Pregnancy weight chart. Use this chart to record your weekly weight throughout your pregnancy.

Daily Food Guide.  This guide will help you get your nutrition from all food groups and give you an idea of how much to eat of each food.

2-Day Food Record. By completing this 2-day food record, you can learn which foods you are getting too much of and which foods you are not getting enough of.

Keep in mind that these tools are for mothers with a normal pregnancy. They are only suggestions for ways to help you gain weight at a healthy rate. Always follow your doctors advice and if these tools fit into what your doctor has told you to do, then feel free to print them out and use them.

Steps you can take to control your diabetes:

• Attend self-management education classes offered by your health care provider or a local hospital.
• Know your hemoglobin A1c level. A1c level should be below 7.0.
• See your diabetes educator and registered dietitian as recommended by your doctor.
• Eat a healthy diet. Eat high carbohydrate foods such as starches, fruit and milk evenly over the entire day.
• Eat regularly, watch your portion sizes, lower your fat intake and increase your fiber intake.
• Check your blood sugar as recommended by your doctor.
• Reach or maintain a healthy body weight.
• Keep your blood pressure below 130/80.
• Talk about the use of medicines called statins and ACE inhibitors with your doctor. These medicines have reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke in people who have diabetes.
• Get a yearly dilated and complete eye exam. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness.
• Get a pneumonia shot if you have not already had one.
• Get a flu shot every fall.
• Learn as much as you can about how to keep your diabetes under control.

If you need a reminder, attached is a flier you can print out and put on your refrigerator.

Disclaimer: Nothing mentioned here is intended to replace common sense, legal, medical or other professional advice, and is meant to inform and entertain the reader.

Fetal kick counts help tell how active your baby is. Besides counting kicks, you will be counting every time your baby moves, rolls, or twists. Your baby has times when he is more active than others. Active times are usually after you have been up and walking around for awhile, after a meal, or after you have had something cold to eat or drink, such as ice water.

Your doctor may have you do kick counts two or three times a day for several days; your doctor will tell you how often to do them and when to call him or her. If so, try to do them at the same time every day or after the same activity. For example, do them before you get up, an hour after eating lunch, and when you go to bed at night. If you are self-monitoring contractions, you can do kick counts at the same time.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that you time how long it takes you to feel 10 kicks, flutters, swishes or rolls. Ideally, you want to feel at least 10 movements within 2 hours. Most likely you will feel 10 movements in much less time. This free Kick Counts Worksheet is an easy way to record kick counts. Print it out an d write down the date and time of the first movement. Every time you feel your baby move or kick, check off one of the 10 boxes. After you check all ten boxes, write down the time of the tenth movement. If you cannot feel your baby move, drink a glass of cold water or walk around for a few minutes and try again. Some doctors recommend that you call if your baby moves less than 10 times in an hour.

Since we have not been sufficiently vaccinated to prevent the H1N1 flu, it’s important to inform employees about what they can do to prevent the spread of cold and flu viruses, particularly H1N1 (Swine flu). Keeping your workforce healthy and at work is a goal of many employers—our sample letter to employees will tell employees what they can do to protect themselves and their family from getting the H1N1 flu. Having a healthy workplace not only helps your business continue to run as it should, but it also keeps employees from taking illnesses home to their families.

You can download this sample letter to employees that will help you keep your workforce informed about preventing the spread of the H1N1 virus. Feel free to make changes to suit the culture of your office.

Content of the Sample Letter to Employees for H1N1 Virus

These are important tips for preventing the spread of the H1N1 (Swine flu) virus to your family, home, school and workplace. The information below comes from the Centers for Disease Control and other reliable health information sources.  As always, your personal doctor is the recommended source for all of your health questions.

How Germs Spread
The flu, is caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. The flu usually spreads from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes germs into the air. Germs enter the blood stream when the contaminated air is breathed in. Germs can get on your hands by touching surfaces that are contaminated with the flu virus, such as wet areas in a restroom or kitchen. The germs then get into your body when you touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth. If you have the flu, you can spread germs to others by touching surfaces that others touch such as door knobs, not covering your nose when you sneeze or mouth when you cough.

How to Help Stop the Spread of Germs

Clean your hands: Wash your hands often — with soap and warm water — rub your hands together vigorously, scrubbing all surfaces including backs of hands, between fingers, under fingernails and wrists. Wash for 30 seconds. The soap lather combined with the scrubbing helps dislodge and remove germs. The germs stick to the soap and get washed down the drain. Rinse your hands well while keeping them lower than your elbows so the dirty water runs down the drain and not your arms. Always wash your hands after coughing or sneezing into your hands,  blowing your nose, after touching someone who is sick, or when using public restrooms.

