Pointing to the nearly one-third of U.S. children who are either obese or overweight, the administration will pursue a legislative agenda to support its efforts, expanding the federal school-lunch program by $10 billion over 10 years and spending $400 million to bring grocery stores to so-called food deserts, urban and rural areas without adequate food stores.

So I guess this means we’ll now own the corner groceries, right next to our federally owned and operated car dealerships.

Mrs. Obama comes at the issue as a mother. In interviews, she says her pediatrician pulled her aside and encouraged her to improve her family’s health status by initiating portion control, eliminating high-calorie convenience foods and sugary drinks, and getting her daughters moving with more exercise and less TV time.

She listened to her children’s doctor, and her daughters are healthier for it.

Now, the Obamas have committed themselves to eliminating not only the possibility that their daughters might be overweight, but also the entire nation’s childhood obesity health crisis, in the span of one generation.

No one can argue that this would be a good thing, as obesity is almost entirely preventable and contributes to some of the costliest maladies burdening our health care system.

Yet at the same time, Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative was announced, researchers at Ohio State University released a study that shows three factors most effectively reduce the risk of childhood obesity: eating family meals together several times per week, getting adequate sleep and limiting TV time.

Notably, these highly effective, risk-reducing solutions aren’t likely to be influenced by a multibillion-dollar federal government “investment.” In fact, they rely on exactly the tactics Mrs. Obama used — greater parental supervision and more healthful decision-making for one’s own children.

Good intentions aside, a presidential task force isn’t going to do what millions of American parents already don’t do — namely, pull the plug on the 68 percent of kids with televisions in their bedrooms, or on the average 53 hours per week that “Generations M’s” (8-to-18-year-olds) spend engaged with electronic media.

Nor will the task force change the way most families eat. For decades, our federal government already has offered far-reaching programs for nutrition promotion, food subsidies and disease prevention, and as Mrs. Obama points out, these problems are not going away.

On the other hand, we now have an abundance of government Web sites representing the growing nanny state for personal lifestyle support.

It’s worth a tour of the “.gov” cybersphere to see just how involved our federal bureaucracy is in our daily lives. The subject of nutrition alone already enjoys millions of dollars in government Internet attention — never mind the countless publications, pamphlets and educational programs.

In addition to Mrs. Obama’s new LetsMove.gov Web site, we can learn what and how to eat at teamnutrition.usda.gov, mypyramid.gov (another USDA site), healthymeals.nal.usda.gov (yet another USDA site), nifa.usda.gov (the National Institute of Food and Agriculture/Families, Youth and Communities), cnpp.usda.gov (Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion), and USDA’s Food and Nutrition service at fns.usda.gov, among others.

Clearly, there is nothing about eating that the U.S. government isn’t already telling us, so maybe that’s not the problem.

Mrs. Obama is a concerned mother, and she sets a strong example for those who ought to implement many of her proven and effective parenting strategies. I applaud the use of her platform to urge Americans to face the childhood-obesity issue as a way to do a better job of parenting, period.

That’s because it’s not only an obesity crisis we face; it’s a parenting crisis and a crisis of adulthood that has convinced too many Americans that our federal bureaucracy has an appropriate role in teaching us not just how to eat, but how to live.

Copyright 2010 Marybeth Hicks

Just because it is cold outside doesn’t make it open season for an excuse not to exercise. There are multiple exercise options one can choose to participate in regardless of what the outdoor thermometer reads. Depending on your location and likes, you can choose to workout inside or
outside.

All that is required for Winter-time workouts is some planning and employing all safety precautions. If you prefer to workout outside, keep the following tips in mind.

• Get warm first. A proper warm-up is critical. Cold temperatures can make your muscles tight and therefore they are more prone to injuries. So, it’s important to get them warmed-up prior to engaging in intense physical activity.
• Insulate your body. The best approach to dressing for outdoor exercise is with layers. Layering provides the most effective heating method, plus it allows you to remove the top layer if you get too hot. The layer closest to your skin should allow moisture to be wicked away. The top layer should be both wind and water resistant.
• No sweat. Don’t assume that you have to sweat in order to get a good workout. You should avoid sweating that causes the clothing layer closest to your skin to get wet and cause you to be chilled. Instead monitor your intensity through a heart rate monitor or the Rating of Perceived Exertion.
• Don’t strip when you get inside. While you may be tempted to immediately remove your layers when returning inside, give your body time to adjust. Post exercise hypothermia is possible. This happens when your body rapidly loses its heating stores.
• Drink up. It’s just as important to stay hydrated when exercising in winter as it is in summer, even though you might not feel as thirsty.
• Lighten up. If possible, it’s best to exercise outdoors during daylight areas. But, with shorten days that can be difficult to do. If you exercise outdoors when it is dark, wear reflective materials to ensure that you can be seen.

If the thought of getting outside to exercise makes you dive under the covers, instead choose one of the many indoor workout options. Below are just a few of the many choices.

• Walk at an indoor location, like a mall. If you need extra motivation to get yourself to the mall, join a walking group. This will help you stay accountable to someone other than yourself.
• Join a health club. This will allow you a large variety of physical activities to choose from every week.
• Create a home gym. This doesn’t have to be expensive. You can easily set-up a great workout routine with just a set of dumbbells, an exercise ball and a jump rope. Get all of this for around $50.
• If you have stairs where you live or close by, spend as little as 20 minutes at a time climbing up and down the stairs for a very intense and efficient workout.
• Get wet. Find a local indoor pool you can use. Try swimming, water aerobics, or even just walking or running laps in the water.
• Visit a library. Usually local libraries offer exercise videos you can check-out for free. Pick-up a new one to try out every time you return the previous video.

