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.

Today marked the next step in my attempt to get you access to my ideal supplement.  Met with the developers today to make this dream of mine a reality.  After each meeting, I am very motivated to get started and make something happen!  Same thing happened today, as I will be putting on the finishing touches on the details and sending it off to the rest of the crew at the company. 

My mission tonight:  finish tweeking the formulas, then off for pricing and feasibility.  Then hopefully soon right into your hands to help improve your health and fight disease! 

The game is on….now I just need to move the next piece.  The excitement is building! 

Until then, you can find high quality supplements made by the same company on my website.

Click on this link to see if you know the answer…  http://trick.ly/4cp

Have you Mixed yet?  Mixed is a fast-casual restaurant specializing in made-to-order salads right here in Sioux Falls on Louise Avenue.  This last week I sat down with Cole – entreprenuer and owner of this new Mixed restaurant.  This “go green” experience all started with a conversation between father and son – what a great story of success.   I love finding other people who are just as passionate about being an entrepreneur as I am!

So what’s one of my favorite thing’s about Mixed?  ….if you stop in between 9 and 10 am, Monday thru Friday you can pick up your lunch salad for $4.99 - and I’m always looking for a deal.  Did I mention they have a great kid’s menu, catering and curbside pickup is available, and even FREE business delivery for over $20? 

So join Your Diet Designer and Cole at Mixed as we work to improve the health of Sioux Falls  – one deep green lettuce leaf at a time!

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.

Now comes the exercise.  And who better to help with ways to incorporate it into your life than with Jenny and Brigette from SqueezeItIn.com.  These entrepreneurial moms have sure made a place for themselves with their exciting ways to squeeze exercise into your day!  Dr Oz, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Real Simple magazine and now here with us – is there anywhere these ladies haven’t been?  

Check it out and add some of their secrets into your day – the countdown to their guest blog is on……posting shortly!

Making lists – one of my daily activities.  Between the grocery list, to-do list, take-to-school list, at work list and my mom list – the burden is heavy.  Lists keep me organized. 

On top of that I need to maintain my figure, control my emotions, attempt to be in three places at once – all while keeping track of where that needle in the haystack is. 

To manage these “lists” better, prioritizing is essential.  Being a positive role model for my family while ensuring they receive the proper nutrition, ranks high on my priority list.

Being a positive role model – something most of us strive for in our daily choices and health habits.  As a dietitian and parent of two young children, I have seen the influence that surroundings have on what is consumed.  If it’s in the house, it will be eaten.  Would my family love to have most of the grocery store’s snack aisle in our kitchen?  Sure.  But like I said, if it’s in the house it will be eaten. 

Which brings me to one more item for my list – GateKeeper ExtraOrdinaire.  This GateKeeper regulates which food items are allowed in the house the majority of the time.  On the GateKeeper’s acceptable list – celery, natural peanut butter, string cheese, dark chocolate, avocadoes, apples and spinach to name a few.  Items not usually on the GateKeeper’s list – iceberg lettuce, white bread, boxed macaroni and cheese, fruit snacks, potato chips and donuts.

GateKeeper ExtraOrdinaire.    Make sure your list has one.

During times of change, support is essential.  Who has your back?   Of the favorite people in your life, who are the ones that support you as you move towards your optimal self.  Any life change involves significant commitment from you.  A group of supporters rallying you on significantly increases your odds of success. 

So take the time….make your list.  Tell these people what they mean to you and ask if they will support you through your changes.  Don’t be afraid to tell them exactly what you need from them.

Life is filled with choices.  Choose people you can count on to build you up, have fun and help move you in the right direction.  Get the encouragers on your team as you move forward.

Increase your odds of success, by getting your encouragers to join you in my healthy lifestyle challenge.  More info at http://yourdietdesigner.com/are-you-up-for-the-weight-loss-challenge/  Time for signing up is ending soon!

If you don’t like the way you look in some of your clothes - don’t keep them.  This advice from an organizational seminar I attended last year.  Today as I worked on cleaning out my closet, I tried to follow this advice.  Donating the clothes that didn’t make me feel like I looked my best.

So if it works for clothes, what about food?  Remove those foods that don’t make you feel good.  Those foods that have over 10 ingredients or contain things you have never heard of.  

Replace them with wholesome, closer to nature foods.  Your goal:  Keep foods with less than 10 ingredients.  The less ingredients the better you will feel.

The only things that stand between a person and what they want in life are the will to try it, and the faith to believe it’s possible. -Rich Devos

The debate…butter or margarine.  A sensitive, personal decision. 

Stick margarine is taboo because of the partial hydrogenation resulting in trans fats.  These trans fats go on to oxidize or damage cholesterol which helps to make it stick in vessels.  So use tub margarine, right?  But not one with those taboo fats.  What about the ton of other ingredients listed? 

After consuming trans fat free, tub margarine for years and using butter when baking, I am making some changes.  My decision?  When comparing pasteurized cream and salt vs a ton of ingredients.  I pick pasteurized cream and salt.