Crissy Fishbane and Cindi Michaelson met through the fitness industry and grew closer over a variety of shared interests. They both have kids — a two-year-old for Fishbane and a seven and nine-year-old for Michaelson. And even though their kids aren't the exact same age, they still realized how beneficial a friendship likes theirs was as they navigated motherhood.

"We quickly identified a shared passion for helping moms take better care of themselves while navigating the challenging phases of motherhood and began brainstorming ways we could help moms using our unique experiences and skill sets," they tell me. "This vision is a reality today because we each have different strengths that complement one another so well."

The result is HER Health Collective, a local effort to connect local moms at all stages and ages and provide expert support and a network of friends who they can learn from, rely on and support. As they prep for their first monthly workshop series, which is scheduled for Feb. 22, I checked in with them to learn more about what HER Health Collective is all about.

Here's a Q&A:

Go Ask Mom: What's the backstory to the HER Health Collective? How did this all get started?

Crissy and Cindi: HER Health Collective actually began as a “Repair Your Core” program for new moms, but after interviewing them about their biggest struggles, we noticed that the majority of women battle overwhelm, loneliness, exhaustion, frustration, and even guilt for not being able to do it all. We began developing ways to provide more support to women through every stage of motherhood and fill the gaps that women face in the current healthcare system. Mothers need more than a cursory physical six weeks after they give birth. They need continued support - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Our vision grew from there.

Now HER has taken on a life of its own. The response and engagement we’ve received from local experts, businesses, and the community at large continues to inspire us. It’s because of this support that we’ve been able to create such a robust offering for local moms.

GAM: What will you be offering? What's the goal?

C and C: Our primary goal is to create a tight-knit community of local moms with access to vetted professionals, tools and resources. Up until now, moms have been left to fend for themselves with regards to finding needed healthcare professionals. Genuine social connections are becoming rare in this internet age and we aim to bring back a sense of real community. We are offering this through HER Circle memberships.

HER Circle offers moms an opportunity to create genuine connections and authentic relationships with other women. We offer a variety of fun social events every month including family adventures, conversation circles, mom’s night out, and volunteer opportunities. All of these events are hosted by our phenomenal ambassadors who are skilled at bringing a room together and ensuring everyone feels welcome. This is what sets our social community apart from being just another mom’s group that offers playdates.

Our moms also have the opportunity to exercise their skills and talents by participating in Charity Teams. These teams offer moms an opportunity to work with like-minded women to create, organize and implement fundraisers for local charities of their choosing. We designed this piece of HER Circle based on focus groups and poll responses from dozens of moms that mentioned the desire to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Members have access to exclusive online content from local experts who have been through a rigorous nomination, application, and vetting process. This is how we ensure we are bringing top-notch professionals into our community and providing our HER Circle members with trustworthy resources. We offer monthly challenges and an “Ask an Expert” series through our website and moms get discounted access to monthly expert-led workshops with topics ranging from mental health to the pelvic floor and everything in between.

We are thrilled to partner with some incredible businesses around town, such as Core Power Yoga, Shred 415, Barre3, Trellis Beauty, GloBody, Little Doodles Play Cafe, Kindermusik, Dove and Olive, and many others. These businesses are offering our moms fantastic deals and discounts which we feel is the icing on the cake for our members. We plan to rotate these perk partners every season so that moms can continually try out new family-friendly businesses around town. We are constantly looking for new businesses to partner with.

Our community is for moms of all ages. We believe in the power of intergenerational connections, both between moms and between our children. We have events in the works that are for moms with teens as well as events that are for retirees and empty-nesters.  Once a mom, always a mom! We feel that by bringing in an older generation to our community we can provide a lot of support and wisdom to our newer moms.  We also know that many moms of grown children are in need of a supportive community and access to trustworthy health resources. By blending all ages of moms we hope to fill a void that has resulted from the mobile nature of our world today, where many of us no longer live near immediate family.  True family is multi-generational.

More information about HER Circle memberships can be found here.

GAM: Moms are busy. We have so many things on our plates. And, often, the last thing we think about is ourselves. What's the message you want to send to moms with the programs you're planning?

C and C: More than anything, we want moms to know they are not alone.

Having a supportive circle provides immense benefit. When that circle is filled with women who are in the thick of the journey with you or have been in your shoes before, you feel seen. When a woman has a place she can go to find trustworthy resources and answers to her questions from trusted experts, her overwhelm and frustrations can be alleviated.

