Halloween Tricks for Treats

The following is courtesy of Karen Kuzma, Registered Dietitian. Listed below are some tips to keep in mind while surviving the Halloween Holiday without eating 5 pounds worth of sugary treats! (the following was written with kids in mind... but the same goes for adults!)

Halloween Tricks for Treats

Halloween means bags filled with sugary, sticky, chocolaty candy.

This can be frightening for many parents who worry about their kids’ eating habits. Here are some tips from the Registered Dietitian Karen Kuzma to help fit those Halloween treats into your child’s healthy diet:

• Halloween is a fun night for kids, so enjoy small portions of candy.

• Eat before you trick-or-treat. Serve your child a nutritious meal or snack before going trick-or-treating so he/she won’t dig into the bag of candy before he/she gets home.

• Teach your kids that “treats” are at the top of the Food Guide Pyramid and can fit into a healthful meal after all the other food groups have been consumed. Eat candy as part of a well-balanced meal instead of as snack in-between meals.

• Divide candy into weekly and daily portions - when it’s all gone, they need to wait until the next day or week. Let your kids pick out a few of their favorite candy pieces to have each day. Remember, parents are in charge of what kids eat.

• Large amounts of candy can be frozen to help with portion control.

• Remind your kids to brush and floss after eating candy.

Healthy Halloween Treats

Cheese and cracker packages
Chewing gum
Boxes of animal crackers
Cheese sticks
Juice boxes (100% fruit juice)
Granola or cereal bars
Small packages of pretzels and popcorn
Small packages of sunflower seeds or nuts
Packages of instant cocoa mix
Peanuts in the shell
Dried fruit
Individual cereal boxes
Fortune cookies
Balloons
Stickers
Crayons
Comic or coloring books
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Pencils
Colored chalk
Erasers
Silly Putty or bubbles
Whistles
Trading cards
Rubber spiders or worms

Karen Kuzma, Registered Dietitian

The Amazing Chase

The Amazing Chase took place last week in downtown Lincoln. Contestants broke themselves into two groups: The Physical Group and The Knowledge Group. Both teams were given clue to find their next destination, and they all ended the chase at The Running Company. Unfortunately due to a misunderstanding, a winner was not determined... however everyone kicked BUTT! Here are some photos of the teams before the chase started:

Team Punch Gym

Team Body OverHALL

Team Capital City Boot Camps

Team Body Innovations

Answers to the Challenge Questions:

1. Nuts are a good source of nutrition, have no cholesterol and are low in saturated fat. A serving size of nuts on a 1600 calorie day diet is:

1/3 cup 3 times a week

2. Which ground meat gives you the most protein with the least amount of fat?

Grass fed bison

3. A 12oz can of Coke has more carbs from sugar than a 12oz glass of unsweetened Concord grape juice.

False. Coke has 10g - Concord has 15g.

4. Which of the following is idead Total Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and Triglycerides?

<200, <100, >40, <150

5. When looking for a cereal in the grocery store, ideally you should choose one with (AND BE ABLE TO FIND):

10 grams of sugar or less

6. Heroine, morphine and sugar all stimulate the same receptors in the brain. Surveys have found the average American consumes around 22.2 teaspoons of added sugar every day. The recommended sugar intake for adult women is:

5 teaspoons (20 grams)

We had THREE Running Company $50 gift cards to give away, and we randomly drew the following names:

Charla R.

Denise E.

Monte S.

Congrats to these three contestants... pick up your gift certificate at tonight's meeting!

Special thanks to the following sponsors:

Chellie Egan with High Profile Nail and Hair Salon

Kris Thaller, Coaching Dimensions

Marcia Ksionzek, Naturally Yours Salon and Spa

Chery Hansen, Beauti-Control

Ann Ringlein, The Running Company

and thanks to all the trainers that were able to cheer their team on!

Sponsor Spotlight Recap: Branden Bonk with Punch Gym Lincoln

If you don't follow Wealth for my Health on Facebook you:
a. should
and
b. can read up about Branden Bonk of Punch Gym Lincoln here.

FIVE FUN FACTS about Branden Bonk with Punch Gym Lincoln.

