Dear WalkingSpree members, Friends and Readers,
We wish you a joyous Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

All the best in 2009,
Hiran Perera, CEO and the WalkingSpree Team

Don’t forget to participate in the Walk with Santa Challenge to win an Amazon Gift Certificate.

I hope you have utilized some of my tips previously mentioned in my blogs. Here are some more of my favorite ideas for healthy holiday cooking.

1. Use pineapple or orange juice thickened with corn starch for glaze on vegetables, such as carrots. Do the same thing with cranberry juice for the turkey instead of gravy

2. Use jams and jellies instead of margarine or butter for bread.

3. Thicken gravy with tapioca and a little water instead of butter or margarine.

4. Use low fat or non fat cheeses instead of full fat cheeses.

5. Cook the turkey or chicken in the skin and bones for flavor, but avoid the skin when eating.

6. Try adding some extra healthier options with your holiday meal, such as White Meat, Steamed Vegetables, without butter and Sweet Potatoes

7. Only make enough for that meal or make extra and put leftovers in the fridge before serving, or give doggy bags to friends.

8. Use herbs and spice (Ex. Farlic, Cinnamon, Fresh Basil) instead of condiments like gravy and butter.

9. Be careful not to add to much oil to your meals. Remember 1 tablespoon of oil is 120 calories. Try cooking in wine oe lemon juice instead of using excess oil.

Dining out for the Holidays

Some friends and family do not like to stay home and cook for the holidays. So, if you are going out to eat during the holidays here are some helpful tips to remember.

1. Fill up on a salad first. This will decrease the amount of food that you eat.

2. Bring half of your food home to eat for the next day. Ask for a to go box before you receive your food.

3. Split the meal with a spouse, relative, or friend

4. Try ordering side dishes as your meal, such as mixed veggies, edamame, and a sweet potato

5. Avoid adding table salt

6. Use low fat and nonfat dressings in moderation

7. Dip your fork in the dressing first and then eat your salad.

Next week I will continue with some of my favorite dessert tips for the holiday season. Hope everyone is having a Happy December!

Previous related articles:

Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

It’s time for December’s challenge to win a free subscription to Family Doctor Magazine. Written by health-care professionals, James Hubbard’s My Family Doctor is your trustworthy, evidence-based source for reliable health information–delivered straight to your door.

This December you’ll have the chance to be Santa’s Walking Buddy.

At WalkingSpree we have a diverse group that include many faiths and beliefs, so we fully recognize that not everyone celebrates Christmas or the spirit of Santa Claus. If you do not want to participate in the Walk with Santa Challenge. You can easily remove him from your buddy list by going to Walking Buddies and click remove. We will still verify if you’ve walked more than 7,000 steps on days between now and December 31st.

Rules:

You will notice on your profile page starting tomorrow morning that you now have a new walking buddy. . . Santa Claus. Jolly Ole Saint Nick himself.

Santa averages 7,000 steps every day during December (he doesn’t hit 10,000 because he’s on his sleigh a lot this time of year).

For every day you walk more than Santa from today until Dec. 31st, your name is entered into the draw for the subscription to Family Doctor Magazine.

Holiday Walking Tips

The holidays can be a challenging time for people to find time to exercise with visiting friends and family. So here are some suggestions to help you get those holiday steps in:

1. Holiday Shopping - You’re at the mall already, so instead of feeling frustrated that you’ve got to run around the mall so much, check your pedometer regularly and refuel that frustration into success that you’re getting healthier and boosting your steps.

2. Park far away from the malls

3. Family walks - While visiting family and friends. Instead of everyone sitting on the couch stuffed to the gills from food, suggest everyone go for a walk instead to look at the Christmas lights.

4. Shoveling snow - Not anyone’s favorite job. Remember as you push the scoop down the driveway that you’re adding more steps to your pedometer.

5. Decorating - While decorating the tree or house, take one item per trip to add more steps.

6. Walk & Talk - The holidays are a time when we’re often on the phone with family and friends. Take advantage of this time to use a portable phone and walk around your house while talking.

7. Holiday parties - Often a time for dancing. Get out on the dance floor and step up a storm.

Holiday Contest

Be sure to check out the December Holiday Challenge that will be posted on the blog this Friday. You’ll be able to win a free subscription to Family Doctor Magazine

November was a busy month for WalkingSpree.

New Feature:

The Body Tracker now has a Waist/Hip Ratio to provide even more information if you’re at higher risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

We have several new features launching in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for a review of our completely revamped Food Tracker coming next week.

Halloween Contest

We held our 1st Halloween Count Step a lot Challenge and was thrilled by the feedback we received from our WalkingSpree members.

Pete Manczyk, from American Financial Group won as Joe the Human Pedometer. Congrats again Pete!

View other favorite entries.

