52 to a Healthier You: Week 1

The turkey is put away and the leftovers are mainly gone.

But a few pounds may have crept on from the pies and stuffing last week. And with more holidays just around the corner it can be a daunting time of year to try to watch your figure.

That’s where Texas Health Fitness Center HEB can help. Fitness Center specialists have created 52 to a Healthier You – a 52-week video series designed to offer simple tips and suggestions to help you live a healthier life.

“We truly want to improve the health of the people in our community,” said Mike Lofland, director of Texas Health Fitness Center HEB. “Our focus is improving overall health and wellness not on offering a club-like environment. Regardless of their fitness level every person can find small actions to improve their health whether it’s launching an exercise program or incorporating an extra fruit or vegetable each day.”

This week we’re starting with Dr. Stephen Buksh, a physician on the medical staff at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford. Dr. Buksh offers the reasons behind the standard disclaimer that individuals should check with their physician before beginning an exercise program.





Check back next week for Week 2: How to safely start an exercise program and avoid overdoing it.

If you need help finding a physician, please call 1-877-THR-WELL or log on to www.TexasHealth.org.

Doctors on the medical staff practice independently and are not employees or agents of the hospital.

Lowering the fat content of holiday meals

The estimates for the number of grams of fat the average American consumes on Thanksgiving in yesterday’s blog, 229 grams of fat if you missed it, still have me wondering for ways to make turkey-day a bit healthier.

Diabetes educator Leslie Crawford, RDLD at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford, has compiled a list of tips for cutting back the fat content of recipes. Her tips cover everything from baking to dinners and can be used year round. Best of all most call for simple ingredients so the fixes won’t break the holiday budget.

Leslie suggests:

Heavy cream swaps:
As a substitute for heavy cream in a sauce, you could use low-fat ricotta cheese or low-fat cottage cheese, whipped in a blender, then stirred into low-fat plain yogurt.

Sour cream options:
For sour cream choose a low-fat or fat-free sour cream available for cooking or baking.    

1. Choose brands made from skim milk (you'll need to read the label).  Do not use imitation or nondairy sour cream, as they are frequently made from tropical oils or are made with hydrogenated fat.
2. Use a low-fat or nonfat yogurt or homemade Yogurt Cheese.

Not just for turkeys

Each year as Thanksgiving rolls around most people’s thoughts turn to turkeys and thanks and seeing relatives. But one thing that often is neglected is fitness.

That can be a dangerous combo.

The average American consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day and more than 229 grams of fat, or more than 2.5 times the average daily calorie count recommended and nearly 3.5 times the daily fat count recommended, according to the Calorie Control Council. The council also estimates that individuals may consume enough fat at Thanksgiving feasts to equal three sticks of butter.

I don’t know about you, but those numbers are a bit frightening to me and spurred me to look for tips on ways to combat the added calories.

So I turned to Mike Lofland, director of the Texas Health Fitness Center HEB.