Healthy Resolution Review

I'm almost sad to see January end since we've had such nice weather!  Today was a beautiful  light jacket day on the dairy farm.  On my short,brisk walk to the dairy barn after we fed baby calves this afternoon, I was enjoying the late afternoon sunshine as much as this group of calves that were watching me as I passed by.  While walking home, I was thinking about two of the resolutions I made for the New Year to improve my diet and exercise more.

One of my healthy choices for improving my diet is to drink low fat milk, also known as 1% milk.  When comparing low fat and whole milk, low fat milk has:

• same calcium
• same protein
• same minerals and vitamins
• less fat
• fewer calories

If you're considering changing to low fat milk, here are steps suggested by the National Dairy Council:

1. Switch between whole and 2%
2. Stick with 2% if you like it, or switch between 2% and 1%.
3. Stick with 1% if you like it, or switch between 1% and fat free.

You can find ways to use milk and low fat milk and great recipes at http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/ or http://www.midwestdairy.com/.  By the end of January many people have given up on their resolutions.  I'm not a complete failure but I have plenty of work to do for the next eleven months!  How about you?

Dairymom's Diet Dash

Get ready,get set,go...it's the new year and for probably the last twenty years, I begin the diet dash to lose weight after the holidays. With age, I am really geting a lot wiser and a bit more serious about the negatives of being what some describe as "too fluffy" or "heavy" or "overweight" or just plain "fat"( My sweet Mother also called it "baby fat")! I could probably be considered an expert of knowing how to diet, I just need to execute the plan. I do have a plan and this is what I have done so far. I first stepped on the scales--that took tremendous courage but a necessary step in beginning the plan. The second step is to keep a food diary. This is a great tool for me because it keeps me honest and it helps me to realize why and when I fall off the diet wagon. I am now ready to throw out all the Christmas and holiday goodies. I am really going for the long term changes to my eating habits, so I am going to use the DASH diet plan. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension(DASH). Although this diet was developed to stop hypertension(high blood pressure), it is recommended for overall health by the American Heart Association and the National Cancer Institute. The eating plan is rich in low fat dairy foods, fruits and vegetables and low in fat,saturated fat and cholesterol. You can find out more about this diet at http://www.dashdiet.org/. If you are considering a diet plan of any kind, check first with your family doctor. Nothing comes easy but good health is worth what ever the plan requires. I am dashing on to good health, how about you?