy Weight Registry" to survey adults who have maintained a healthy weight throughout their lives, asking them about their diets, exercise and daily routines. Once the participants were surveyed, they were split into TWO groups -

• Group 1: The Mindlessly Slim - Those who didn't maintain strict diets 
• Group 2: Those  who "dieted regularly, thought about food frequently and were highly conscious of what they ate"

What did the researchers find?

They documented initial findings in this infographic.

The first group (the Mindlessly Slim) were more likely to:

• eat high quality foods
• cook at home
• listen to inner cues
• not feel as guilty about over-eating
• be more conscious of the foods they're eating
• have more of an enjoyment-based approach to eating

Can we take these findings about the habits of the "Mindlessly Slim" and conclude that thin people don't diet?...Or maybe those "naturally thin" people don't diet because they have good genetics or a fast metabolism? Even if that were the case, the Mindlessly Slim participants were also employing some great healthy habits that may help them keep their waistlines in check, such as exercising, eating breakfast, having a salad at lunch, and snacking on things like fruit and nuts.

The lead researcher Anna-Leena Vuorinen reported, “These results are encouraging because they imply that instead of putting restrictions on one’s diet and avoiding favorite foods, weight gain could be prevented early on by learning to listen to inner cues and putting emphasis on the quality instead of the quantity of food."

This is good news for those who struggle to lose or maintain their weight, and are tired of the strict rules and restrictions from the newest fad diet.  We may be able to change our approach to losing and maintaining weight by adopting the habits of the "Mindlessly Slim."

In our culture, it can be easy to rush through meals, eating whatever is quick and easy, often eating on the go, standing-up, at our computers, or in front of the TV...but according to The Center for Mindful Eating, being distracted while eating prevents people from actually enjoying the food (contrary to the enjoyment-based approach to eating taken by the Mindlessly Slim). This "mindless eating" can lead to overeating, anxiety and stress, which ultimately can contribute to weight gain. 

Resources for mindful and intuitive eating:

• The Center for Mindful Eating - Principles of Mindful Eating
• Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDRD, Fiaedp, FADA - Intuitive Eating (great book/resource to get started!)
• Michelle May, MD, CSP - Am I Hungry?

Fad diets are unsustainable, but taking a more mindful approach to eating is a non-diet habit that is easy to adopt and doesn't require people to label foods as "bad" or "off-limits." 

Thoughts? Have you ever tried incorporating mindfulness into mealtimes?

More Great Links:

Science Daily || The Mindlessly Slim

Avocado a Day Nutrition || What is Healthy?

Well+Good || Why the Healthiest People Don't Actually Diet

fANNEtastic Food || How to Eat Intuitively: A Guide to Mindful Eating

Hummusapien || What Food Bloggers Eat For Breakfast

NYT Well || How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

Speaking with a Registered Dietitian can help you make peace with food and adopt habits in mindful and intuitive eating at meals. Make an appointment by calling the Sanford Sports Science Institute Dietitian today (605-312-7878).

4 Heart-Healthy Ingredients + Recipes for Game Day and Beyond

February is American Heart Month and Friday, February 5th, 2016 is National Wear Red Day - a day to wear the color red to help raise awareness about heart disease being the number one killer of women. Close behind Wear Red Day is another February day many will get together to celebrate - Superbowl Sunday. In honor of American Heart Month and Wear Red Day, let's challenge each other to make our game day buffet a little healthier and try some new good-for-you foods and recipes.

When the American Heart Association reports that more than 1 in 3 people have some sort of cardiovascular disease and every 85 seconds, someone dies from heart disease, every day is a good day to focus on getting healthier, including a day notorious for filling us up with fried, greasy, salty foods. With those statistics, there is a good chance someone close to you is at risk for or has some sort of cardiovascular disease, so offering healthier options during the big game is good for everyone.

This post will take the guess work out of your game day menu so you have plenty of healthy snacks on hand to last through the end of the big game.

