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 (Chris Weithman recently blogged about this: read it here) do not paint a pretty picture. According to the CDC- approximately 17%, or 12.5 million, children and adolescents aged 2-19 are obese. Since 1980, obesity in children has almost tripled. THIS IS A PROBLEM for the health of our children and future generations.
Researchers have looked at the exercise habits of Americans and concluded that, in our modern society, “We never have to run… and many of us just sit…. all day long.”
I believe that the human body was meant to move, and as a role model to my daughter, I want to create opportunities for us to have fun while being physically active. In fact, with physical activity being eliminated or rotated with other school classes (like music, art, etc.) it has become increasingly important to me that I incorporate exercise into the activities I do with my daughter.
The CDC recommends that children get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Think about the energy they can expend doing this!!!
My daughter and I do ‘short bouts’ of exercise every day. She LOVES to put her iTouch on and dance in the kitchen while I am cooking and sometimes I dance along with her. She has Wii Fit and Kinnect games that encourage her to be physically active, and she has a scooter and will soon be riding a bicycle. I think her favorite activity we do together (aside from us dancing - and there is NO photographic evidence of that!) is when we walk the dogs to the park and chase butterflies. It may not sound like a lot, but running around like that burns calories and those calories really do add up. It’s funny how physical activity with children is often less structured than it is for us as adults – and can be way more fun!
We HAVE to be healthy role models for our children – because opportunities for them to be physically active are disappearing. Even simple activities like playing a game of hopscotch, running a race around the house or jumping rope will burn calories and keep your kids physically active.
Is physical activity a priority in your family?
What is your favorite exercise to do with your family?
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2012 (56)
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April
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Introducing the 2012 HMR Triple Imperative Challenge Is it Really More Expensive to Eat Healthy? No Longer Black and White! The Guinea Pig Diet Really Simple Soup: Garden Chicken and Rice Common Phase 1 Challenges: Family Pizza Night Jackson’s Drawing Top 5 from the Trenches: Entrees with Veggies Girl about Town: Every Little Bit Counts Take Control of Your Food Environment Healthy Families: Bringing Vegetables and Fruits into Meal Times
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March
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Dixie Dog and My Workout Rut Teach Your Children Well Sneaky Chef: The Purees Edition My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Blender Edition 5-2-1-0 Let’s Go! The Mileage Club Hacking Your HMR Shakes Eating Healthy Fats Gluten-Free Diets – A Closer Look Hacking Your HMR Entrees My Gym Dilemma March is National Nutrition Month Top 5 from the Trenches: High Volume Shakes The Importance of Good Hydration All Year Long
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February
(11)
Sneaky Chef: The Beans Edition The Can Man: Adding Volume to my HMR Entrees Family Matters: Being Active Together Really Easy Meals: The Five-Bean Potato 5-2-1-0: Eating through the Rainbow Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Spices, Coffee and Cocoa Those Little Cuties! Share the Love this Valentine’s Day Tell your Honey to Take a Hike! Working Out in Winter Months Your HEART is in Your Hands!
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January
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The Super Bowl: Who’s Going to Win? 5-2-1-0 Let’s Go! After-School Snack of Champions BBQ that’s PDQ and ITB A Blast from My Past: The Counter-top Blender The Childhood Obesity Dilemma The Secret Life of a Five-Bean Entrée No Time for Morning Exercise? How to Pick a Diet Soup: The Weight-Loss Secret That Comes in a Bowl The DVR is my Secret Weapon So You Made a New Year’s Resolution to Lose Weight. Now What? The Rehabilitation of Brussels Sprouts
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April
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2011 (71)
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December
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Girl about Town: Hot Drinks for Cold Days Suffering from Holiday Diet Fatigue? Pump up the Volume! Demo-licious! To Snack or Not To Snack? Sneaking in Physical Activity during the Busiest Time of the Year Healthy Hanukkah Helpings The Phase 1 ‘Stay In the Box through Year End’ Challenge Banishing the Baking Blues Moo Goo Gai Pan: In the Box Take-Out Food Training for White Rock Girl about Town: The Well-Stocked Pantry Pesto Change-o Turkey Chili with Beans: Three Ways
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November
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The Kids are Back in Town Are You Planning to Stay “In the Box” on Thanksgiving? Un-learning Theory Building the Better Burger: Portabello Burgers The Phase 1 Thanksgiving Challenge Wondering How to Make Sense Out of Health Information on the Internet? Autumn Chili Taking a Bite out of Holiday Weight Gain My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Food Processor Edition Raise the BeneFit Bar Starting Over: How an Injury Brought My Exercise to a Whole New Level On the Road… and on the Decision-Free Diet Lettuce Play With Our Food
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October
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Empty Nest – Empty Fridge! Can You Reset Your Metabolism? Yoga with Irene On the Road: How to Take Your Exercise with You Picnic Beans Girl about Town: Party Down at the Pot Luck My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets (and how I use them to make my life easier): The Crockpot Edition Freeze, Frappe or Float A Train, A Plane, and A Hotel Room Dips Without Chips Sneaky Chef: The Zucchini Edition
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September
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A Conversation with Jason Fast Food for a Family of Five Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Extracts Dynamic Entree Duos Are School Lunches Getting Healthier? Farm Fresh, Any Time of Year Girl About Town: The Lost Weekend Misleading Labels: How ‘Zero’ Calorie Foods Contain Hidden Calories Just Like Mom Used to Make Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Sugar-Free Pudding or Jell-o Yo-yo Dieting: Harmful or Harmless? Kids and Kabobs
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August
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Recipe Substitutions: Great Taste, Less Calories! Benefits of Weight Loss that Your Doctor Won’t Tell You Yikes! The Gym! Veggies Undercover I Eat Whole Cantaloupes No-Bake Entree Recipes, Part 1 Looking for Straight Talk about Nutrition? The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly… of working out with kids in tow Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Sugar-free Syrups Girl About Town: Putting Your Best Foot Forward CSA Share, How Do I Love Thee? Diary of a Demo The 4 O’clock Shake Make a Shake, Make it Great: Use Diet Soda or Sugar-free Flavored Water What’s on the Menu? Lots of Calories!
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December
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