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Sober and Safe: Celebrate an Alcohol-Free St. Patrick’s Day

March 12, 2018March 8, 2018 by Madi Johnson

Below is a guest post from Sarah Lockwood, founder of The Prevention Coalition. To learn more, please visit ThePreventionCoalition.org.

Sober and Safe: Celebrate an Alcohol-Free St. Patrick’s Day

Photo and recipe from fivehearthome.com.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day without alcohol may seem a bit like spending the Fourth of July without the fireworks or Super Bowl Sunday without the guacamole. Spending a booze-free St. Patty’s Day is definitely an off-the-beaten-path approach to a holiday that’s synonymous with green beer, Guinness, and Irish whiskey. But sometimes it can be fun to break the mold and do something different. There’s a lot to be said for doing it sober this March 17. There’s no hangover to worry about and no need for a designated driver (unless you want to fill that role for others). It’s also a thoughtful gesture for friends who don’t or can’t drink, and it’s a very good way to make a positive impression on your kids.

There’s good precedent for observing the day in respectful sobriety: in many parts of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a day of religious observation and an opportunity to celebrate with Gaelic activities, such as dancing, Gaelic singing, and watching hurling matches. In fact, it wasn’t until a few years ago that the Irish themselves picked up on all the hubbub that typifies the day throughout the United States and in other parts of the Irish diaspora.

Heritage, not hullabaloo

Believe it or not, there are a number of fun ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Sober St. Patrick’s Day is a non-profit organization that promotes the day as means of celebrating Irish history and heritage rather than an excuse to drink ‘til you drop. Sober St. Patrick’s Day is dedicated to promoting “a healthy and safe experience for family, friends & people in recovery and others.” They organize parades and events that emphasize Irish civilization in all its fascinating aspects. Based in New York, the group supports fun and informative events in Philadelphia and Richmond, Virginia, as well as Dublin and Belfast in the old country.

Love a parade?

Many cities throughout the U.S. have St. Patrick’s Day parades. Check the newspaper, contact your Chamber of Commerce, or go online for the time and location of the parade in your community. It’s a good time, and there’s usually something for everyone to do, kids included. If you’re Irish (and even if you aren’t), why not get into the spirit of things by wearing your green (the louder the better), or you could kick it up a notch with a green wig and face paint for the kids.

An Irish feast

Why not try some traditional Irish cuisine? Try a healthier version of corned beef and cabbage, such as one that uses corned turkey breast and roasted cabbage. Or try a corned beef and cabbage soup. Instead of the traditionally heavy side dish colcannon, try a lightened up version that uses cauliflower instead of potatoes. Add some whole wheat Irish soda bread and you’ve got a meal fit for the heartiest Irish appetite. You can also replace the green beer with healthier alternatives, like unsweetened iced tea with lemon or lime, or a lime mint infusion, made of sparkling water (can be lime flavored) lime slices, and fresh mint leaves. Click here for more healthy St. Patty’s Day recipes.

St. Patty’s Day with your pooch

Don’t forget your furry best friend on St. Patrick’s Day. Take him along for the parade festivities (if he’s skittish, you might consider another option), or as Rover.com suggests, head to your local dog park for a good old-fashioned romp in the green grass. If your dog isn’t accustomed to being off the leash, you should probably leave it on (some dog parks have a special closed-in area where dogs can roam leash-free).

Family time

This St. Patrick’s Day, save the alcohol for another event and try wearin’ the green without pulling a few pints. Make it a family day, something everyone will enjoy and remember fondly. You might even decide to go alcohol-free every year.

Results From the 2017 Holiday Challenge

March 6, 2018July 16, 2021 by Madi Johnson

The results are in!