By staying fit during winter you’ll be able to avoid gaining weight, have a head start on swimsuit season, and avoid losing strength and stamina caused from inactivity. Just as tulips need winter nourishment from the Earth to strongly bloom in spring, humans need to continue to nourish their bodies during winter so they too can bloom come spring.



Copyright 2010 Lynn Bode

The long and short of the story is that the following message (or a version of it) floated around Facebook for a few days:

Hi everyone,  Some fun is going on…. just write the color of your bra in your status. Just the color, nothing else. And send this on to ONLY girls no men …. It will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of cancer awareness. It will be fun to see how long it takes before the men will wonder why all the girls have a color in their status… Haha

Being rather quick with the delete finger, I got rid of at least twenty copies of this message quickly before really tuning in to what was going on.  Let me say up front that I’m a pretty tidy Facebook user – I post status updates about my work and family, share photos, and keep up with friends and contacts.  I’m not a big group signer-upper, I don’t care for farm animals, and I’m not a gamer.  So when things like this come around, I usually delete and move on.

I honestly didn’t even give this issue much thought until Friday morning, when I tuned into my favorite Catholic radio show, The Catholics Next Door with Greg and Jennifer Willits.  On the show, Greg was sharing with callers his reaction to the phenomenon of women posting their undergarment colors for all to see.  He had commented upon this on his own Facebook page with the simple remark, “There’s a little too much info on Facebook today.” What ensued was a two daylong debate in the comments of Greg’s page (and likely on countless other sites too) with a thoughtful discussion of the facts at hand.  Greg’s position was that for some men, knowing this type of intimate information about women could be problematic.  Greg thoughtfully referenced teaching points from the Catechism of the Catholic Church to support his efforts to defend modesty.

Listening to the radio show and reading the comments on Facebook led me to ponder my own reaction to the Facebook trend.  In my mind, modesty issues aside, there is some minimal value in “raising awareness” about healthcare issues.  But let’s do so in a way that can be taken seriously by both genders, with factual information and a respectful tone.  Breast cancer has affected both men and women, and cancers of all types continue to be a universal health care issue.

What I’d truly prefer to see rather than awareness raising measures are real actions of support and compassion.  My fear is that we tend to take the easy way out with trends like these, thinking that we “gave at the office” because we tied a pink ribbon on our shirts or engaged in a trend on our favorite social networking site.  How about, if we truly want to make a change, contributing $5 to cancer research, driving a bedridden patient to her radiation appointment, or making dinner for a family whose mom is undergoing chemotherapy?

Raising awareness is fine, but next time I’d prefer that we raise compassion.  A caring attitude and a helping hand look good in any color.

Moms are busy. Most have very little time to dedicate to a solid fitness regimen. In fact, most mothers deserve an award just for showing up on the job every day. Taking care of the kids is hard work, and it’s difficult to find time to eat right and work out when the children are constantly in need of personalized attention.

So what can busy moms do to get in shape?

Get in Shape in 12 Minutes Per Day

Take 12 minutes out of every day. If you need to, you can even get up 12 minutes early. Most people can find at least 12 minutes every day.

There are several strength training routines that can be accomplished in just 12 minutes. Consider investing in a set of free weight and home gym equipment if you don’t already have some. The key to fast fitness is attention to form. When you are working out in just 12 minutes, you must perform each set of exercise you do flawlessly to get an effective work out. When lifting weights, take 4 full seconds to raise the weight, and 4 full seconds to lower the weight. This is critical to the effectiveness of a 12 minute workout.

By slowing down your movement, you take out any momentum and without momentum, only your muscle is working to move the weight.

Anybody can easily perform 4 exercises with perfect form in 12 minutes. If you add just 12 minutes of cardio vascular activity, even jogging in place, you’ll get fitter even faster. You don’t have to work out each 12 minutes consecutively; consider 12 minutes in the morning and 12 minutes in the evening.

Strategies for Losing Weight

There are many lifestyle changes that you can incorporate into your life that will also help promote fitness in time crunched times. When going to the grocery store, rather than drive around for hours searching for the closest parking spot, park in the one farthest away. You’re body will appreciate the extra effort it takes to get to the store and you’ll be exercising without even thinking about it.

Also take the stairs whenever possible, particularly if you are just going to the second floor. This little bit of activity will also act as a mini energy re-charger. Stairs are everywhere. If you are near an escalator, chances are the stairs are right around the corner. You might even have some in hour house. Have the kids climb them with you.

Don’t forget to engage the children in fitness. Take the kids outside for a walk, you’ll all benefit from the fresh air and extra exercise. If you are watching a television program together, commit to doing crunches or stretching on commercial breaks. By doing so, fitness becomes a game, one that will change your life and start instilling healthy habits in your children from an early age.

Steve Preston, President of Fast Fitness has been training and counseling clients for 15 years. He offers personal fitness training, metabolic testing and customized fitness and nutrition plans. His new guide *How to Build a Leaner, Firmer Body in Six Weeks* teaches busy moms and executives how to drop pounds and lose weight working out just 12 minutes per day. His guide offers individualized weekly work out routines and menu plans to help make life easy. You can read more about his guide and his other fitness guides and services at: http://www.fast-fitness.net

Deacon Tom reminisces over a visit with old friends in Colorado and about Colorado author and youth ministry expert Jim Beckman. The theme of this Deacon Moment is submission to the Christ Child.