The “HER” in HER Health Collective represents our values:

Holistic health - we believe in caring for the whole woman -- body, mind, and spirit

Empowering women - we believe in empowering women through a supportive community and trustworthy knowledge

Respect - we believe in respecting each mom’s unique journey

HER Health Collective is a resource for all moms in the Triangle. We will be sharing content on our website and hosting a handful of events every month that are open to the public. HER Circle is our membership community designed for the mom looking to make deeper connections and wanting to become a part of something bigger than herself.

GAM: Tell us about the Feb. 22 event. What's planned?

C and C: We are excited to host the first of our monthly workshop series with Dr. Amanda Seavey, a local psychologist. She will be speaking on insomnia and mental health and will explore ways moms can improve sleep and their overall emotional wellness. Each of our workshops is followed by a fun element based on our expert’s personal hobbies and interests. So following the 45-minute insomnia workshop, we will have a fun, beginner-friendly 90’s Cardio Funk Dance class.

The workshop is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 22, at Stage Door Dance Productions in Brier Creek. Tickets can be purchased here.

We have a phenomenal lineup of monthly workshops. Our next workshop dives into optimizing pelvic health with Grace Physical Therapy and Pelvic Health.

GAM: What are your hopes for the future of the Collective?

C and C: One of our main underlying goals is to create a conversation among experts about postpartum care and the overall treatment of women in the healthcare system. Knowledge is power and the only way we can increase knowledge is to begin having conversations about the difficult topics.

To do this, we have created a panel of 12 local women’s health experts that have been through a rigorous nomination, application, and vetting process. These panelists have generously agreed to participate in four roundtables over the course of the year.

Each roundtable covers a wide variety of topics ranging from gut health and the microbiome to cell phone use and a mother’s mental health. We will dive into topics that impact mothers of all ages, including those entering menopause. Our final roundtable of the year will explore issues beyond the individual woman and take a look at different societal constructs and how they are impacting the overall care a woman receives.

Our purpose is to create conversation across a variety of professions and disciplines, with the hope of fostering collaboration and generating new insights into how we collectively approach the care women receive. We thought it would be amazing to get experts from such diverse backgrounds into a room together to discuss topics that impact mothers on a daily basis.

We believe that collaboration is the way to find an answer to almost any issue. HER Health Collective brings experts together to discuss the hard topics in an effort to create real change. All change has to start somewhere. We believe this collaboration is a model for change that we would love to someday implement nationwide.

Our first roundtable is set to take place on March 20.

Go Ask Mom features local moms every Monday.

Reprinted with permission from Novo Health.

By Scott Hutchinson

Despite everything, you don’t want to be there. It starts with a sincere handshake, an offer of a cup of coffee, a docent’s tour of thought-provoking artwork adorning the walls, and a friendly request to “make yourself comfortable.” Fat chance. You’re in the Police Chief’s office. And you didn’t do nuthin’.

Strength and conditioning interventions are provided to officers on an as-needed basis. (Photo/Alan Kolbeck)

All that said, Chief Marty Skibba is a cordial host who has created a welcoming space. Speaking in quiet, measured tones, the articulate Skibba holds forth on a topic dear to his heart: the health and wellness of every officer under his command in the Stevens Point Police Department (SPPD).

“As cops, we aren’t always the best at taking care of ourselves,” he says. “We tend to look outward, focusing on what’s coming towards us, a lot of which is pretty tough stuff. That’s the job, and it’s what you do.”

Skibba sits for an hour, doing most of the talking because that’s why we’re here, to learn about the steps his department is taking to turn a little bit of that focus inwards, so the men and women tasked with keeping a community safe can be at their best.

Because when we need a cop, perhaps during one of life’s most challenging moments, they need to be at their best, because we just might not be.

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While the incessant cliché of cops eyeing up a box of donuts within easy reach may never go away, think of this: most sedentary jobs don’t include the necessity of being able to go from a seated position to top speed in order to respond to an emergency situation that puts both body and psyche at risk.

Such stressors are not an employee norm.

And cops see a lot of things we don’t necessarily – or ever – want to see, not to mention deal with on a daily basis. Yet every officer, without exception, understands that witnessing trauma and devastation comes with the job.

Historically, law enforcement’s unwritten guideline for dealing with job stress was to suck it up and move on. The limitations of that mantra have long been known, but it takes time to move a needle and change a culture. That’s the goal of the SPPD wellness program.

And while he’s quick to point out the resolute efforts of previous Department members that laid the groundwork for the program as it exists today, Skibba’s unrelenting advocacy for the squad’s physical and mental well-being is noteworthy.