WalkingSpree recently became a member of Premium WELCOA Provider.

Top 20 walkers - November
(Numbers may vary depending on last upload)

Screen Name Total Steps Average Steps

Be sure to check the blog regularly to read new health related posts and WalkingSpree updates.

This article is the last of our series of Diabetes related posts to close out Diabetes Awareness month this November.

A dose of prevention for you and your kids

Diabetes has become a full-blown epidemic in the U.S. and Canada. Twenty-six million people have been diagnosed with the disease; millions more unknowingly live with it. Among the newly diagnosed are children as young as age five.

The exponential rise of diabetes across North America is no mystery. It’s directly tied to our consumption of processed, refined foods, compounded by our increasingly sedentary lifestyle. If we return to a more natural way of eating and living, the vast majority of us need never worry about diabetes and its associated dangers — blindness, limb amputation, kidney failure, and premature death.

Switching to a healthier, more active lifestyle may pose an inconvenience. But it’s far outweighed by the inconvenience of having to live with a chronic disease.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce or doesn’t properly utilize insulin, the hormone that stores and releases blood sugar (glucose) for energy. It comes in two main forms: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes) is the rarer form of the disease. In it, the beta cells of the pancreas are completely destroyed, requiring lifelong insulin injections. Experts still don’t know what causes type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is far more common and, in some ways, more insidious. Experts agree on one of its main causes: over-consumption of simple carbohydrates, which are found in foods that contain refined sugar and refined grains such as white flour, rice, and bread.

How type 2 diabetes develops

One contributing factor to Type 2 Diabetes is the consumption of white bread. White bread is a byword for bland innocuousness. But ironically, it’s foods like white bread that give rise to type 2 diabetes.

When you eat a piece of white bread, it rapidly breaks down into blood sugar due to the dearth of fiber, protein, and essential fat. Your pancreas responds by secreting increased amounts of insulin. If you continue eating simple carbohydrates without sufficient fiber, protein, and essential fat, your body will keep secreting more and more insulin to cope with the surge in blood-sugar levels.

Too much insulin leads to two major health problems: it causes excess glucose to be stored as fat, contributing to weight gain; and it causes blood sugar to drop, a state known as hypoglycemia. To counter the symptoms of hypoglycemia — fatigue, moodiness, and mental fogginess — most people will consume sugary or starchy foods, prompting the vicious cycle to begin all over again.

The body gradually grows accustomed to these fluctuations in blood-sugar levels. As a result, the warning signs of impending disease may go unnoticed for months, even years.

Amid all the bad news, however, there is some good news: unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes is preventable.

Help from whole foods

To keep blood sugar balanced, you should eat smaller meals that put less stress on your pancreas and, above all, reduce your daily intake of refined sugar and other simple carbohydrates.

Buy unprocessed, whole foods instead of packaged goods. Whole foods include unrefined grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds. These are the most natural foods you can eat and contain an abundance of fiber and essential nutrients without refined sugar or any other unhealthy additives.

Eat as much fresh, raw food as possible. Vegetables contain more nutrients raw than cooked, since the heat of cooking destroys many vitamins and enzymes. Be sure to include fruit in your diet, as well: apples, pears, plums, peaches, cherries, and grapefruit are particularly beneficial. Given that fruit does contain natural sugars it’s important to consult your physician to understand how much fruit to eat on a daily basis.

Experiment with healthy foods

If eating this way is new to you, take the time to experiment with unfamiliar foods and recipes. Start your day with muesli made from raw oats instead of sugary breakfast cereals or baked goods. Try recipes with quinoa or kamut pasta, brown basmati rice, and bulgur wheat in place of the usual plain white rice and noodle dishes.

Read food labels to ascertain sugar content: some foods, such as pop, consist almost entirely of sugar. Use butter, nuts, seeds, fruits, and whole-grain snacks to replace baked goods and sweets.

If you must indulge your sweet tooth, small amounts of stevia and fructose are the best sugar substitutes. Artificial sugar substitutes, such as aspartame and saccharine, may actually promote weight gain and increase sugar cravings.

Get active

Along with eating well, exercise is also vital for preventing diabetes. Regular exercise stabilizes blood sugar levels and reduces the body’s need for insulin.

The best way to start an exercise regimen is slowly but regularly. Just 30 minutes of walking a day offers enormous health benefits and can help to balance blood-sugar levels.

By eating well and being active, you can avoid becoming another statistic and live the long, diabetes-free life you deserve.

Related Diabetes Awareness Month posts:

WalkingSpree’s 30 Days to ask “Why you should care about Diabetes” calendar.

For Diabetes Awareness Month, you can download WalkingSpree’s Diabetes Awareness calendar with walking tips for posting in your workplace or on your fridge as a reminder of the importance of every step you take.

D-Blog day