Sarah Reinhard asks us to look at our Advent wreath and think of Mary, inspired by a recent Mary Vitamin.

Please consider joining us in support of the SQPN.com Giving Campaign.  Your donations will help us to continue in this important evangelization work.

This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

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Weight gain during December is very common if we don’t put some effort into avoiding those extra calories in holiday foods. Those dreaded holiday pounds can quickly sneak up on you if you are not careful. Here are some tips for cutting down the calories and avoiding the usual pounds we put on during the holiday season:

1st Tip – Get Another Taste Tester
If you are doing most of the cooking, you may be tempted to taste all the dishes along the way. All those little bites add up to quite a few calories. Ask someone else to be your taste tester instead.

2nd Tip – Don’t Nibble All Day
With all the holiday goodies sitting around the house it’s hard not to munch on a cookie here and there or grab a handful of nuts and other holiday foods. Many people who are very conscious about what they eat the rest of the year break down in the during the holidays. They nibble here and there all day, then eat a full meal of holiday foods as well. Do your best to avoid nibbling. If you feel like you need a snack, drink a glass of water or eat a piece of fruit instead. Cut up some raw veggies and set them out to snack on. It’s a much better snack, especially if you – like so many of us – snack out of habit and boredom, not because you are hungry.

3rd Tip – Stop after the first plate
Don’t go back for seconds. With all that yummy (and remember calorie-rich) holiday food sitting there it’s not easy. But don’t go back for more! Eat your dinner and then stop. It takes your brain at least half an hour to realize that you are full. Give your body a chance to tell you that you don’t need that second helping.

4th Tip – Drink Water
Another great trick to avoid overeating is to drink a big glass of water 30 minutes before a meal. You should also drink 6 to 10 glasses of water throughout the day to stay well hydrated. We often eat more when we are actually thirsty.

5th Tip – Use A Smaller Plate
You are going to fill up your plate with all those holiday foods sitting there. So use a smaller plate. Instead of using the big plates, grab a smaller plate to eat off of. You won’t be able to fit as much on it. Less food on your plate means less calories you’re taking in!



Find more great family recipes and meal planning assistance at Dine Without Whine

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the Medical University of South Carolina studied 195 people and found that nearly a year later 85% of the participants still had not lost that extra weight. That means that even if you only gain two pounds during the holidays, that if you consistently do that year after year you’ll be 10 pounds heavier in just five years! The study also found that overweight and obese participants gained the most weight during the holiday study compared to others.

Even small amounts of excess weight carry risks to our health. So, avoiding weight gain all together is the smart solution. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of weight gain,” said Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Preventing the increase in weight is a lot easier and better than actually gaining weight and trying to get it off again.”

Sure, that may sound like something that is easier said than done. There are no shortages of holiday weight tips being echoed throughout t.v., radio and print. But, still people tend to gain some weight during the holidays. That doesn’t have to be the case! Let’s put some real-world reality to these tips to make them actually useful. There are reasonable ways to alter your behavior so that you can still enjoy yourself without becoming an unofficial member of the holiday weight gainers club.

Tip 1: Don’t abandon your fitness regimen during the holidays.

Sure, it sounds easy enough but even devoted exercisers can fail. During November and December many people’s time gets overtaken by holiday shopping, decorating, and family get-togethers. But, just because you abandon your normal workout routine doesn’t mean you can’t stay fit. Schedule just 10 minutes of each day for exercise. Put it on your calendar so you won’t brush it aside. 10 minutes a day can be enough to prevent gaining a few pounds. Exercises to try: brisk walks, strength training with dumbbells, resistance band exercises.

Tip 2: Allow indulgences but limit them.

Moderation is the key but in reality how many of us can stop ourselves from eating more than one cookie or resisting all the different types of homemade deserts at a family party. The key here is to remind yourself that if you eat a piece of pie you haven’t destroyed your healthy eating for the entire day. So, you can’t use that excuse and allow for a free-for-all. To keep yourself in check write down each indulgence you have. If you write it down you will see in black and white exactly what you are consuming and that should be enough of a reality check to keep you on track. You may even want to consider posting your indulgences on a public webpage that your friends and family view. Revealing this to others may further help keep you in check.

Tip 3: Stay out of the kitchen.

For those who find joy in baking treats during the holidays, this tip doesn’t sound very fun. Instead of placing police tape across your kitchen doorway, have fun baking but give the goodies away. As soon as you bake, place your items in containers. Give the containers to friends and family or to a good cause. One option is sending them to troops through Soldier’s Angels or Treats For Troops.

Tip 4: Avoid overindulging at holiday parties by eating sensibly throughout the day and avoiding the high fat foods at the buffet.

No matter what time of year, you should always strive to eat three to five meals per day. That helps to maintain a healthy weight. But, that can be difficult on a good day. When the busy time of the holidays rolls around it becomes more and more challenging. Still, with some planning it doesn’t have to be impossible. Plan one hour per week that you can take time at the grocery store and stock up on some healthy but quick foods. Try organic frozen meals you can heat in the microwave oven, roasted chicken from the prepared foods section and pre-cut vegetables.

When faced with a holiday buffet with tempting foods, try this plan. First go through the buffet line and pick only the most healthy options: vegetables with a small amount of dip, cheeses, and chicken (not fried) options. Eat those, then wait at least 10 minutes before you allow yourself to hit the buffet line again. This time choose just two less healthy options (get small portions) and allow yourself to eat those. Wait 20 minutes and drink two glasses of water during that time. Hopefully you won’t feel like returning to the buffet line but if you do you shouldn’t be too hungry and therefore should have more willpower at that time.