1. Avocados

Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fat (a good kind of fat!), fiber, antioxidants, B vitamins, vitamin K, folate, and many other nutrients. Eating more of those good monounsaturated fats can help you lower your LDL or "bad" cholesterol, which is one of cause of heart disease. Replacing saturated fats (found in animal fat like meat and dairy) with healthy fats found in avocado is a heart-healthy choice. Many people enjoy guacamole on game day, but avocado is versatile and can be used for so much more:

Greatist || 39 Deliciously Unexpected Healthy Avocado Recipes

Avocado Central || Fresh Avocado Guacamole Recipes

Festive "Guaca-Bowl-E Nachos Stadium"

2. Nuts

Nuts are another "healthy fat" food, and while all nuts have different nutritional benefits, all nuts (especially walnuts) contain a healthy dose of those LDL-lowering, inflammation-reducing, unsaturated fats. They're also rich in omega-3 fatty acids that help prevent heart disease and stroke, improve blood vessel function and lower inflammation and triglyceride levels. Nuts make a great every-day snack, and can be spiced up for a great game-day snack:

Ellie Krieger  || Spiced Nuts

Greatist || Energy Bites for On The Go Snacking

Real Simple || Dark Chocolate and Nut Clusters

3. Whole grains

Whole grains contain the entire grain (bran, germ, and endosperm), which makes them more nutritious and full of fiber compared to refined/white flour or grains. Diets rich in fiber, such as a diet rich in whole grains, can help reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and other types of heart disease. The beta-glucan (a type of soluble fiber) found in whole grains can help lower cholesterol and improves heart health and all that fiber keep you fuller for longer, which is good for weight control. 

Whole grains foods don't have to be boring - you can find hundreds of recipes for tasty whole grain versions of your favorite foods in cook books and on the internet:

Cookie and Kate || Whole Grain Pizza Recipes

The Skinny Fork || Whole Wheat Lasagna Rollups

Buzzfeed || 23 Whole Grain Desserts You'll Actually Love

4. Beans

Beans are a staple food in many parts of the world for good reason - they're packed full of protein, fiber, B-vitamins and minerals. 

Chili is the ultimate comfort food, and makes a great tailgating or game-day meal. Unfortunately, some of the favorite white chili and creamy soup recipes are full of high-fat sour cream, cheese, and cream. A good substitute for cream in these soups is cooked, blended cauliflower. I know, it sounds weird, but even cauliflower-haters can't sense the presence of this nutrient-packed vegetable

Based off the recipe for White Turkey Chili from Whole Foods Market and this Creamy (No Cream!) Sweet Corn and Potato Chowder from Iowa Girl Eats, this Healthier Turkey Chili is a great option for game day because it's light, packed with protein and fiber, and can be topped with all your favorite chili toppings.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. dry Navy Beans
1/2 lb. dry Great Northern beans
or 1 lb. of whatever dry beans you like
2 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. ground lean turkey
1 7-oz can green chilis
1/2 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cups frozen corn
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
1/3 cup milk (skim, 2%, whole, coconut)
4 cups broth (I used homemade turkey stock, but you could use vegetable broth to make the recipe vegetarian)
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced

Soak the dry beans overnight in water. The next day, rinse and drain the beans, and add them to the bottom of the crock pot. Add all spices (reserving 1 tsp of cumin for the turkey), chopped bell peppers, frozen corn, diced onion, and the can of green chilis (drained or undrained). Pour water into crock pot.

Cauliflower cream:

Bring broth to a boil, adding cauliflower florets to the pot and cooking until cauliflower is soft (you'll be able to spike easily with a fork). Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool enough to blend, pour broth and cooked cauliflower mixture, diced garlic, and milk into blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can blend in the pot if you have an immersion blender. Add  this mixture to the crock pot.

Turkey: 

Finally, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add raw turkey to the pan and stir frequently, cooking until browned. Add cooked turkey to the crock pot, give the ingredients a good stir, cover crock pot and turn on low for 6-8 hours until beans are cooked/soft.

