NIFS Healthy Living Blog

Exercising regularly is great for improving health and wellness. Exercise can help relieve stress and feel good about ourselves. However, some people are finding that exercising regularly is not helping them lose the unwanted weight that most of us carry. How can that be?

Who Has Time for 60 Minutes of Cardio Per Day?

While exercise is essential for health, you can’t rely on it to be your sole calorie-burning tool. According to “A NEAT(Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) Approach to Weight Loss,” written by Fabio Comana, “We need to burn 2,000 calories each week through physical activity in order to lose weight.” That would equal about 286 calories each day. That may seem like a small number, but in reality it is quite large. You would need to complete about 60 minutes of cardio each day of the week. 

If you are willing to put in the work, you will be successful. However, most of us have other responsibilities that can limit our time in the gym or exercising. So how are we going to burn the excess calories that we are not burning through exercise? 

Most of the calories you burn per day happen throughout the entirety of the day, from when you wake up to when you go to sleep. So what if you increase the calories you burn throughout the day, as well as exercising about three days per week, to help you achieve your weight-loss or weight-management goals?

Factors That Affect How You Burn Calories

Recently a research article written by James Levine discussed the idea of NEAT. In Levine’s article, he defines NEAT as “the energy expenditure of all physical activities other than sporting-like exercise.” This includes everything that you do during the day that does not include your planned exercise sessions. In order for us as a population to burn more calories throughout the day, we need to increase our non-exercise activity. 

According to Levine, there are different factors that play a huge role in the amount of NEAT an individual can achieve throughout the day. Following are two major factors that can affect how NEAT a person can be. 

Occupation: If your job requires you to sit for most of the 8 hours you are there, you will have a lower NEAT for that day. Now if your job requires you to stand, walk, and lift throughout the day, your NEAT will be higher than the person who sits at work. This factor may be out of your control, but in a follow up blog, I will provide a few fun ideas to help you achieve more NEAT in the workplace. 

Leisure time: After work, if you are more likely to sit and watch television until you go to bed, your NEAT levels will remain relatively low. However, if you decide to clean the house or mow the lawn after work, your NEAT will be higher for the day. In the follow up blog, I will also provide you with a few fun ideas to do during your leisure time that will help increase your overall NEAT. 

The impact of increasing your non-exercise activity is huge for your health and weight loss or maintenance. Levine’s article concludes that NEAT can burn an average of 330 calories per day in healthy individuals, and up to nearly 700 calories per day in others. That is a huge difference and could be the deciding factor in your weight-loss goals. 

Keep an eye out for the second part of this blog, where I will provide you with 10 ideas for how to be more NEAT during the day. Stay tuned!

This blog was written by Masie Duncan, Weight Loss Coordinator. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Sometimes you need a little help when it comes to your nutrition and diet choices. Even though we think we know what to do when it comes to our diet, it can be helpful to have some extra assistance with tips, tracking, and suggestions. There are thousands of apps out there that you can easily download to your phone.

I have searched through many nutrition apps and found the top five that you should definitely use to help with accountability to your wellness and weight-loss goals.

eaTipster

eaTipster was created by the Dietitians of Canada, and it delivers daily healthy eating tips to your mobile devices. The app addresses common food and nutrition questions and concerns, and provides tips to increase healthy eating, support a healthy weight, and fight chronic disease. You can add tips to your favorites to read them later. Then you can share the tips with friends via Facebook, Twitter, email, and text. One nice perk of this app is you can set daily reminders to receive the tip at a time that fits your routine. 

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is a community-oriented site designed to help you lose weight and track fitness goals. The mobile apps let you keep these features at your fingertips wherever you are. You can input or edit your goals, enter your caloric intake (food) and output (exercise) on the go, and add new food data to the library if it doesn't already exist. There's also a progress screen that lets you track your weight and view a graphic representation of how you're doing as you work toward your goals. 

The food database includes over 5,000,000 options and is one of the few free food tracking apps that is this easy and user friendly. Due to its popularity, you can sync MyFitnessPal with other devices and apps such as FitBit, Jawbone Up, and Garmin. The recipe importer allows you to go to any recipe on the web and easily import it and track it. One of my favorite components of this app is that it tells you more than just total calories. You can easily track your sugar grams, calcium, iron, and other vitamins and minerals to guarantee you are getting your needs met.