Tip 5: Strive for five-a-day. Ensure that you eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

This proves to be challenging for most people. But, these days you can get very creative with the foods you eat to satisfy your five servings. The best options are eating raw fruit and vegetables throughout the day – bananas, apples, carrots, salad. But, if that just isn’t going to work for you try out some of the new fruit/vegetable juices that give you both a fruit and veggie serving in a single glass. Also, there are fruit strips that are made of 100% fruit. You can even find snap pea chips these days. Some soups have full servings in them as well.

These 5 tips give you real world examples of how you can easily execute them while still fully enjoying the holiday season. So, no more excuses – follow the tips and you should find yourself picking a new resolution come January. No need to resolve to lose holiday weight!


Copyright 2009 Lynn Bode

Often we feel tension when trying to make good decisions in the kitchen.  Organic food vs. budget, avoiding processed foods vs. time spent in the kitchen…That tension is the motivation for creating Kitchen Stewardship.  I hate that feeling, and I want to help you break free of the worries and do your personal best to give your family and God the best you can, one baby step at a time.

I offer you one tiny step in the process of releasing worry and integrating prayer into your kitchen.  Today’s tip is for everyone who feels crunched by their food budget but wishes they could spend more on “clean” food.

The Tug of the Budget

We are not all able to give our families the very best, perhaps, because of financial limitations.  Many single-income families struggle with food purchases, especially when trying to eat nutritious, safe food.  Organic food is expensive. Stainless steel water bottles cost a lot more than plastic.  Avoiding pesticides may mean you have to avoid eating out or taking a vacation.  Healthy fats cost waaaaaay more than shortening. Fruits and vegetables – even the standard ones – make a bigger dent in the food budget than potato chips and processed bread.  Organic food is expensive.  (Have I said that one already?)  Buying grass-fed meat and healthy eggs can make you feel like you ought to get insurance for your frozen food in case of power outage.  Natural supplements and dishwasher detergents get into double digits pretty quickly.  And have I mentioned organic (and well-raised) food is expensive?

I don’t want you to think “eating healthy” means “eating organic”.  It’s far from that.  But purchasing foods that have LESS added to them – fewer preservatives, fewer pesticides, fewer chemical fertilizers, less processing, less sugar, less high fructose corn syrup – always ends up costing you MORE in the end.  It’s an unfortunate irony.

There’s no way around balancing a budget and buying healthy food.  Either you find places to cut and buy the expensive stuff, or you do what you can and purchase less than your idea in many categories.  What are those of us to do who have already made budget cuts, who desire organic spinach but must grab the 10/$10 bag of pesticide-laden stuff anyway?

How to Make Up for Less than Perfect?

My friend has a way to compensate.  She knows she can’t afford organic, pastured chicken, for example.  When she serves run-of-the-mill storebought chicken that ate God-knows-what under miserable conditions, she begs our Lord to fill the gap. She prays the meal blessing with her family and adds a codicil in her head: “Lord, I know this isn’t the ideal meal.  Please bless this food.  I trust you to make up the difference in nutrition for my family.  Protect us from anything in this chicken that might harm us. May we be healthy anyway.” It’s about doing your best, and then trusting God to fill the space that lies between the resources you have and what you’d like to serve.  God saved Daniel from hungry lions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from fire, and Peter from shackles in a prison.  Don’t you think He can protect your family from a few pesticides if only you ask?  “Bless US, O Lord…” Ask, seek, knock.  “And these Thy GIFTS…” God knows how to give His children good things!  “From Thy bounty…” All our food is from our God.  “Through Christ, Our Lord…” Jesus will provide.

Important to Remember…

One reminder:  please don’t look at this as an excuse to buy whatever you want and hope that God won’t allow the consequences of your choices to harm you. We are instructed not to tempt or Father.  We all know we shouldn’t go jump off a tall building and expect God to catch us so we aren’t at all injured.  We can’t be irresponsible with our choices.  Our purchases still affect the world at large.  We must be sure to do what we can to reduce our negative impact on the environment and give our families the best with the resources God has given us.  Someday we’ll be in Heaven, God willing, and we won’t have to think about what to buy, how to prepare it, and if it’s going to hurt us.

But in the meantime, since we live out of Eden, pray a meal blessing at every meal, and super-charge it with supplication for holy supplementation!



Copyright 2009 Katie Kimball

It’s time to face your excuses head-on so that you can overcome them and choose to live a healthier lifestyle. Here are some of the most common excuses for skipping exercise along with ways to combat them.

I Don’t Have Time: This if by far one of the most common excuses used. But, it still doesn’t hold water. People that use this excuse are actually saying that exercise is not enough of a priority to make it on their weekly to-do list. If you fall into this category, then it’s time to review your daily priority list. Certainly there is something less important that you are doing for 20 minutes every day that can be replaced with exercise. After all, exercise is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family to ensure that you live a long, full, disease-free life.

I’ve Tried And Failed In The Past: It’s true that it can be difficult to get motivated to try something after you’ve failed before, but isn’t your health worth another try? If you’ve been unsuccessful at exercising in the past, then re-evaluate what went wrong. Did you try to do too much, too quickly? It’s very common for new exercises to be overzealous when starting their workouts and end up either burning out or getting injured early on. Did you set unrealistic goals for yourself? Try to stick with small goals that are truly achievable. For example, that you will workout three times per week for the next month.

