Celebrating flavors and cultures from around the world is a fun and tasty way to nourish your body with new foods. Consider celebrating nutrition and a world of flavors all month long!

Week 1:

Eating a Variety of Nutritious Foods

• Include healthy food from all food groups
• Learn how to read the Nutrition Facts Label
• Incorporate your favorite cultural foods and traditions

Week 2:

See a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

• Ask your doctor for a referral to an RDN
• Find an RDN who specialized in your unique needs
• Receive personalized nutrition information to meet your health goals

Week 3:

Plan your meals and snacks

• Find a healthy recipe or two to make during the week
• Use a grocery list that includes nutritious foods when shopping
• Include healthful food and drink choices eating away from home

Week 4:

Create tasty foods at home

• Learn a new cooking or meal preparation skill
• Try new flavors and foods from around the world
• Enjoy your meals with friends or family, when possible

National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day

March 9, 2022

What is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist?

By Linda Wilcox

• Registered Dietitian Nutritionists are the food and nutrition experts who can translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living.

• Registered Dietitian Nutritionists have degrees in nutrition, dietetics, public health, or a related field from well-respected, accredited colleges and universities. They also have completed an internship, passed an examination, and maintain continuing education.

• Registered Dietitian Nutritionists use their nutrition expertise to help individuals make personalized, positive lifestyle changes.

• Registered Dietitian Nutritionists work throughout the community in hospitals, schools, public health clinics, nursing homes, fitness centers, food management, food industry, universities, research private practice, and more.

• Registered Dietitian Nutritionists are advocates for advancing the nutritional status of Americans and people around the world.

A note from Linda (RDN):

There are a few common reactions when people hear the word “Dietitian.” They either have a million questions, or they want to run away and hide all their food in fear the dietitian is going to take it away. Rest assured, you will find a balanced approach here and not the food police.

I’m passionate about helping you find ways to nourish your body without depriving it of the nutrition it needs to help you live well. Feel free to reach out anytime. I’ll look forward to connecting with you soon.

Daylight Savings Time

March 13, 2022

By Linda Wilcox

It’s time to spring forward for daylight savings time. Are you ready? Maybe for a new season, but losing an hour of sleep can feel like a lot, especially if you are behind. Here are some ways you can help your body adjust to the time change.

1. Ease into earlier bedtimes and waking times.

Starting about 4 days before the time change, start going to sleep and waking up 15 minutes earlier each day.

2. Get exposure to daylight as soon as possible

Once you are awake, open the blinds or step outside and get some sunshine. Daylight helps us wake up and prepare our brains for a normal circadian rhythm, which determines our waking and sleeping patterns.

3. Avoid drinking caffeine too close to bedtime.

4. Allow 2-3 hours after eating before you go to bed.

5. Turn off all screens at least 30 minutes before you go to sleep.

Automation

Written by Your Neighborhood Bootcamp Instructor

Have you ever laid in bed on a cold, gloomy morning contemplating your desire to exercise? The wind blowing, maybe it’s raining or snowing, and you are comparing your comfy bed to your exercise routine. The longer you think about staying in bed, the more likely you will… Most people choose to stay in bed; believe me, I have too.

Here is one way I have learned to win this battle. It’s called Automation. Automation helps us take out thinking and excuses and replaces them with predetermined decisions.

It works like this.

You set alarms for each day of the week, depending on your workout goals. This can be easily done on your smartwatch or phone. Then you attach criteria to those alarms. For example, when the alarm sounds, I look at the temperature. If it is above 30 degrees, I get my hat and gloves on and go for a walk or run. If it it below 30, I go ride the bike at the gym. It is even more helpful to write your criteria out.

You will be surprised at how ding a little planning will affect your excuses generator on those cold mornings. Try it and see if it works for you!

Book Recommendation:

WHEN: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

By Daniel H. Pink

Everyone knows that timing is everything. But we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of “when” decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork.

Timing, it’s often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science.

Linda Wilcox, RDN, LD

Linda is our new Registered Dietitian Nutritionist that uses a balanced approach to health and wellness, focusing on nutrition, movement, sleep, and connecting you with other appropriate health resources.

Linda understands and recognizes the courage needed to take the first step in caring for yourself and starting your own health and wellness journey. Learn more about Linda’s services like individual wellness and nutrition consultations, ministry and church wellness consultations, group presentations, here!