Fiber

A couple months ago I went to see my doctor about some digestion problems I was having. He suggested I increase my fiber and water intake. Ok, sounds easy enough.  Unfortunately, because of so much of my energy going to other places because of my bike accident, final exams, and going home for the Christmas break, I hadn't made an effort to eat more fiber.

Until now.  It's a new year, right?  So my most recent trip to the grocery store was successful in the sense that I didn't spend a fortune AND was able to find foods high in fiber that I would actually eat. Win!

Besides the digestive benefits, I just read this article today which talks about several of the other health benefits of a diet high in fiber, which include preventing breast cancer, lowering bad cholesterol, and controlling diabetes.  These are all health problems which have been on my mind recently, because I've been afraid I would develop them if I didn't make changes to my diet. Looks like fiber may be the answer!

Another plus of increasing my fiber intake (with food) is that I will also be following the Word of Wisdom better, eating more fruits and veggies and whole grains.  Yay!

MyFitnessPal.com
I found this sweet website (MyFitnessPal.com) where you can track your eating for the day and it calculates how many calories, fats, proteins, and carbs you should have everyday and keeps track for you.  It has a HUGE database of foods and can usually find exactly the brand and amount of what I'm eating.  Plus, you can get an app for your smartphone and track on the go!  I love it!

MapMyRun.com
Here, you can use your smartphone to track where you walk, run, bike, or practically anything else and sync it to the website.  They have a few challenges going on for the new year, including "Walk a Marathon in a Month," "Run 30 Miles in 30 Days," and "15 Workouts in 30 Days."  Check out the website here.