Additionally, there’s a giant stuffed elephant draped over the couch in his office, the plush embodiment of the Chief’s desire to always acknowledge the difficult, the painful, even the horrific, and let such things breathe.

“No matter how challenging your day is today, you need to come back tomorrow and confront that day,” he says.

Now there’s a mantra with immense potential for law enforcement, a group as strong and tight as they come.

Enter Advanced Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine’s Traci Tauferner, the long-time coordinator of the Department’s wellness program, who joins the discussion.

“This Department is definitely strong and tight, but it needs to be strong and flexible,” quips Tauferner.

Athletic trainer Traci Tauferner, who coordinates the SPPD's wellness program, had to convince the officers she was on their side. (Photo/Alan Kolbeck)

Coming from an athletic trainer, the statement undoubtedly refers to the value of muscle pliability, but it also does double duty. Cops are not the easiest group in which to insert oneself, and that kind of inflexibility is exactly what Tauferner had to overcome to establish the program. Only with trust could there be acceptance, relevancy, success.

She would need to convince a decidedly insular group – the thin blue line – that she was on their side.

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To get a sense of the current state of the SPPD officer wellness program, just follow Tauferner to her office.

It’s a long journey, but not because the office is located in a far corner of the facility away from any serious foot traffic. That was in the old days. The trek to her office is actually quite short, as it sits smack dab in the center of the stationhouse.

It takes a while because there is a conversation between Tauferner and EVERY member of the Department she bumps into, and that is no small number on this Wisconsin winter morning.

Tauferner’s experience working with tactical groups – police, firefighters, paramedics – puts her in the unique position of understanding the challenges these groups face as well as being able to do something about them. Every wellness program must be tailored to a group’s needs and, just as important, budget. At SPPD, the initial program was based primarily around fitness assessments that provide indicators for potential physical issues.

These assessments proved crucial in a number of ways:

The success of fitness testing led to program enhancements such as onsite rehab. Tauferner’s bread and butter are strength and conditioning interventions, which she provides to officers on an as-needed basis. Could be an officer experiencing a hitch in their giddy-up, or someone who needs help rehabbing after surgery. Perhaps it’s an ergonomic issue, where a computer needs to be moved or a chair requires an adjustment to provide relief.

Such visits often begin with the hope that a nagging pain can be addressed. This opens the door, providing an opportunity to broach other issues and bring them to light.

If Tauferner gets the call to work on a tight quad with ultrasound, cupping, or instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilizations, she knows this is the perfect time to make a few inquiries. And if that call isn’t made, officers still have required fitness testing three times a year.

“Many of the officers don’t see their primary care physician, so three times a year I am able to check in on their health, their blood pressure, their heart rate, their flexibility,” says Tauferner. “It’s an opportunity to start a conversation and suggest some help.”

To emphasize the point, Tauferner relates the story of a firefighter complaining of heartburn. No biggie he says, and he’s ready to shrug it off. Tauferner tells him to sit down so she can take his blood pressure. It measures 180/110.

“I suggest you go to the ER right now,” says Tauferner.

Turned out the officer was having a heart attack and had an arterial blockage in the left anterior descending artery commonly known by another name: “the widowmaker.” Following a flight for life, open heart surgery was immediately performed.

The officer frequently thanks Tauferner for her life-saving abilities; she points to the flight crew and hospital staff who provided care. Though minimizing her role in the outcome, she is a serious advocate for the testing she performs.

“He had symptoms that were questionable, and the assessment confirmed it,” says Tauferner.

And it all starts with a conversation.

She spots an approaching figure, laughs.

“That’s the belt guy I was telling you about,” she says, loud enough for Detective Lieutenant Bob Kussow to hear. “He’s put on some weight.”

Time to start another conversation.

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In charge of the detective bureau, Bob Kussow oversees the work of SPPD detectives: two narcotics detectives, a white-collar crime detective, a general investigator, a sensitive crimes detective. Starting at SPPD as a patrol officer, Kussow would later work in sensitive crimes, then as a school resource officer, back to patrol as a supervisor, and from there in administration in charge of training, auxiliary and K-9.

“Yeah, I met Traci when she first started a weight loss competition here. That first year I actually kept adding holes to my belt because I was losing weight pretty good,” says Kussow. “Had a bit of a setback this year.”

Prior to his “setback,” Kussow made some changes: improved eating habits (subject to change), the addition of cardio to workouts consisting mainly of lifting, running a few 5Ks, the adoption of a more open mindset (“I gotta do something about this”).

