ACTIVE LIFESTYLES

How Long Does It Take to Create a Healthy Habit That Lasts?

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How Long Does It Take to Create a Healthy Habit That Lasts?

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Key Takeaways

• There's no "one size fits all" timeline when creating new habits.
• Repetition and consistency are essential for forming lasting lifestyle changes.
• Environmental cues play an important role in habit formation, where specific contexts or routines strengthen and reinforce the behavior.

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Elite Athletes and the Gut Microbiota: What You Need to Know

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Heading: Elite Athletes and the Gut Microbiota: What You Need to Know
Description: Elite athletes are known for their raw power, lightning speed and Herculean strength. Recent research has uncovered a potential unsung hero behind their exceptional performance — their gut microbiota.
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Understanding Sports Nutrition for Teens

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Heading: Understanding Sports Nutrition for Teens
Description: If you're a parent of a teen athlete, you want to see your child thrive in their sport. But knowing what and how much to feed your young athlete can be challenging. You know nutrition is an important part of an active lifestyle, but which foods best support energy levels and help to improve sports performance? Understanding the three main components of nutrition for athletes — pre-workout fueling, hydration and post-workout recovery — is a good place to start.
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How Are Exercise and Gut Health Related?

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Heading: How Are Exercise and Gut Health Related?
Description: Whether you're an amateur athlete or a weekend warrior, it's likely you put thought into your workout schedule. You train your muscles for strength and endurance, and you may think about cardiovascular fitness as well. But have you thought about how exercise may impact your gut health and vice versa? Researchers are learning more and more about gut microbiota — the bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract — and how it can help support physical performance.
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Strength Training Exercises: 6 Reasons to Add Them to Your Workout

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Heading: Strength Training Exercises: 6 Reasons to Add Them to Your Workout
Description: Regular exercise — approved by your healthcare provider — is a win. To get the most out of your movement routine, incorporating strength training exercises, also known as resistance exercise, is a must. Here are six of the best reasons to add some strength training to your routine for your physical and mental health.
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What Are Electrolytes?

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Heading: What Are Electrolytes?
Description: Electrolytes are molecules that are critical to both your body's hydration levels and cellular function. Given their direct relationship with the body’s muscle and brain functioning, many people increase their intake of electrolytes when working out or playing sports. But what is the function of electrolytes in everyday use?
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Nutrition and Hydration Tips from Trainer Jeannette Jenkins

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Heading: Nutrition & Hydration Tips from Fitness Trainer Jeannette Jenkins
Description: Are you thinking of starting an exercise regimen? That’s great! But don’t forget nutrition and hydration. We know. Life is hectic. It is hard to find time to exercise and eat right. But for optimal health, if you can carve out some time for a quick workout, there are simple ways to ensure that you are also eating correctly. We set out to answer three questions you may have while starting a new program. We asked Jennette Jenkins, fitness trainer and one of the nation’s leading healthy lifestyle coaches about why it is essential to prioritize nutrition and hydration.
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The Impact of Hydration on Marathon Training

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The Impact of Hydration on Marathon Training

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One of the biggest challenges of marathon training is staying hydrated. When runners are training during hot summers and pushing themselves to the limit, their hydration can drop to concerning levels.

Not only can dehydration decrease performance, but it can also be life-threatening. When training in the heat, runners should follow a hydration plan to maximize performance and stay safe.

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Powered by Science Pedialyte Sport

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Powered by Science: Pedialyte Sport

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Elite athletes don't have the option of taking a day off when they aren't feeling their best. To improve performance, they must be prepared to work harder day after day and that means working out. Which also means a lot of sweat.

A new survey finds the majority of adults in the U.S. who exercise intensely understand the importance of maintaining hydration throughout a workout (93%) and that hydration is important for muscle recovery (89%), yet many have misconceptions about the type of hydration that may impact their ability to perform and recover optimally.

The survey conducted on behalf of Abbott by The Harris Poll found 46% of people who report regular, intense exercise at least three days per week believe that energy drinks and soda can aid in rehydration after a strenuous workout. This conflicts with guidance from the scientific community that these drinks can contribute to dehydration due to large amounts of sugar and insufficient levels of electrolytes. 1,2,3

During a workout dehydration occurs when fluid losses--whether from sweating, increased core temperature or even breathing-- exceed fluid consumed through both foods and drinks.

Dehydration can hinder physical performance while out on a run or playing a sport. That's where a rehydration solution such as Pedialyte® Sport comes in.

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5 Snacks to Eat Before a Workout

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5 Snacks to Eat Before a Workout

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Regularly exercising is one of the best things you can do for optimal health. The food you eat before a workout is critical. For your body to perform at its very best, it requires targeted energy and nutrients before you lace up your running shoes or hop on the bike.

It can also be helpful to know that successful pre-workout snacking isn't just about what you eat. It's also about when you eat. After all, attempting a downward dog or a spin class on a full stomach isn't very comfortable.

That's why it's important to give your body roughly one to three hours to digest and absorb the nutrients in your snack. When that's not possible, eating a lighter snack about 30 minutes prior to exercise can also do the trick.

No matter what your schedule is like, these five satisfying snacks can deliver the fuel healthy muscles need for peak performance.

