- Fitness (45)
- Mindset and Mental Health (60)
- Nutrition (76)
- Wellness (144)
What Do You Do When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned?
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES This week’s blog is a little different. Rather than sharing something new, I wanted to revisit an article I wrote that was published earlier this month in the Helping Hands column for the…
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Do You Feel Like Food Controls Your Life?
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN Do you ever feel like food takes up way too much space in your mind? You wake up thinking about what you should eat for breakfast. You spend part of the morning wondering if…
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Exercise is Medicine 2026
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES October is Exercise is Medicine Month, and I’m excited to once again be involved with Penn State’s efforts to promote a simple but powerful message: movement matters. Exercise is Medicine is a global…
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Healthy Eating When Life Gets Busy: What Actually Works
This weeks blog focuses on convenient food options that are still healthy when life gets busy!
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When Does Time “Stand Still” for You?
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES Do you ever wish you could play the part of Adam Sandler in the movie Click? He has a remote control that allows him to pause time, fast-forward through it, or even rewind…
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How Nutrition Affects Moods and Mental Health
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN I just wrote this article in February, but with it being Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, I thought it was necessary to share it again…with some small tweaks! What we eat influences how we…
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Redefining Strength and Rethinking Mental Health During Suicide Prevention Month
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES I’m very proud to share my latest article, published today in the Centre Daily Times in recognition of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This piece is deeply personal, reflecting on the loss of my…
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A Different Perspective on Healthy Modifications
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN Eating healthier doesn’t mean you need to completely change what you’re eating. You don’t need a new meal plan, a list of “good” and “bad” foods, or a kitchen full of expensive health foods.…
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The Health Benefits of Our Furry Friends
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES I can’t believe it’s taken me multiple years of writing blog posts to finally give my little furry friends the credit they deserve. In particular, there’s my Charlie Boy, who just turned seven…
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Beyond “Good” and “Bad” Foods
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN Two weeks ago I wrote about finding freedom with food—learning that one cookie, one restaurant meal, or one extra drink doesn’t have to derail your health or dictate how you feel about yourself. This…
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Hiking
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES The family and I just got back from a few days in the Catskills with Paige, the kids, and my Uncle Dan. One of the highlights of the trip was hiking Kaaterskill Falls,…
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Finding Freedom in Your Nutrition Choices
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN For so many people, food becomes more than just fuel—it becomes a source of stress. Every meal is a decision to overthink. Every dessert comes with guilt. Every restaurant menu feels like a test…
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Create Some “You Time”
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES If you’re anything like me, you probably wear a lot of hats. On any given day, I’m a teaching professor, small business owner, rental property owner, author, and someone who enjoys training for…
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Can You Eat After 8 PM?
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN You’ve probably heard the rule before: “Don’t eat after 8 PM if you want to lose weight.” It sounds simple enough, but is there actually any science behind it? The short answer: No. There…
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Get Creative with Your Wellness
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES Every July, thousands of people gather in State College to celebrate Arts Fest. Paintings, photography, sculptures, music, pottery—you name it. Creative would be an understatement. One of my favorite parts of the festival…
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Vacation Shouldn’t Mean Giving Up
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN Our family just wrapped up a few weeks of traveling. Between beach days, family gatherings, playing with friends, eating out, road trip snacks, and a schedule that looked nothing like our normal routine, healthy…
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Getting Older and Getting Better
As I approach the final year of my 30s, this weeks blog is an important reminder that regardless of our age, we can continue to learn, grow, and become the type of person we want to be!
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Fueling for Performance and for Life
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN Just one week ago, my husband and I crossed the finish line of our first Half Ironman. For months leading up to race day, nearly every nutrition decision revolved around performance—making sure we were…
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Trust the Process
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES Any regular readers know that I’m a Philadelphia sports fan. I still have very fond memories of attending Sixers games with my Dad during the days of Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, and Aaron…
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Making the Most of Summer Produce
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN Summer is one of the easiest times of year to eat more vegetables. Farmers markets are overflowing, gardens are producing fresh favorites, and many vegetables are at their peak flavor. While most people think…
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Sometimes Progress Looks Like Doing Less
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES In just about two weeks, I’ll be standing at the start line of my first Half Ironman. After months of training, I’m entering what’s known as a taper. My workouts are becoming shorter.…
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The Most Overlooked Healthy Eating Habit? Eating Enough.
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN There’s a good chance the healthiest thing you could do today has nothing to do with cutting carbs, avoiding sugar, or starting another strict plan. It might actually be… eating enough. So many people…
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Gratitude 3.0
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES Around 1,000 days into my gratitude journaling streak, I wrote an article about the impact gratitude had on my life. Later, I followed it up again as life continued to evolve. Fast forward…
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Wellness and Travel
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN and John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, FMS John wrote this article almost two years ago and it’s still on point when it comes to wellness and travel. I just had to use it (with…
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Why I Chose to Share My Story
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES There were plenty of reasons not to write this book. At different points, I questioned whether it was too personal. Too vulnerable. Whether people would judge me, judge my dad, or misunderstand it.…
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Why Plant-Forward Meals Are Having a Moment (and How to Start)
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN One of the biggest trends right now? Building meals around plants. You might hear terms like “plant-based,” “plant-forward,” or “veggie-focused,” but at the core, it simply means this: letting fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans,…
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We Can Learn a Lot from Our Little Ones
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES I posted a short video on Thursday of my daughter, Charlotte dancing—and like most parents, I’ve probably watched it more times than I’d like to admit. In part, because she’s my daughter, but…
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Why Gardening Is Good for Your Health (and Your Wallet)
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN John’s fathering article motivated me to write about a newer topic for the Valentiks this spring. This year marks my very first experience with gardening—and so far, so good. I’ll admit, I went into…
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The Risks of Repetitive Movement: It’s Not Just Sitting
By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, CES By now, most people have heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking.” While it may sound dramatic, there’s a growing body of research supporting the idea that prolonged sitting carries real health…
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What I Eat in a Day (Realistic Edition)
By: Paige Valentik MPS, RD, LDN If you’ve ever searched “what I eat in a day,” you’ve probably seen perfectly styled meals and unrealistic routines. While those can be inspiring, they don’t always reflect real life. So here’s a more…
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- Fitness (45)
- Mindset and Mental Health (60)
- Nutrition (76)
- Wellness (144)