And he stuck with those changes for the most part, until an injury last year. A member of the Department’s SWAT team for 18 years, Kussow was no stranger to the yearly training drills done with other law enforcement agencies at Fort McCoy. As he was looking to transition out of SWAT, the 2019 training session was to be Kussow’s last.

He made sure of that with a single jump.

The two-day session starts with an obstacle course, one Kussow had conquered many times before. You can see where this is headed.

“Of all the equipment we did, walls we scaled, all that stuff, this was a four-foot wall that you jump over and land in a ditch on the other side. The easiest thing, really,” he says.

Kussow stuck the landing and tore the meniscus right off the bone. He’d continue the course, which ended with a long stretch of monkey bars and a significant drop. His compatriots knew Kussow was hurting and were there to help him finish the course.

Following surgery to reattach the meniscus to his right knee, it was six weeks before Kussow could put any pressure on it. He then began seeing a physical therapist three times a week, and Tauferner worked with him on the other two days upon his return to SPPD for light duty.

Goal number one for Tauferner was to help Kussow get back range of motion. Working in concert with Kussow’s surgeon, Tauferner pushed him to get back to where he needed to be. Tauferner was, in the words of Kussow, pretty tough.

Credit her military background. Or her vast knowledge of strength and conditioning interventions. Either way, Kussow was getting back to full strength.

At the time of his interview, Kussow was almost 21 weeks out from surgery and way ahead of schedule. Tauferner put Kussow through testing he had to pass before he was cleared to return to full duty, tests which included lifting weights, running, and jumping fences.

He finds himself in a good spot now, and he credits the support system that SPPD has in place.

“You can tell that the physical and mental health of the squad is very important to the Chief,” says Kussow. “And in order to have good mental health, you have to have good physical health.”

Just down the hallway from Tauferner’s office is a well-equipped gym providing easy access to treadmills, weights and other workout equipment – mostly donated ­– for officers to use before or after shifts as needed, to get the adrenaline out after a tough day.

Another program enhancement, and another opportunity to change the culture.

************

When starting a program, initial conversations about wellness tend to be broad in scope. Chief Skibba has been around long enough to see the trajectory of the program at SPPD and how those conversations have changed.

“We might have begun with a general notion of getting officers in better shape, say, how many push-ups or sit-ups can you do?” says Skibba. “But with Traci’s help and a fresh set of eyes, we were on a track to take things to the next level.”

That means bringing relevancy to testing by looking at job requirements. Instead of a test that simply measures running speed, you measure the length of your high school to find out how far an officer would need to run in order to clear a school. Instead of a simple climbing test, you find the city ordinances that specify how high the fences are that officers must be able to climb. And you factor in the amount of gear that is worn.  

“Now we have testing that is relevant to what our community expects officers to be able to do,” says Skibba.

Tauferner speaks to the trajectory of the fitness testing as well, the initial focus of which was the Functional Fitness assessment, which tests body composition, waist circumference, functional movement, and cardio.

In the early stages, Tauferner conducted the assessment four times per year, and there were a lot of below-average scores on the exams, which indicated a need for improved levels of fitness. Over the course of the program, scores have improved significantly, so much so that Tauferner recommended reducing the number of times per year the test was given.

With the betterment of scores, new questions arise: Are we satisfied with where we’re at? What steps can we take to get to the next level of improvement? Are there other factors we need to consider?

With SPPD, Tauferner also utilizes a Functional Movement Screen (FMS), a test first widely used in the military to assess basic body movements to ensure service members would be able to perform assigned military duties. A test with obvious crossover capabilities for other tactical groups, FMS identifies strong predictors of future injury risk – deficiencies in balance, core stability, flexibility, and mobility – through a series of specific movements.

Used in concert with physical fitness testing, the FMS is key to developing appropriate and effective injury prevention programs, says Tauferner.

Stretching during briefings is a daily occurrence at SPPD. (Photo/Alan Kolbeck)

The relationship between Tauferner and the SPPD that began a decade ago set the stage for a more comprehensive program that would better meet the needs of a growing community with the concerns that affect cities across the country regardless of size.

Police departments are addressing an ever-growing number of issues. Coupled with the expectation of digital world response times, this equates to increasing responsibility and greater workloads, underscoring the importance of keeping injuries to a minimum and quickly and safely return those injured to their posts.

To meet those needs, the SPPD officer wellness program includes the following:

Tauferner stresses the importance of each program component to act as a touchstone with Department members, as well as to contribute to a culture of wellness. It’s this mindset that continues to drive the program, putting the Department in the position of knowing exactly when an officer is ready to take care of the community in whatever fashion is needed.

