Today was another ‘first’ day! While my roommates (and what seemed like the rest of Greeley) were all preparing for the first day back on campus, I was preparing for another first day with my internship. I have now moved onto a community portion of t

he competencies I need to fulfill in order to be an RD, and will spend the next 3 weeks helping the nutrition and wellness dietitian with Poudre Valley Health Systems in Fort Collins.

Growing up, the first day of school was always one of my favorite days of the school year. I loved seeing all my friends after break and the anticipation and excitement of who my new teacher was going to be was almost too much to handle.

As you can see…not much has changed

Although I wasn’t heading off to class, this morning I was still just as excited to be starting a new rotation with new dietetic experiences.

Sooo… with that being said, today was pretty darn fun! I met new people (just like school), discussed what I would be learning about in the near future (just like school) and researched some fun things (just like school!!).

My assignment for the day was to research nutrition and health related Smartphone apps that were user-friendly and (preferably) free. Although I’m pretty familiar with the iTunes App Store, I had no idea just how many apps were really out there. Some were full of great tips, some not so much.

Here are some favorites that I came across today:

Fooducate

Cost: Free.

Scan grocery items and review their nutritional profile. App also recommends heal

thier alternatives to items scanned. A great tool to use while grocery shopping; simply hold the camera on your phone within the designated barcode area in the application to get reliable feedback on the nutritional value of items scanned.

Diet and Food Tracker by SparkPeople.com

Cost: Free.

A mobile extension of Sparkpeople.com, this application provides daily guidance for food and exercise, including a calorie counter, meal plans, fitness programs, motivation systems and feedback reports (graphs, tips etc).

C25K (Couch to 5K)

Cost: $2.99.

This 9 week program has helped thousands of people ease into running and builds up their running strength. Great for beginner or intermediate level runners. A follow-on program ‘Couch to 10K’ is also available.

Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner

Cost: Free.

Allows you to search for recipes by dish type, ingredient, and ‘ready-in’ categories (i.e. ready in under 20 mins, 45 mins, slow cooker options etc). Also has features that allow you to add recipes to a favorites list or email and share with friends. All recipes come with photos, ingredient list and easy to follow instructions.

RedLaser Barcode Scanner

Cost: Free.

A perfect shopping companion! This application allows you to scan the barcode on a grocery item using the camera on your phone and immediately searches for low online and local prices using your current location.

Tell me! Do you have any favorite health/nutrition/fitness apps?

Happy Sunday!! And for all the Australian readers, happy Monday!

Today I did a class at the gym called ‘willPower & grace’. The class focuses on lower body and core strengthening exercises all performed barefoot to develop ankle, knee and hip

stabilization while preventing injury.

Although the only weight used in this class is your own body weight, it is the best lower-body workout I have personally experienced. The first time I ever attended a class was a Sunday morning. I then returned to the next class offered on Thursday of the same week and my hammies, glutes and quads were STILL hurting! After so many years of weighted squats, lunges, deadlifts etc. from basketball, this class totally redefined my love/hate relationship with lower body strengthening and toning exercises.Another thing I love about this class is that they have a ‘word of the week’ which is read allowed, along with a brief definition and how the meaning of the word can be implemented into our lives. This week’s word was ‘dignity’.

“Dignity is listening to your moral compass, your golden rule, your inner voice. Know your worth, behave with dignity. “

After the class I headed upstairs to complete 30 mins of interval training on the treadmill. Wowee were my legs were h.e.a.v.y!

This morning I had two parts t0 my breakfast. Part one was enjoyed before heading to the gym. I cooked a piece of toast, spread the new honey I bought yesterday at the Farmers Market and layered slices of banana on top. I love how fresh honey is slightly grainier than most options available at the grocery store.

Part two of breakfast was an oats combo I’m currently loving:

• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 cups water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix the above ingredients and microwave for 1 min 40 secs. Top with fresh diced apple and 2 tablespoons plain non fat Greek yogurt.

This left my tummy full and content all morning

Most of my afternoon was spent working on case studies and assignments for the internship. While out running a few errands later in the day I picked up a fresh guava, peach, passionfruit and mango fruit smoothie.

This tropical combo = ahhmaazing!!