Childhood Obesity - Run Miles to Decrease It

I wanted to ask for your assistance. My son, Dylan, is in 8th grade and doing a capstone project to raise awareness about and funds to decrease childhood obesity.

There is a free app called Run4Good by Saucony that donates money based on miles logged. He has a form to "pledge" miles to walk in December and a team on the app called "Team Dylan".  I wanted to ask you to join his cause by filling out the form and using the app while committing to walk or run a certain number of mile in December under Team Dylan.  It is great motivation to keep or get active during this holiday season and it is for a good cause.

If you would share this, too, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!!

The form can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1A_kEYuQnHdoylfIL5ikAEBs6OMM72WrSgBN3IdAd194/viewform

Together we can make a difference!!  Also, by pledging miles, we are all getting more active and keeping ourselves healthier at the same time.  And for some us, this may lead to lowering the number of overweight and obese adults in the world :)

The following is taken directly from Saucony's Run For Good page (http://www.sauconyrunforgood.com/facts-about-childhood-obesity/).

CHILDHOOD OBESITY FACTS

• Government statistics show that over 30% of children and adolescents are obese or overweight. Almost 20% of children ages 6 to 11 and 18% of those 12 to 19 are considered obese.

• Obesity most commonly begins in childhood between the ages of 5 and 6, and during adolescence.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years. It has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years.

• Studies have shown that a child who is obese between the ages of 10 and 13 has a 70 percent chance of becoming an obese adult. This increases to 80 percent if one or more parents are overweight or obese.

• Doctors agree that the two primary factors in creating obese children and teens are poor food choices and less exercise on a daily basis.

• Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. Overweight and obesity are closely linked to type 2 diabetes.

• Researchers have found that overweight children are at a greater risk of school absenteeism than their normal-weight peers.

• According to the CDC, children and adolescents should do 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day. Aerobic activity, such as brisk walking or running, should make up most of this daily activity.

• Doctors and other health care professionals are the best people to determine whether your child or adolescent’s weight is healthy.

A video to make you laugh

Some of this is just hysterical.

Laughing is so important for our physical and mental well-being and it's fun!

Take a look and let me know if you like it!

14 Races in 2014 Challenge

I want to give a shout out for Marathon Mom's blog (www.runnershoe.blogspot.com). I just joined a challenge I saw on there.  She is asking people to commit to the challenge of running 14 races in 2014!  I couldn't pass that up :)  14 races in 2014.  Wow!!  You can commit to whatever type of race(s) you want to run.  Some people may be doing all full or half marathons but since I'm new to running I selected that I will do a combination of races.They may very well be mainly 5Ks but... It is going to be fun!  It's getting me out there and running and I'm so excited.  I should add that as I said, I have just started running and only completed 3 races in my lifetime.  Since it took me 45 years to run three races, running 14 in one year will definitely be a challenge :-) but I'm committed to it.  I signed up there and I'm putting it here to have you all hold me accountable.  (I know that I really hold myself accountable but I don't want to fail publicly!)  If you are interested, please visit her blog and sign up!



I am already signed up for 3 races!!  Two are 5Ks and one is a half-marathon which I plan to walk/run (in February).  I'd love any tips people have for me!

I am hoping to do three runDisney races this year!  I'm signed up for one already.  I don't think it was an accident that I found this picture of the winner of the Disney Princess Half Marthon, Rachel Booth, and the copy I found had the picture saved as "Rebecca" , my name :)  There is no such thing as a coincidence!  :)  As a newbie runner, I'm not really thinking I will do as well as Rachel Booth who has one three Disney half-marathons and competed in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials where she came in 31st!  I do, however, believe that with all the properly labeled versions of this picture on the web, I was meant to find the one mislabeled as Rebecca Booth in order to remind myself that my only limitations are the ones I put on myself!!  I can run a marathon with the proper training!!   

I must admit it, I got the marathon bug last month when I read a pre-released copy my friend Mayra's book, Run YOUR Race: A Guide to Making YOUR Impossibles Possible. Mayra and I have both studied with Jack Canfield and know very well that the only limits we have are the ones we put on ourselves.  Mayra has written this awesome book exemplifying that.  The book absolutely drew me in and I read it in one day on my flight back from Pheonix, Arizona (after my last week of Jack Canfield's Train the Trainer program) to Boston, Massachusetts.  Although the purpose of the book is really to encourage us to "make our impossibles possible", it gave me the desire to run a marathon in addition to going after all my dreams.  I believe the book is coming out in January and I highly recommend it!

Anyway, I have the marathon "bug".  I am aware that I need to train and I want to train slowly and properly so I think I'm looking at January 2015 for my first full marathon.  I'm actually not opposed to walking part of it and I'm enjoying reading everyone's tips.  I find them inspiring and they help me remember that I don't need to get a record time, the point is simply to complete it and have fun!

