FamilyInShape

Don't forget to fill the tank...eat breakfast!

Photo by sweeteats

Imagine a teenager waking up just 20 minutes before running out to catch the school bus.  If you have one of these creatures you'll know that in their list of priorities, breakfast is not near the top. There are other, more important things topping that list like clothes, hair, make up, shoes and if time allows maybe, something to eat. If I was a junk food mom that's exactly what they would eat for breakfast. In my dream world my kids would get up earlier giving themselves time to eat a hot breakfast or even a cold breakfast full of all the good stuff nature has to offer.  You know, eggs, fruits, whole wheat toast, jam, hot cocoa, yogurt, oatmeal, etc...mm-mm.  That's not happening as often as I would like.  

Personally, I rarely, if ever, skip out on breakfast.  I make it a priority because I know it is one of many important meals of the day.  I'd like to say that it is THE MOST important meal of the day, however, I believe every meal to be important for different reasons.  Breakfast, however, is the one that gets me started and thus I plan to start my day off right, every single day, whether I'm in a morning rush or sitting back sipping green tea.  I do occasionally fall off the wagon and here's what happens:

The other day I decided to take some time off from my usual daily routine to stay home with my little Bear, catch up on chores and organize something that needs to be organized.  Well, I was in such a high to get started with whatever multi-tasking activity I had planned for the day that I went right to work.  Every so often reminding myself that I needed to eat and drink my tea which was steeping in the kitchen.  Every time I would say to myself, "well when I go in the kitchen to do the dishes I will eat, but let me finish this first."  Yeah...3 hours later, my tea was still steeping and my stomach was screaming at me.  Funny thing is that I took the time to feed, play with and entertain the toddler, clean out a closet, reorganize my pantry, make 6 scented candles and organize two other kitchen cabinets...all without eating a darn thing.

Bad move.  I was shaky, fatigued, felt exhausted and weak.  I could feel my glucose had dropped, I was completely out of whack.  It took about 3 hours to get myself back to normal and in the end, I had a pretty bad headache.  Of course I know better, but I got carried away.  In my job I often hear my clients tell me that they just don't have time to eat breakfast or they just aren't hungry so they don't eat until lunch time.  It's very easy to get up and get busy right away, every day and go on without thinking about eating.   Kids do the same and probably feel the same, they just don't know it.  One of my teens will get a migraine, usually by the end of the day; the others get irritable and cranky when they don't eat a nutritious breakfast. Of course, they would never admit that the lack of food had anything to do with their issues.

One of the problems with this time of day is that many people think they have to sit down to eat breakfast; others feel hat they need to cook or do some time-consuming task.  While sitting down to eat is best because it gives you the time to really enjoy your meal and slow down while you eat, that is not always possible.  Everyone is busy and many rushing out the door. 

There are many ways to fuel your body quickly and effectively with little preparation. Here are some easy ideas for the entire family:

Yogurt with Granola----or your kids favorite cereal

Oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar ----- any fruit will do

Whole grain/whole wheat toast with peanut butter

Banana, Strawberry (or any fruit combination), yogurt, orange juice & protein Smoothie

High fiber/high protein cereal with 1% or 2% milk---add any fruit with this meal

Apple with Peanut butter

Banana with Peanut butter

Egg whites with cheese & toast

Cottage cheese & fruit

Frozen waffles with peanut butter & fruit

Protein bars

ZonePerfect: 210 cal, 7g fat, 3g fiber, 13g sugar, 14g protein

Balance: 200 cal, 7g fat, <1g fiber, 17g sugar, 15g protein

SouthBeachLiving: 140 cal, 5g fat, 3g fiber, 7g sugar, 10g protein

Granola bars

Nature Valley: 180 cal, 6g fat, 2g fiber, 11g sugar, 4g protein

NutriGrain: 130 cal, 3g fat, 2g fiber, 12g sugar, 2g protein

There are many, many, many other options for quick and sit down meals out there.  Think nutritious, think energizing, think brain power.  I usually make my kids drink at least 100% pure orange juice, apple juice or milk even if they don't have time to eat a thing.  Generally, when they are rushing out the door I'm handing them something to eat as well.  The granola bars are OK options, not the most nutritious but not terribly bad either.  A banana and a granola bar is more powerful than nothing at all and sometimes it's difficult to please picky, cranky, morning teens.

