Welcome to the January 2012 edition of the Eat Smart, Move More NC newsletter! Each month we strive to provide you with tips and tools to help you eat smart and move more every day!

Eat right with whole grains. Whole grains have fiber to fill you up and are packed with nutrients to fuel your body. You can easily add whole grains to your day with these tips:

At breakfast time, fill your bowl with shredded wheat or oatmeal. These two cereals are a delicious and nutritious way to start your day. If you are making waffles or pancakes, replace some of the flour with whole wheat flour when mixing. Serve your egg sandwich on whole wheat toast or in a multi-grain wrap.

At snack time reach for a low-fat granola bar, whole grain crackers or popcorn. Popcorn is a food many of us eat without knowing it is a whole grain. Skip the butter and season with a dash of spices such as garlic or chili powder.

For sandwiches grab whole grain breads, tortillas or wraps. At meals complete your plate with brown rice, quinoa or bulgur wheat as a side item.

Check out these recipe from our recipe archives for that contain whole wheat.

January is Family Fit Lifestyle Month. Support one another as you get moving. Enlist your family to help you reach your fitness goals. It will not only help you stick with to your plan – you’ll strengthen family ties at the same time.

Choose activities you can do together. Be sure to schedule a regular time each week for family fitness. Get everyone involved by taking turns selecting the activity. Remember – it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

Jump, stomp, leap, roll – think of all the ways you can move your body and create new games. Protect your furniture and breakable items by designating indoor and outdoor areas where rolling, tumbling, jumping and climbing are allowed.

Organize a family tournament of your family’s favorite activities. Include grandparents, other relatives and friends. Whatever way you find to move more, remember to have fun as a family while you get fit.

What do you want to achieve this year?

Many of us set resolutions and goals for the year in January.

Perhaps you have already set your goals or started thinking about your plans for the year.

As you set out on making your resolutions for the year it’s important to chart your course for reaching your goals.

Rather than setting one large goal without a plan of action, ask yourself: “What small steps can I take to get there?”

After all, small steps add up. As you make your resolutions and set your goals for the year, spell out your plan for success.

Looking Ahead in 2012

As the new year kicks off, thoughts turn to resolutions and the ever growing list of what we want to improve…to do better…to change.

We vow that this year will be different than the last. All too often by June those resolutions are long forgotten. This year, set out to make achievable resolutions that you will stick with throughout the year.

Grab a pen and a piece of paper because if you’re a resolution maker, these tips will help you start 2012 off on the right foot:

This year, make SMART goals – ones that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and have a timeline.

1. Think of two to three things that you want to achieve. Rank them in order of importance. This gives you a chance to see what is most important to you.
2. Read over your goals. Are they realistic? Are you ready to make the changes and sacrifices needed to achieve them? Are they really doable? Adjust them as needed until your goals are challenging but aren’t unachievable.
3. Write your goals out again – this time make them as specific as possible. Instead of “walk more” write down “walk ___ days per week for at least ___ minutes each time.”
4. Set a plan. Come up with concrete steps about how you will accomplish your goals.
5. Finally, create a chart or poster with your goals and put it somewhere you will see often – on the bathroom mirror, over your desk or carry a small version in your wallet. Just make sure to look at it frequently to remind yourself of where you are going and also to see how far you’ve progressed!

Tell Us About Your Success

Have you made eating smart and moving more a part of your life? We’d love to hear about your successes!

Even achieving small goals is a success. Share your experience and inspire others. Have you lost weight? How has eating smart and moving more impacted your life? What tips and suggestions could you offer others? What obstacles did you overcome?

Send us a short email telling us your story. If your story fits our needs, we’ll email you a form to complete and send back to us in order for your story to be considered for our website. We look forward to hearing from you!

Send your email to newsletter@eatsmartmovemorenc.com.

Check out the stories of others just like you who have found success and achieved their goals by eating smart and moving more!