The 2017 Holiday Challenge was the largest and most successful Holiday Challenge since it began in 2006. There were more than 28,600 people who joined the 2017 Holiday Challenge, which is an 83% increase in participation from 2016. All 50 states, all 100 NC counties, and 14 additional countries participated. Click the map below to see a full list of all state participation (scroll to the end of the report):

holiday challene

There were over 700 employers involved in the Holiday Challenge this year and the employer with the most participation had 1,165 employees represented. Sheila Bannister, the Health and Wellness Director at ONI Risk Partners, shares her experience below:

holiday challenge

“In all, we had 240 participants register for the Holiday Challenge, and heard great feedback. I learned about the challenge just a few weeks before it launched, so I was very pleased at how easy it was to implement. I will start promoting this earlier next year so more of my clients can take advantage of this amazing resource! Thank you Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less!”

This was the second year the Holiday Challenge included a free virtual race for participants. In partnership with Racery, participants were able to virtually walk or run along a 26.2-mile loop through Paris. Participants could walk independently or create teams and were encouraged to see how many loops (or marathons) they could get. Here’s how one team raced together.

More than 96,952 miles were walked during the race. Participation increased from 832 racers in 2016 to 3,194 racers in 2017.

holiday challenge racery map

This was the first year the Holiday Challenge featured a private Facebook group. Participants shared their successes and struggles, motivated one another, and developed a strong support system. There were over 1,000 members in the group. The private group remains open all year long for continued support and accountability.

To see the full 2017 Holiday Challenge report, click below:

2017 Holiday Challenge Report

For a one-page infographic about the 2017 Holiday Challenge, click below:

Pros and Cons of the Peloton Bike

February 28, 2018July 16, 2021 by Kelly Nordby, RD, LDN

My husband really loves to bike as his primary form of exercise. Biking is not typically my favorite. I definitely prefer group exercise classes, but have never done a spin class, as I prefer aerobics-based classes. So when we purchased the Peloton bike last year, an indoor exercise bike with online streaming classes, I thought to myself, I am likely never going to ride this! This was the case until we had several snow days in January, leaving me house-bound with cabin fever. peloton review I finally gave the Peloton bike a try and actually really loved it! Even the beginner rides were a great workout! The instructors were motivating and really pushed me to challenge myself. The classes are either live or recorded and are modeled as group-exercise classes, even though everyone else is participating on their own bikes in their own homes. You can see how much effort everyone else is putting forth, compare it to your own, and respond accordingly. There are also some in-person people riding along with the instructor in the studio where the classes are filmed in NYC. Being a beginning rider, I appreciate that these in-person people represent a diverse mix of experience levels.

The Peloton bike definitely checks a lot of my boxes for an effective and enjoyable workout! I have continued to ride even after the snow melted.

In summary, here are my pros and cons of the Peloton bike:

Pros

I can use it in the comfort of my own home.
The recorded rides allow me to ride on my own schedule.
The instructor challenges and motivates me even during the recorded rides.
The instructor sets the pace for the ride, taking the guesswork out of it for me.
I can see how my level of effort compares to other riders.
I can see other in-person riders, which represent a diverse mix of experience levels.
The music playlists are provided on the class schedule so that I can select my preferred style.

Cons

Some of the instructors use profanity. Warnings are provided, so that you can avoid these instructors.
The pedal started clicking a while ago, for which we need to call tech support.

Have you tried a Peloton bike or other new high tech exercise equipment? What was your experience? What should we try next? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Healthy Foods, Happy Heart

February 26, 2018July 16, 2021 by Megan Haubenreiser

The relationship between our diets and our health goes beyond body weight. The food we ingest serves as fuel for our body to perform it’s best, which makes choosing foods that contain the vitamins and nutrients we need even more important for our body’s optimal health.

With February being heart health awareness month, I wanted to draw attention to foods that support a healthy heart according to the Cleveland Clinic:¹

Fish (salmon, tuna, trout, etc.)
Nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, etc.)
Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.)
Beans (black beans, kidney beans, etc.)
Vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, spinach, etc.)

Many of the foods that promote heart health are emphasized heavily in the Mediterranean eating pattern. Evidence shows that following the Mediterranean eating pattern reduces your risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease (especially important during heart month!), cancer, and diabetes, while also improving your blood pressure, eye health, and brain health, as it has been shown to protect against cognitive decline. ^2-8

The Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less team at NC State University teamed up with the NC Division of Public Health to create recipes that follow the Mediterranean eating pattern, which can be found on the website MedInsteadofMeds.com. The recipes are simple and delicious. For example, this brown rice salad would make a perfect side dish addition to your week-night dinner menu.

