Courtney the RDN

http://samadimd.com/ latesthealth/mindful-eating-making -every-bite-count Do you eat while driving, watching TV, or scrolling through Facebook? If so, you may be eating mindlessly. What did you eat yesterday? What color was the food? What was the texture of the food? Do you remember what it tasted like? If you can’t remember, you are a mindless eater. Switching to mindful eating is simply a matter of paying attention. You become aware of your actions while eating, why you’re eating, and how you feel when eating. Mindful eating also helps provide insight to our physical an mental health.  According to The Center for Mindful Eating, there are four principles of Mindfulness. These principles also be used in everyday life: Mindfulness is deliberately paying attention, non-judgmentally, in the present moment. In our fast paced lives, we do not typically focus on our meals. Which often leaves us feeling unsatisfied, resulting in snacking and/or less healthy decisions. ...

Our bodies are designed to move. Unfortunately, society is designed for us to sit. Most of us sit all day at work, sit while we drive to and from work, and then sit in front of the TV. All of this sitting is detrimental to our health. Prolonged sitting everyday can increase risks for diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer and lead to poor mental health outcomes. Even if we dedicate 30 minutes a day, five days a week to exercise, risk for these diseases is still high when we sit the rest of the day.  One way to reduce sedentary activities is to increase “NEAT” activity. NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This means any calories burned from non planned activities such as daily walking, standing, or fidgeting.  In 2005, a study was conducted by Levine et al. that followed 20 self proclaimed “couch potatoes,” ten were obese and ten were not. Each person wore a device that measured activity for the day. Aft...

http://www.granitefamilychiropractic.com /wp-content/uploads/2013/02/vitamins.png Taking vitamins after bariatric surgery is an important commitment. Vitamin labels must be read, blood work drawn and vitamins adjusted. Timing is also important. Taking vitamins on an empty stomach will maximize absorption and taking calcium and iron two hours apart will improve the mineral’s effectiveness. You may have heard that eating the right diet makes vitamins unnecessary.  But, after bariatric surgery, the “right diet” may not be possible. Because of food intolerances and small meals, bariatric diets aren’t able to provide enough vitamins and minerals. Plus, many people who undergo bariatric surgery have a lifetime of learned poor eating habits and tend to choose low nutrient foods, furthering the need for healthy supplementation after surgery. A year or two after surgery some patients become bored or fed up and stop taking vitamins. In the short run, vitamin deficiencies may not develop...

High fiber diets increase bowel movements and soften stools; making going to the bathroom less strenuous.  This is great for treating conditions such as diverticulosis, Irritable Bowl Syndrome, and constipation. But, there is a great deal more fiber does for us.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/science/organisms_ behaviour_health/diet_drugs/revision/5/ Fiber is the part of food our bodies cannot digest. When we eat a carbohydrate, say an apple, our body breaks the carbohydrate down into the smallest form it can; sugar. We use sugar for short bursts of energy and to fuel our brain. When breaking down the carbohydrate, our body runs into fiber. Human bodies aren’t able to break down fiber, so it is sent right on through. There are essentially two different types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Each type achieves different objectives and can be found in different types of foods.  Soluble Fiber Soluble fiber mixes in water (hence the name soluble). When mixe...