Topics:

Exercise Enhances Health

Where Do You Fall on the Weight Chart?

It’s Blueberry Time

Calorie Count

Slimming Down for Summer

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

Exercise Enhances Health

Walk. Run. Swim. Bicycle. Roller blade. Hike. Lift weights. Practice Yoga. There are certainly a variety of ways to incorporate physical activity and fun into our lives. However, close to 80% of the United States’ population doesn’t put enough time into exercise. By reinforcing the importance of physical activity, you may resolve to add an exercise component to your lifestyle.

The U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health describes some of the many health benefits of exercise. Here’s the list of good news:

Where Do You Fall on the Weight Chart?

In 1998, the National Institute of Health changed the way it determines weight classification using not a scale, but the Body Mass Index or BMI. Under the new guidelines, a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal, 25.0 to 29.9 is overweight, and 30 and above is obese.

To determine your BMI, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches. Divide that number by your height again, and multiply by 705. For example, a woman weighs 180 pounds and is five feet nine inches tall. To determine her BMI, that woman would divide 180 by 69, which equals 2.6; then she would divide 2.6 by 69 again, which equals .038 and multiply that number by 705. Her BMI is 26.8, which under the guidelines is considered overweight.

If you find yourself in the overweight or obese range, you are not alone. Currently 97 million Americans or 55% of the population are considered overweight putting them at risk for serious conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

If you’re thinking of slimming down for Summer, refer to article of the same name in this issue.

There has been a lot of talk about the blueberry in recent months. If you’ve heard that you get a lot of bang from this little berry, the reports are correct.

When compared with numerous fruits and vegetables, blueberries rise to the top of the list when it comes to antioxidant power. It has been found that a one-half cup serving of blueberries contains as many antioxidents as five such servings of other fruits and vegetables. It’s the same nutrients, called anthocyanins, which give blueberries their deep rich color that are antioxidents. Antioxidents safeguard your body from free radical damage that can lead to premature aging.

Blueberries are excellent raw or cooked. They can be eaten alone or added to cereal, pancake or muffin recipes, fruit salads, and yogurt. They are an excellent source of fiber. Blueberries also store longer than most other berries- up to five days fresh and for months when frozen.

The season for blueberries is May through September. Do your health some good and enjoy this flavorful treat.

Calorie Count

Step 1: Set a realistic goal. Aim for weight loss of about one to two pounds per week. Striving for more dramatic results is unrealistic over the long term and may also endanger your health.

Step 2: You need to determine how many calories you have to cut to achieve your weight loss goal. A simplified way do this is to multiply your current weight by 10 (if you are inactive), 15 (if you are moderately active, or 20 (if you are very active). This is the number of calories you need to eat each day to maintain your present weight. Then eliminate 500 calories from your daily diet for every pound you want to lose per week. Or you can burn an additional 500 calories per day through exercise. Experts recommend you do a combination of both.

Step 3: Work out a balance between the three major nutrients that fuel the body: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The Unified Dietary Guidelines (UDG) recommend that we get at least 55% of our daily calories from carbohydrates, no more than 30% from fat, and the remaining 15% from protein.

Step 4: Once you’ve decided on the balance of nutrients that works best for you, multiply each percentage by the number of calories you need daily to reach your weight goal. For example, if you have decided to limit yourself to 1,600 calories daily to lose one pound a week, multiply 1,600 by 55% to get the total number of calories from carbohydrates you should consume each day (880); by 30% to get your target number of fat calories (480); and by 15% to determine your daily protein calorie requirement (240).

This is a favorite for those who like Mexican food.

8 six-inch flour tortillas

Filling:

1 1/2 cups cooked and cubed chicken
2 oz. grated, low fat cheese
3/4 cup salsa, thick and chunky

Cubed Chicken:

Use 3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken beasts. Place chicken in a pan and cover with water. Cover and simmer on low until tender (about 15-20 minutes). Drain liquid. Cut into bite size pieces.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix filling ingredients. Warm tortillas until pliable (about 5 seconds each in microwave or in a non-stick skillet). Wet one side of tortilla and place wet side down. Spoon on filling ingredients. Fold to hold in filling. Spray baking dish with non-stick coating. Lay chimichangas, seam side down, on baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.