For us adults, we need to take control of our nutrition if we are going to teach our children well.  Lead by example.  It may require you to get up a little earlier or do some prep work the night before but be prepared to fuel your family with easy to prepare, portable, or sit down breakfast every morning.

Stay well,

Crossposted at BlogHer

I left my healthy habits at home, now what?

Photo: Coffee and Cake by reya

This has been a crazy month in my house. Our oldest son (the musician) is auditioning and interviewing at various colleges looking for that perfect fit (and a scholarship of course.)  What this means for everyone else in the family is a well coordinated schedule of things and people to make sure the trips and life at home continue on a smooth course.  The second to oldest (the artist) is reaping the benefits of paid babysitting services this week and Dad is getting to do some of what I normally do while trying to get to work on time.  There were no complaints and I refuse to ask. 

My fitness schedule, however, is pretty much....well, let's just say that schedule stayed home along with my healthy eating habits.  For me, going to the gym once a week does not provide enough endorphins to keep me happy.  I get cranky, tired, and crave everything and anything because after all, "I'm on the road for hours and gosh darn it I deserve it all!" 

In general, my "normal" life is filled  with chasing the toddler, walks to the bus stop and my hard core fitness program at the gym.  Instead I get 2 days of spinning, 1 day of some lite interval workout and a swim lesson.  That's it!  There are 28 days in the month of February and in the first 21 days I worked out 4 times and ate pretty much what my little heart desired.  Needless to say, I'm not stepping on the scale any time soon.  

Good News--all the stress of driving for hours, not sleeping well, not exercising and eating all the wrong foods paid off.  We got a letter of acceptance from my school of choice and his second; that's part one, the second and best part is the scholarship offer.  

Oh sweet!! His hard work and my sacrifice paid off!   Woohoo!!  OK I can get back to my health and fitness track now that I'm back home and I know where my kid will be come August 2009.  One less thing to worry about.  

Just because life throws you curve balls that interfere with your daily routine doesn't mean that you have to give up completely.  Although I probably could have planned my trips better and taken advantage of opportunities to walk or use the hotel gym, I am not feeling the least bit guilty or upset that I did not do these things. I am proud to say that we sat down to eat most of the time and we did not visit any fast food restaurants, not one.  AND no, I don't consider getting coffee fast food.

Now I am putting my energy on what I know I need to do now.  Live in the here and now for a better tomorrow.  That said, I started back at the gym and got back on track with my nutritional goals.  

Here's my scheduled routine

• Monday/Friday: Total Body Conditioning class, basically, Boot Camp
• Tuesday/Thursday: Muscle Conditioning - Total Body (swimming at night)
• Wednesday/Saturday: Spinning

Nutrition:

• Water was never an issue on the road, well, actually it was only an issue because we had to make lots of stops--anyway, that remains the same - lots of it throughout the day.
• More, lots more vegetables and fruit
• Protein smoothies after my workout
• Add in Whole Grain bread, pasta, cereal, brown rice, sweet potato and nuts
• Yogurt, fat free milk, and green tea
• Most important...Eat all day! 

Sleep:

• This is still a bit of an issue because my toddler sometimes wakes me up, however, I can take a short power nap when he goes down for a nap and still get my chores and other things done around the house.  I might not always do it but I do have that option so I will try to either take a power nap or simply take some time to just sit and relax. 

I hope you know that you don't have to wait 'till Monday to get back on track, do it today, Do It Now!

Stay Well, 

Eat all day

Fruit Salad by yikesleanne

I had a discussion with my friend Lisa who is trying to loose weight and said she was failing, nothing seems to work and what little she looses one week she gains the next.  She shared her daily menu during the week when she was loosing weight and it would seem to her that she had established good eating habits.  She was eating more fruits and vegetables and refraining from late night eating as well. He schedule was what we've all known since forever, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at AM, noon and 6 pm, respectively.  However, this schedule was also the problem as she felt hungry, tired, and cranky around 3:00 pm every day and then she found herself splurging just before dinner because she was just too hungry to wait.  To make matters worse, the late night munchies came back into the picture.