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"When we don't include stretching in our routine," says Kussow (far left) "we actually miss it." (Photo/Alan Kolbeck)

As with anything funded by tax dollars, you better be able to show a return on your investment. Skibba is confident the Department is being fiscally responsible with the wellness program.

Nonetheless, some will ask why such a program is necessary.

While corporate health and wellness programs are common practice in businesses, the same is not the case in the law enforcement world, where such support is crucial. Yet across the country, many police departments are resistant to such trends.

In many cases, decision-makers need to spearhead such initiatives. Skibba asserts there has been a long history of such leadership at SPPD. He feels the program is well-established and has momentum.

He adds another item of note.

“Job injuries have gone down considerably,” says Skibba. “The savings from that perspective alone are considerable.”

Skibba credits Tauferner with elevating the program to where it is now, and Kussow agrees.

“Traci has been the inspiration to get the Department on a healthier track,” says Kussow.

Tauferner is back in the hallway, engaging with her team, trading barbs, asking what’s up, offering the highly sought after let’s see what we can do, getting to as many officers as she can. She moves quickly; time is of the essence.

“It’s important to not waste time, because every minute I spend with an officer, that’s less time for them on the road,” she says. “Taxpayers are paying for all of our services, so we need to be mindful of how we can make those dollars go the furthest and be put to the best use.”

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A proud NOVO Health Partner, Advanced Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine specializes in onsite therapy services, injury prevention, job site analysis and first aid to decrease OSHA recordables.

It’s not difficult to understand that child nutrition is important and teaching children healthy eating habits goes a long way for them. Maintaining healthy weight and nutritional intake can help them prevent lifestyle diseases later in life. It can help them control weight and build immunity early to fight diseases and infections.

When the child is growing up, his nutritional needs change with every passing year. He needs mix of every nutrient to grow, in terms of height, weight and immunity. His paediatrician can help in telling what the child needs and what deficiency he’s dealing with. Based on that, you can make the needed dietary changes for him. The idea is to teach him portion control and cut on excess sugar and carbs.

Another thing to keep in mind here is that you have to start early with kids. You can expect to take it positively once they have moved on from their formative years—first five to seven years. Also, keep in mind what he likes and what’s his physical activity level.

Rather than announcing it to your child what he’s supposed to eat, guide your family too towards healthy eating. When the child sees everyone eating healthy, he knows that he too is supposed to eat the same. Also, make sure you make variety of healthy food, so you know your child’s taste and liking. If he likes fruit over dairy, you can include more of it than dairy. Make sure you eat the same thing with him; children learn by example. Healthy role modelling is the key here.

To make sure that they learn to register fullness and hunger properly, it’s important to teach them to eat slowly. So, in a way before you give them second serving or if they demand for it, they know whether or not they actually need it. In fact, it’s fine to give them a break of 5 minutes between first and second serving. They need to know for sure how hungry they are in order to not overeat and avoid wastage. You can keep the second serving comparatively smaller and restricted to veggies.

Try to have your meals together than making your child sit alone and eat before you. If needed you tweak your mealtime to match it with your child. Make it happy, positive and little bit conversational. Don’t use this time to scold him or argue with each other. It can impact his nutrition; he may start associating the mealtime with stress. This can make him eat faster or eat less, in any case it’s not good for his nutrition.

This is one of the worst habits kids are developing these days. Children as young as one year old are habitual of eating with phones and TV in front of them. Experts believe that this type of eating doesn’t count under mindful eating. It may not give your child complete nutrition even if he completes the whole portion because his focus is not food but on his screen.  Usually, parents find it difficult to get their child away from this habit. So, start early. Make it a rule. Tell them to get involved in conversations rather than watching shows. You can award them with an hour of screen-time if they eat and finish their meal properly.

Making the child stay without food as punishment can be detrimental for their health. They will think that they might have to go to bed hungry and thus, try to eat whatever is they get. This can lead to unnecessary calorie intake and unhealthy eating. Also, if you reward them with food specially with candies and chocolate, they might value it more than healthy food. So, eliminate the whole idea of using food as bait or punishment.

When they grow to the age of three to four, you can start taking them out with you for grocery shopping occasionally. They idea is to only teach them that in the store full of food, what can be more nutritional and healthier. It can also give you a chance to know their preferences and tastes. These days, grocery and department stores have live kitchen too. It can be interesting for your child to try new food there and in fact start to like what they didn’t like before.