Don’t miss out on tips, pictures, articles, events, videos, discussions… all of the latest on how we can all eat smart and move more wherever we live, learn, earn, play and pray.

Two easy steps to become a fan.
1) Go to the Fan Page
2) Click on the “Like” button with the thumbs up image.

Hope to see you there!

New Year, New Beginning    

As the holiday season comes to a close, so does our mindset of keeping our holiday weight goals. Soon we will be packing away the holiday decorations, and our thoughts turn toward returning to work or school. Healthy eating and activity can fall to the bottom of the list as we box up the holiday season and re-open our day-to-day lives.

You don’t have to put away the progress that you’ve made throughout the holidays as the New Year approaches. By staying motivated through the final few days of the season, you can see your goals through to the end and set yourself up for continued success in the New Year. Here are some tips to help you stay motivated for the final count down.

Setting goals is important whether it’s large goals or small goals. To stay motivated, set small goals for each day. For example, if you have a general goal to walk three days this week, set specifics such as which days and for how long. Doing this will help you track your achievements.

Also, keep track of your activity and eating habits on an activity log and food journal. Using these tools helps you see progress each day. Along the same lines, remembering to schedule in time for activity and planning ahead for healthy eating will make achieving your goals a natural part of your day and will help you stay on track.

Find support from others by calling a trusted friend or loved one. Talking about your progress with others and allowing them to cheer you on helps keep you motivated. Gather a group to join you for outdoor activities or for a healthy lunch. Scheduling time with others makes it harder for you to skip out on your healthy activities and keeps you on track.

One of the fastest ways to drop your goals is by being bored with your activities. Try a new activity, a new recipe and vary your routine. Boredom creates a feeling that things are easy, unexciting and we wonder why we should even bother. New activities, a new walking route and new foods can create excitement in what was once a routine. This refreshes your mind and keeps you interested in sticking with your goals.

Also, find an activity that you think is fun and you’ll be more likely to stick to it. Include things that you find pleasure in to take away the sense that it’s something you have to do and instead turn it into something you want to do.

This far into the holiday season, you’ve probably come up with your list of excuses and reasons why today isn’t the best day for you to get in your activity or eat healthfully. Now that you’ve figured out where you are likely to talk yourself out of keeping your goals, counteract them! If there’s not enough time in the day for walking, pack your shoes in your trunk and take a short stroll on your lunch break. If you can’t find the time to prepare a healthy meal because you know you’ll be working late, prepare it ahead of time so you can just warm up your dinner when you get home.

It’s normal to have a drop in motivation from time to time. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Use these strategies to help counteract those days when you want to stop. Remember how far you’ve already come and that you can continue to succeed into the next year.

Thoughts to Ponder:

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” — Henry Ford

It is better to fall short of a high mark than to reach a low one. — H.C.Payne

Christine Smith, MS, is an Extension Agent in the department of Family & Consumer Sciences with NC Cooperative Extension, NCSU, Wayne County.  Information on other services available can be found online at http://wayne.ces.ncsu.edu/ or call me at 731-1525 for additional information.

Find out more at www.MyEatSmartMoveMore.com.

Simple Tips

More Recipes

MyEatSmartMoveMore

Ingredients

1 cup dried lentils, sorted

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, reduced-fat

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

2 green onions, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

 
Instructions

1. Rinse sorted lentils and place in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until lentils are soft (approximately 30 minutes). Drain lentils and set aside to cool.

2. When lentils have cooled, toss together with the remaining ingredients and place in a refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes to chill.

3.Serve.

Nutrition Information

(Per Serving) Calories: 140; Total Fat: 6g (Saturated Fat: 2g); Cholesterol: 5mg; Sodium: 240mg; Total Carbohydrate: 14g; Dietary Fiber: 5g; Protein: 9g

Number of servings (yield): 4

Visit the Eat Smart, Move More NC Recipes Page for printable versions of all our recipes!