Fooducate

Fooducate helps you shop and eat healthily by allowing you to quickly pull up nutritional information about food products from barcodes, as well as by helping you make sense of nutritional labels. Fooducate displays a letter grade from A to D, along with a quick summary of nutrition information in plain language, as well as healthy alternative suggestions. If you cook your own meals or eat out, you can also manually enter a meal's nutritional information. In addition, the app also doubles as an intake, calorie, and exercise tracker. This app easily allows you to see what extras are in foods such as added sugars, food colorings, artificial sweeteners, and more, which can be challenging to know without reading every single ingredient. 

HealthyOut

The HealthyOut Healthy Meal Finder app helps you stay on track even when you're going out or ordering delivery. The app helps users find healthy restaurant dishes and prepared grocery items nearby, and supports a wide variety of diet plans. The app comes with a wealth of diet and food filters, allowing you to filter by cuisine, ingredients, or type of dish. You can also view detailed nutritional information on each meal where available. It's a great option when you don't have the time to prepare a healthy meal of your own. The popular “Not a Salad” feature allows you to find a dish that can be just as healthy as the typical salad. HealthyOut is great if you travel a lot or just want to know the best options at your favorite neighborhood restaurant choice.

My Nutrition Coach

My Nutrition Coach is a new app launched by NIFS that allows users to record their food throughout the day and automatically build a daily profile of their diet. The app platform uses photo journaling and meal and exercise input to make tracking quick and easy. At midnight, the profile is passed to my dashboard, where I provide evaluation and feedback on that 24-hour timeline. The information is private, secure, and convenient. Members will receive an email when their daily response is ready for viewing. Users are encouraged to login to the website or app to view responses and graphs that detail their personal ratings and progress.

Your NIFS dietitian will supply you daily feedback, suggestions, and information in the form of handouts and videos based on your daily profile. All you need to do is snap a photo of your meals.

Any one of these apps are sure to help you stay on track with you fitness and nutrition goals. Download one today and get started!

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What did you eat today? Don’t underestimate the role that proper nutrition plays in your health and fitness. Contact Angie Scheetz ascheetz@nifs.org or call 317-274-3432 to find out more about the My Nutrition Coach app. 

This blog was written by Angie Scheetz, RD, Wellness Coordinator at NIFS. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers click here.

Choosing the right foods for healthy eating can be a challenge. Life is busy and sometimes the thing that gets left behind is a well-balanced meal or snack. We want to help you change that! Studies show that individuals who have to be accountable for their food choices lose more weight and keep it off than those who attempt to do it alone.

Often when you are motivated to make a weight loss change, the first thought is to cut out your favorite foods that you are worried you eat too much of. Or you start eating salads every day for lunch and dinner. 95% of people who lose weight will gain it back. The successful 5% of people learn how to eat a balanced diet that includes ALL foods!

My Nutrition Coach is a new app specifically created to help our members develop a healthy plan for food choices, while also providing consistent support to help educate and develop good lifelong habits. 

How to Use the App

When you sit down to eat, just snap a picture of your meal. You can also add your beverage, your mood, and your hunger level. At midnight your entries will be uploaded, and the next day you will get feedback and suggestions from me, NIFS Registered Dietitian Angie Scheetz. Videos, handouts, and suggestions for how to reach your personal wellness goals will also be sent your way, giving you more resources to achieve your nutrition and fitness goals. 

Quick and Effective Nutrition Feedback

This program is quick and easy, and on average should take only 5 minutes per day, but the support, feedback, and resources you will receive throughout the program are equal to a personal, weekly nutrition consultation in traditional programs.

Don’t underestimate the role that proper nutrition plays in your health and fitness. If you are interested in signing up for this program or want more information, please email me at ascheetz@nifs.org or call me at 274-3432, ext. 239. I look forward to working with you!

This blog was written by Angie Scheetz, RD, Wellness Coordinator. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

NIFS would like to highlight Brian Kumle, one of the recent graduates from its 14-week Ramp Up to Weight Loss Program. This program provides individuals looking to lose weight with the extra tools that they need to take off pounds and keep them off—without compromising their health—by focusing on healthy eating, exercise, and accountability. The program includes one-on-one training sessions, coaching sessions, fitness evaluations, appointments with our registered dietitian, and guidance along the way. Read about what the program has done for Brian.

SHARE YOUR “STORY” OR A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF IN A FEW SENTENCES:

I’m a designer here in Indianapolis, originally from Leo, Indiana. I graduated from Herron School of Art and Design last year.

