How many calories do I need and when should I eat them?

Your calorie intake is based off your sex, age, weight and activity level. The younger you are generally the more calories you need. The less you weigh or want to weigh the fewer calories you need. The more active you are the more calories you need to stay healthy. And males typically need more calories then females. Many calorie calculators can be found on the web. (Go to MercySiouxCity.com, find the Health Information and Tools area and click on Wellness Tools. Select Nutritional Needs Calculator, found here.)


Now that you know how many calories you should be eating each day you want to spread that amount out over the day. General guidelines are as follows:

• Breakfast – 25-30% of your total calories
• Lunch – 30-35% of your total calories
• Dinner – 30-40% of your total calories
• Snacks – the percent left over after accounting for normal meals.

Remember hidden calories: having black coffee has no calories, but if you add cream and sugar there are additional calories that you need to count. For example: A Starbucks Caffe Mocha Venti 2% with cream is 410 calories, if your calorie needs are 2,000 calories that’s just over 20% of your calorie needs for the day. A 12 oz can of pop is 120 to 170 calories per serving compared to 0 calories for water.

Eating the proper portion sizes to get the right amount of calories for you is an important part of maintaining or getting to your healthy weight.  Don't forget that what those calories are is important as well.  Calories from fruits and vegetables are better for you then a processed bag of potato chips.

Your Brain is made for Movement

There is power in movement. While we all move everyday, we often aren’t aware of all the movement that is available to us. We get stuck into our routines and after we pass into our 30’s, 40’s or beyond we start to realize we can’t move like we did when we were younger and find ourselves sitting on the couch or in a chair at work more and moving less. I think most of us marvel at how much a toddler moves on a regular basis. They do this instinctively because their brain and nervous system is exploring and making sense of this world that we live in. This is often times referred to as novel movement. Your brain loves novel movement, it get’s its attention. This is why newer research is showing improvements in brain function in elderly with decreases in Alzheimer’s and dementia with those that exercise regularly.
Add some novelty to your existing exercise program by changing up the routine a little. Add some strength training in if you don’t already do it. Walk up hills or stairs as part of your cardio program as compared the flat treadmill. Try some different strength training exercises outside your normal routine. Make sure you move through the full movement you can and challenge yourself to move with more range of motion. Yoga, Tia Chi and Fledenkrais Awareness Through Movement are great movement based exercises that can help you explore novel movements to improve your exercise routine.
If you aren’t currently exercising start easy as you add new movements to your daily routine. Gradually you will be amazed, in a few months time, the ability to move easier and freer as you progress with a movement based exercise program.
We have to remember without a nervous system and the movement that it is in-charge of, we would be as alive as a tree.   See this great TED Talk by Daniel Wolpert about the real reason for our brains...MOVEMENT!

“Don’t worry, be happy.”

While we maybe have heard that anger and stress can lead to increase cardiovascular risks, whereas laughter and positive thinking can decrease those risks. Did you know science has proven this? An interesting study looked at people’s responses watching a movie for about 15 minutes. They watched either a stressful movie (beginning of Saving Private Ryan) or a humorous movie (There’s Something about Mary). They found that blood vessels constricted by as much as 30% to 50% when watching the stressful movie, whereas vasodilatation (blood vessels opening up) occurred when investigators measured vascular function in subjects watching the comedies.
The effects of this change in blood flow usually lasted about an hour but some research has shown it to last up to 24 hours. This change in the blood vessel dilation is similar to taking statins (drugs for lowering cholesterol) or physical activity. Unfortunately some of us have lots of stress that lasts longer than 15 minutes and can’t be turned off as easy as a stressful movie.

So next time you feel a little angry or stressed out, maybe sit down a watch a good comedy and laugh yourself to a little better health. Maybe we could tell a few more jokes at work so as to improve our heart and overall health a little. And if you need help laughing more to reduce stress and anger don’t forget about Employee Assistance Programs. Programs such as these (in one study) have shown to reduced depression and reduced waist girth, increased HDL cholesterol levels (the good cholesterol) and physical activity (trend toward improvement), and patients were better at managing their anger and anxiety in eight visits. At one year, the reduction in depression was maintained, and there were significant improvements in self-rated health.