Snacks are not only unhealthy so don’t kill the snack time all together. In fact, add fruits, oats and shakes for snacks. This won’t kill their mealtime hunger and will also keep them full. Fuller tummies keep children happier else they get cranky. Another thing to keep in mind here is that occasionally, you child can have fried and unhealthy snacks like noodles, burgers and cutlets. Sometimes, treats are also required, and it doesn’t make them sensitive towards these foods. Yes, you can make sure that these are home cooked.

Published : October 31, 2019 12:39 pm

Healthy eating, like many things, doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing enterprise.

You don’t have to dive head-first into keto or immediately jettison everything with added sugar, just because you made a New Year’s resolution to eat healthier, experts say.

That may actually be counter-productive, says registered dietitian Andrea D’Ambrosio.

“Remember that any valiant effort to lose weight that involves deprivation and/or extreme exercise is unsustainable — you will eventually default to your old habits,” D’Ambrosio said.

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Nadine Moukheiber, a registered dietitian in Montreal, said that diets can be appealing. “We tend to want results very fast,” she said.

“And the more rules we have to follow, the more we think things are going to work out.”

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She agrees that rule-based diets are hard to keep up, though.

“It’s never long-term results,” she said. “It’s always short-term results and you can never escape the cycle.”

If you’re looking to eat healthier, here are a few simple things you can do that don’t involve an extreme diet.

1. Figure out the problem

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Moukheiber says it’s important to know what you’re trying to fix. If you’re a person who doesn’t eat very much sugar at all, adopting a paleo diet that doesn’t allow you to eat sweets won’t make much of a difference in your life, she said.

“I would just first of all get to the root of the problem and see what the main obstacles are,” she says.

Then, you can look at the cause. If you decide that you spend too much time mindlessly snacking, maybe it’s because your meals aren’t filling enough, or you need more nutritionally-balanced snacks around, she suggests.

“Decide how you want to feel,” says registered dietitian Sarah Remmer.

“Are you worried about your heart health? Are you concerned about your weight? Do you fall short on veggies in your diet? Is your energy low?

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“Decide what is troubling you, and how you want to feel better before making any changes.”

2. Start small

“Make one or two changes to your daily routine and see how that goes,” Remmer says. “If it’s doable and sustainable, try adding another change and see how that feels.”

It’s about building new habits, Moukheiber says. “If the habit you are building is customized to you, to your lifestyle, to how you feel and to your reality, it will be easy for you to repeat it and to make it a habit.”

Here are 3 food trends for 2020 3. Cook more at home

“We have become increasingly dependent upon processed, convenience and restaurant meals,” D’Ambrosio says, and our taste buds can come to crave these high-fat, high-salt foods.

Cooking more often can often improve your dietary quality and decrease your reliance upon these foods, she says.

“Your waistline and wallet will thank you for it!”

4. Add some fibre

D’Ambrosio says many of her clients feel “full and energized” after a high-fibre meal or snack. “Remember that fibre fills us up on few calories. It slows digestion, lowers cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugars,” she says.

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High-fibre diets have been linked to a range of health benefits, including protecting against disease.

D’Ambrosio recommends choosing whole grains, and suggests adding chia seeds to things like cereal or yogurt to boost their fibre content.

Tasty ways to increase your fiber intake 5. Use smaller plates

Using smaller plates at meal time is an easy thing to do that can bring big benefits, Remmer says. “This will help to control portion sizes so that you can be a more mindful eater.”

She also recommends making sure that half your plate is covered in fruits or veggies — something also recommended by the Canada Food Guide.

Canada’s new food guide: 5 things you should know 6. Know what you can’t live without

For Moukheiber, this is chocolate. “If I don’t eat my chocolate during the day, don’t stand next to me,” she says.

Replacing all her snacks with healthy alternatives just won’t work for her, she says. “I’m not going to be happy with carrots and hummus.”

“If you love having a glass of wine with dinner and it brings you joy, maybe that’s not what you should give up,” Remmer says.

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“On the other hand, if you tend to mindlessly snack on unhealthy snack foods just because they’re laying around, that’s something you can probably give up.

“Give up things that you won’t miss. Feeling deprived will only mean that you’ll end up eating more of it later.”

© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Getting one well-balanced meal on the table every day, let alone three, can be a challenge for anyone. It™s even harder with all the other tasks of caregiving, especially if your loved one has special diet needs or trouble even tasting the food you make.

