Blog
Can Older Folks Build More Skeletal Muscle?
Aging naturally leads to a loss of muscle mass, often resulting in weakness, reduced mobility, and increased risk of falls and fractures. However, muscle loss isn’t inevitable—older adults can build lean body mass with the right exercise and diet strategies....
Are You on Ozempic? A Registered Dietitian Can Help!
If you're currently using medications like Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Ozempic, you're working with glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. These drugs help by increasing insulin release, reducing appetite, and slowing down digestion—all contributing to weight...
A Journey of Courage and Perseverance and Tips for Avoiding the Freshman 15
As a dietitian, I’ve had the honor of walking alongside so many incredible clients on their wellness journeys. One of those clients came to me when she was just 14 years old, carrying a lot of extra weight for her small frame. At the start, she weighed 176 pounds with...
A Registered Dietitian’s Healthy Tips for Fathers on Father’s Day
Father’s Day is a wonderful occasion to honor the dads and father figures in our lives. While it's a day for celebration, it's also a perfect opportunity to focus on health and well-being. As a registered dietitian, I want to share some practical tips to help fathers...
Healthy Cinco de Mayo Celebrations: Spice Up Your Fiesta with Nutritious Choices!
I LOVE Cinco de Mayo! I look forward to this vibrant celebration of Mexican culture, filled with delicious food, music, and festivities every year. I must admit, it’s probably because my birthday is the Siete de Mayo, which makes it an early birthday celebration...
Easter Basket Make Over
Happy Easter! As we celebrate this joyous occasion, let's not forget to prioritize our health and well-being. Easter often brings to mind images of chocolate bunnies, candy-filled baskets, and lavish meals. While indulging in these treats can be enjoyable, it's...
Tackling the Super Bowl with Smart Snacking: Here’s My Guide to Healthy Game Day Bites
As we gear up for the excitement of the Super Bowl, it's essential to have a game plan not just for the teams on the field but for the snacks on your table. As a registered dietitian, I'm here to help you navigate the world of game day indulgence without compromising...
Maximizing Muscle Gains: 7 Crucial Nutrition Mistakes to Avoid
As fitness enthusiasts dedicated to building muscle, we invest hours in rigorous workouts, aiming to challenge and strengthen our bodies. However, there's a vital element that often gets overlooked in our quest for muscle growth: our diet. The connection between...
Weight Loss Wisdom from Recent Client Successes
Today, we’re following up with some of my recent weight loss success stories from my daughter, Gabby and one of my clients, Kathy! Gabby and Kathy decided to make some big changes in relation to their health this year and their transformations have been incredible to...
Healthy Snacks & Recipes for the School Year
It’s that time of year again… The kids are back in school, our schedules are jam-packed, and it’s becoming increasingly easy to make a trip to the drive-thru instead of cooking dinners at home. Let this time of change be an opportunity to implement routines and...
How to Improve Your Body Composition in 2023
Forget setting that same old weight loss resolution this year — 2023 is all about improving your body composition! By shifting your fitness focus from the scale, you'll get a more holistic and trackable picture of your health. What improving your body composition...
Eat Your Protein to Fight Diabetes
Did you know that pre-diabetes and type II diabetes are on the rise and are estimated to affect 422 million people worldwide? And our risk increases, especially after 40 years old. As we age, we also experience a progressive decline in muscle mass. That’s why protein...
How to order and eat healthy at restaurants
Do you diligently monitor your diet, only to “blow it” when you eat out? Do you struggle to maintain healthy eating habits because a lot of your meals come from take-out or dining out? You’re not alone. A study by researchers at Tuft University found that restaurant...
Produce in-season
What’s in season? Hello October and fall weather!! This year with the encouragement and the help of my sister, I am planting my own winter garden. Vegetables that grow well in the winter in Texas are onions, beets, radishes, carrots, lettuce and...
Weight Gain After 30’s
Right when you hit your 30’s, changes are happening in your bodyYour body composition gradually shifts. The proportion of lean muscledecreases and the proportion of fat increasesSome people become less physically active as they get older becauseof their busy...
