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I'm overweight because I have kids!

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:46:16 +0100

I'm sorry, did you say your children are KEEPING you from having an active lifestyle?? Did you say you're overweight because you have kids? Unless you're eating your children, there is no way having children will keep you overweight.

Making your health a priority will only help your children and yourself. 30 minutes every day dedicated to your health will keep you on your toes, where your children need you. It will also help focus your brain, raise your energy level and make you live longer. Tell me this isn't a service to your kids!

If you don't have 30 minutes a day, change your day. Exercise = life.

HOLIDAY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT TIPS

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:14:34 +0100

The most popular weight management strategy for the holidays is, "Well, I'll stuff myself over the holidays, then worry about it after New Years." Great mentality! Worry about everything after January 1st...if you try hard enough, you might not even fit into half your Christmas presents, then your goal could be to lose enough weight to return to your pre-Christmas size!

OR you could set yourself up for a really successful New Year by taking care of yourself RIGHT NOW. Here are some tips to enjoying your holidays without losing out or gaining weight.

1. Take part in activities during the holidays - meet friends for a walk, go last minute shopping (without coffee breaks), join the kids for some outdoor activities.

2. Don't turn down all the holiday treats (that's kind of insulting to your hosts, isn't it) but cut out what you can: limit yourself to just one drink, and choose wisely, which means light beers, a glass of wine, and no mixed drinks!

3. Choose one dessert - "Pie, cake or cookies? I'll have a little bit of everything!" If you'd like a side of diabetes with that, or some size 40 pants, go for it.

4. Boycott the Starbucks! Why on EARTH should a cup of coffee yield 800+ calories?? That's a meal! Those things are also expensive, and didn't you just spend hundreds on your relatives and friends?

5. Scrap the "World of Warcraft" and get your kids Kinect, Wii...you know, those interactive exercisie-type video games. Believe it or not, they're really fun and a workout!

6. If you're not the host, don't take the leftovers!

7. At Christmas and New Years parties, don't position yourself in the kitchen, near the food. Take a small plate, pile it up, and walk away!

8. Your regular meal times may change during the holidays, so keep track of what you're eating, and how you feel. If you're going to three Christmas parties in one day, it's okay to say, "No thank you, I already ate", and comment on the beautiful tree or something off-topic of food.

9. Don't compare yourself to those "hateful skinny people" - develop a goal weight for yourself that is attainable for you, and don't let others discourage you from that. Everybody is built differently, and even "skinny -----'s" have problems.

10. Don't hate on yourself! If you over do it, get over it, but don't give up! There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat...chances are you didn't over do it THAT badly. But if you give up and continue to binge throughout the holidays, you may seriously threaten your nutrition.

...Notice I didn't list the top fattening holiday foods...don't take a calculator with you to your holiday parties to count how bad you've been. Just enjoy yourself - and remember, Christmas isn't the celebration of the birth of pastry, it's a religious holiday, so perhaps you can immerse yourself in something other than calories.

Your Health Is Not A Luxury Item!

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:14:48 +0100

After eight hours of work, most Americans come home to kids, errands and bills. It has gotten to the point where time spent on oneself is considered "pampering" and a "luxury" that unfortunately, many Americans can't afford.

This stigma has catapulted America itself into the "unhealthy" category. Childhood obesity is on the rise, and over 40 percent of adults over 65 cannot complete normal household chores due to medical disabilities brought on by a sedentary lifestyle.

Still, health is not considered a priority. An average of 10 billion dollars a year is spent in America on entertainment including movies and television. Roughly 110 billion dollars were spent on fast food last year in America. Americans average 2.5 televisions per household and three personal computers. But the average number of gym memberships in America is 45.3 million. That’s about 15 percent of the country.

While Americans are home, watching television or browsing the Internet, what are they watching? Most television shows cast skinny celebrities, and that upsets the overweight population at large. Forty seven billion dollars was spent on advertising last year, and in the average TV commercial break, at least one advertisement is a diet or weight loss ad. That makes us feel bad.

Imagine if everybody downgraded things like cable packages and video game systems. Imagine if Americans put a few dollars aside every month to visit a health club and talk to a personal trainer about a health program that could promise them a healthy, better lifestyle. Imagine if the time Americans spent with their kids was interactive and healthy. Imagine if people lived independent lives well into their golden years. Have our lives really become a luxury item that we cannot afford?