Have you heard about the mad scientist and the frog experiment?  Keep in mind I said MAD scientist.  Well, here’s the scoop….This scientist placed a frog on his dissecting table, stood behind the frog and shouted, “Jump, frog, jump!” The frog jumped and the scientist measured the distance.  He then carefully removed one of the frog’s legs, stood behind him and yelled, “Jump, frog, jump!” The frog leaped forward at the noise and the scientist carefully measured the distance again.

Caught a bit of the movie ”Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” this weekend.   Right when the town switched from a town eating everything “sardines” to a town where their favorite foods would rain down on them.  This, of course, resulted in overconsumption of everything they could possibly want with basically an unlimited supply.  And one person, the father of the ”food raining” inventor, questioned how good this was for the city.  The rest of the city, including the mayor, just kept indulging.

As I watched that clip, I realized how this sums up our current health crisis.  We are living in a society where we can have everything we want to eat at basically any time of day.  This has increased our disease risk and rate of obesity.  Tragically we are in a stage of overeating and undernourishment.  Even though many in our society are over their ideal body weight, they are malnourished.  Completely overeating foods that have little to no nutritional value the majority of the time.

The ”food tornado” was the last bit I caught of this movie.  The whole city of “ChewandSwallow” was being tormented by a huge food tornado.  And that’s it, I didn’t get to see how it ends.  

My hope for the real world is that soon we will all realize the “food tornado” we are in.  And the real potential for it not to end well if we don’t all become personally responsible for our food and lifestyle choices.

Apparently I’m in the business of protecting kidneys:  adequate fluids, limiting my sodium intake by consuming minimal amounts of processed foods, eating adequate protein but not excessive amounts and controlling my weight.  But right now I’ve got a little more cushion protecting my kidneys than I desire.  And believe me, I am not happy about it. 

Seems this maintenance phase is giving me some trouble, especially when I fall out of my exercise routine.  My solution to this ridiculous downhill slide?  Hook up with a friend who is also a dietitian to trim up before winter.  We weighed in, did waist and hip measurements and took our first step in the right direction last week Wednesday!   So far 80-90% of the time I’m making exceptional food choices with a little room for cheating.  And exercise?  A must have in this girl’s weight management plan!  My other must have?  My Ultimate Protein Shake – 1 1/2 scoops mixed in water for my breakfast and another for lunch with 2 cups of spinach or other vegetable, then a dinner with lean protein, veg, fruit and dairy.  http://yourdietdesigner.com/proteinpowder/

All this together’s going to banish this kidney protection!  My preference for kidney health?  Proper diet and exercise habits, instead of additional fat accumulation.  So look out waist inches, you are on the way out!

By now we all know how important exercise is for the body and mind. Yet most of us still find it difficult to carve out time to squeeze it in. Ideally, we should be working out at least 30-minutes a day most days of the week.  On the surface that may seem impossible, but recent studies reveal it may be easier than you think. 

 A 30-minute workout can be broken down into three 10-minute bursts of moderate intensity activity throughout your day according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA).  If performed at a consistently moderate intensity the bursts will equal a continuous 30-minute workout. Start regularly incorporating these bursts of exercise into your daily routine and you will not only reach your goal of 30-minutes, you’ll likely surpass it. That’s the guiding principle behind the new website SqueezeItIn.com.

SqueezeItIn.com has dozens of effective do-anywhere exercises that can easily be worked into your daily routine.  From stay-at-home moms to women working outside the home, SqueezeItIn.com has you covered. 

 If you’re at home staring at piles of laundry make the most of it with our Laundry Legs and Hold ‘n Fold exercises.  While washing the dishes add in our Squeeze Backs and Dish Lifts. Plan on watching TV?  Do a round of jumping jacks followed by some knee lifts during the commercial break and then finish up your 10-minute burst with our TV Twist – a great way to work off that belly fat.

Stuck in the office on a long call? Try our Call to Arms exercise. If you are feeling run down during the afternoon, Stand up and knock out some I’m Not Getting Squats Done.  After you have completed two sets of 12, finish up your 10-minute burst by taking a quick walk outside or by hitting the stairs.  After doing something so good for your body you’re less likely to choose an unhealthy snack.

