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4A Daily News – Tuesday, January 14, 2014 Vitality health & fitness The secret ingredient for weight loss Everyone is looking for a magic potion to help shed unwanted pounds. But what if I told you there isn't one food that can do the trick? Rather, the secret ingredient that can make your weight loss dreams come true is planning. The power of planning Calorie counting and number crunching can become frustrating. Instead of focusing your attention on these tedious and timeconsuming tasks, concentrate on building a healthy plate. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate is an easy visual reminder on how to build a well-balanced meal. Fill half your plate with fruits and veggies, one-quarter with whole grains and onequarter with lean protein. By using MyPlate as a visual cue to create meals using wholesome foods, the calorie counts tend to fall into place. Plus, it's a great way to make sure you're taking in important nutrients (like fiber) that might otherwise be overlooked. Building a healthy plate takes some planning and organizing, but not as much time as you may think. Sarah-Jane Bedwell, a registered dietitian and author of the new book "Schedule Me Skinny: Plan to Lose Weight and Keep in Off in Just 30 Minutes a Week," says "by spending just 30 minutes a week in planning, you set yourself up for a successful week of eating healthy meals and losing weight without having to think twice about it during the busy work week." Bedwell breaks down those 30 minutes into writing out a meal plan (10 minutes), creating a strategic grocery list (five minutes) and preparing food for the week (15 minutes). Although these tasks may take a little extra time at the beginning, practice helps build these skills into ones which, over time, become lifelong habits and second nature. Writing a meal plan • Be visual: Write out your weekly meals on a calendar and hang them on your refrigerator door or somewhere easily accessible. • Look ahead: See what events you have planned during the week ahead. Some days you may have more time to cook, while other you may only have time to thaw a pre-frozen meal. • Identify snack time: Getting in tune with your schedule also means honing in on times when you're most hungry. Do you find your stomach grumbling at 3 p.m. – and then run to the nearest vending machine? That's probably a good time to fit in a healthy snack. • Plan ahead when dining out: Eating out isn't an excuse to overindulge. Calorie counts appear on many menus, and ingredient lists are commonly available. Review menus before you go so you know what to order ahead of time. Building a strategic grocery list • Clip coupons: Eating healthy doesn't have to cost a pretty penny. Collect coupons and circulars throughout the week, and plan meals around foods that are on sale. Check out your favorite brands online – many manufacturers offer printable coupons. 1/2 OFF first month rent! ❄ Independent Living ❄ Private Apartments ❄ Three Nutritious Meals Daily ❄ 24 Hour Secure Environment ❄ House Keeping Services ❄ Warm & Friendly Staff ❄ Recreational Programs ❄ Scheduled Transportation ❄ Private & Formal Dining Rooms A Retirement Community for the Active Senior Citizens 750 David Avenue, Red Bluff • 527-9193 EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY RANDAL S. ELLOWAY DDS IMPLANT DENTISTRY 2426 SO. MAIN ST., RED BLUFF 530-527-6777 • Take inventory: Check your refrigerator, freezer and pantry for staple ingredients like milk, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Toss out old or expired items, and make room for new foods. Review meal plans and recipes and jot down items you need to buy. • Go with the flow: Write your shopping list in the order by which you walk through the store. This will help you prevent inefficiently bouncing between aisles, saving you time. • Eat before you shop: Shopping on an empty stomach is a recipe for disaster. It leads to impulse purchases (which are usually high in calories) and over-spending. Have a light snack like non-fat plain Greek yogurt or an apple with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter before you go. Preparing food for the week • Precook: Take the time over the weekend to precook basic and versatile staples such as chicken, whole-grain pasta and brown rice. • Prep your produce: Slash prep time by slicing and dicing fruit and vegetables ahead of time. Either prep the night before (for breakfast) or in the morning before work (for dinner). • Cook now, freeze for later: Muffins, lasagna, stew, meat sauce, soup and many other foods can be cooked and frozen for a later date. Store dishes in Need a Physician? Doctors who listen ... Doctors who care. A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE Call toll free 888.628.1948 www.redbluff.mercy.org pre-portioned containers to hasten thawing time. What if your day doesn't go as planned? "That's why I keep some staples stocked in my pantry (like whole grains, quinoa, canned beans, canned tuna) and freezer (like frozen veggies, frozen fish)," Bedwell says. "I can throw together what I call a 'Plan B' dinner – a healthy meal that can be made in 30 minutes or less for super busy days." Below is one of Bedwell's favorite "Plan B" recipes. FISH PACKETS Serves 4. Total preparation time: 30 minutes. 4 (6-ounce) frozen tilapia fillets 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning 4 teaspoons white wine, water or broth (1 teaspoon for each fillet) 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables (1 cup per fillet) 2 teaspoons dried thyme (1/2 teaspoon for each fillet) Salt and pepper to taste 4 lemon slices 8 teaspoons olive oil (2 teaspoons per fillet) 1/2 cup cooked quinoa per person (for serving) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a 6-ounce frozen tilapia fillet in the center of a large square (1 foot by 1.5 foot) of aluminum foil, and sprinkle each fillet with Old Bay seasoning. Top the fish with 1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables, and sprinkle fish and veggies with salt, pepper and dried thyme. Drizzle with olive oil and wine, and top with a lemon slice. Roll foil up to secure packet and for baking. Bake for 25 minutes or until fish is done and flakes easily with a fork, and when veggies are crisptender. Serve with 1/2 cup quinoa per person. Yield: 4 servings. Nutrition facts per serving: 450 calories, 13 grams fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat, 920 milligrams sodium, 42 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber, 40 grams protein, 45 percent DV vitamin A, 10 percent DV vitamin C, 6 percent DV calcium, 15 percent DV iron. Hungry for more? Write to eatandrun@usnews.com with your questions, concerns and feedback. Toby Amidor , MS, RD, CDN, is the owner of Toby Amidor Nutrition and author of the forthcoming cookbook "The Greek Yogurt Kitchen" (Grand Central Publishing 2014). She consults and blogs for various organizations i n c l u d i n g Fo o d N e t w o r k . c o m 's Healthy Eats Blog and Sears' FitStudio. 