Top chili with some of your favorite toppings: avocado, cilantro, onions, Greek yogurt/sour cream, a little cheese, and enjoy.

More healthy chili recipes from Epicurious ||  Healthy Chili Recipes for the Superbowl and Your Heart

What's your favorite healthy recipe for game day?

4 Easy Tips to Help EVERYONE Improve Their Nutrition (Without Following a Diet)

January 1st usually rolls around and has everyone in a panic to take drastic measures to "get healthy." There's plenty of diet advice going around, from news sites to social media nutritionists and health experts - it can lead many down the road of wondering whether they should adopt a new diet or which new diet is the best.

With the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans getting released this week, it's a great time to take a step towards improving your health through nutrition, without subscribing to diet rules, cleanses, detoxes, or all-or-nothing eating plans. 

These four easy tips - working with your current diet (not necessarily following the new trendy diet), making small steps to eat more plants and reduce sugar intake, are easy enough for you to start improving your diet this week. 

Tip 1: Work with your current diet

This is where a lot of fad diets get it wrong - people will jump on a diet bandwagon on the first of the year, and that one-size-fits-all approach to getting healthy doesn't result in very much success. Instead, it's recommended for people to take a look at their current diet and see what eating habits they can make small changes to.

Before you even look at the next two tips, it's important to know your own likes and dislikes - if you don't eat any vegetables right now, can you add one serving of vegetables per day and work up to more later? It's all about making small changes in your diet to affect your overall health.

Small steps you can take right now: Move from fruit snacks to whole fruit, white bread to whole grain bread, crackers and dip to vegetables and hummus, sugary snack bars to trail mix with nuts and dried fruit.

Tip 2: Eat more plants

Even if you're not a big vegetable lover, you probably already know that vegetables are good for you - they're full of fiber, vitamins and minerals that help reduce inflammation in your body. The Dietary Guidelines are not only continuing to tell us that we need to eat a wide variety of vegetables and fruits (the more color/variety, the better!), they are also putting a bigger emphasis on reducing meat proteins and replacing them with plant-based sources of protein. 

This doesn't mean you have to become a vegetarian or vegan - you can start including more plant-based proteins in your meals, even if you're a meat lover. 

If you make the majority of your diet come from plant foods, you have room to eat those other foods you like, even those you know aren't necessarily "good for you." Those other foods are good for you if you enjoy eating them, but your whole diet shouldn't be those foods.

Try adding these foods to your plate instead of your traditional meat proteins:

-Beans and legumes (dried or canned chickpeas, black beans, lentils, kidney beans, peas, etc.)

-Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, etc.)

-Seeds (flax seeds, chia seeds)

He'res 63 recipes from the Huffington Post to get you started. 

Or how about these white bean meatballs (with no meat!) from Dietitian Debbie?

Tip 3: Check your sugar intake

The new recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines are to limit added sugars to less than 10% of your daily caloric intake. Sugar intake has been linked to increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and triglyceride levels. Most people know which foods are sweet and contain sugar - desserts, chocolate, candies, and sugary beverages like soda, juice, sports drinks, and coffee drinks. What a lot of people don't realize how much sugar they're eating in a day, mostly from processed foods.

Take a look at the nutrition label and ingredients in every day items that may not even necessarily taste sweet or may seem healthy, like cereals/granola, protein and granola bars, yogurt, pasta sauce, flavored soy and almond milk, whole grain bread and crackers, salad dressings, pancake mix, barbecue sauce and ketchup. Every 4 grams of sugar is ~1 teaspoon of sugar.

Some sugar is found naturally - Lactose is naturally found in dairy products, so even plain/unsweetened dairy will have sugar, and Fructose is naturally found in fruit, so any fruit products will naturally have sugar on the nutrition label.

