Family Matters: Being Active Together

One of the resolutions I made this year is to be more active with my family - particularly with my 7-year-old daughter. The troubling headlines about childhood obesity do not paint a pretty picture. According to the CDC- approximately 17%, or 12.5 million, children and adolescents aged 2-19 are obese. Read Full Post

tags: motivation, exercise, strategies, kids, mommy blog

5-2-1-0: Eating through the Rainbow

Eating through the Rainbow…what a fun way to inspire kids to eat different colors of fruits and vegetables! As part of the 5-2-1-0 program that I recently blogged about, my daughter’s primary school, along with the School Nutrition Program, participated in this 5-2-1-0 activity: Eating through the Rainbow. Read Full Post

tags: motivation, strategies, kids, mommy blog

Tell your Honey to Take a Hike!

So many holidays and celebrations are centered around food. It doesn’t have to be that way! Read Full Post

tags: Diet Tools, strategies

Your HEART is in Your Hands!

The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign raises awareness of heart disease in women and encourages them to make healthy lifestyle changes. On National Wear Red Day® (the first Friday in February), wearing red is a way to show support for cardiovascular prevention and education. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, motivation, exercise, mood

5-2-1-0 Let’s Go!

Recently, Chris Weithman, HMR’s resident dietitian, blogged about the childhood obesity dilemma that we’re seeing all over the news. As a mother of 3 young children in a Maine school system, I am lucky that the kids in my town are working on their ABCs, 123s, AND 5-2-1-0. Read Full Post

The Childhood Obesity Dilemma

It’s all over the news – the escalating weight problems of our youth. Medical communities, the federal government, and the First Lady are all talking about what is causing childhood obesity and what we need to do about it. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation, mood, kids

How to Pick a Diet

So you’ve made weight loss a priority for the New Year. But this time you want to make sure you actually have a chance of success. Sound familiar? In fact, studies have shown that 82.5% of people pick a diet that is virtually guaranteed to fail. Weight loss can be successful, however, if you know what factors are important to consider. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, Diet Tools, motivation, planning, strategies

The DVR is my Secret Weapon

While working on my health over the past 25 years, I’ve discovered that if I want to sustain a high level of physical activity, I need to have a variety of strategies to do it. I’ve also learned that I need a “go-to” activity that I can count on, no matter what. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation, exercise, mood, strategies

Suffering from Holiday Diet Fatigue? Pump up the Volume!

This might be a good time to take a step back and review what’s been happening the past few weeks. So far, you’ve survived Halloween, Thanksgiving, holiday parties, Hanukkah (for some), and Christmas (for others). But, we’re not quite done yet. The New Year’s weekend is coming fast. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, Recipes, Diet Tools, motivation, in the box, planning, mood, strategies

To Snack or Not To Snack?

How many times have you heard the advice that it is better to eat smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 meals a day? Eating more frequent meals has been said to help “speed up your metabolism,” decrease your appetite, or increase your energy level. Is this just another diet myth or is there any truth to it? Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, Diet Tools, motivation

Banishing the Baking Blues

This time of year, it is so fun to be in the kitchen with my children creating cookie masterpieces! However I also struggle with having baked goods in the house as I could easily eat a lot of calories in baked goods several times a day. This has been a dilemma for me until I found some recipes for baking things that are not meant to be eaten. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, Diet Tools, motivation, mood, strategies, kids, mommy blog

Training for White Rock

If you read my last blog, you know I am in the process of recovering from a foot injury AND training for a half marathon. As I’ve trained for this, I have run countless miles, done cross training and conditioning…. and the big question is…. will all of my hard work pay off? Coming back from an injury just isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Read Full Post

tags: motivation, exercise, mood

My Winter CSA Share

In a previous blog I waxed poetic about the benefits of having a CSA share. But did you know that a CSA share doesn’t have to just be for spring, summer or fall? Yes, there are also winter shares, and shares that go year round. Read Full Post

tags: Recipes, Diet Tools, motivation, money, strategies, kids, mommy blog

Un-learning Theory

The other night my daughter was lamenting the fact that I had to teach a class on a night I normally would be home. I explained to her in terms that a 6-year-old would understand that “Mommy needs to go teach grown-ups how to eat veggies and fruits.” My daughter laughed at the idea that adults would need to be taught something like that. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, motivation, mood, kids, mommy blog

Wondering How to Make Sense Out of Health Information on the Internet?

As a researcher, I find the Internet to be an invaluable tool to research a health-related question. If you know where to look, you can find almost anything. But, sometimes the vast amount of information available on the Internet can be overwhelming. How do you distinguish between sites that contain reputable information and those that do not? Read Full Post

tags: motivation

My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Food Processor Edition

I recently wrote about how much I love using my crockpot. With a big family to feed, and small children underfoot, I am able to make healthy and delicious meals without a lot of fuss or time spent in front of a hot stove. I will now share my love and appreciation for another helper in my kitchen: the food processor. Read Full Post

tags: Recipes, Diet Tools, motivation, strategies, kids, mommy blog

Starting Over: How an Injury Brought My Exercise to a Whole New Level

December 23rd, 2010…a date that will be in my memory forever. It was the day I tore my Lis Franc joint in my foot – an almost guaranteed career-ending injury for most professional athletes – and an injury that would forever change my physical activity. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation, exercise, mood, strategies

Can You Reset Your Metabolism?

