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Plan Ahead!
1. Set a goal for the length of time you will exercise or the distance you will cover while exercising.
2. Don’t forget to bring your walking/running shoes to work. (Side note from Kelly: Buy a GOOD pair of RUNNING shoes from a RUNNING store!)
3. Schedule a convenient time during your workday to work out and do it!
4. Make plans to meet a coworker for a walk break.
5. Write in your planner when you will exercise.
6. Warm up for a few minutes before getting into a faster paced exercise.

Getting to work:

7. Ride your bike to work (or before/after/lunchbreak)
8. Park your car as far away as possible and allow extra time to walk.
9. Come to work a ½ hr early or stay after to jog or walk.
10. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

At your desk:
11. Stretch throughout the day.
12. Squeeze a tennis ball to help strengthen your hand and wrist.
13. Try doing bicep curls with a paperweight.
14. Using a chair to brace yourself, do some calf raises to increase muscle strength.
15. Use your speakerphone for conference calls and stand instead of sitting!
16. Shoulder rolls, forward ten times, then repeat going backwards.
17. While sitting at your desk, rotate one foot to “write” each letter of the alphabet.  Switch feet and repeat.
18. Wall sits during those conferences calls or on your break.
19. Get out of your chair and move around for a few minutes an hour.
20. Shoulder shrugs are a great way to loosen up tight muscles.  Repeat 5-10 times.
21. Keep a water cup close by, but don’t forget to get up and keep filling it up!  Everyone should drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.
22. Stretch your lower back.  While seated, slowly bend forward at the waist. Reach forward with your hands until they reach the floor.  Hold for 15 seconds before slowly coming up.
23. Move your feet and legs while you are sitting at your desk to burn calories and increase energy.

Take a break:
24. Spice up your breaks with a jaunt around the building.
25. Do you need to clear your head?  Get up and take a five minute walk.
26. If you cant take a break for 20 minutes, try taking 10 min walks twice daily.
27. Leave a few minutes early for meetings to allow time to stretch your legs a bit.
28. Using the phone to talk to the person down the hall?  Get up and get moving.  The walk will do you good.

Lunch
29. Top off your lunch break with a 15 minute walk.
30. Going out to lunch? Why not choose a spot some distance away and walk.
31. Eat some whole grain carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables for energy.

Trips
32. Going on a trip? Take advantage of fitness facilities at your hotel.
33. Walk instead of using the moving airport walkways.
34. Pack hand and ankle weights or a resistance band for strength training on trips.

Stay Motivated
35. Try selecting indoor and outdoor activities
36. Grab a buddy. Exercising is always more fun with a friend.
37. Join a local health club for workday workouts
38. Keep track of your mileage. Choose a vacation spot and walk to it.
39. Have you met your goal? Don’t forget to reward yourself.
40. Bring along an ipod to play your favorite songs.

Staying motivated:
41. Habits are much easier to keep if you ENJOY them.  Find something you like!
42. If you aren’t too excited about a strenuous workout, try something more low key like a walk or yoga.  The important thing is just to keep moving!
43. To prevent boredom: change activity or location of activity often.
44. Don’t get down if you miss a workout, just schedule your next one.
45. Keep a record of your daily workouts.
46. Get a co-worker to join you for a lunch or break time walk.
47. Train for the Halloween 5k at Moraine Valley!
48. Buy some new exercise shoes (I recommend running shoes) and clothes.
49. Just Do It!  10 minutes is better than none at all!
50. Meet a friend at FitRec!

Happy Trrails!

Kelly Devine Rickert

It’s that time of year again.  Families near and far are shuffling kids, moms, dads, aunts, uncles and grannies into the car for the illustrious family road trip vacation.  But when your vacay – and your family – crams into one car, it’s hard to find something portable that you can also feel good about giving your family.  

Below are 5 tips to help stay healthy for this summer’s road trip!  They’re fit for tots, teens, and parents alike.  And most importantly, they’ll withstand 70 miles per hour, potty pit-stops, and backseat fights.
Healthy snacks on the road:

1) Plan, Plan, Plan!
By planning your meals and scheduled stops, and bringing along healthy beverages and snacks, you will save time, money and a lot of excess fat and sugar calories!  Sit down and make a plan on when you will stop for meals.

2) Hydrate!
First in that cooler needs to be water and 100% fruit juice boxes.  This way, your family will stay hydrated during your road trip.  Stay away from pop, sugary juice, tea, sports and energy drinks.  Along with saving a lot of excess calories, you will save a lot of money avoiding gas stations and vending machines!

3) Pack healthy snacks.
By packing healthy snacks, you can decrease the excess fries and chips and the “I’m hungry” whines in between meal stops!  I recommend packing snacks into smaller snack bags so people can grab individual portions from the cooler.  (Sidenote: Eating in the car does increase the choking factor especially for very small kids. Be mindful of this when choosing what snacks to bring).

Some ideas:
-Hummus and whole-wheat pitas (Now sold in little packs at the store!)
-String cheese sticks
-Fruit and Veggie Snack Packs, bag of apples
-Sunflower seeds and nuts/trailmix
-Animal crackers, pretzels, Goldfish, etc

4.) Stop and eat meals.
Sometimes it may seem like it’s easier to power through your drive by utilizing fast food restaurants and not stopping to eat, but that may backfire.  Take the time to stop and eat, stretch your legs and move around a bit before you continue on your trip.  Add a side salad or a fruit to your meal instead of the usual fries and chips.  If you want to go the fast food route, try and order sandwiches but supplement the meal with the snacks you have packed in the car. This is a HUGE cost saver on road trips!

5) Exercise!
Take the time on your potty breaks to move your legs a bit, especially if you have young kids in the car.  If the tensions are getting high in the back seat, it may be time for some fresh air!  Many rest stops have trails and playgrounds now.  A great app to download is USA Rest stops which will help you find what rest areas are closest to you.

Now that you’ve got your summer road trip snack pack prepared, you’re ready to head out on a road-bound vacation you can truly feel good about.

Happy Trails to you!

Kelly Devine Rickert MS RDN LDN

Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip
Ingredients for 3 servings
16 oz Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon green onion
OPTIONAL 1 tablespoon green onion ½ teaspoon dried minced garlic ½ teaspoon dried minced onion

Pair with your favorite chopped veggies for a lower fat, higher protein alternative.

5 INGREDIENT PEANUT BUTTER ENERGY BITES
SERVINGS: 12 BITES
Quick and Healthy 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Energy Bites. Takes less than 10 minutes to make with only 5 ingredients! The perfect healthy snack!
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons honey
INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Place in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes so they are easier to roll.
2. Roll into 12 bites and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Chicken Cashew Salad

1.5 cups carrots and cabbage (each)
5 oz chicken
¼ cup cashews
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp peanut vinaigrette (found at Trader Joe’s!)
Green onions (optional)