I Can’t Afford A Gym Membership: You don’t have to spend a single minute in a gym in order to lose weight or get fitter. Just walking outside is a great place to start. Also, home fitness equipment has become very affordable and accessible. For as little as $30 you can buy some great home equipment that will really challenge your body. A resistance band and an exercise ball allow you to work every muscle group and even get a cardiovascular workout.

I’m Too Fat (or out-of-shape): Unless your physician has forbidden exercise, then it’s very unlikely that this excuse has any validity. If you are extremely out-of-shape, then you simply need to start with baby steps. Walking is always a great place to start. You may have to start with just five minutes. That’s okay. You can gradually add more time each week. If walking is not an option, then you could try some pool exercises. At the very least, you can start by getting active while sitting. There are many beneficial strength training exercises you can do while sitting.

I Don’t Have Any Exercise Equipment: Nice try, but it doesn’t require special equipment to get your heart pumping. Don’t underestimate what you can do with things that are already in your house. For example, if you have a flight of stairs in your house then you’ve got an awesome way to get your heart rate up with through walking or running the stairs. Grab soup cans or milk jugs filled with sand to immolate dumbbells for strength training exercises. Try push-ups and tricep dips and you’ll quickly realize how hard your body has to work when just using it’s own weight.

I Don’t Know What Exercises To Do: There are literally dozens of ways to learn what exercises will help you. A great way to ensure your workouts are most effective is to hire a personal trainer or an online personal trainer. They can guide you every step of the way so that you don’t waste any time doing exercises the wrong way. Also, there are books, online websites, television shows and videos that offer loads of advice and tips.

I’m Too Old To Get Started: It may sound cliché, but you are never too old to get started. Everyone can benefit from exercising. Even if you are a senior citizen you can reap many rewards from starting an exercise program. Okay, so maybe you won’t be a marathon runner or a bodybuilder, but you’ll be able to walk the stairs easier, play with your grandchildren, improve your balance, improve your strength and more.

I Just Can’t Get Motivated: Don’t view exercise as a lifetime evil. Set small, short-term goals to help you get started. Start with a promise to just take the stairs instead of the elevator, for example. Then you might move onto scheduling 10 minutes of activity a couple of times per week. Also, make a list of all the positive benefits exercising has on your life. Your list might include giving you more energy, reducing your health ailments and more. The list should be pretty long. Post it somewhere that you will see it regularly and it can serve as a reminder to you as to why you need to workout.

I Hate Exercising: You probably think you hate it because you’ve been stuck doing activities that you don’t enjoy. Many people still have the old “no pain, no gain” mentality and think that in order for exercise to be worthwhile you have to be miserable doing it. This just isn’t true. Consider things that you really like to do. Do you prefer competitive situations? Then consider joining a recreational sports team. Do you enjoy spending time alone? Maybe Yoga or evening walks are for you?

I’m Too Tired: This excuse can create a vicious circle because the more sedentary you are then the more tired you become. Of course, the more tired you are then the less appealing exercise sounds. So, try to nip this in the bud quickly. Exercise can actually make you feel more revived then a nap. Regular physical activity increases your energy level. Plus, exercises tend to sleep fall asleep faster and sleep better, which allows you to truly feel rested every day.

When you find yourself making an excuse not to exercise, read through some of the above tips again. And, remind yourself of all the many benefits of working out: lower body fat, decreased risk of many diseases, reduced instances of depression, improved bone density, reduced risk of injuries and many more.

Copyright 2009 Lynn Bode

The Hero is Down

I loved detective and mystery books as a kid, and it seemed like the hero was constantly getting knocked on the head and lying unconscious on the floor. I want you to keep that image in mind – of a person lying on the floor, oblivious to the world around them – as you read this post. I feel it adequately describes the unfortunate state of too many people in our culture. How many in this country allow others – the media, the government, the grocery store ads, their own mothers – to make their decisions for them, either because they don’t care to be informed or because they opt out of their own lives? We cannot lie around with our brains turned off, unconsciously moving through our days.

Take Charge of Your Food

Think about it: We wouldn’t want to be unconscious to the taste of good food…we wouldn’t want to be unconscious on our wedding day or during a date with our significant other…we wouldn’t want to be unconscious at an important event in our child’s life. Why do we feel that it’s okay to be UNconscious as we prepare the food that will nourish all these precious people? It’s time to wake up. Get off the floor, good heroes and heroines of the kitchen! Be conscious. Be cognizant. Don’t allow the government or the popular culture to tell you what is healthy for your family without doing your own research. (Don’t worry – I can help!)

Women Have all the Dresser Drawers Open

My husband is sometimes in awe that my brain is always turned on, that I’m always thinking and so fully and completely invested in so many areas of life. It’s annoying sometimes, like when I’m trying to sleep, but I believe cognizance is one of my most important attributes. I am cognizant of what I buy, what I throw away, what I cook and how I cook it. There are, quite literally, a million different decisions that I make every day, and it is my fervent prayer that I am conscious for all of them, and that God is leading me to the right decision every time.

Action is Everything

For most people, there are many actions in life that are just that – an unthinking, habitual, action. Brains aren’t involved. For me, life is a little different. I don’t just flip a lightswitch. I don’t just turn on the water faucet. I don’t just grab a box of my husband’s favorite cereal at the store. Every action is a thought process, a conscious decision and movement that takes into account budget, environment, nutrition, and all the possible repercussions of my action.

