Healthy Habits: Relaxing outdoors, high-protein breakfasts keep Dr. Mary Newsome fit

April 1, 2019 Healthy Habits, Nutrition and Wellness

Taking care of your health is a priority and nobody knows that more than physicians and healthcare providers.

It can sometimes be difficult to find ways to stay healthy, so we’ve asked members of our Baylor College of Medicine community to share what they do in their daily lives to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Mary Newsome, Ph.D., associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Baylor, shares some of her healthy habits with us.

Q: What health decisions start your day?
A: I try to drink water and then eat a protein breakfast right away. I have some fluctuation in my blood sugar levels and can feel a little edgy in the morning, and a dietitian suggested I eat protein with vegetables soon after waking.

Q: What is your go-to healthy breakfast?
A: I like scrambled eggs with mushrooms and onions. If I have any dried herbs, I like those sprinkled in scrambled eggs too. I used to drink protein shakes, but now I just buy the filtered milk that has extra protein and put that in a blender with cocoa for a bit of caffeine (and that way I get to have chocolate right away too).

Q: What is your favorite type of exercise?
A: By far, my favorite exercise is Jazzercise! It’s basically an aerobic workout with strength training. Sometimes, other kinds of exercises can seem boring to me, but with Jazzercise, I don’t have to count repetitions, it isn’t boring, and it’s very effective. I’ve also met good friends there.

I like yoga a lot too. Slower styles help me relax and vinyasa is a good workout that leaves me feeling great afterwards. I also like to walk and will go around the Rice University track or stroll through my neighborhood with my neighbor and appreciate the gardens.

Q: What keeps you motivated during your workout?
A: Although it wasn’t always the case, exercise is more or less a habit now. Once I get myself to class, the instructor takes over, and I just do what she or he says.

Q: What activities do you do when you can’t fit in a full workout?
A: I try to stretch or do a few lunges, plies or yoga postures. I’ve also tried to be better at taking brief walks during the day when I have a lot of desk work to do.

Q: What is your favorite healthful snack?
A: As my co-workers know, I eat a lot of peanut butter. I keep a jar in the cubby above my desk. It’s an easy and good way to get protein. It’s important to me to eat organic peanut butter to avoid any potential impact of pesticides.

Q: Do you take vitamins and if so, which ones?
A: I take a multivitamin that has B vitamins and minerals. I also try to take calcium.

Q: What is your nighttime skin regimen?
A: I wash my face and neck and then apply a moisturizer or serum. I try to use products without a lot of potentially harmful ingredients. I look up products on the Environmental Working Group website sometimes as a guide.

Q: What hobbies do you have to help you relax?
A: Being in nature can have almost an immediate relaxation effect for me. I love to laugh, so I try to get together with friends as often as I can.

Q: What is your go-to Houston restaurant for a healthy meal?
A: lf I’m in a hurry, every once in a while I’ll stop by Elevation Burger because they use grass-fed beef. I ask them to pat the burger on paper towels before putting it in the sandwich, and they don’t mind my weird request!

Q: What is your favorite health tip that you live by?
A: I’m wary of fruits and vegetables that aren’t organic because I don’t know if there could be some effect down the road of ingesting pesticides, so I try to eat organic as much as possible. Although organic products are more expensive, I try to find ways that make them accessible. Apples and kale (I like lacinto) at Trader Joe’s are at good prices, and with some organic lemon, make a great smoothie! I also like this smoothie because it gives me a little extra energy.