Tip of the Day- It’s No Soda Day!

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a big soda drinker. I’ll occasionally sip a soda when I’m out to dinner, but mostly I find the little bubbles annoying and the syrup too sweet. So, this one isn’t really as big of a problem for me as some things are. But here’s the low down on soft drinks. In the year 2000, 15 billion gallons of soda pop were sold in the United States. This averages out to a 12 ounce serving every day for every man woman and child. Yikes! Take a mental inventory. Do you know how much soda … Continue reading

Your Success in Exercise May Rest In Our Genes

Feel free to breathe a sigh of relief, your success or failure in exercise and how your body responds to it may rest squarely on the shoulders of your parents. According to recent research by the American College of Sports Medicine, researchers have discovered certain genes that reflect on our fitness and physical performance. Naturally Gifted There are people who seem like they are just naturally gifted. They workout and their bodies show tremendous results. They have strength, body composition, flexibility and endurance. They workout and their results are just phenomenal. You may have always thought that these people were … Continue reading

Kid Fitness: Getting Your Kids off the Sofa

Fall is cold and flu season and there’s nothing that puts kids and parents down quicker than a nasty flu virus or head cold. The problem isn’t just the virus, it’s the secondary conditions you can develop including sinus infections, bronchitis and more. It’s important to keep your kids fit during this time of year. The following tips are good for adults to follow as well because all a cold needs is one foot hold in a household to get everyone else ill. Washing your hands regularly Get a flu shot Exercise regularly Drink plenty of fluids Take a daily … Continue reading

Scrapbooking With Found Items

Found items can add so much to your scrapbook layouts and albums, with a spark of creativity there is so much you can do. What is a found object? It is essentially anything that would not normally be considered a scrapbook item or embellishment. So what kinds of things can be found objects? That’s what I plan to talk about. I have almost become addicted to found items lately. We have been cleaning out old boxes in the basement and other areas of the home so we can put it on the market. While many things are being targeted for … Continue reading

There Went My Reason

You know the moment I typed that title, I actually looked to the right as though I could honestly see my reason trotting off into the sunset with a snicker, a giggle and a guffaw. What has me doing this? Well, if you caught the Early Show the other day, you’d know that there’s a new line of thinking out there – diet sodas, the ones we can drink because they have 0 calories – are actually helping people to gain weight rather than helping them to lose weight. Excuse Me, I Need to Bang My Head on the Wall … Continue reading

Holiday Diet Bombs – Be Aware

It’s important to remember when you are out there hustling to through the Christmas shopping, getting stuck in traffic and skipping meals in your hurry to get from Point A to Point B that it’s not very healthy for your diet to forgo eating only to make it up by grabbing a fast bite somewhere. This is part of the holiday trade off – you should take advantage of your opportunities to eat – but you also have to be careful that you aren’t ingesting a bomb of calories, fat and saturated fats that not only fills your stomach, but … Continue reading

New York Steps Up to the Plate

New Yorkers are known for being an independent bunch and they are by their very nature survivors. This week, New York steps up to the plate in the area of fitness as the New York City’s health department announced that restaurants in New York City have to phase out artificial fats that are widely used in frying, baked goods and other food products. Trans fats, as they are known as, raise the bad LDL cholesterol levels and lower the HDL cholesterol. This can increase inflammation of the internal organs and is considered a major contributor to heart disease. The chairman … Continue reading

Fit Family – Miami Moms Take Action

I love Moms – have I mentioned that? When faced with a need, Maria Sanz, a mother of four, decided to create the fitness magazine she wanted for her kids. Their fitness magazine is called Be Fit Kids and it offers a bimonthly issue with articles of interest for children ages 8 to 14. Sanz’s goal was a magazine that encouraged kids and their parents to live healthy, smart lives. Hero Worship The magazine offers to supplement the hero worship that some kids feel with interviews and features on high profile athletes and interviews with some that are done by … Continue reading

Family Fitness: Get Back Up

We have special exercise needs. Our families and our children have special exercise needs. Our teenagers have very specific exercise needs and we need to keep this in mind as they develop. They can be far more susceptible to damage from overuse of their joints, bones and muscles during exercise. How many of us have injuries relating back to our teenage years? (I do! I have a bad knee.) Too many of our kids are spending way too much time in front of the television or playing video games online or off. They are not getting the time to run, … Continue reading

Kid Fitness: Red Light, Green Light

Have you ever played red light, green light with your little ones? The principle of the game is pretty straightforward. You say red light and your kids stop. You say green light and they start racing around or moving. Red light, stop. Green light, go. We started playing this particular game with our daughter when she was just 2 years old and by the time she was three, she knew what it meant. Red Light: Stop. Green Light: Go. This system can be applied to our activity levels, our eating choices and more. We teach our kids what’s good and … Continue reading