WHY DID YOU JOIN THIS PROGRAM?

I joined this program because, at the time, I was the heaviest and most out of shape I’ve ever been in my life. I was an athlete in high school and regret each day that I haven’t maintained a body even close to what it was. So I needed a change and to go outside my comfort zone.

SOMETHING YOU HAVE ENJOYED:

I really enjoyed the variety of the workouts and having a little fun doing them. I don’t respond well to being just ordered around, and Emily was very helpful in not only teaching me technique and purpose, but also maintaining a chill AND hardworking atmosphere.

SOMETHING YOU HAVE LEARNED OR SOMETHING THAT SURPRISED YOU:

Something that definitely surprised me was how much body fat I lost in just 14 weeks*. It wasn’t astronomical, but it was more than I expected.

FAVORITE EXERCISE FROM ONE OF THE WORKOUTS?

Love/Hate: The sled push or the medicine ball ab circuit was a love/hate relationship.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAVE YOU ACHIEVED DURING YOUR TRAINING PROGRAM (OR DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE)?

I got a great start in losing the body fat and gaining a bit of muscle*. I also learned a ton of exercises that will definitely help me going forward and make working out exciting.

WHAT STRUGGLES HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED? TIPS YOU HAVE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY?

Reverting back to old habits on the weekends and struggling to get the ball rolling again after that as well as having to work AFTER work. I learned that even a highly intense 30-minute workout is better than nothing, and that even if I can’t work out on a day, I can still control what I’m putting into my body.

HOW DO YOU STAY MOTIVATED?

Just thinking of what I will look/feel like in a month, 3 months, 6 months, a year if I keep working harder and harder. And, of course, looking in the mirror.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS YOU WISH TO SHARE:

Just a lot of thanks for all the guidance and resources the program and Emily provided me. THANKS!

*Weight loss claims and/or individual results vary and are not guaranteed.

This blog was written by Emily O’Rourke BS, HFS, Weight Loss Program Coordinator at NIFS. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here

Water is everywhere but where you need it: inside your body. Do you ever check to see how much water you actually consume a day? How much do you need? The old adage “8 times 8 ounces a day” (or 64 total ounces) is off. Just like everything we know about different body types and metabolism, the amount of water each of us needs will vary. It makes sense that in hot, humid conditions you will sweat more, thus needing more hydration. But do you realize that your hydration levels will dry up in the dry, cold weather of winter, too?

To get a good idea of how much water you need, take your body weight and try to consume that many ounces of water a day. Yes you can count the coffee and tea you drink, but remember that the caffeine will cause you to lose more water. You may be saying, “YIKES, that’s a lot!” But look at the questions below. If you answer yes to one or more, you need to be paying more attention to the amount you take in.

1. Do you talk a lot during your day?

That takes hydration. Since your brain is about 75 percent water, you need adequate water to fully function.

2. Are you stuck in a weight-loss plateau or have found you cannot budge the scales?

Try drinking more water to get your body functioning smoothly, breaking down fat for energy after your tough interval workout, and helping to rebuild the muscles you broke down. This beats your dehydrated body slowing your metabolism and making weight-loss more frustrating than ever.

3. Do you get hungry soon after eating?

It could be hydration issues (it could also be a gluten crash, but we’ll leave that for another day). As you eat protein-rich foods, your body needs more water to break down the protein, so be sure to add more water as you add more protein to your diet.

4. Do you get headaches after a long, stressful, busy day?

Try drinking water to help alleviate your pain. This may be your body telling you that you are dehydrated. See this article about a study that shows how your brain is much more efficient when you drink enough water.

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As you increase your water consumption, of course, you will need to make numerous trips to the restroom, but your body will realize you are doing a good deed for it and adapt. That is more proof of what marvelous machines our bodies are.

You can see what water can do for you to enhance your body’s efficiency and smooth running. If you are looking to slim down, improve both brain and body performance, and help ward off disease and bugs, add more water to your day.

This blog was written by Kris Simpson, NIFS Small Group and Personal Trainer. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

What has become of our society and fitness? We hear reports all the time that state that the obesity epidemic is only getting worse. In the not so distant past, say around the time our grandparents or great-grandparents were our age, obesity was pretty rare. The average woman would eat seemingly 4,000 calories per day and stay relatively thin. By today’s standards, that same person could be eating 1,800 calories per day and be 20 pounds overweight. What gives?