But food is the body™s fuel, and part of its medicine, too. For an older adult with a long-term illness, good nutrition takes on even more importance. And healthy eating isn™t all about calorie counting and scouring food labels. Meals are also a time for connection, and good food is one of life™s basic pleasures -- at any age.

To make meals less hectic, it™s useful to know which diet needs to look out for and ideas on how to meet them.

Usually, you get the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you need with a well-balanced diet, but many older adults don™t. Here are some areas that often fall short.

B vitamins. Keep a close eye on vitamins B6, B12, and folate, also called folic acid. You can often get all three in cereals with added vitamins. You also get:

Calcium and vitamin D. These are important for strong bones. Calcium is in dairy products, like milk and yogurt, and in dark, green, leafy vegetables, like broccoli and kale. You get vitamin D from being out in the sun. That can be harder for someone who™s unwell, so look for products with added vitamin D.

Fiber. Fiber is good for the heart, helps prevent diabetes, and keeps you regular to avoid constipation. Good sources include beans, whole grains, and veggies.

Healthy fats. Try to limit fat (especially saturated) and cholesterol, and totally avoid trans fats. They can lead to heart and blood pressure problems. 

Potassium. Not eating enough potassium can raise blood pressure. You get potassium in foods such as bananas, potatoes, and yogurt.

Getting nutrition right doesn™t have to be complicated. Start with the tips below, and keep in mind your loved one™s special dietary needs -- doctor™s orders come first.

Aim for a balanced plate. Fill half the plate with veggies and fruits. Then, split the other half between whole grains and a lean protein, like chicken or beans.

Avoid the bad fats. Fats can be tricky -- do you know your saturated from your polyunsaturated? Here are a few simple rules to help:

Change it up. Variety is the spice of life and the key to health. Try to switch things up with different fruits, veggies, and proteins at every meal, or at least on different days.

Check for color. When you see a plate bursting with bright colors and lots of veggies, you got it right. 

Stick to the basics. Much of nutrition comes down to this: lots of fruits and veggies, lean meats, beans, whole grains, and a few servings of dairy. Add in poultry, eggs, and some nuts, and you™re good to go.

Feeding a loved one with an illness comes with special challenges. Here are some tips to help.

Chewing and swallowing. Cut food into small pieces and serve softer foods, like mashed potatoes and cottage cheese. You might also need to puree meals. If swallowing is an issue, thicker liquids and a straw can make life easier. And make sure to serve water with meals.

Confusion or stress. If meals are stressful, simplify things, and allow for small pleasures:

Dull taste buds and loss of appetite. Sense of taste gets weaker with age, and some medicines make it worse. That can affect your loved one™s desire to eat. To make meals more appealing, you can:

You might also offer 5-6 small meals or snacks instead of three larger ones. And help your loved one get physical activity, if you can. A walk or even washing dishes can help boost appetite. 

Mouth soreness. If a sore mouth makes eating difficult, try softer, creamier foods, such as baked sweet potatoes or pasta. Also, have a dentist check your loved one™s dentures or teeth.

Strength and coordination issues. If utensils are hard to use, try finger foods, like cheese cubes or cut-up sandwiches.

Sense of thirst also gets weaker with age. Many older adults don™t realize they™re thirsty until they™re already dehydrated. It can help to:

Congress of California Seniors: œNutrition.”

The University of Maine: œGood Nutrition for Older Adults.”

Family Caregiving Alliance: œFeeding and Nutrition (for dementia).”

NIH, National Institute on Aging: œVitamins and Minerals,” œChoosing Healthy Meals as You Get Older: 10 Healthy Eating Tips for People 65+.”

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: œSpecial Nutrient Needs of Older Adults.”

CDC: œHigh Blood Pressure.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture: choosemyplate.gov

Alzheimer™s Association: œFood, Eating, and Alzheimer™s.”

NIH, National Institute on Aging, Go4Life: œMaking Smart Food Choices,” œOvercoming Roadblocks to Healthy Eating.”

American Institute for Cancer Research: œNutrition After 50.”

© Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS Get over the stigma of frozen vegetables, says Ben Mims.

What “healthy” means to each of us is very different — and is what we often discuss when developing recipes for, or talking about, eating to feel good.

More often than not the meals we manage are a hodgepodge of random bits of leftovers from recipe testing, foraged edible bric-a-brac from people bringing food into the offices, or completely absent because we’re too busy to stop and do what we write about every week: eat.