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Keto-Friendly Recipes for the Holidays

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Keto-Friendly Recipes for the Holidays

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With Thanksgiving around the corner, many people are starting to plan their menus and recipes for the holidays. But for anyone following the ketogenic diet, navigating the carb-rich spread of mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie can be tricky.

Fortunately, you don't have to let one day derail your diet plans. Instead, you can use these tips and tricks to plan a Thanksgiving menu that has keto-friendly options. Here's what to know.

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To Recover Like an Elite Athlete Focus on Hydration for Recovery

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Heading: Focus on Hydration for Recovery to Perform Like an Elite Athlete
Description: From day to day, elite athletes' workouts change to emphasize a variety of different strengths and skills and prevent over-training of specific muscles or joints. Over time, intense athletic training improves performance by breaking down the body's muscles, depleting them of their energy stores, and then recovering and repairing them to allow optimal strength and performance. If athletes don't recover properly from their strenuous training regimen, they can't perform at the elite level, and that's where proper nutrition and hydration come into play.
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Hydration for Athletes | Abbott Nutrition

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How Athletes Can Stay Hydrated and Boost Performance

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Most people know that to stay healthy, you need to drink water. Hydration is part of what helps your body function properly, and it helps you feel at your best.

The effects of dehydration for anyone can be uncomfortable at best — at worst; they can be dangerous. That's true for athletes as well, and if the effects are too serious, it might become impossible for them to compete at all, let alone at the top of their game. Regardless if you are a weekend sports warrior, marathon runner, involved in adult recreational sports, or participate in a serious league, hydration is key.

Sometimes, staying hydrated during exercise isn't as simple as just drinking water, which is why it's important for any athlete to understand the relationship between hydration and performance.

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Tracking Macros on the Keto Diet | Abbott Nutrition

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Heading: How to Track Your Macros on the Keto Diet
Description: The keto diet can be an effective way to shed pounds without some of the hunger, cravings and muscle loss that sometimes accompany other weight loss plans. But it can also be tricky to follow. That's where knowing about keto and macros can help.
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5 Smart Snacking Tips to Curb Hunger | Abbott Nutrition

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5 Smart Snacking Tips to Curb Hunger

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Snacking is one of those habits that often gets a bad rap. But nibbling throughout the day can have some powerful health benefits.

"The right snacks ward off hunger, so you feel more in control and have steady energy while waiting for your next meal," explains Pamela Nisevich Bede, MS, RD, a registered dietitian at Abbott. "And it's important to choose snacks that curb cravings and keep you satisfied."

But just because snacking has some health benefits doesn't mean you should overdo it with candy and popcorn anytime you're watching TV. Try these five snacking tips to improve your eating habits between meals and choose snacks that work hard for you, so you're not working them off later.

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Facts About Keto Cheat Days | Abbott Nutrition

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Heading: What Can Happen During a Keto Cheat Day?
Description: If followed correctly, the keto — or ketogenic — diet can help you slim down fast. But because life without pizza, pasta and your favorite beverages might seem like a challenge, it's fair to wonder: Is there ever room for a cheat day on keto?
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Your Guide to the Keto Diet | Abbott Nutrition

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Heading: Your Guide to the Keto Diet
Description: "Keto" refers to ketogenesis, a process in the body that results from significantly reducing the carbohydrates in your diet and increasing your fat intake. The keto diet has been around a long time and has even been used for medical reasons, but athletes, celebrities and others are turning to the regimen as an effective weight loss technique.
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Post-Workout Snacks | Abbott Nutrition

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5 Post-Workout Snacks for Muscle Building and Energy

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Your muscles need to recover after a hard workout, but what's the best way? Knowing what foods to eat and when to eat them can help you recover better and be ready for your next workout.

"There's a window of opportunity in the hour post-workout," explains Steve Hertzler, PhD, RD, nutrition scientist and dietitian with Abbott. "But if you wait too long to eat, this delays the refueling process in tired muscles and might impair your performance in the next workout or competition. This is especially true if there is a short time between competitions or if you are training more than once per day."

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Keto Diet Meal Plan | Abbott Nutrition

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Your Keto Diet Meal Plan

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The ketogenic (or keto) diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet that can change the way your body fuels itself. Instead of running on easy-to-access carbohydrates, your body turns to its fat stores and breaks them down into usable energy. For some people, switching to the keto diet has resulted in weight loss, more energy throughout the day and fewer cravings in-between meals.

Keto-approved foods are high in fats, moderate in protein and very low in carbohydrates. Foods like salmon, lean meats, full-fat dairy and low-carb veggies like kale, spinach and broccoli are all excellent choices. Although the exact numbers vary based on your height, age and weight, keto dieters should generally aim to get about 5 percent of their calories from carbs, 20 percent from protein and 75 percent from fats.

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How to Pick a Protein Nutrition Bar

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Heading: How To Pick A Protein Bar That Fuels Your Day
Description: Protein bars can be an easy, nutritious way to hit your health goals, especially when you're on the go. But with so many options to choose from, how do you know which ones really stack up nutritiously? Here's a simple guide to choosing the right protein bar for you.
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How Long Does It Take to Create a Healthy Habit That Lasts?