People Are Moving Less

The short and easy answer is that we are becoming lazier. I do not disagree with that statement, but we should also look at how our environment promotes a sedentary lifestyle. Modern conveniences have abetted the downfall of fitness levels around the world. The invention of the elevator caused people to take the stairs less and less (or not at all); the invention of the microwave oven allows us to barely lift a finger to prepare a meal, and the invention of the TV remote control, although great, makes it so we do not have to get up and walk six feet to push a button on the TV set. I don’t feel it necessary to throw these inventions under the bus, but fitness-conscious individuals do have options—good options that can improve health and burn more calories.

Thinking back on what it was like for our grandparents or great-grandparents, fitness and working out wasn’t really even necessary because there were many chores around the house or farm that required manual labor. Need water? Carry two buckets of water across the field every day. Need food? Hoe, sow, and reap the field. Need new clothes? Take a 2.5-mile walk into town and back. They did not need a gym membership to stay fit.

Today’s modern conveniences and sedentary work environments have made it so we barely move any more than we need. Calorie burning slows when the body’s lean body weight (fat-free weight) decreases, affecting the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This decrease, in turn, causes us to pack on extra, stored body-fat weight.

Find Ways to Burn More Calories

My suggestion to anyone wanting to make a difference in their life is to start by being conscious of their environment. Taking the stairs can burn around 10 calories per minute (and here are some other easy ways to burn calories). Surprisingly, you can burn calories cooking, at a rate of 100 calories per hour (and this site will show you how many calories you burn doing other activities). Let’s face it, remotes will not go away, but we can do various exercises during commercial breaks, like squats, crunches, or pushups. You could even squeeze in a few exercises of yoga while watching your favorite game show.

When options arise, make the effort to challenge your body. Do this every day for the best results and encourage others (in a nice way) to take a step forward.

This blog was written by Thomas Livengood. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

For people new to fitness, creating a healthy body image can be as challenging as creating a workout or diet plan. What do we consider healthy and why?

Unfortunately, for the majority of our lives, Americans have been shown and told through various media what it means to be healthy. This heavy load of misguided information can lead individuals down the road to anorexia, depression, low self-esteem and unhealthy choices. The obsession with body image can be overwhelming, but with good advice, a smart goal set in mind, and a positive attitude, you may have a clearer path to fitness prosperity and healthy living.

Change Your Attitude

As cheesy as it may sound, the first thing you will want to do to reprogram your outlook is to list a minimum of 10 good things about yourself that have nothing to do with appearance. Then set some realistic goals, keeping in mind that you should not compare yourself to others in that we are all given a completely unique set of DNA and are different. Fad diets only work in the short term, provide little to no answer and can compromise your health by creating a “yo-yo” effect.

Tools for Getting Started on Your Fitness Journey

In moving forward with your program, there are some tools that can be very effective and healthy to get you on your way. For individuals wanting to know how many calories they should consume in a day, there is the Resting Metabolic Rate test (RMR for short). The RMR test can tell you if your calorie intake is too much or too little for what your body and goals require.

For the scale obsessed, I suggest a much healthier option, the BodPod, which measures body fat percentage and composition. Your body composition is linked to health; risky high body fat percentage is linked to various health issues such as heart disease and diabetes.

Yet another option could be meeting with a registered dietician (RD). An RD is educated and trained to help you excel in your goals using wiser diet and nutrition choices, along with exercise. Find out more about NIFS nutritional coaching options.

With all the pros of having a positive body image, including improved self confidence, lower stress and a healthier body, the only question is, “Why didn’t I start sooner?” Your first step to fitness prosperity lies right in front of you. Take a chance with a new outlook and just be you.

Start your new journey right with a free fitness assessment at NIFS.

This blog was written by Thomas Livengood, NIFS Health Fitness Specialist. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

It’s that time of year again, the time when most are bombarded with messages of New Year’s resolutions and how to not fail in your health and fitness endeavors this time around. If you ask me, that should be the first red flag, that we have to talk about starting over, again. We will get to that in a bit, but I want to take the conversation in another direction and ask some hard-hitting questions that will hopefully provoke personal evaluation to correct miscues on the road to success.

I’m quite sure I don’t have to give the definition of “insanity” as defined by Albert Einstein, but I will for the sake of those that may need a refresher. The definition of insanity (and not the highly marketable living room workout program) is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So if we approach a new year the same way we always have, we can expect the same results.

