What kind of foods should you be eating?

There are so many different reports and studies out there; it can be confusing. The best foods to eat come down to a diet that is plant-based, rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It’s also good to keep a watch on the calories to avoid excessive intake. Exercise always comes into play as a complement to a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Here are eight tips for eating the right foods:

• Choose good carbs, or carbohydrates, which provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity – whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and greens.

• Choose protein-rich foods and watch what comes with that protein (as with red meat and saturated fat). Good vegetable protein sources are beans, nuts, and whole grains. Good animal protein comes from fish and poultry.

• Eat healthy fats, minimize the saturated fats, and avoid the trans fat. Plant oils, nuts, and fish are the best sources.

• Get plenty of fiber from whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Most adult women should get over 20 grams per day and men should get over 30 grams of fiber per day.

• Eat 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, which comes out to about 4 1/2 cups total.

• Keep up your intake of calcium, and not just from milk. Good, non-dairy sources include baked beans, soy milk, collard and bok choy.

• Drink alcohol in moderation. It can boost cardiovascular health, but can also increase the risk of colon and breast cancer.

• Take a daily multivitamin.

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If you live near a running track, you can add some variety to your workouts by using it.

I live just over a mile from a high school track and 4 miles from the U of O track. Both offer great opportunities for workouts apart from the usual distance runs. When I’m looking for a track workout, I’ll usually run to it, do some intervals, then run back home for a complete workout.

What’s nice about the nearby high school track is that it’s usually not very crowded – only a few other runners or walkers at any given time.

Here are a few pointers for running on the track:

• If you’re using lane 1 for your workout, move over to the next lane when faster runners come up on you, especially during a cooldown portion of your speedwork.
• During recovery after the faster runs, keep moving instead of stopping altogether. It’s better for the heart to gradually elevate and slow the heart rate.
• Typically you’ll run counterclockwise on the track, but you can mix it up and go the other way. Watch carefully for others if you do!
• Wear spikes occasionally if you have them – this is the place to use them. Expect a little soreness after using them if you’re not used to it.

Challenge yourself to run a fast lap, recover, then beat that time on the next fast lap. Just completing these faster runs improves your overall conditioning and fitness level, adding endurance to your longer runs.

Ah summer, the time of year when strawberries are plentiful! Just today I used them in my cereal, as well as adding them to a smoothie that I took with me to work.

Strawberries get their bright red color from antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins. These help the body to reduce inflammation and counteract the effects of muscle damage from exercise.

A cup of strawberries cut into halves has only 49 calories and more vitamin C than an orange.

Since strawberries are highly perishable, they are best within a couple days of getting them from the store. If I get a large supply of these, I’ll cut out the stems and freeze them. Then I can take them out whenever I need for my next smoothie. Salute to the strawberry!

Do you enjoy strawberries? Let me know by leaving a comment.

One of the differences between thin people and overweight people is the amount of sleep they get.

This was shown to be the case in a recent study at Eastern Virginia Medical School, which found that thin people sleep an average of 2 hours more per week than overweight people.

The reasoning behind this is that lack of sleep results in hormonal changes causing weight gain. Those not getting enough sleep had lower levels of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone and higher levels of ghrelin, an appetite-boosting hormone.

So, the difference here is only 2 hours a week, which works out to only 17 more minutes per night, or the equivalent of taking a quick nap every day.

On that note, I’m cutting away early tonight to catch up on my sleep!

Spring is here and summer is right around the corner! With that and today’s good weather, I dug my mountain bike out of hiding and took it to work.

It’s only a 2 mile trip to work, but a nice way to start off the day. Just about the time I’m warmed up, I’m done.

After putting in a full day and riding back home on the bike, it was time for a trip to the local fitness club. Instead of driving there, I got back on the bike for the trip which was another 2 miles in a different direction. My goal was to complete a short indoor workout with enough daylight left to get back without a light.

After getting to the club, I put in about 10 minutes on the weight machines for that upper body workout. After that, I jumped on the Precor 100i elliptical trainer. With this machine, you can nearly reach a full running stride, so it’s a good substitute for running. What really gets my quads burning is when I go into a stairstepper mode. Keeping the body level and letting the legs do the work takes its toll after only 20 seconds, then I’ll switch back to a full stride on this versatile machine.

After 10 minutes on the elliptical, I hit the treadmill for 10 minutes. I set the belt for an 8-minute pace, then practiced taking longer strides to slow down my cadence. Ordinarily at this pace, my cadence would have been a bit faster, so this was a good way to mix it up. Once this was complete and after a quick shower, it was back on the bike for the 2-mile trip home. There was just enough daylight to get by without a light. It was a great cross training workout today!

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