There are many myths in the area of weight management but perhaps none as daunting as the “set-point”. According to this theory, each person has a set, pre-determined weight and body fat to which his or her body naturally gravitates. Essentially, this theory says that your metabolism adjusts itself to maintain a weight at which it is comfortable. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation, exercise, mood

Yoga with Irene

Imagine you’re stuck in a small log cabin in Vermont with 3 young children while Hurricane Irene is storming outside! I know what you’re thinking – how fun! A day filled with baking bread and crazy art projects! Not so much. That's where we rode out the storm, and my husband and I pulled out all the tricks for what to do on a rainy day. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation, exercise, mood, strategies, kids, mommy blog

My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Crockpot Edition

I like to tease my husband that the local Best Buy® store is his best friend. He likes to spend time there visiting his favorite gadgets and daydreaming about bringing them home one day. Since I do most of the meal prep and cooking in the house, I thought I would introduce you to my best kitchen friends (i.e. gadgets that make my life easier)... Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, Recipes, Diet Tools, motivation, in the box, planning, mood, strategies, mommy blog

Sneaky Chef: The Zucchini Edition

I know there is some debate about being a sneaky chef. I’ve read the pros and cons. A sneaky chef finds a way to “hide” fruits and vegetables in meals and baked goods without it being too visible to the eater (typically kids that might otherwise refuse to eat these vegetables and fruits). Read Full Post

tags: Recipes, motivation, mood, strategies, kids, mommy blog

A Conversation with Jason

Jason Asciola has lost 164 lbs. in the HMR Program in Auburndale, MA. He is now in Phase 2 – still losing some weight and working on maintaining his weight loss.   Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, motivation, in the box, mood, strategies

Are School Lunches Getting Healthier?

Just in time for back to school, there’s a controversy brewing over a proposed rule in the National School Lunch Program. Read Full Post

tags: motivation, kids

Misleading Labels: How ‘Zero’ Calorie Foods Contain Hidden Calories

We were having green beans and mushrooms with dinner the other night – one of my favorites. As usual, we had the no-calorie spray butter on the table and I noticed it was getting a little low. Funny, we had just bought a new bottle last week. Oh well, it has zero calories right? Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, Diet Tools, in the box

Yo-yo Dieting: Harmful or Harmless?

Let’s face it – gaining and losing weight is a fact of life. Sometimes it’s just a few pounds here and there but, at other times, it can be even more significant amounts of weight. Commonly referred to as “yo-yo dieting,” one question that often comes up is whether losing and then regaining weight is harmful. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation

Benefits of Weight Loss that your Doctor won’t Tell You

There are so many other positive side effects of weight loss you can actually feel almost immediately. Some of these are due to losing weight, some of these are due to the additional exercise you’re doing, and most of them are due to both. So, with that in mind, here are some of the benefits of weight loss that your doctor may not tell you about. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, motivation, exercise, mood

Veggies Undercover

Several years ago, there was a raging debate over the wisdom of hiding pureed vegetables or fruits in children’s food. Parents with picky eaters were at the forefront of this movement. They reasoned that since vegetables and fruits are so important for good health, it was okay to get this nutrition into their children in whatever way they could. Read Full Post

tags: Diet Tools, motivation, strategies, kids

Looking for Straight Talk about Nutrition?

If You’re Confused, You’re Not Alone Many people have shared with me over the years that nutrition can be a confusing or boring topic. With so many mixed messages in the media, it can be hard to navigate around the facts. Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation

CSA Share, How Do I Love Thee?

CSA Share, how do I love thee, let me count the ways: I love the bounty of fresh vegetables and fruits you provide. I love the new vegetables we have never tried that push us to try something new. I love the interest you pique in my children when they see interesting shapes and colors among the produce. Read Full Post

tags: Diet Tools, motivation, planning, strategies, kids, mommy blog

What’s on the Menu? Lots of Calories!

Would knowing the calories on a restaurant item influence your choice of food? Would seeing that the burgers on a menu could “cost” you over 1200 calories make a difference to you? Would you select a different food item or would you ignore the information? Read Full Post

tags: Weight-Loss, planning, strategies

You + Exercise = Better Mood/Better Brain

At hundreds of HMR trainings and seminars over the years, I have asked this same question: "Raise your hand if you feel better after you exercise..." and the inevitable sea of hands go up - every person, every time. Even those who, you find out later, hardly ever exercise or haven't for a very long time. Their hands go up too. Why is that? Read Full Post

tags: motivation, exercise, mood, strategies

Lose Weight. Save Money!

If you ask people about their reasons for wanting to lose weight, they usually mention improving their health or quality of their life. They would like to have more energy, feel better, keep up with their family – simply be able to do more. After weight loss however, people often discover another wonderful side effect – reducing or even eliminating medications. Read Full Post

tags: money, medication