Recognizing the gulf between the aspiration to eat well and the reality of daily life, we’re sharing a few of the course corrections we’re hoping to effect for ourselves in 2020. Eating better means feeling better, we all know that, so here are our prescriptions to ourselves for the new year:

Ben’s tips:

Get over the stigma of frozen vegetables

I get it: We live in Southern California and the produce is unmatched. I go to the farmers market every weekend. But there still manages to be a couple of days I haven’t planned for when I’m desperate for something green and the cupboard is barren (or wilted). That’s where frozen vegetables come in. Not those depressing kaleidoscopic “medleys.” I mean a bag of broccoli, green beans or peas (Jacques Pepin cosigns!) that I can steam, sauté or roast instead of reaching for a takeout menu. With a bowl of warm rice, they’re a meal.

Aim for a “healthy” breakfast at least three days a week

Knowing I should eat better and actually doing it are two separate things. I try to outsmart myself and eat a healthy-for-me breakfast at least three days a week — a small bowl of cashew yogurt with granola and a big dollop of jam; wilted spinach scrambled with an egg; good whole-grain toast with a banana and almond butter. Ideally, starting my morning this way will influence the rest of my day’s meals, but I know at least I got my nutrition in first thing and if I eat not so well the rest of the day, I won’t beat myself up over it.

There’s no shame in shakes

I often find myself too busy for lunch, whether I’m deep in the zone writing or have just finished a morning of driving all over L.A. for groceries and I want to start cooking and not make extra dishes. In those situations I go for a shake — even, yes, easy-to-hate-on Soylent or green shakes from Moon Juice. Shakes are also my secret for staying sated when I have an early flight, photo shoot or TV appearance that throws a wrench in my usual morning routine.

Keep nuts on hand everywhere, all the time

I’m one of those people who find themselves suddenly famished, and that’s why I started keep mixed nuts everywhere: my kitchen cabinet, my car’s center console, in my desk at work. A couple handfuls is all I need to stabilize my blood sugar levels and ward off any insane rationalizations that I need seven cookies as my “snack” right now.

Just drink water

Drinking water helps you feel full, staving off hunger pangs that strike out of nowhere. The rule of drinking a full glass of water before a meal really works — it makes you eat less because you’re putting something in your stomach and, if you’re imbibing, helps dilute the alcohol to ward off hangovers. Staying hydrated means you’ll feel better overall, and hopefully that will carry over into helping you make better decisions about what to eat for the rest of the day.

Genevieve’s tips

Rule No. 1: There are no rules

Trying to eat healthy can be a real mind game. If I tell myself I can’t have any doughnuts, I will devour a dozen and then some. If your head works like mine, don’t label anything as totally off-limits. You already know what’s better for you — whole ingredients, especially plants, and not processed stuff — so eat more real food. Doughnuts are OK — as is everything — eaten in moderation.

Be a junk food snob

Cold soggy fries? Hard pass. Crisp shoestrings with just the right smattering of salt? Yes, please. If you’re choosing to eat, make or buy something indulgent, make sure it’s perfect. Peanut butter cups are my No. 1 chocolate, but I’m not tempted by a smushed Reese’s Christmas tree leftover. I want the classic flat round with a top as smooth as a freshly Zambonied ice rink and sharp-ridged edges. Does that make me a candy snob? Maybe. But if you’re eating what you want, make sure it’s exactly what you want.

Make big batches of good stuff you can snack on anytime

It’s hard to find time every day to execute full meals, so when I have extra hours, I make big batches of dishes that keep well and taste great anytime. Some favorites include whole grains flavorful enough to eat on their own (or to serve as a grain bowl base); roasted root vegetables; well-dressed cooked vegetables that won’t wilt such as green beans or kale; from-scratch dips, such as artichoke-spinach or hummus; boiled jammy eggs; and dressings to toss with salad whenever.

Amp flavor and texture

Bland, mono-textured meals will leave you unsatisfied even if your stomach is filled. Whatever you’re cooking, be sure to season it well and taste it throughout the process. Beyond salting for seasoning, you should add a hit of acid such as fresh lemon juice and heat such as sliced, fresh chiles to make it bright and exciting; and use enough fat for it to feel rich. A final drizzle of olive oil over most dishes always helps. Umami is key in boosting flavor. It delivers the savory yum you enjoy in processed snacks but comes in natural forms such as Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, meat and sauces such as soy, fish sauce and Worcestershire. On top of all that flavor, build texture with crunch, such as tossing cut, crisp vegetables into the tender greens of a salad, scattering nuts over soft, steamed sweet potatoes, or showering scrambled eggs with toasted bread crumbs.