This is one explanation for why you receive countless messages from guys like me this time of year on how to avoid this insanity from happening again. But I would like to take another swing at it, from another direction this time. I plan to get real here, and hold nothing back, not to offend anybody, but to awaken and highlight some of the mistakes we make when attempting to bring about change in our lives. SO if you are truly ready to bring about some real change in your life, stick around and answer some questions.

Questions to Ask

It’s time to ask yourself some important questions. These questions may sting a bit, but they need to be answered. Here are some examples:

• Do you wait until January to make a change instead of acting right now?
• Do you neglect evaluating last year’s failures instead of airing your grievances like you do when celebrating Festivus, and determining a course of action from there?
• Do you set a weight-loss/fat-loss goal without knowing the actual cost of being that lean?
• When working toward a weight-loss goal, do you dive into caloric restriction, eliminating entire food groups (such as carbohydrates) instead of adding better choices of that food group?
• Do you have the mindset of giving something up instead of gaining a better behavior?
• Do you keep your goals to yourself, making it easier to give up on them?
• Do you think the harder you work in the gym (with your new membership as of January 1), the more you deserve a “treat” when you get home?
• Are you blind to known hurdles and fail to plan for them?

How to Say Goodbye to Resolutions Forever

Now, if you would like to be able to ignore New Year’s resolution messages for the rest of your life, follow these steps:

• Define the triggers that lead to poor choices: Get your mind right and the rest will follow. If you don’t, you will be right back where you started because you focused on the symptoms and not the problem.
• Focus on behavior changes: For example, it’s behaviors that cause weight gain, not Milky Ways.
• Stay positive: There are going to be bumps in the road, but remain positive about the path. Here’s a take-home strategy for you to try. When you find yourself rehashing your day (with someone or yourself), start by listing at least two positives from the day before listing the flaws of the day. You will find that the conversation and your attitude will take a much different and more positive direction.
• Have a timeline and sense of urgency: Have you heard the saying “a goal is a dream with a deadline”? If there is no deadline, there is no urgency, making it easier to give up on the end result. Have a timeline and work every day to reach that deadline.
• Make the goal scary: Your goal should scare you. If it doesn’t, it’s not big enough! Don’t be afraid to reach further than you can imagine while keeping a level head about what is achievable.
• Ink It: If you think it, you need to ink it. I learned that from Martin Rooney at Training for Warriors. It’s one of the best pieces of advice I have received from him. Write down where you want to be—it’s powerful!
• Look at them daily: After you took the step of writing your goals (I also like to call them “promises”), post them where you will see them on a daily basis. This will keep your daily intentions toward achieving those things you have set out to accomplish.
• Make it public: Tell somebody, anybody, what you want to accomplish. You not only created an accountability partner, you made the goal real by sharing it. Make it real, and then make it happen!

I am a firm believer that one succeeds from failure because they don't make the same mistake twice. If you are tired of starting over, stop making the same mistakes that will inevitably allow you to stumble again. Take this chance to make a fresh start with the process of making a new ending.

Start right with a free fitness assessment of where you currently are and build from there.

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, Health Fitness Specialist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Have you ever considered what working with a personal trainer could do for you? Among many things, working with a personal trainer can help you to reach your goals, stay motivated, and provide you with accountability. Whether you are looking to lose weight, improve fitness, or use exercise as a way to improve your lifestyle, a personal trainer can be a great resource on your journey. We at NIFS believe that we house some of the best personal trainers around, and many of our training clients feel the same.

Read about what Bob Banta has to say about his training experiences with Kris Simpson, ACSM-CPT, here at NIFS.

Why did you decide to start personal training?

I lacked personal engagement in past efforts to get fit. Working with a personal trainer overcame that personal engagement resistance. Plus, compensating a personal trainer motivates you not to waste your time or your investment.

Something you have enjoyed:

The whole education side to learning about fitness. Kris is a great fitness educator!

Something you have learned or something that surprised you:

Over the years, once I had integrated exercise into my schedule, when I missed an exercise session, I didn’t feel right. Your body after some time begins to expect the benefits of exercise and when you don’t meet that expectation your body lets you know you are missing something.

Favorite workout from one of the training sessions?

The landmine exercise (weights on barbell that you move side-to-side with). The motion of this exercise uses lots of muscles at the same time.

What accomplishments have you achieved during your training?