15 Heart-Healthy Foods to Work into Your Diet. Cleveland Clinic. Published 27 Jan 2015. Retrieved from: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/01/15-heart-healthy-foods-to-work-into-your-diet/
Martinez-Gonzalez, M.A. (2016) Benefits of the Mediterranean diet beyond the Mediterranean Sea and beyond food patterns. BMC Medicine. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-016-0714-3
Schwingshaackl L, Hoffmann G, Curr Nutr Rep. 2016;5:9-17.
Balls-Pedret, et. al. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2015;175(7):1094-1103.
Cachulo, et. al. Ophthalmologica. 2015;233:119-127.
Salas-Salvado J, et. al. Diabetes Care. 2011;34(1):14-19.
Nunez-Cordoba, et. al. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2009;169(3):339-346.
Buil-Cosiales, et. al. British Journal of Nutrition. 2016;116:534-546.

How I Transitioned from Sweetened Yogurt to Plain Greek Yogurt

February 20, 2018July 16, 2021 by Madi Johnson

If you follow us on Instagram, you might have noticed there are a lot of yogurt posts. A lot. I didn’t actually realize this was a common theme until I was explaining my “yogurt snack” with someone recently and directed them to our Instagram page. What can I say, I love yogurt. healthy yogurt

Too often, pre-packaged yogurt can be full of added sugars. As in, 25+grams of sugar per 4 ounce container type of full. However, there are naturally occurring sugars in yogurt, which is okay, and usually accounts for 7-10 of the grams. What we want to focus on here is the amount of added sugars in the yogurt. The easiest to way to tell how many grams of added sugar is in your yogurt choice is to compare it to the same size and same brand plain yogurt option. To make it even easier, the new food labels will be required to break down natural sugars and added sugars on all products (but the release date of these new labels has been postponed). So how many grams of added sugar is too much? The American Heart Association recommends no more than 24 grams of added sugar per day (and less than that is better). As I mentioned, many flavored yogurts have this much sugar or more – and I was eating it as a snack not even a dessert!

I decided it was time to transition to plain Greek yogurt and sweeten it myself to control the amount of sugar I was consuming. Now, if you have ever had plain Greek yogurt it is a STARK wake up call to flavored yogurt. Based on my own trial and error, I recommend not going cold-turkey and instead making it a transition to plain Greek yogurt. How? Choose a juicy fruit and add a dash of pure maple syrup or honey.

Choose a creamy plain Greek yogurt. My favorite is Fage and Trader Joe’s brand, they are not watery or grainy and area always thick, smooth, and creamy. To test it or to make it easy on-the-go, feel free to purchase the single-serve options. I prefer to buy the tubs since it is most cost-effective (especially at Costco), but that is a personal preference.
Choose a juicy fruit. You need a fruit that is sweet enough and juicy enough to help mask the bitterness of plain Greek yogurt. Juicy fruits to try include orange slices, very ripe blackberries, very ripe strawberries, ripe peaches, and purple grapes. My two favorites are orange slices, the juice from the orange makes it all blend beautifully, and grapes. I know, grapes sound weird. And you don’t believe it. But I am telling you— grapes in plain Greek yogurt is a delicious combination that you have to try, just make sure every bite of yogurt has a grape in it too. I dare you to try it! With orange slices and/or grapes, no extra sugar (maple syrup or honey) is needed, as they are both juicy and sweet enough.
Add a dash of honey or pure maple syrup (a dash!). You really do not need a lot, a little bit goes a long way here. Add a dash to start, and then slowly add less and less each time. That is the best way to transition out of any overly sweet food in general and is very easy to do with yogurt.
Optional: top with cinnamon for added flavor, stir in a spoonful of low-sugar chia seed jam, or top with toasted oats and/or a low-sugar granola. I prefer to make my own granola to limit the amount of added sugar, or I will toast some old fashioned oats (toss with a tiny bit of canola oil) for the crunch without any sugar.
Want to take it one step further? Start with plain Greek yogurt and add a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter then dip in crunchy apple slices. Yum!

