Dieting Habits to Break

Is your diet not working the way you would like it to? There are many bad habits that may hinder the success of your diet plan.



1. Crash diets
a. To loose weight fast you may decide to cut your caloric intake significantly. This will work in the short term; however, as soon as you return to your normal eating habits and stop your diet you may gain weight even easier than before. As you consume fewer calories you essentially “train” your body to have a slower metabolism. As you begin to eat more, your body burns the calories slowly and promotes weight gain.
2. Skipping breakfast
a. As we talked about in our blog skipping breakfast can be a big mistake. Skipping meals may be an easy way to consume fewer calories; however, skipping breakfast may lead to increased hunger and snacking throughout the day.
3. Losing track of snacks
a. Food at work, office parties, candy all of these can be easily overlooked as excess snacking. A snacking diary is a good way to take control of snacking throughout the day.

These are a few habits that may stop a successful diet plan. If you were thinking of “dieting” my main suggestion would be to create a log of what you are eating throughout the day. This will allow you to monitor your intake and make healthy adjustments to your eating plan. This will help you take an active role in your diet plan.

For more information on healthy living, or to schedule a consultation for physical therapy, feel free to contact us at 518-690-4406 or visit our website at www.empirehwc.com or email us at ehwc7@nycap.rr.com.

William Milhizer, DPT, PT

Resistance Training for Flexibility?

A stretching routine has been said to be the best way to improve flexibility. This idea has been challenged in recent years. A new study compared 25 college age individuals split up into two groups, stretching and resistance training. The idea being that as you perform resistance exercises through a full range of motion you also actively stretch your muscles at the same time. At the end of this preliminary study, resistance and stretching showed similar effects on flexibility.

What does this mean to the average person? There are many health benefits when you add a resistance program into your exercise routine. Although this area needs more research to add validity, resistance training will help you to keep your strength and range of motion as you age. Before starting any exercise program talk to a medical professional. After you are cleared to begin there are many resources out there to guide you in the right direction to a healthy exercise program.

For more information on healthy living, or to schedule a consultation for physical therapy, feel free to contact us at 518-690-4406 or visit our website at www.empirehwc.com or email us at ehwc7@nycap.rr.com.

William Milhizer, DPT, PT

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20100604/resistance-training-improves-flexibility-too

The Sodium in Your Diet

Sodium is an important part of a balanced diet and allows for proper muscle and nerve function and allows for the natural reaction to balance the body’s fluid levels. Unfortunately most of us consume too much salt in our daily diet (FDA guideline 2,400 mg). Watching your sodium intake may be very tricky since not all sodium comes from salt. This week we are going to attempt to make the battle a little easier by making you aware of some typical grocery foods that are high in sodium.

1. Frozen foods
a. That lean cuisine or hot pocket may look healthy; however, if you look at the label the amount of sodium may be surprising. If you enjoy bringing this type of food as a quick lunch for work, I recommend making a moderate to large meal that you can freeze and eat throughout the week. This may be a healthier and less costly alternative.
2. Ready to eat cereals
a. Yes even raisin bran can boast up to 300g of sodium per cup! Think about portion size and the big bowl we all reach for in the morning when we eat breakfast. Instead think of fruit or a low sodium variety of cereal. Refer to a previous post and really familiarize yourself with food labels to maximize your knowledge.
3. Canned vegetables
a. Sodium is used as a preservative as well as seasoning. A typical can of corn can have as much as 700g of sodium. If you must buy canned food rinse it thoroughly before consuming. Your best bet is to buy seasonal or better yet local vegetables or fruits to minimize the use of preservatives and pesticides.

These are just a few foods that you may think are “lower” in sodium. There are many other foods such as these. Refer to http://www.webmd.com/diet/slideshow-salt-shockers for many other helpful tips on food selection. If all else fails read the food label on the side of the package or can. It holds valuable information on the nutritional value of each product.

For more information on healthy living, or to schedule a consultation for physical therapy, feel free to contact us at 518-690-4406 or visit our website at www.empirehwc.com or email us at ehwc7@nycap.rr.com.

William Milhizer, DPT, PT

Portion Sizing 101

Achieving a healthy lifestyle can be challenging as it involves making good choices. The major components needed to achieve optimal health include both exercise and diet. Unfortunately, for most individuals when it comes to food intake, portion size is extremely overestimated during all meals. In searching the internet for reliable information I came across a great resource for clients. Follow this link to the WebMD website at www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-portion-size-plate. It compares many foods to household items to indicate serving size. When looking at this site attempt to pick out foods that you eat most often or foods that you eat that you know you may eat too much. This may give you a new outlook on your diet and help you control your excess calorie intake.

For more information on healthy living, or to schedule a consultation for physical therapy, feel free to contact us at 518-690-4406 or visit our website at www.empirehwc.com or email us at ehwc7@nycap.rr.com.

William Milhizer, DPT, PT

October is National Physical Therapy Month

http://www.moveforwardpt.com/october-is-pt-month/