In reality, no one JUST turns on a lightswitch. When you flip that switch, you add to your carbon footprint, you run up a certain amount on your electric bill, you use a certain amount of the lightbulb’s lifespan, and you cause electricity to be produced, consuming whatever sort of fossil fuel it takes your community to make power. Every action is part of a sequence of events affecting other people in this time and the future. Let us begin to treat life as such.

Conscious-Altering Life Changes

My consciousness changed a great deal when I became a parent. Those of you who are blessed with children can relate – suddenly every electrical outlet, every strange chemical smell, every dog running down the sidewalk gives you pause: could this harm my child? That precious, helpless life entrusted to you truly changes the way you see the world. You look at everything through the lens of a parent. The decisions you make suddenly, very clearly, affect someone other than yourself - someone you love with all your heart.

The Great Analogy

Let’s look at consciousness from the perspective of a peanut on the floor. No, I’m not going nuts myself – just bear with me and watch the progression:

A Peanut on the Floor

* I am a two-year-old boy. I see a peanut on the floor. I see a snack. I eat the peanut.
* I am an eight-year-old boy. I see a peanut on the floor. I see a reason I might get in trouble with Mom. I nudge the peanut under the couch.
* I am a teenage boy. I do not notice the peanut on the floor. What peanut? What floor?
* I am a newly married man. I see a peanut on the floor. I see a mess I ought to pick up and throw away the next time I walk that direction.
* I am a father of a new crawler. I see a peanut on the floor. I see a choking hazard. I rush over and throw the peanut away.
* I am the parent of a child with a peanut allergy. I see a peanut on the floor. I see potential death or hospitalization for my child. I rush to throw away the peanut, then conduct a thorough examination of the house for more peanut product and an inquiry of all those members of the household to determine WHO let the peanut get into the house. !!

Perspective changes consciousness. Our perspective must be that of Christian stewards, aware that every action we make has a reaction in the natural world, and every food we feed our family has a reaction in their bodies. As people who wish the best for our families and our communities, now and in the future, we must polish our lenses and begin to wake up to the reality of the peanut on the floor.

The Challenge

I would like to challenge you to begin tapping into your consciousness. Now don’t misinterpret me here – I’m not a New Age chickie telling you that I want you to listen to your inner such-and-such. I just want you to turn your brains on as you work in the kitchen.

I want you to practice the fine art of questioning, like, “How much energy did that use?” and “Why is X my habit?”

And I want you to refine your skills of observation: How many items do you use that are disposable, for example? Are you creating unnecessary waste by cooking your favorite meal?

I don’t even want you to challenge any habits (yet) or change your actions (yet). You don’t have to do research or learn about the issues (yet). If you’re interested in being thoughtful about your kitchen actions and trying to balance good nutrition, stewardship of the earth, your time and your budget, join me at Kitchen Stewardship and that will come. First we must practice being conscious, being aware of our decisions and their possible ramifications. We must begin to think of the world as a great spider web, where every move I make quivers the line and affects a multitude of other people and systems, more than I can see with my eight little spider eyes. Or maybe I’m the fly…we’ll decide that later!

Do it NOW!

Here’s what I do want you to try:

When you are in your kitchen this week or shopping for food, give your best attempt to dig deeply into each action and decision. When you find yourself doing something out of habit or losing your consciousness, picture yourself lying unconscious on the floor. Then bust out the smelling salts, take a sniff, and get up, dear hero! Increase your awareness of the peanut on the floor. Maintain consciousness in the kitchen.

Copyright 2009 Katie Kimball




Copyright 2009 Katie Kimball

Read the whole post:  The 6 Week Cure for the Middle-aged Middle.


Copyright 2009 Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Thanks again to Pat for having me on her show and for all of the terrific work she is doing Among Women!  Click here to listen to our conversation.

With Autumn often comes a lot of busy days. This is particularly true if you are returning to school or you have children that are. With the extra-curricular activities that come with school, you probably find it difficult to stick to your workout routine, at least until your new Fall schedule becomes commonplace for you.

So, while Fall is often a time when more people eventually head to the gyms, there is often a period of a few weeks where workout routines get completely abandoned. Rather than punish your body for your hectic schedule, find a way to sneak a little bit of physical activity in. Try some different, fun workouts rather than the standard treadmill and gym machines. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Check out a local bike path, walking/hiking trail or lake. Go once or twice a week for just an hour and burn some calories the fun way – by biking, walking, rollerblading, or even canoeing.

Play a sport. Maybe you enjoy the traditional games like volleyball, softball or soccer. Or, if you don’t feel you have the skills for those games try something different. How about a game of ultimate Frisbee with friends at the nearby park? When’s the last time you tried shuffleboard or bowling? Or, even try something in your back yard. Go to your local sports store and you’ll find loads of different backyard games that require little athletic skill yet keep you on your feet and provide a group of friends with an afternoon of laughs.

Do you or your spouse have a honey-do list that’s been collecting dust? Check it out and you’ll surely find some activities that will burn some muscle and increase your heart rate. Outdoor options that require pulling weeds or raking definitely fit the bill. Also, cleaning out a garage or painting a room can offer great benefits.

Organize a charity event. Helping others makes us feel mentally good. A great way to both help others and simultaneously yourself is to organize an exercise-related charity program. This doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. It can be as simple as getting a group of neighbors together and agreeing to walk X miles on a given day. Then ask other neighbors to donate a small amount to support your walk. All the money that you raise can be given to the favorite charity of your group.