Your ingredient label might use other common names for sugar: brown sugar, corn syrup or corn sweetener, fructose, dextrose, fruit juice concentrates, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose or syrup.

If you enjoy indulging in sweet treats, make sure you do so "in moderation" and check other sneaky sources of sugar in your regular healthy diet. This isn't a "sugar detox" or a statement that sugar is toxic etc.- this is a tip to help you reduce added, processed sugar in your diet, especially from foods you eat every day, because most of us are getting too much processed sugar in our diets.

Tips to reduce sugar intake: Buy plain Greek yogurt and add your own blueberries, cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey to sweeten it up. Make your own oatmeal and sweeten it with a banana instead of eating regular breakfast cereal. Choose vinaigrette over creamy, low fat dressings. Choose brands of condiments and tomato sauce that are lower in added sugars. Choose unsweetened soy or almond milk instead of "vanilla" or other flavored milks.

Tip 4: Cook at home more

I've hinted at this throughout the post, but when you cook your own food, you know what ingredients go into the food and you get to experiment with ingredients. When you buy pre-made meals or out at restaurants, you're often getting much larger portions than you would eat at home, which includes larger amounts of fat and sodium. 

Try experimenting with new recipes each week (see the link above for vegetarian meals). Typically, recipes with fewer ingredients are going to cost you less money at the grocery store. Sticking to Tip 1, try finding healthier versions of your favorite recipes at home, or add vegetables and substitute ingredients (like beans or whole wheat pasta) to your favorite recipes. 

What steps do you take to be healthier through nutrition?

We'll continue talking about the Dietary Guidelines, with even more tips to help you take steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

Read more:

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015 - 2020

The Lean Green Bean || 7 Tips to Reduce Your Sugar Intake

Real Mom Nutrition || What a Day's Worth of Sugar for Kids Really Looks Like

Mom to Mom Nutrition || 7 Easy and Delicious Ways to Eat More Vegetables

EatRight || 3 Easy Tips for Fueling Your Workout Without Overdoing It

Buzzfeed || Here's How To Actually Eat Healthier This Year

Greatist || 50 Awesome Pre- and Post-Workout Snacks

New Year's (Or Any Time) Resolutions You Can Actually Stick To

Do you set a New Year's Resolution?

The 1st of the year is seen by many as a fresh start; a time to look forward and set a New Year's Resolution. New Year's resolutions aren't for everyone - in fact, only a small percentage of people set a new Year's Resolution, and an even smaller percentage will actually keep theirs. This time of year is often criticized or joked about for that very reason - New Year's Resolutions to lose weight, work out more, eat healthier, get stronger, walk more steps, run faster, get to the gym more, cook at home, pack your snacks, are really difficult to keep.

These resolutions are usually hard to keep because people tend to set too many goals at once and their goals are very broad! It can be really easy to go into the new year with several very broad goals in mind (usually worded something like "do this activity more" or "do this activity less") and because the wording isn't very specific, that handful of goals suddenly morphs into one big, non-specific goal, which eventually morphs into an even less specific form of whatever goals you wanted to meet, which eventually just dwindles away. Sound familiar?

As a Registered Dietitian, I think any time of year (not just the New Year!) is a good time to set a resolution, or a goal, and it's my job to help people meet their goals related to nutrition and health. We wrote about this here - instead of going into the New Year with a regular old resolution, make a SMART goal.

A SMART goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound.

Specific - This is the What, How and Why. One reason those goals to "lose weight," or "get healthier" don't work is because there are no specifics on how you're going to meet those goals. It can be really easy to drop your resolution "eat healthier" if you never wrote down the specifics of what that goal meant to you - did it mean you were going to eat salad for every single meal, or give up all sweets? You need to define all the specifics of your goal to achieve it.

Measurable - How will you know you've achieved your goal? How will you measure your success?  By being able to measure a goal, you will have tangible evidence that you're working towards your goal or meeting your goals. Instead of "going to the gym more" you would set a goal to "Go to the gym 3 nights per week."