 Once you start making these exercises part of your daily routine you will not only notice changes in the way you look, but also in the way you feel. As we like to say, “Exercise begets exercise.”  The more exercise you do the more you will want to do.  Our bodies were made to move so make sure you Squeeze-It-In today!

SqueezeItIn.com was co-founded by Jenny Hein, an ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and Brigette Polmar, a journalist and published author.  Both are real moms working to develop real solutions for busy people who struggle to find time to exercise.  Their production company Multitask Productions, LLC, recently released the SqueezeItIn.com Workout DVD available through SqueezeItIn.com and Amazon.com.

Have you seen the commercials for pet food lately?  Bragging about quality lean protein, veggies, and Omega 3 fats that their products contain.  Would you want to give your pet anything different?

But then look at your kitchen.  Is it loaded with quality lean proteins, veggies, Omega 3 fats, etc or is it a mix of processed convenience foods and bad fats? 

You deserve a high quality diet.  Don’t let your pet outdo you in the nutrition part of your life.

As manufacturers and consumers battle it out while trying to unravel the mystery of “what to buy” , there have been different labeling programs that have developed.  As a Dietitian, I get fairly frustrated with the added confusion this brings.  Ultimately it is designed to help the consumer (You) have an easier time picking out healthful choices in the store.   But does it make it easier or more complicated?  It seems, more complicated.

I am sure you have seen these labels on foods you would never think would be a healthy choice, like sugared breakfast cereal that is about 40% sugar?  Seems like something is mixed up.  Per the package – one cereal is supposed to “improve immunity” and another “lowers your cholesterol 4 points if you eat 3 cups of it a day”.  My question is 4 points?  What good is that.  And really is breakfast cereal the best choice to get you started in the day?  And 3 cups of it every day?   

Well, it is being noticed.  And I think it needs to be.  But where do we go from here? 

I think we need to find an answer to this and quickly. 

But wait – we have one.  Rely less on what the food labels says and eat foods that don’t come with a standard food label.  Natural, wholesome foods that have not been altered by food manufacturers. 

This remains our best choice. 

See more about this….http://bit.ly/1BjVWd

This past week I came across a link looking at the Top 10 Best-Selling Grocery Items, which is always intriguing to me.  In one of my favorite books by Patrick Quillin, he referenced the top 10 from a few years ago.  

From then on I am hooked and very curious.  Aren’t you curious to see what the best-selling grocery store items are?   

Well, take a look and find out. 

After looking over the list, review your Top 10  foods on your grocery list.  Are there certain things that you get all the time that you need to get less often?  Buying more whole foods I hope – things that are not so processed?  If not, take this opportunity to change it.

Make your Top 10 – a disease-fighting Top 10!

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2009/10/the-top-10-bestselling-grocery-items.html

This month is the beginning of your big campaign, your mission to protect yourself and fight for your life.  

Let’s start with how you begin your day – breakfast.  Are you taking time to eat a wholesome breakfast?  If you don’t eat breakfast, is it because you get hungrier when you do eat?  I hear that many times.  Mainly because many people eat cereal and that’s it…. just cereal. 

The missing breakfast ingredient is protein!  Eggs, peanut butter, nuts, yogurt or whey protein.  And honestly, most of us would be better off picking something besides cereal.  This cereal just barely gets you started in your day and then BOOM, you are hungry again.

Some better ideas….

- Peanut Butter Whole Wheat Toast with Fruit - and I mean 1 peice of 100% whole wheat toast or New England Brown Bread and about 2 Tbsp of PB. 

- Yogurt, Fruit and Granola Parfait – love the Dannon All Natural Vanilla Yogurt

- Whey Protein Shake – see recipe on my site under Power Up Cancer Fighter Package

- Steel Cut oats with Berries and Almonds

Take the first step, on this first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

October is right around the corner.  As it gets colder here in the Midwest, I am definitely reminded of the change in seasons.  I am most excited about my new task of spreading the word about the power of nutrition in the fight against breast cancer.   You have all seen my progress, blog development, items that are moved around, Twitter, Facebook, and on and on.  As I keep learning the ins and outs of this, my mission remains strong.  And so it begins, in 3 days!   What is it?  Watch closely and subscribe as we make October 2009 a month to remember.  Empowering you in your fight against breast cancer!