Below are a few of my favorite combinations:

Plain Greek yogurt with blueberries, raspberries, and a drizzle of honey.

Plain Greek yogurt with grapes and blackberries- no added sugars when you have juicy grapes!

Plain Greek yogurt with sliced figs, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkle of chia seeds.

The easiest way to eat it to-go: Prepackaged plain Greek yogurt and top with grapes and low-sugar granola.

Plain Greek yogurt with a tablespoon of creamy natural peanut butter and topped with just a few chocolate chips. Dip crisp apple slices.

Plain Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of honey.

My new favorite: Plain Greek yogurt with orange slices – no added sugar needed!

How do you like to eat yogurt? Any flavor combinations I should try? Add them to the comments below.

Impact of Mindful Eating on Weight

February 16, 2018 by Surabhi Aggarwal, RD, LDN

Mindful eating can be defined as eating with awareness, which is compared to eating out of habit or because of an external stimulus (smell, atmosphere, peer pressure). It refers to being aware of one’s physical and emotional sensations while eating or when in a food-related environment. Mindful eating allows a person to pay attention to signs of hunger, satiety, pace of eating and characteristics of the food being eaten.

Logically, it would make sense to say that mindful eating would assist with weight loss and/or maintenance since a person will be more aware of what, how much, and why he or she is eating. Mindful eating concepts are strongly emphasized in the Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less curriculum. Participants are encouraged to eat with a purpose and to track what they eat to become more mindful of their eating practices. In recent years, researchers have tried to test the impact of mindful eating on weight.

The Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less program team was invited by Current Obesity Reports, a quarterly publication that provides in-depth review articles on latest advances in the field of obesity, to review the literature on mindfulness and its impact on weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight regain.

The Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less program team conducted an extensive literature search of peer-reviewed studies and summarized the impact of mindful eating on body weight. Based upon this thorough review of published literature, the writing team concluded that there is a strong support for inclusion of mindful eating as a component of weight management programs and may provide substantial benefit to the treatment of overweight and obesity. The final, published review article is available in full here: Mindfulness Approaches and Weight Loss, Weight Maintenance, and Weight Regain.

Grey’s Anatomy Taught Us What a Heart Attack Looks Like for Women

February 8, 2018July 16, 2021 by Cathy Thomas

If you are a Grey’s Anatomy fan, you recently witnessed Dr. Bailey, played by actress Chandra Wilson, have a very real brush with death. In the scene, Dr. Bailey complains of physical symptoms and visits the emergency room, unaware she was experiencing a heart attack. heart attack women “When your day starts off and you have no intention of dying, then all of a sudden your mortality is in your face, you can’t help but think about it,” Wilson admits during a recent interview on the episode. “But that wasn’t Bailey’s plan. The plan was to just go in and get checked, then come up with whatever the next plan was. The plan wasn’t to have a heart procedure done!”

Sixty-three percent of women who die suddenly from coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms, and women of color are at a far greater risk. To calculate your heart disease risk, take the CDC Heart Age Calculator. Know the heart attack signs for women.

Heart Attack Signs in Women from the American Heart Association

Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.

If you have any of these signs, call 9-1-1 and get to a hospital right away.

Calculate your heart age and reduce your risk of heart disease by learning how to eat smart, move more, and manage stress with Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less or Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes.

Check out Grey’s Anatomy, Season 14, Episode 11, Bailey’s Heart Attack.

Healthier Recipes to Bring to a Superbowl Party

February 1, 2018July 16, 2021 by Madi Johnson

The big game is on Sunday and whether you’re hosting a party, attending a party, or just watching at home, there is usually some “Superbowl food” involved. This year, stick to your Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less goals while still enjoying the game. Below are a few tips and healthy recipes.