Attainable - Your goal should challenge you, but shouldn't be too out of reach that you never attain it. You should be able to write down the steps to meet your goals. I like how Heidi Greenwood wrote in her recent post: "It may be helpful to view your health goals as if you were training for a marathon.  Not literally training for a marathon, but knowing that to reach your health goals is a process that requires planning, time, and external support." You wouldn't set a goal to train for a marathon and then never run more than 3 miles during your training - you would usually follow a very detailed, specific plan that has you meeting certain milestones before being able to run the full marathon. You should do the same with every one of your goals. 

Realistic - This is the one that gets a lot of people. Don't set yourself up for failure by setting a completely out-of-reach goal. Remember, you can always set a new goal after you've met your first goal. This is especially true for those goals that might reduce certain habits - a lot of people want to "give up sweets" or "eat better", so they deprive themselves of the foods they like in an attempt to meet their goals, which ends up in failure. Be realistic with yourself and be flexible with your goal. If you've never been able to give up sweets completely, maybe try reducing your sweets intake to a couple squares of dark chocolate per day that you will really savor. Another big goal people have is to "lose weight" and they usually have big goals in mind and not a lot of patience.

Sometimes it's better for people to focus on goals that are focused more on health and fitness (for instance, lifting heavier weights or packing your lunch), which will lead to weight loss, instead of being so hard on themselves for not losing 10 lbs. in a week. A realistic goal to set is to throw away the New Year's Diet - if diets worked, there wouldn't be so many of them.

Time-bound - This means you will have a time frame for meeting your long-term goal, but also for those shorter-term goals and steps along the way. Having a time-frame helps you determine what your steps along the way should be to meet your long term goal.

Once you've written your goal, write your actions to meeting the goal.

Examples:

Eat more meatless meals by making 2 new vegetarian recipes per week.
Action: Bookmark recipes online or in a vegetarian cookbook. Make a plan to shop once a week for ingredients for new recipes.

Walk 10,000 steps every day by March 1st, 2016.
Action: Increase steps by 200 steps per day each week starting January 1st until step count reaches 10,000 steps per day.

I will eat better to fuel my training this year by substituting my usual candy bar and chips snack with a healthier option.
Action: Write out which snacks I will have for the week and pack in my bag: apples and walnuts, cheese stick and grapes, homemade trail mix, peanut butter and jelly, hardboiled egg and a pear, Greek yogurt with berries and granola, etc.

Get stronger by going to the gym 3 times per week.
Action: Find gym and get membership. Make the most of your gym time by getting a personal training plan.

Note on training plans - Fitness isn't one-size-fits-all, and the team at Sanford POWER develops training programs to help you meet your personal fitness goals. From individual to large-group training, Sanford POWER training programs can help you reduce your risk of injury, improve overall health and fitness, and increase mobility, flexibility and strength.  Call today at 605-312-7800 to find out more on training options. 

There are many goals you can set for yourself, but make sure you set a SMART goal instead of a regular old resolution to ensure you'll be able to follow through with it during the whole year. Does a whole year seem daunting to you? Write down a short-term SMART goal for the month. My smart goal this month is to take time each Sunday to go grocery shopping and prepare food (rice, sweet potatoes, cut up vegetables, hummus/dressings, salad and protein) for the week. 

Share: What goals have you set for yourself that you didn't think you would achieve? How did you achieve it? Do you have any New Year's Goals?

Read More:

Sanford Sports Nutrition || Getting SMART About New Year's Resolutions

Food and Nutrition Magazine || 5 Tips for a Guilt-Free New Year's Eve Party

U.S. News Health || Forget About the Weight, Let's Eat For Better Health

EatRight || Toss Out Fad Diets and Quick Fixes; This New Year Resolve to Develop a Healthful Lifestyle

Heidi Greenwood || How to Approach Your Health Goals in 2016

Meeting with the Sports Dietitian can help you set your own health and nutrition-related goals!