Simple Steps To Overcome Holiday Challenges

I have always found it so ironic that the times of the year that "should be" the happiest often bring the most stress.  The fact is the holidays can be very stressful for many of us. Because of the additional stress and also the abundance of delicious (yet unhealthy) food, people tend to overeat. There are lots of ways to ensure this doesn't happen.

1.Meditate.
It's important for us to ground ourselves to be in the right state of mind before we are in stressful situations. I recommend meditating every day of the year but especially around holidays. Being stressed out often tends to have us overeat or make poor food choices.

2. Get plenty of sleep.
We need eight hours of sleep a night. When we don't get enough sleep, it negatively affects our mood, our metabolism, our memory, our energy, and our immune system.  It is common for us to eat in order to try to get more energy. When we do that, we often overeat or make poor food choices. (Do you see a trend starting here?)

3. Get plenty of exercise.
Exercise is important because of the obvious fact that we just need to move our bodies. It also helps us to eat less and make better food choices because we know how hard we worked to burn some calories :-) Exercise is also a great stress reliever as long as it's done at a cardiovascular rate. If you're exercising too hard, it is sometimes counterproductive and produces cortisol, the stress hormone, and that leads to holding weight on and feeling stressed.

4. Bring a healthy dish to parties.
This guarantees that you will have something delicious to eat and it helps other people have a healthy choices well.

5. Remember to be grateful.
When we are feeling stressed, it is easy to lose sight (or at least not focus on) all the things we have to be grateful for.  (Ironic at Thanksgiving but totally part of human nature.)

6. Be gentle with yourself.
Why are we so hard on ourselves? Remember that you always do the best you can in every situation. That doesn't mean that you can't do better next time. That also doesn't mean that you wouldn't do something different if you could do it again. But at that moment, you did the best you can could. We are all changing and we're all growing and improving AND we need to love ourselves exactly as we are!! :-)

Enjoy the holidays because you deserve the best!! Do what makes you happy!!

Have You Had Your Blueberries Today?

Most people think eating healthy is complicated and takes too much time.  It is true that processed junk food is often more readily available and doesn't require any preparation  But it really isn't that difficult to add healthy food into your daily routine and start eliminating some of the foods that are not good for you and that eventually lead to illness.

Let's start with blueberries.



Did you know that blueberries...

• are low in fat (1 cup of blueberries has about 80 calories and basically no fat) (I don't actually recommend a low fat diet. We need healthy fats in our diet for optimal health but I'll discuss that another day.)  
• banish belly fat
• prevent cancer by attacking free radicals, causing cancer cell death, and blocking the growth of tumor cells
• strengthen your immune system
• soften skin with their antioxidants
• are high in fiber which is crucial for healthy digestion
• lower the risk of age related macular degeneration which is the leading cause of vision loss in older people
• decrease the chances of heart attack in women
• reverse age-related memory loss due to their flavonoids
• prevent and heal urinary tract infections (UTIs) because they contain compounds that prevent bacteria from sticking to bladder walls
• lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes

You can easily add blueberries to your diet by having them plain or adding the to cereal or smoothies.  I would highly recommend organic.  I have read that if you are not eating organic, the wild blueberries may be a better choice.  I also firmly belief that if it comes down to eating non-organic blueberries (or any fruit or vegetable) or not eating them, the benefits of eating them are worth eating them versus not.  

There are probably even additional benefits but you can see that this is a super healthy food which is very easy to add to your diet. 

Simple Steps to Become Fit

Have you noticed how some people are just fit?  How is that?  Well... to be truly fit doesn't "just happen."  If you want to be fit, you will need to work on that.  However, it doesn't have to be "work".  We'll talk later about ways to make fitness fun.  It is easier to create new healthy habits that last when we get enjoyment from them.

1. Decide what you want in terms of your fitness

Often we don't get what we want because we haven't clearly determined what it is that we want.   That applies to all areas of our lives not just fitness. But if you say, "I want to be fit."  Well, was does that mean to you?  To some people it may simply be a number on a scale.  To some people it may mean being able to keep up with their kids running in the back yard.  Others may want to run a marathon.  What does being fit mean to you?

You may think, well I know what being fit means.  That's great, you are a step ahead of many of us.  I still want you to be as specific as you can in terms of how you would measure that fitness.

If you are one of those who see fitness as a number on a scale, I do want to ask you to rethink that as the sole criteria.  Our weight is important but is only one factor.  Being a health and wellness coach, I immediately think of heart health when I think of fitness (also as just one factor) but we've really got to exercise that heart muscle for fitness.

Also, just because you don't want to be a body builder or look like one, that doesn't mean that weight training is not important.  Building lean muscle mass is important for health and well-being at every age.  It also doesn't have to come from going to a gym and lifting weights.  There are many exercises that use your own body weight for strength training.


2. Write down your definition of fitness

Now that you've clarified it in your head, write it down. This helps to set your intention to achieve that level of fitness.