Obviously, this schedule is not working for her so told her to try a new way of eating.  "I want you to eat 5-6 times a day." "What!? Are you crazy? That's way too much food," she said.  "Actually, no, it's about the same amount your eating now but we're going to break those up into smaller meals, that's all.  Just try it for a week or two."

• Old Breakfast:  Bowl of whole wheat cereal, 1/2 cup fat free milk, Yogurt, fruit, tea or coffee.
• New Breakfast: Bowl of whole wheat cereal with fruit or 100%fruit juice, tea or coffee.
• Add a snack about 2 hours later:  Yogurt with granola or plain OR fruit. 

  

• Old Lunch:  Grilled Chicken salad (Romain lettuce, tomato, carrots, celery, radishes and light dressing), Soda and a bag of sun chips.
  
• New Lunch:  Keep the salad and dress it with lemon juice and olive oil instead. Drink water or Crystal Light and drop the chips.
• Add a snack about 2 or 3 hours later: fruit salad OR 1 apple with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter OR a Cheese Stick with 6 wheat thinks or Triscuit crackers OR a Banana.

• Old Dinner: Usually grilled chicken or fish, side of either rice or mashed potatoes and a cup of green veggies or salad.
  
• New Dinner:  Keep the grilled meats lean, but good choice there.  Switch to brown rice and sweet potatoes or eat less off them if you're not ready for the brown version or if sweet potatoes are not your thing.  Definitely keep the veggies, add more of them and/or a salad.
• Evening snack: Not a problem, keep it sensible:  Hot Cocoa made with water, yogurt, fat free pudding or gelatin, popcorn, any fruit, hot tea.

• Drink green tea through the day.
• Drink water in between meals.
• Stay a step ahead of those cravings by keeping protein bars, hand fruits, nuts, and water bottles in the car, gym bag, purse, etc.

The first week she lost 5 lbs, the second and third week she lost 3 lbs, now she is loosing between 1 and 3 lbs each week.  She has since started walking because, she has the energy in the afternoon or after work and she doesn't feel so cranky at the end of the day.  She really didn't have to change much to get her going. 

Personally, I try to keep protein bars and hand fruit in my gym bag and my purse as well as bottles of water.  I really don't like going shopping on an empty stomach because crazy things happen, like the other day my car just automatically turned into a Starbucks.  I don't remember ordering my grande- skinny-vanilla-latte-with whip but there it was in the company of a low fat blueberry muffin, as if that was a good thing.  

I do the same for my kids if I know I will be out running around for more than 2 hours - pack good, healthy snacks and drinks then I will be less likely to buy junk food on impulse or out of desperation.

Are you a scheduled eater or do you eat sensibly all day? I want to know what works for you!

Stay well,

Happy 2009! Stay safe, be responsible

Sometimes I can't believe we are celebrating the year 2009.  It seems like only yesterday when I was leaving home,joining the corps, getting married and having a kid, the first of four.  Yet here it is, 2009!  Well, I'm glad to be here to celebrate with my family, for there are too many whom are not and for them I pray for peace and a safe holiday season.  There's a lot of celebrating going on over the next few days which is why I decided to post this message tonight.  For some it might come a little late, but for those of you who plan to party any time over the next few days and through the weekend, this message might come in handy.  Please be responsible when you drink, stay safe, and have a happy and fantastic New Year's celebration!

Stay well,

A message from Amber McCracken:

As we approach New Year’s Eve, many Americans will be enjoying a spirit or two.  Because there is no form of alcohol labeling required by the government, understanding how much is too much is difficult.  According to a recent release by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumers League and Shape Up America!, Americans should have these facts as they countdown to 2009:

·       When it comes to drinking alcohol, the old adage is true: It doesn’t matter what you drink, it’s really how much that counts.  Don’t kid yourself into thinking beer or wine is “safer” or less “potent” than the “hard stuff.”

