Living well and eating smart!  That's the key to a healthy lifestyle.  We are here to help!  Below is all you need to know about comprehensive health, nutrition and training.  Stressed out?  Need a Nutrution or Fitness Bailout?  You're not alone.  Check out Carrie's tips or ask a question.  Create a healthy shopping list, develop daily meal plans, start and exercise routine or increase your current one.  Don't let the winter blues take over - we're here to help you live well and eat smart!



 
Have a nutrition question?  Click here to see questions and answers on some of the most commonly asked questions or to ask a question of your own.

Do you ever feel like YOU need some help with your firness and nutrition?  Anyway you approach it, it's all up to YOU to bail yourself out if you're looking to improve your health.  Start simple and try these helpful hints:

BMI: Body Mass Index (or BMI) compares a person's weight to their height.  A healthy BMI range is between 18.5 and 24.  Visit www.consumer.gov/weightloss/bmi.htm to calculate your BMI.

Here are some tips for exercise success:

• If you've been sedentary for a long time, are overweight, have a high risk of coronary heart disease or some other chronic health problem, see your doctor for a medical evaluation before beginning a physical activity program.
• Choose activities that are fun, not exhausting.  Add variety.  Develop a repertoire of several activities that you can enjoy.  That way, exercise will never seem boring or routine.
• Wear comfortable, properly fitted footwear and comfortable, loose-fitting clothing appropriate for the weather and the activity.
• Find a convenient time and place to do activities.  Try to make it a habit, but be flexible. If you miss an exercise opportunity, work activity into your day another way.
• Use music to keep you entertained.
• Surround yourself with supportive people.  Decide what kind of support you need.  Do you want them to remind you to exercise?  Ask about your progress?  Participate with you regularly or occasionally?  Allow you time to exercise by yourself?  Go with you to a special event, such as a 10K walk/run?  Be understanding when you get up early to exercise? Spend time with the children while you exercise? Try not to ask you to change your exercise routine?  Share your activity time with others.  Make a date with a family member, friend or co-worker.  Be an active role model for your children.
• Don't overdo it.  Do low- to moderate-level activities, especially at first.  You can slowly increase the duration and intensity of your activities as you become more fit.  Over time, work up to exercising on most days of the week for 30-60 minutes.
• Keep a record of your activities.  Reward yourself at special milestones.  Nothing motivates like success!

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Self-talk is the endless stream of thoughts that run through your head every day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

You can learn positive thinking

Instead of giving in to these kinds of negative self-talk, weed out misconceptions and irrational thinking and then challenge them with rational, positive thoughts. When you do this, your self-talk will gradually become realistic and self-affirming — you engage in positive thinking.

You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it takes time and practice — you are creating a new habit, after all.

Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.

Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else.

Examples of typical negative self-talk and how you might apply a positive thinking twist include:

In 2006, The Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of a study of 5,820 American men of Japanese descent. These men had been followed since 1965, when they were an average of 54.  Researchers found that the men still alive at the end of the study shared six qualities: They didn't smoke.  They had no more than two alcoholic drinks per day.  They had normal blood sugar.  They had normal blood pressure.  They were of normal weight. They still possessed significant physical strength.  The men who possessed these traits had a two-in-three chance of reaching age 85, according to the study, and better than a 50-50 chance of reaching that age in good health.

No smoking, little drinking, normal weight and good muscles - the goals of so many New Year's resolutions.

So, how can you set and achieve realistic resolutions?

The American Council on Exercise offers tips to help people stick to their New Year's resolutions, and not just those focused on health and fitness:

1. Set resolutions that are realistic and based on your personal history. Learn from your failures. For instance, if you want to exercise five days a week but you haven't done that in the past, vow to work out twice a week.
2. Set short-term goals. You can't lose 100 pounds or get a Ph.D. in a month. But you can lose 2 to 3 pounds a week, or work toward your degree a few credits at a time.
3. Evaluate whether you have the skills to attain the goal of your resolution. If your objective requires skills you have not tried, start by reading about the proper path to achieving that goal.
4. Write down your resolution and your plan. Be concise and remember: A well-laid-out plan helps ensure success.
5. Keep track of your progress and review it periodically.
6. Develop a "can-do" attitude, lose the excuses. Don't say: "It's too late for me to go back to school." Instead: "There's no age limit to getting a degree - and to getting a better job."
7. Get support. Reach out to family, friends or others who can encourage you if your resolve weakens.
8. Learn how to deal with problems.
9. Celebrate your "successes" and take credit for achieving them. If you fail, figure out how you can do better.

For more information, go to www.acefitness.org

Click here to download your own personal shopping list and keep track of what you are eating.  Plus, hints on what to pick in each catagory.  

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Recipes for Living Well and Eating Smart provided by Carrie Taylor, Big Y's Registered Dietitian Click here

Make smart choices from every food group. Find your balance between food and physical activity. Get the most nutrition out of your calories. Stay within your daily calorie needs. Click for more...

My Pyramid offers personalized eating plans, interactive tools to help you plan and assess your food choices, and advice to help you. 






Just because it's cold outside, and snow and ice could be an issue, doesn't mean you cannot start a fitness plan that includes the outdoors.  Check out the Hartford Marathon training schedule that can help the very inactive start a plan or take the active to new levels.  Whether you hit the gym, the stairs at work or home, the mall before hours, or outdoors when the weather cooperates, it's a great time to Get UP and Get Going.  Start now and you could be walking or running a 5k (at the Hartford Marathon Foundation's first event in March). Click for more...

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Jeannine gives you details or her trails and tribulations of training for the half marathon this October.  Click here to read her blog!









 
Need the current and past issues of the free newsletter?  Click here or pick one up at your neighborhood Big Y World Class Market.  Each newsletter features recipes, information on health and utrition and suggested products for Living Well and Eating Smart. 









 
Click here to view pictures from appearances and past events.










Jeannine talks with Carrie from Big Y about training: 
Jeannine talks with Carrie from Big Y and Beth from ING Hartford Marathon: 

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Jeannine Jersey and Carrie Taylor webisodes are coming soon!  Want recipes?  Click here to watch videos for Big Y Kitchen Classic Recipe Videos