3. Create goals around your definition of fitness

All goals need to be SMART goals.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time driven



Here's an example of a well-written goal.  "I will run and complete a marathon by May 31, 2013 at 5 pm."

It is specific - running a marathon.  It is measurable. It does say by when this will be completed.  But now is it attainable and realistic?  Are there any marathons happening at a location you can be at this month?  Are you ready to run a marathon?  If you are currently 100 pounds overweight and completely sedentary, you do not want to set a goal to run a marathon this month.  You can absolutely set that as a goal but you want to be realistic in all aspects of the goal including time frame.

I always have long-term goals in all areas of my life but I find it very useful to have short term goals that when I achieve I move closer to the long-term goal and I have that feeling of accomplishment more often than if I have wait 5 years.

4.  Start imagining yourself as that fit person you want to be

How do you feel?  What do you look like?  What kind of external feedback to you receive?  Feel it.  Enjoy it.  Know that this is you!

Some people think of this visualization exercise as silly but it is much more powerful that people realize.  Professional athletes use this all the time.


5. Make your fitness (and your health) a priority

When you opt not to do some form of exercise (gardening, running, jumping jacks, cleaning, dancing), what are you doing instead?  What are you making a priority?  Is that newest reality TV show really more important than your fitness.  There are plenty of TV commercial based exercises that I'll share, too.

6. Take action

I know for years I have said that health and fitness were my priorities but never took action on it.  In fact, I have studied health and fitness unofficially and officially for over thirty years.  The reality, however, is that it has only been in the last few years that I have started applying all the knowledge I built up in that time :)  I'm not yet at the fitness level I would like to be but I'm on my way.

7. Celebrate your actions

It is so important to celebrate or at the very least acknowledge our achievements.  We often focus on what we didn't accomplish instead of what we did.  So if you want to workout 5 days this week but only did 3, congratulate yourself for doing 3!  Next week you can work toward the goal of 5.

8. Reward yourself

This goes along with the celebrating your successes but we feel good when we are rewarded.  As such, we are more likely to keep going in that right direction.  I do not recommend rewarding yourself with food but occasionally a nice, healthy meal can be the reward.  If one of your goals is to become thinner and you've achieved that, I find it more fun to go out an get some new clothes that are smaller and reinforce my success!

Getting More Activity Into Your Day

I've been talking to a lot of people lately that feel overwhelmed when they think of exercising because they are trying to find a way to get to the gym for an hour when they already have a full day.

Please, please don't get overwhelmed by the thought of exercising.  Here are a few ways to bring more physical activity into your day.  These are really doable and you can build on this but get started today!!  You will glad you did!

1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
2. When you go somewhere, park at the far end of the parking lot.  
3. Look for even 10 minute periods during the day to do some physical activity.
4. Bring lunch to work and use part of your lunch hour to go for a brisk walk.
5. Do 10 squats every time the phone rings.
6. Get friends or family to exercise with you.  If you have kids, play a game of tag.  Your kids will love your attention and everyone benefits from the exercise.

When I used to work in an office building, I would go into my office and close the door and do some push ups, sit ups, squats, sumo squats, jumping jacks, and finish with the plank.  I would do that a few times a day plus whenever I started to feel stressed and it really helped.  I do need to warn you that it can be awkward with some skirts!  I also advise removing suit coats and high heels before beginning.  If you don't have an office and you don't have someone with an office that you can use, you can start a trend and see if you can get others to join you.   Have fun and be active.  It's good for your health on every level!

Find An Exercise Partner

It's always more fun to do things with our friends.  Exercise is no exception.  Find a friend (old or new) who also wants to be more active and set a plan for what you'll do together.  It can be as simple as going for a walk every day after the kids go off to school.

Working out with a friend is more enjoyable and holds you accountable so you don't miss your workout.

Here are a few tips:

1. Find someone who really wants to do this.  You both want to motivate each other rather than talk each other out of exercising while having coffee and donuts instead.
2. If you plan to go walking in the neighborhood, have a plan for rainy days or days that the weather keeps you inside.  The right workout video can make all the difference in the world.  Make sure you pick on that resonates with you or you won't do it.  
3. Make sure you both have similar exercise goals and objectives.  If one of you is a couch potato and the other is already an avid exerciser, this may not make for a great partnership.
4. Mix it up a little.  Add weight training or yoga once a week.
5. Make sure you both have a common time that will work every day so that scheduling doesn't become more work than the exercise. (One tip is that if your kids are on the same sports team, you can exercise together while they practice. That won't get you five days/week but it's a start.)  
6. If you are married or in a relationship, recruit them as a partner.
7. Go to some exercise classes at your local Y or any gym.
8. It's okay to have more than one exercise buddy - in fact, it is better.  If you are all friends and want to workout together, that can be great, too!!

Remember if you are really not enjoying getting active and exercising, you are not likely to keep it up.  Make it fun for you!!  Make it social!!  Make it happen!!

You can do it!!  Start today!