1. The word "Punch" has nothing to do with what is done at the gym, but the name of the bulldog (Puncherella) that is used as the logo for the franchise.
2. I assistant coach at Parkview Christian High School (Go Patriots!).
3. I don't own a TV
4. I am a vet of Operation Iraqi Freedom '04-'06, where I met Steve my business partner.
5. I helped raise pet ducks after college - definitely the best pets ever!

Drum roll please....

...and the Wealthiest Winner is....

ERIN CARTER!

Winner of $1500!

Erin lost a total of FORTY SEVEN POUNDS and reduced her body fat by 9.4 percent, and lost 8 1/2 inches off her waist. Most importantly though she has found her "healthy happiness". We are SOOO proud of Erin and what she has accomplished, and can't wait to see her take her health to the next level. She is already signed up for the next challenge and is excited to be a challenge coach for the new contestants. Way to go, Erin!

drum roll please....

.... the Eliminated Player prize goes to....

Ivy Johnson

Winner of $500

Ivy lost 17.43% (weight, body fat and abdomen inches) total percent. and 31 1/2 inches overall! Even with taking a spill during "Survivor - Lincoln" she worked her butt off and it paid off - literally. Way to go Ivy, and best of luck in the future!

I can't not mention the two runner up contestants of the Final Three. I got to know both of these individuals very well over the course of the challenge and am just so stinkin' proud of them.

 2nd Runner Up:

                                                                               Before                                             

                                                                               After

Second runner up Vince Foster lost SEVENTY POUNDS! Vince was a biking maniac (he biked everywhere... the money he saved in gas for the car could pay off my college tuition) and one of the most humble people I know. He and his wife showed up to races that other WFMH contestants were a part of to cheer them on, and he participated in races himself. He is unstoppable! His next goal: to drop 45 more pounds and run a half marathon. Vince - you can do anything you put your mind to, we are so proud of you!

3rd Runner Up:

                                                                            Before

                                                                             After             

THIRTY FIVE POUNDS DOWN!

Third runner up was Deb Peterson. I got to know Deb pretty well when we participated in the Cornhusker State Games Adventure Race together in June. The Adventure Race consisted of running, biking, a sand challenge and a little time in the lake. It was so much fun, and I can't wait to team up for another "adventure" again soon! Deb also participated in the Havelock Run (and finished with a GREAT time) and then just recently participated in the Buffalo Run. Deb has offerred her help on more than one occasion with the WFMH challenge, and she is now helping keep the website updated (which is a NEVER ending job). I can not thank Deb enough for everything she has done, and am so thankful for her friendship. Deb is already signed up for the next session, and I can't wait to see what happens!

Monday Meeting: Mike Bevard, Capital City Boot Camps

Last Monday, contestants of the Wealth for my Health challenge met at Capital City Boot Camps for the  weekly meeting. Mike Bevard is a person trainer in Lincoln, and has owned Capital City Boot Camps for a couple years now. He is a wealth of knowledge and is always willingly sharing it. Listen to what he had to say to all the contesants last Monday:



Wealth For My Health Trainer Mike Bevard Talks About Maintaining Results- Lincoln, NE from Mike Bevard on Vimeo.




Mike will be part of the upcoming Wealth for my Health challenge, scheduled to kick off on August 29th, 2010.

Check out first place contestant, Vince!

Kitchen Overhaul - a video

As I was putting the plans together for the first Wealth for my Health challenge, I knew it would be important to encourage all the contestants to rid their kitchen of all those unhealthy foods. Unhealthy eating is similar to "Crimes of Opportunity". If the unhealthy food is there... it's going to get eaten. We had to get rid of temptation... after all; taste buds take a while to retrain! So, I asked all the contestants to go through their cupboards, pantries, and refrigerators (and that secret stash in the closet) and purge all items that were deemed “unhealthy”. (Contestants were given a list of guidelines)

For one lucky contestant, this was going to be done for them – by Registered Dietitian Karen Kuzma, from Hy-Vee. Christina was the lucky contestant, so one afternoon we raided her kitchen and filled up quite a few garbage sacks of food to take to the Food Bank. Karen was very detailed about which foods could stay, and which ones should go. We all learned a LOT that day. See for yourself!

http://www.vimeo.com/13333611


If you want your kitchen overhauled by the incredible Karen Kuzma, email sara@eventsrefined.com and put Kitchen OverHaul in the subject line.

I want to give a special thanks to Cali from A Sound Impression for filming the overhaul and putting this video together!

Sara