I have lost over 120 pounds since I started working out with Kris several years ago*. This summer I visited Crater Lake in Oregon. It is an Alpine lake in the Cascade mountain range that formed in a volcanic caldera. I had to hike up at about 7,500 feet above sea level from the lake’s edge to the top of the caldera rim at a pretty steep ascent. My training with Kris enabled me to do the 1.2-mile vertical hike up through all the switchbacks in under 30 minutes. I passed a lot of people who underestimated how strenuous the climb is at elevation.

Tips you have learned along the way from your trainer?

Correct form matters when exercising. Exercising isn’t a quantity activity; exercising is a quality activity.

How do you stay motivated?

Regular exercise drives up your energy levels. The quality and quantity of my professional work has improved as I have gotten healthier. Bottom line: Regular exercise helps keep you happy. So staying happy is a big motivator.

Any other thoughts you wish to share:

Just want to say working with Kris as a personal trainer was, for me, a critical success factor in turning away from being unhealthy and adopting a healthier life where exercise is one of the main contributors to staying healthy. Thanks, Kris!

*Weight loss claims and/or individual results vary and are not guaranteed.

Looking to lose weight, get stronger or just feel better? Choose NIFS personal training as a way to get started with a new fitness routine, help you target a fitness achievement or simply because you love to work hard and get the best experience. Contact a trainer today about getting started. For more information on Personal Training packages visit our website.

This blog was written by Stephanie Kaiser, NIFS Health Fitness Specialist and co-coordinator of the NIFS Mini-Marathon Training Program. Meet our bloggers.

Some people think that snacking can sabotage your healthy eating and weight management plan. However, snacking keeps your energy levels up, and prevents you from becoming overly hungry, which can lead to poor food choices. Eating every three to four hours can also help regulate your metabolism, which ensures that you burn calories throughout the day. Strive for at least two small snacks per day, but try to limit yourself to 100 to 150 calories or less per snack.

Also, be sure your snack is balanced: it should offer complex carbohydrates for energy, protein for muscle building and repair, and a small amount of fat for satiety. You can ensure nutritional balance and prevent snack boredom by varying your daily choices.

The Benefits of Snacks

You may feel guilty about snacking, but snacks aren’t necessarily bad. In fact, mini meals several times a day can be beneficial. Here’s how:

• Binge control: If eating several low-fat, whole-grain crackers, a few pretzels, a piece of fruit, or some raw vegetables keeps you from taking second or third helpings at your next meal, you may actually consume fewer total calories for the day.
• Extra energy and nutrients: Traditional, made-at-home meals often lose out to busy schedules. A grab-and-go snack can be the difference between some nourishment and none at all.
• Satisfaction for small appetites: Young children’s tiny stomachs can hold only small portions of food at a time. Older adults who are less active and who burn fewer calories also may feel comfortable eating smaller meals more frequently.

Healthy Snack Choices

Here are some great snack choices:

• 6 oz. fat-free yogurt topped with 1 cup of berries
• ¾ cup whole-grain cereal with nut and dried-fruit trail mix
• 1 apple and 1 oz. low-fat cheese
• 1 cup yogurt smoothie made with real fruit
• 1 oz. baked tortilla chips with ¼ cup bean dip
• 2 oz. low-fat cheese on 5 whole-grain crackers
• 1 whole-wheat tortilla with 1 oz. melted cheese and ¼ cup salsa
• 1 cup raw vegetables and 2 Tbsp. low-fat dip or hummus
• 1 Tbsp. nut butter on a banana
• 1 cup berries topped with ¼ cup low-fat granola cereal
• ¼ cup whole-grain cereal and ¼ cup raisins with ¼ cup skim milk
• ¾ cup pasta salad made with raw veggies, cheese, and low-fat dressing
• ¼ pita pocket stuffed with raw vegetables and 1 slice low-fat cheese
• 1 cup low-fat vegetable-bean soup
• ½ turkey and cheese sandwich on whole-grain bread
• 1 handful almonds and ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup cottage cheese and ½ cup pineapple
• ½ peanut butter/banana sandwich on whole-grain bread
• ½ toasted whole wheat English muffin topped with a slice of tomato and low-fat cheese

For more tips on eating well and feeling great, especially after age 40, check out this post.

If you are interested in having your questions answered during a personal nutrition consultation, please contact Sabrina Goshen at sgoshen@nifs.org or 317-274-3432, ext 239. Learn more about Nutrition and Wellness services at NIFS.