Plan ahead. We know the game is on Sunday night at 6:30pm ET, so we can eat small and healthy meals throughout the day to make sure we are not starving when game time comes around. By keeping hunger at bay, we will be less likely to overeat and less likely to choose unhealthy temptations. Before going to the party, have a healthy snack such as an apple with peanut butter to tide you over until mealtime.
Bring a healthy option. Bring your own healthy option to save you from the tempting dishes. Just in case there are no, or very little, other healthy options, make sure it is something that you enjoy and something that will fill you up. Others will appreciate it’s there too! My favorite go-to’s are sliced vegetables with hummus, lentil sliders,or a quick white chicken chili. All of these options are hearty enough to fill me up and become my safety-net at a party.
Plan your plate. In addition to bringing your own healthy dish, survey the other options before adding food to your plate. Be picky about what you choose. Determine if it is calorie worthy before putting it on your plate. If there is a favorite once-a-year food you just have to have for the Superbowl, take a small amount of that food and mindfully enjoy it.
Move more during commercials. I love the Superbowl commercials, and I don’t like to miss them. But, I can still stand up and walk in place while watching them, allowing me to stretch my legs and get some steps in. If commercials aren’t your thing, use this time to walk around the party and mingle with others.
Play a game of “see this, do this”. Add some physical activity to your viewing party by making a game out of it. If you see a touchdown, do 10 push ups. If you see a funny commercial, do 10 jumping jacks. This is especially fun for kids to get involved. Here’s a list to get you started.
Be mindful. It’s time to put all your mindfulness techniques into place. Pay attention to what and how much you’re eating by tuning into your surroundings. We tend to eat something because it’s there, because everyone else is, or because of the sights and smells of the party. Eat slowly, put your fork down between bites, assess your hunger scale before choosing a food, and take a second to determine if the food is worth your calories. Be mindful of enjoying the party for the people – not the food.

Below are a few healthy Superbowl recipes, but we have many more.

Lentil Sliders

Corn and Black Bean Salsa with Apple Cider Vinger Dressing

Mini Bell Pepper Loaded Turkey “Nachos”

Olive Oil Deviled Eggs

Sriracha-Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Garlicky Bean Spread

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Soy-Lime Baked Buffalo Wings

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

Chocolate Bark with Pistachios and Dried Cherries

Click here for more recipes: Pinterest Superbowl Board

Quick Weeknight Dinner Recipe: Spinach and Pine Nut Pasta

January 29, 2018July 16, 2021 by Surabhi Aggarwal, RD, LDN

Spinach is one of my favorite green leafy vegetables – I can add a bag of spinach, raw or cooked, to any dish and I know I will love it! This includes wraps, sandwiches, pasta, quesadillas, etc. Sometimes, it is just spinach sautéed with Indian spices – yum!

For this blog, I want to share my favorite pasta recipe with spinach. It’s super simple and tastes delicious. For some reason, the combination of spinach with mushrooms and pine nuts makes my taste buds really happy.

healthy pasta

Spinach and Pine Nut Pasta

Recipe makes 5 servings

Ingredients:

100% whole wheat pasta, ½ of 16 oz. box

Fresh spinach, ½ lbs

Baby mushrooms, 8 oz

Red pepper, 1 cup (diced) ~ 1 whole pepper

Carrots, 2-3 (diced)

Pine nuts, ¼ cup

Olive oil, ¼ cup

Minced garlic, ½ tsp

Fresh parmesan cheese, ½ cup (grated)

Salt to taste

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Keep aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and pine nuts and sauté until light brown.

3. Add spinach, mushrooms, red pepper, and carrots. Sauté for few minutes until cooked to desired softness.

4. Add the pasta and salt. Mix well.

5. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes as desired.

Nutrition Information per Serving:

Calories: 280 calories
Fat: 19 grams
Sodium: 310 mg
Carbohydrates: 24 grams
Fiber: 5 grams
Total Sugars: 6 grams (Includes 0 grams Added Sugars)
Protein: 10 grams

“I lowered my A1C out of the “prediabetes” range, lost 7 inches from my waist, and lost 40 pounds”

January 24, 2018June 3, 2019 by Madi Johnson

We are thrilled to share a testimonial from Kathy, a recent Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes participant. Since completing the program, Kathy has adopted healthy strategies, incorporated more physical activity (hiked through Alaksa!), and has even gotten her husband on board her journey with her. She shares her story below. Way to go, Kathy!

My Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes Experience

The story of committing to make good choices for my body in order to curtail, or possibly prevent, the onset of diabetes began a year ago, the night I met Lauren, my online instructor, and 40 like-minded, like-purposed classmates who had come together to begin the Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes program. I am sharing this glimpse of my year-long health journey in hopes that it might encourage you as you consider embarking on the same adventure as we did!

Kathy and her husband hiking Looking Glass Rock, which was one of her SMART goals during the program.

This past year’s journey of health has been both reactive and proactive in nature. Reactive, as I witnessed first-hand the ravages of diabetes on my dad’s body and to a lesser extent, the challenges other diabetic family members face. Also, reactive to my lab test numbers inching their way right up to the threshold of prediabetes. So, the opportunity to participate in Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes came at the just-right time for my need and my motivation! The two biggest challenges I faced at the onset of the class were the commitments to journal my food consumption and to exercise consistently. My instructor, Lauren, made a statement during our very first class that really struck a chord with me in regards to the journaling. I’ve used the MyFitnessPal app in the past to journal food and exercise, and have started off strong but then eventually fizzled out. Lauren stated that one way or the other, we would be charting numbers . . . either in a food journal . . . or, in the future as we pricked our fingers mornings and evenings and charted those results for our doctors. Soon after that class, a quote posted on Facebook caught my attention. While the quote’s context was about losing weight, it fit my goal to become more healthy. It read, “Being fat is hard; losing weight is hard; maintaining weight is hard; choose your hard.” That quote, in context of the commitment to create these new habits, challenged me . . . Choose My Hard!

“Measuring and journaling food is hard.

Exercising consistently is hard.

Reaping the consequences of diabetes is hard.

Choose your hard.”

While I knew working through the Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes class would more than likely result in some weight loss, losing weight was not my main motivation. The driving force for this process was to be healthier. My husband was an amazing buddy for me through this journey . . . in food preparation, maintaining portion control, and exercising! He was, and truly still is, my forever-encourager. He even started journaling his food and exercise mid-way through the year and was excited about the results he saw, as well.

Somewhere in the process, as the strategies introduced and discussed in the classes became a part of my daily routine and thought process, my reactive state of mind evolved into a proactive state of mind. I know that success in becoming healthier, and maintaining that improvement, is all about daily choices; and so I have to be diligent about being mindful. The Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes classes were structured to provide that scaffold of support and then move us through different levels toward more independence for being responsible for our own healthy lifestyles.

Here is a list of things that I loved about the program and my experiences through the year:

- Participating in each live online class from the comfort of home . . . no excuses for not making it to each session.

- Developing practical strategies that help me make wise decisions relating to healthy food and activity choices.

- The personalization of the course via conversations with my instructor as we discussed issues and questions using students’ individual message boards.

- Setting SMART goals for exercise and achieving those goals (for variety, I changed my SMART goal about every two months). Four of my favorites involved:
  - - Hiking trails with grandchildren when visiting Alaska
  - - Kayaking throughout the summer
  - - Hiking Looking Glass Rock Trail near Brevard, NC
  - Participating in the 2017 Holiday Challenge, specifically the Paris Virtual Marathon. (Logged 100.2 miles of walking between November 20 – January 2.)

Lowered A1C out of the “prediabetic” range; lowered blood pressure; lost 7 inches from waist; and lost 40 pounds.

What now? The challenge is to find an even keel for my maintenance level. I have learned to really use the data from the MyFitnessPal and Fitbit apps to keep a balance, not only in caloric input and output, but also in consuming suggested percentages of carbs-fats-protein each day . . . I’m finding that “choosing my hard” is truly worth every effort made!

Thank you, Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes ~ I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this program!

Kathy