Copyright 2009 Lynn Bode

Yes, it’s sad, but we’re down to the last week of summer.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your summer as much as we have – we took a few small family vacations and did some fun outings with friends here and there, and also had a lot of much-needed downtime, too.  (Did you read about our son’s dream birthday vacation?!)

But alas, it’s time to start thinking a bit about fall schedules and new routines. Maybe you’ll even want to implement some healthier habits with the start of this school year.

If so, here are some lists to help get your brain rolling…

Back to School Countdown

Copyright 2009 Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Most families would look back and recall kindergarten. We look back and remember “Katie’s tonsillectomy.”

That was 15 years ago. There have been countless episodes before then and since involving my four children that brought me into the health care system to varying degrees. As any parent will attest, most of us mark time with medical stories, as in, “That was the summer Jimmy had staples in his head” and “That was the year Betsy had a stress fracture and couldn’t run.”

There is perhaps no greater certainty as a parent than the sure knowledge that over the course of your children’s young lives, you will spend hours with them in the waiting room of the pediatrician’s office or an urgent care center or the hospital emergency room.

You’re likely to become “Dr. Mom” or “Dr. Dad” as you learn all you must know to make wise decisions about your child’s health. Ultimately, no parenting task is more important — or more serious — than to monitor and maintain the health of our children.

Protecting children’s health is one supposed selling point to reforming health care. On the face of it, with potentially up to 10 percent of America’s children uninsured, this is one of the best reasons to overhaul aspects of our medical delivery system.

But H.R. 3200, the bill under consideration in the House, doesn’t simply help parents find the resources to pay for their children’s health care. It includes intrusive mechanisms to decide what that care ought to be. And despite promises that those of us who are happy with our private insurance can keep it, the fine print in this bill forces even private insurers to alter the care we may choose for our children.

According to Devon Herrick, a health industry economist and fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis, this health care overhaul will affect parents’ decision-making roles for their children.

“It isn’t meant to only reform our health care system,” he says. “It’s meant to remold it entirely. And in that way, you can imagine that the law of unintended consequences may take over. It will inject larger bureaucracies into all aspects of health care – ALL aspects – and in that regard this bill definitely does impact choice.”

Mr. Herrick warns of “mission creep” in the legislation, too. Ideas such as voluntary home visitor programs, meant to fund state-based parenting and child-development education for underserved populations, may ultimately promote state sponsored “best practices” in parenting our children.

Um … Welcome to Stepford, everyone, where all the children are healthy and happy because the government makes it so.

Given President Obama’s recent comment about doctors’ money motives behind tonsillectomies, perhaps he would have eliminated our option to have the surgery that caused us such worry all those years ago. But in reality, given the risks, no doctor does this surgery anymore unless it’s absolutely necessary – and no parent would allow it, either, if it weren’t needed.

Every mom or dad waiting outside a surgical suite or watching a hospital monitor measuring a child’s every labored breath will attest that our interest in the well-being of our children is God-given and supreme. As such, our roles in their care must be respected.

But you won’t find any language like that in the thousand-plus pages of H.R. 3200.

Copyright 2009 Marybeth Hicks

They in return end up “spinning their wheels”. They’re stuck at the same weight with little or no positive movement toward their weight loss and fitness goals. Yet, if just a couple of short strength training sessions were added to replace some of their cardio workout time, they could break-through plateaus and reap a wealth of health benefits.

There are many, many benefits to strength training. It has the potential to:

• Lower resting heart rate
• Reduce blood pressure
• Improve cholesterol profiles
• Reduce intra-abdominal fat, which in turn can help lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension
• Help preserve bone mass
• Increase calories burned which helps promote weight loss

Unfortunately, many women are still either uneducated about the amazing benefits of strength training and/or afraid that they will “bulk up” and therefore they avoid resistance exercises. According to a study published in 2006 by Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, only 17.5% of
adult women performed strength training.

As shown above, there are numerous reasons why women should begin incorporating strength training into their workout routines today! But as history has shown, benefits such as preventing diseases and improving overall health are not usually the driving force behind change. Visible and measurable physical improvements such as a decrease in the scale tend to be the most motivational. So, let’s take a closer look at how strength training helps promote weight loss.

Moderate aerobic exercise, such as walking, has a metabolic cost of 5-7 per minute on average (in other words, it burns 5-7 calories). Moderate to vigorous strength trainings has a nearly equal metabolic cost at 5-8 per minute. So both walking and strength training can promote an equal amount of calories burned during the actual activity. But, there’s an extra benefit to strength training: you burn calories after you’ve stopped working out! Resistance training recruits both slow and fast twitch muscle fibers so the metabolic rate stays elevated longer. This means that you are burning calories long after you’ve stopped working out. One study showed an increase in metabolic rate even the next day post exercise. The study also showed that 24-hour post-exercise fat oxidation after strength training increased by an amazing 93%.

The benefits are both proven and clear, but some women still fear that they will get big, bulky looking muscles and look more masculine then they prefer. This really is a myth. In reality women simply do not have the necessary quantities of testosterone to build muscles like a man. It is a rare case when a woman has the potential for above average hypertrophy (increase in muscle size).

Also, often times a woman adds strength training to her exercise regimen and begins to see the numbers on her scale go up instead of down. This is immediately seen as a failure to many and the abandonment of the program occurs. In this case, using the scale to determine progress can be very misleading. An increase does not necessarily indicate fat has been gained. The exact opposite is more likely the cause. Muscle tissue weighs more by volume than fat tissue. A pound of fat occupies 18% more space than a pound of muscle.