Dry your hands well:
Use paper towels to dry your hands and to turn off the faucet. If you are in a public restroom, use the paper towel to open the restroom door.

If soap and water aren’t available, use alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers.
You can find them in most supermarkets and drugstores. Be sure to buy sanitizers that contain at least 60% alcohol. When using a gel, rub the gel over all hand surfaces until your hands are dry. The gel doesn’t need water to work; the alcohol in the gel kills germs that cause colds and the flu. If your hands look dirty, use soap & water.

Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough:
Cough or sneeze into a tissue and then throw it away. If you do not have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or sleeve. Clean your hands every time you cough or sneeze. Make sure all trashcans for tissues have liners; throw the liners out with the trash.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth:
Germs are often spread when a person touches a contaminated surface and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs can live for 2 hours or more on dry surfaces like doorknobs, desks, and tables and even longer on areas that are wet like sinks and faucets.

Stay home when you’re sick and check with your doctor when needed.

Practice other good health habits:
Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food so you can fend off viruses.  Avoid people that have the flu or flu symptoms. Teach your kids how to wash their hands and how to sneeze or cough into their elbow or sleeve.

Sodium Content of Foods helps patients with fluid retention and blood pressure control. Also included is a guide to finding the sodium content on the Nutrition Facts food label. Sodium Content of Foods lists a sodium counter for common foods, a sample 2 gm sodium daily diet with serving sizes, and a chart for estimating portion sizes.

Tips for finding the salt

The best way to find the salt is to read the food labels on packaged foods—both the nutrition facts label and the ingredients list. Labels won’t list the amount of “salt,” it will list “sodium.”

The Nutrition Facts label has three important numbers for sodium—

• how much is in a serving
• how many servings are in the package, and
• how much salt is in each serving.

If the food doesn’t have a Nutrition Facts label, it should have a list of ingredients. Ingredients are listed in order of amount used. So ingredients listed first make up more of the food than the ingredients listed last. If sodium is listed close to the beginning of the list, you might want to adjust the rest of your day based the amount of salt you will get in this food.

A good goal is to get 500-700 mg of sodium at each meal and a total of 2400 mg (1 1/5 tsp) for the whole day. So some meals may have more than others, just keep your 2400 mg goal in mind!

What is a low sodium diet? A low sodium diet limits foods in your diet that are high in sodium. A high amount of sodium in your diet can make your blood pressure go up as well as cause other health problems. The goal of a low sodium diet is to prevent or lower high blood pressure; this diet can also keep your body from holding extra fluid. Preventing problems with your liver and kidneys is another reason to follow a low sodium diet.

Fats & Oils

Use Sparingly (3-8 Teaspoons)

• Margarine, mayonnaise (regular, diet, or unsalted)
• Oils, unsalted salad dressing
• Olives
• Salted pork fat, butter
• Sour cream, regular salad dressing

Sugars & Sweets

Use Sparingly

• Cookies, cakes, desserts-homemade without salt or low sodium package or mix
• Gelatin, sherbet, sorbet, Popsicle
• Jam, jelly, honey, sugar, hard candy, syrup, marshmallows

(Limit 1 serving per day)

• Cookies, cakes, pastries, desserts—store-bought & mixes
• Frozen ice cream or yogurt

Soups

• Bouillon, broth, or consomme
• Canned or frozen soup
• Homemade soup—without salt, MSG, or soup bases
• Instant or packaged soup
• Low-sodium bouillon cubes
• Low-sodium canned or frozen soups
• Ramen-type oriental soup

Seasonings & Sauces

Beverages

• Alcohol
• Club soda, flavored coffee drinks, vegetable juices, Orange Crush
• Coffee, tea, cereal beverages (Postum)
• Water, very low-sodium mineral water or club soda, juices; fruit drinks most sodas, low-sodium vegetable juices

Additional Guidelines:

Cooking

• For Kosher meats: soak in water one hour before cooking, pour out the water, and cook in fresh water. Pour out the water again.
• Leave salt out of recipes, except recipes using yeast
• Take the salt shaker off the table and stove
• Use vegetable oil instead of margarine or butter in recipes.
• Use low-sodium baking powder
• Use regular flour (not self-rising flour) when baking

Smart Shopping

• Buy fresh foods when possible. Processed foods have more sodium.
• Check the % Daily Values column. Foods with less than 5% sodium are good choices. Foods with more than 20% are high in sodium.
• Read labels. Use the Nutrition Facts label to compare similar products.
• Understand food labels:
  • Light in sodium—50% less sodium than the regular version of that food
  • Low sodium—140 mg or less of sodium per serving
  • Very low sodium—35 mg or less of sodium per serving
  • Sodium free—less than 5 mg of sodium per serving

Eating Out

• Ask what’s in the foods you want to eat. Tell the order taker what type food you need.
• Ask them to leave out the salt or MSG.
• Eat out less often—Restaurant and fast food outlets tend to be high in sodium and fats.
• Keep portion sizes under control.