·       One of the most important tips about responsible drinking is to know how much you are drinking. So, remember, 12 ounces of regular beer has the same amount of alcohol as five ounces of wine and an ounce and a half of distilled spirits.

·       Alcohol affects women differently than men. Besides producing less of the enzyme responsible for breaking down alcohol, women generally have a lower percentage of natural body water than men, which means alcohol levels are more concentrated and women are likely to feel the effects (including the onset of alcohol-related diseases) sooner. In light of these differences, the Dietary Guidelines recommends that women consume less alcohol -- up to one standard drink a day while men are advised to limit their consumption to two alcohol drinks a day.

·       Sometimes the wisest decision is not to drink. This is the case if you are younger than the minimum legal drinking age, pregnant, driving or operating machinery, or simply cannot control your drinking. 

·       In many cases, alcohol and medications don’t mix. Always read the label to determine if the prescription medicine or over-the-counter drug carries a specific warning about consuming alcohol.

·       If you are hosting a party, don’t over-serve alcohol and keep an eye out for anyone who may have had too much to drink and is planning to drive home. If necessary, take their keys and call a taxi. Have plenty of non-alcoholic beverage choices available.

·       The obvious tip that everybody knows but sometimes forgets: before you go out, plan how you are going to get home. Designate a driver, have a taxi number, and have money ready to pay the taxi. Whatever you do, don’t drink and drive and plan on staying sober.

·       Whether you are a parent, family member or a friend, don’t serve to or buy alcohol for people under 21.

                Whatever you do, don't drink and drive!

Click here to read the complete release on this issue.

Other resources:
http://www.shapeup.org/
http://www.shapeup.org/about/arch_pr/121208.pdf
www.nclnet.org.

12 days to a new you- fruits & vegetables

Photo by mundoo

Continuing on this journey of adding a positive something to each day over the next twelve days is still a bit of challenge.  But here we are, day three with both days two and three additions: fruits and vegetables.  You are still drinking your water.

You might be eating fruits and veggies throughout the day, however it doesn't hurt to assess how you are eating them and which ones.   Again, eating cold foods during the winter is not appealing to many people and is used as a crutch to avoid eating important nutrients. However fruits can be cooked, just as veggies so no excuses.

Besides the easy to find, everyday, local or imported fruit, there are so many more options to choose from.  The problem is sometimes we're just afraid, we don't know how to eat certain fruits, they can be a little expensive, etc.  However, it is a good idea to treat yourself and your family to a new fruit every once in  a while.  We eat grapes, apples, bananas, and strawberries like they're going out of style.  During the summer months we also add anything citrus such as oranges, tangerines, Clementine, and grapefruit.  But once in a while we step outside the box and try something new, such as pomegranate, persimmon, mangoes, and peaches.

As with fruits, there are vegetables we seem to always have on hand such as corn, green beans, legumes, carrots, celery and some type of lettuce.  That's great but to keep it interesting try new combinations, new vegetables and find ways to include these in your meals every day.  I know there are some interesting vegetables out there we just don't know what to with them.  Unfortunately, it is very easy to eat veggies that have been sauteed in butter, covered in creamy dressings, and over cooked.  Try adding a bit of olive oil instead of butter, add garlic or other salt-free spices, squeeze a lemon, broil, bake or blanch your veggies instead of boiling or microwaving.  You want your cooked vegetables to be crispy tender with bright colors, not wilted and tasteless.  

Get the kids involved in the selection and preparation process but be mindful of what you use as a dip or seasoning on your fruits and vegetables.  Avoid canned foods choosing frozen instead. Some fruits and vegetables are seasonal, so take advantage when they are in season to try them out.  Read about them online, learn about the benefits and how to eat or prepare them.  Knowing in advanced makes for a more positive experience for your and your family.

So we are drinking water, eating fruits and vegetables.   Great start! 

Stay well,

Resources for information on fruits and vegetables:

Fruits and Veggies: More Matters!

The World Healthiest Foods