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If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, call us today at (530) 527-6777 to schedule an evaluation appointment. We would be pleased to evaluate your oral health and discuss treatment options with you. WE HAVE EXTENDED HOURS AT OUR COTTONWOOD CLINIC Now open Saturday's 9am-5pm 20833 Long Branch Drive, Cottonwood (530) 347-3418 See a doctor without the typical emergency room wait or expense. www.lassenmedical.com How to start running again after an injury There needs to be a slow and steady ramping up stage to decrease the potential of further injury. Green means go when it comes to traffic signals – but not for injured runners. For runners recovering from a running injury, the all-clear to start running again is not as easy as heading out on your favorite trail. After months of rehabilitation, being given the green light by a doctor or physical therapist to start running again feels like a prison reprieve. Except that returning to running after an injury is not that easy: There needs to be a slow and steady ramping up stage to decrease the potential of further injury. More importantly, runners need to continue to strengthen and support the core muscles that are the foundation for healthy running bodies. How to start running again after an injury If possible, meeting with a running coach to evaluate form and bio mechanics is an ideal way to make sure that a re-entry into running does not inflame the old injury. Knowing that form was an integral part of my hip injury, I invested in a consult with an experienced running coach who evaluated my stride pace, foot strike, posture and strength to suggest a comprehensive plan to build a new running foundation. Regardless of a whether or not you have a coach, there are three basic components to ramping back up after injury: strengthening, building a solid foundation and stretching. Srengthening drills One of the most important biomechanics gifts runners can give their bodies is to help strengthen and activate the muscles that support us while we run. Margie Shapiro, a professional triathlete and co-owner of Potomac River Running stores and PR Training Programs in Virginia, recommends activating the hip (pelvic girdle) and glute muscles with a series of exercises that ought to be performed as often as possible – as well as after warming up prior to a run. A strengthening routine will increase overall mobility, which will help the major muscle groups function more efficiently, reducing the potential for injury. One sequence of strengthening drills is known as the MYRTIL routine, which strengthens the muscles around the hip girdle to support running. Strengthening drills for runners include: 1. Activate the gluteus max with donkey kicks. 2. Lie on your side for clam exercises. 3. Squeeze outer glute muscles during fire hydrant drills while you're on your hands and knees. 4. Use both directions of a breaststroke kick for egg beaters. 5. Stand, keeping your foot under your knee while letting your foot graze the ground – and then swing behind you for leg swings. 6. Get heels as close to your butt as you can with butt kicks. 7. Backwards running. Shapiro suggests doing these drills every other day (or more) and incorporating butt kicks and backwards running drills after a warm up on a running day. That will help activate the glute muscles. Build a solid running foundation Regardless of the pace or mileage prior to the running injury, runners need to let go of the mindset of what they should be able to do when they get ready to start running again. As disheartening as it was to know how far I could run prior to my hip injury, I needed to accept that I was starting over, as a newbie runner, preferring persistence and patience over adrenaline so that I could continue running in the long term. There are many new-to-running programs out there for new runners that suggest a mix of walking and running at predetermined intervals over time. The theme in all of these is an overall progression that increases the rate and time spent running over a period of time. A sample four-week "back to running" plan This is the routine that I followed for the first four weeks of my return to running. Each run session begins with a 15to 20-minute brisk walk, and is followed by a stretching routine: • Week one: Three run sessions of five intervals. I ran for two minutes and walked for three minutes. • Week two: Three run sessions of five intervals: a 2minute run followed by a 2.5-minute walk. • Week three: Three run sessions of five intervals: a 2minute run followed by a 2-minute walk. • Week four: Two run sessions of five intervals: a 2.5minute run followed by a 2.5-minute walk. Stretching In addition to using a foam roller each day (or at least after every run session), a consistent stretching routine will assist in increasing the range of motion. Many sports chiropractors and physical therapists also suggest keeping periodic maintenance appointments for a thorough session, especially during the rebuilding stage to prevent re-injury. Important stretches for runners recovering from injury: 1. Lunge stretches for the hip flexors. 2. Use a band for a deep iliotibial band stretch. 3. Use a rope to pull each leg outward at a diagonal for an adductor muscle stretch. 4. Use a band to stretch the hamstrings. 5. Stretch the priformis/gluteus medius with the figurefour stretch, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. While persistence and patience are key to success while treating a running injury, they are also crucial to starting to run again for long-term running success.