Special Requests When Eating Out

• A lemon wedge for salad or fish
• Baked potato or sliced tomatoes instead of fried, salted potatoes.
• Fruit, gelatin, sherbet, or sorbet instead of baked goods for desserts.
• Order plain, broiled, roasted, grilled, or steamed foods instead or breaded or fried.
• Order sauces, gravies, salad dressing on the side so you can control the amount you eat.

The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) was a research study testing how what we eat effects our blood pressure. A diet reduced in total and saturated fat and rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods was found to significantly lower blood pressure. In participants who had high blood pressure, the DASH diet lowered blood pressure to abou the same leevels as does blood pressure medicines. The DASH diet offers an important way to prevent and treat high blood pressure.

The DASH Diet brochure provides information about the DASH diet and how to follow it at home. The DASH eating plan is based on 2,000 calories a day. This eating plan from the DASH study is rich in fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy foods, and low in saturated and total fat.

You can download an 8 page brochure of the DASH Diet. Or, you can download a Quick Reference Guide of the DASH Diet.

Hey Kids – Get Moving – Activity Pyramid

10 Tips to Healthy Eating and Exercise

Getting enough physical activity everyday is important for managing your weight. Here are some 10 great tips for healthy eating and exercise. We also have the activity pyramid you can download (pdf 317 KB) and track how much physical activity you are getting each day. You can also use the activity pyramid to help you get more physical activity and less “screen time.”

1. Start your day with breakfast.

Breakfast fills your “empty tank” to get you going after a long night without food. And it can help you do better in school. Easy to prepare breakfasts include cold cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit, whole-grain waffles or even last night’s pizza!

2. Get Moving!

It’s easy to fit physical activities into your daily routine. Walk, bike or jog to see friends. Take a 10-minute activity break every hour while you read, do homework or watch TV. Climb stairs instead of taking an escalator or elevator. Try to do these things for a total of 30 minutes every day. Click here to get a free Get Movin’ Activity Pyramid (pdf 317 KB).

3. Snack Smart.

Snacks are a great way to refuel. Choose snacks from different food groups—a glass of low-fat milk and a few graham crackers, an apple or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins, or some dry cereal. If you eat smart at other meals, cookies, chips and candy are OK for occasional snacking.

4. Work up a sweat.

Vigorous work-outs—when you’re breathing hard and sweating—help your heart pump better, give you more energy and help you look and feel your best. Start with a warm-up that stretches your muscles. Include 20 minutes of aerobic activity, such as running, jogging or dancing. Follow-up with activities that help make you stronger such as push-ups or lifting weights. Then cool-down with more stretching and deep breathing.

5. Balance your food choices—don’t eat too much of one thing.

You don’t have to give up foods like hamburgers, french fries and ice cream to eat healthfully. You just have to be smart about how often and how much of them you eat. Your body needs nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fat and many different vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and A, iron and calcium from a variety of foods. Balancing food choices from the Food Guide Pyramid and checking out the Nutrition Facts Panel on food labels will help you to get all these nutrients.

6. Get fit with friends or family.

Being active is much more fun with friends or family. Encourage others to join you and plan one special physical activity event, like a bike ride or hiking, with a group each week.

7. Eat more grains, fruits and vegetables.

These foods give you carbohydrates for energy, plus vitamins, minerals and fiber. Besides, they taste good! Try breads such as whole-wheat, bagels and pita. Spaghetti and oatmeal are also in the grain group. Bananas, strawberries and melons are some great tasting fruits. Try vegetables raw, on a sandwich or in a salad.

8. Join in physical activities at school.

Whether you take a physical education class or do other physical activities at school, such as intramural sports, structured activities are a sure way to feel good, look good and stay physically fit.

9. Foods aren’t good or bad.

A healthy eating style is like a puzzle with many parts. Each part—or food—is different. Some foods may have more fat, sugar or salt while others may have more vitamins or fiber. There is a place for all these foods. What makes a diet good or bad is how foods fit together. Balancing your choices is important. Fit in a higher-fat food, like pepperoni pizza, at dinner by choosing lower-fat foods at other meals. And don’t forget about moderation. If two pieces of pizza fill you up, don’t eat a third.

10. Make healthy eating and physical activities fun!

Take advantage of physical activities you and your friends enjoy doing together and eat the foods you like. Be adventurous—try new sports, games and other activities as well as new foods. You’ll grow stronger, play longer, and look and feel better! Set realistic goals—don’t try changing too much at once.