September is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Awareness Month
The aim of PCOS Awareness Month is to help improve the lives of those affected by PCOS and to help them overcome their symptoms as well as prevent and reduce their risks for life-threatening conditions. In honor of PCOS Awareness Month, it’s a good time to discuss...
How to improve your golf game with sports nutrition
Golf has a lot going for it: It’s played in a beautiful setting, it’s a fun but challenging sport, and it causes you to think about proper form and alignment for the perfect swing. As a newbie to the sport, I have found it to be therapeutic because while I’m getting...
Get your kids to eat right at school
It’s almost back to school time, which means new notebooks, folders, and pencils. While you’re out shopping for school supplies, be sure to also pick up a lunchbox that provides different compartments to hold a variety of foods. Why? Because you want your kids to be...
How Collagen Can Make You Feel Young Again
Collagen - you see it advertised, but do you know what it is and why it’s important to your overall health? Let’s break it down and see what the science says. What is Collagen? Collagen is a protein - the most abundant one in our bodies, in fact - comprising one-third...
Trying to get pregnant? Start with these nutrition tips.
In my last blog https://pattyrd.com/nutrition-matters-when-trying-to-conceive-part-i/ , I gave my first 4 tips for those trying to conceive, but having trouble. As frustrating as that process can be, following my tips will increase your chances of conception with the...
Any Goat Cheese Lovers Out There?
Here are 3 reasons why I love goat cheese For some reason, through the years, I have never been a real lover of cheese made from cow’s milk. When I did eat cheese, however, I preferred goat cheese as opposed to cheeses made from cow’s milk. Later in life, after...
Nutrition Matters When Trying To Conceive: Part I
As a registered dietitian in private practice, my ideal client usually seeks my services for weight loss, weight management, sports nutrition and disease prevention. I never would have thought that I would be crafting eating plans for women trying to conceive,...
Part 2: Spring cleaning your body
In my last post, I shared 4 tips https://pattyrd.com/4-tips-for-spring-cleaning-your-body/ for applying the same principles of spring cleaning you use in your home to your body. I talked about the importance of avoiding fads and quick fixes, enjoying seasonal...
4 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Body
It’s that time of year again for spring cleaning! I can hear the groans at the prospect of doing the work, but just think about how great you will feel when everything is in the best shape it can be! When you take the time to look at your home in the spring, you...
ENJOY THE BIG GAME DAY THE LIGHT WAY WITH THESE 5 RECIPES AND 5 OF THE LOWEST CARB BEERS ?
The Super Bowl is the big game day we all look forward to celebrating with family and good friends and of course… good food. It’s the combination of the game, the half-time entertainment, the commercials and food that makes it an exciting event we all yearn...
Back to school……the perfect time to set the tone for healthy eating
Whether your kids will be learning at home or at school, they will need to eat and they will need to eat healthy. And in today’s world, parents are busier than ever, with less time to prepare healthy, home-cooked meals. By offering children a variety of easy to...
How Do I Eat for Two?
First…know your numbers When you become pregnant, it’s a good time to know your numbers. Your Body Mass Index (BMI) at the time that you become pregnant is a useful tool to determine how much weight you should gain. We should gain different amounts of...
Are FOMAPs Cramping You Up?
It's an uncomfortable word to say and an even more uncomfortable word to feel, and that word is “bloated”. This nagging, gnawing and sometimes sharp pain which radiates up through your abdomen is something millions of people face daily due to difficulty...
Surviving the “Coronavirus 15”
Here are tips for avoiding the Coronavirus 15 At about this time in the quarantine process, you are probably: worried about the fact that you’ve done nothing but eat and drink for daysbored, listless, and unmotivatedsad, lonely, and paranoid that you are starting to...
The Keto Diet. What’s the Hype?
Macronutrient Ratio: 70% Fat, 15% Protein and 5% Carbohydrate Maybe you have been introduced to the keto diet by a friend or took notice to the growing fad while scrolling through social media. To some, this diet appears to be a miracle cure while others express...