Since women tend to correlate success and the scale readings so closely, it is highly recommended that women simply not weigh themselves regularly, Instead they should use other measurements, such as body fat percentage to gage progression. It’s very common for women to actually “weigh” their self-esteem when stepping on the scale rather than tracking their true health improvements.

Now that you know how important strength training is to overall health, here are some tips for getting started:

• Don’t go overboard and abandon your cardio sessions. Aerobic exercise is equally important and should be done 3-5 times per week.
• Start by adding in two strength training sessions per week.
• Choose weight sizes that will fatigue your muscle after about 8 repetitions.
• Select exercises that will work all of your major muscles.
• Include a variety of different strength training equipment like dumbbells, machines, balls and bands.

Copyright 2009 Lynn Bode

For an effective home gym, all that is required is a little bit of planning. Don’t fall into the trap of purchasing random fitness equipment because of fancy advertising for the latest infomercial fad or the great “sale” at your local fitness store. That type of purchasing leads to a house littered with equipment that’s only use is as a clothes hanger or dust collector. This often happens because the equipment is either useless, poorly constructed or quickly loses its value because it doesn’t progress with your fitness level.

To avoid having a basement filled with expensive dust-collecting equipment, keep these points in mind when making a purchase:
1) What are your fitness goals?
2) How often do you realistically think you will use the equipment?
3) What fitness level do you expect to be at in 3, 6, 9 months?
4) Will the equipment meet your needs as you get more fit (at the 3, 6, and 9-month marks)?
5) Does the equipment offer enough variations in use that you can change your workouts frequently to prevent your body from hitting a plateau?
6) Will you enjoy the exercises or will you quickly grow bored of them?
7) And, of course how much can you afford?

Once you have answered all of the above questions then you are ready to make some purchasing decisions. Of course, how much you can afford to spend may dictate what you can actually purchase.  Don’t get discouraged. For as little as $100, you can have a very effective total strength training home gym. Even for as little as $35, you can create an effective workout that will tone your entire body.

Regardless of what your fitness goals are, there are a plethora of equipment options to consider. For building muscles and/or toning-up you can choose from free weights, selectorized machines, resistance bands, benches and even no-equipment. For cardiovascular improvements (e.g. running, walking, etc),  there are even more options. They range from treadmills, to elliptical trainers, to bikes and beyond. So, answering the previously mentioned questions is very important.

To help make your decision easier, below are several recommendations based on costs and needs, along with benefits of the exercise equipment.

If you want to create a gym that will provide you with a total body workout (cardio, strength and flexibility) and you have a budget of at least $1000, consider the following recommendations:

· Treadmill – The best option for cardiovascular equipment because it can be used for running, walking, and even some leg strength training. Plus, workouts can continually be varied based on speed, incline, even direction. And, it easily progresses as fitness levels improve.
· Full dumbbell set with weights ranging from 5 pounds to 50+ pounds. – Great for light toning, to intermediate strength training to building muscles. Less expensive than selectorized machines and usually provides more flexibility and variety in workouts.
· Fitness Ball – Provides exercise options for toning, strengthening and stretching.
· Resistance Band – Provides another option for strength training. Can alternate use with free weights for a great challenge that will help prevent plateaus.
· Step Bench – Can be used for both cardio workouts and strength training workouts.

If you want a home gym specifically for building muscles (or just can’t afford cardio equipment), and can afford at least $100, consider the following recommendations:

· Dumbbell set.
· Fitness Ball
· Resistance Band
· Jump Rope – Offers very challenging cardiovascular fitness workouts at a very low price.

If you want a total body home gym but can only afford less than $100, consider the following recommendations:

· Three dumbbells sizes (e.g. 5, 10 and 15 pounds)
· Resistance Band
· Jump Rope

If you are limited to purchasing just one very affordable piece of equipment, consider buying a Fitness Ball. As mentioned above, it provides many different exercise options. With the ball you can get an upper body workout, a lower body workout, very challenging abdominal workout and a stretching/flexibility workout. And, you can get all of this for around $35.

Also, don’t underestimate what you can do with things that are already in your house, like stairs, a chair, milk jugs and others. There are a lot of exercises that require no equipment at all. For example, push-ups, tricep dips, squats, calf raises, etc. You can even create your own “weights” through milk jugs filled with water or sand.

As you can see, there are a lot of options available for creating a home gym that will meet your individual needs and will provide a lot of workout variety. Even on a shoestring budget, you can still make a wise purchase that will be invaluable in helping you get more fit and healthy. And, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of working out at home.

What are the benefits of working out at home? Well, here are some highlights:

· No wasted time driving to and from a fitness club
· No waiting in line to use the equipment
· Workout on your schedule, rather than just when the health club is open
· No expensive monthly membership fees or long-term contracts
· Motivation to workout as you pass by the equipment every day

Of course, you will need previous knowledge of how to use your home equipment or you will have to be willing to learn. But, it’s not difficult. Most equipment will come with basic instructions and a few sample exercises. You may want to enlist the help of a professional to provide additional exercise options and guidance that will ensure that you get the most out of your fitness equipment through every fitness level stage.

For an affordable workout plan personalized to your individual needs and available equipment, enroll in a WorkoutsForYou.com online fitness program.

Copyright 2009 Lynn Bode

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Copyright 2009 Kelly the Kitchen Kop