Spending time together as a family should be a priority. Parents who spend more time with their kids are more likely to have kids who stay out of trouble. Not only that, it makes memories that last a lifetime. Not only can it help a family build better relationships, it can lead to better health. There are many options available for families to do together. By exercising as a family it helps develop good habits early that can last a lifetime.

The simplest, and cheapest, is to just go for a walk together. It gives you time to talk and see what is going on in your children’s lives. You could also take a drive to a nearby park and walk there for a change in scenery. The park also provides space for more vigorous activities, such as football, softball or just running around playing tag.

Many families enjoy riding bikes together. Some communities even have special biking trails to make it safer for cyclists. You can also take time to teach the kids safety and how to maintain their own bikes.

Swimming is another great form of exercise as well as an important safety skill. Check into getting a family pass to the local pool. The Y often has special deals on family membership packages. Even going once or twice a week will provide quite a bit of exercise and family time.

Is there a family sports league in your neighborhood? If not, start one. Rotate the sports by season, offering softball, basketball, soccer or flag football. It could even be grownups vs. the kids. Teams could be randomly assigned by drawing names. There could be end of season parties, serving healthy foods, with maybe a few sweet treats for dessert.

Martial arts are very popular for both kids and adults. Don’t think it’s too late to start learning a martial art. Even grandparents can learn a martial art, as most instructors are willing to work with a student at their level. While you might not be in the same class together, you can practice as a family at home together.

Bowling is another fun way to spend family time and get some exercise. Joining a parent-child league can be a lot of fun. In addition to being fun exercise, it helps teach hand eye coordination and patience, like when the younger siblings’ balls seem to take forever to roll down the lane.

It is also a good idea to do more than one activity, as not everyone will enjoy the same thing. Let the kids each pick what they will enjoy and then the parents can divide up their time between the different activities, allowing for some more one-to-one time with the kids.

Not only does pregnancy make us feel fat, it also increases the risk of back pain. With the extra weight that we carry, our sense of balance is off more often than not. If you are an expectant mother and your back is bothering you, here are some ways to find relief.

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We all want our children to be safe and healthy, even when we can’t watch them 24/7. One way to keep them healthy is to make sure they eat right, but if we don’t prepare all their meals ourselves, that’s hard to do. Schools are taking steps towards making school lunches healthier, but you still may need to step in to make sure your child is being given healthy options.

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You try to feed your family healthy foods, but often it’s cheaper and more convenient just to reach for the closest sugary snack. While it requires a little bit of work, growing your garden is a great way to have healthy food available right at your fingertips. Plus you get the satisfaction of knowing that you grew them all by yourself and that you’re providing for your family.

The most common healthy foods grown in gardens are fruits and vegetables. When planting these foods, choose carefully, especially if you have limited space. You want to be able to choose crops that will grow well in your area, but you should also consider what you have time and space to grow, and what your family will eat. You may have perfect soil and space for tomatoes, but it your family won’t eat them, there’s not much point in growing them. A garden is a great way to get inexpensive fruits and veggies that you know are fresh and healthy.

You can grow fruits and vegetables in your garden as a way to eat healthier, but don’t forget about herbs as well. You’re probably not eating just stuff you can grow on your own, but you can make the other food more flavorful without a lot of fat and calories by adding different herbs and seasonings. This way you can have great tasting food that isn’t so bad for you either.

Foods you buy at the grocery store have been grown using tons of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. These chemicals may make fruits and veggies look more appealing and will increase farmer yields, but they can also be dangerous to your health. You can buy from an organic food store, but you’ll end up paying a whole lot more. Growing your own garden is a great way to know your food is safe without having to pay a pretty penny. Start a compost pile to fertilize naturally and research other methods of safe fertilization and pest control, like companion planting.

When we consider how healthy our foods are for us, we usually just consider the calorie content, but what about taking into account what it takes to get them. We all know it takes more work to grow your own veggies than to buy them at the store, but we usually don’t take into account all the calories that work is burning. Gardening is a great workout. Growing your own fruits, veggies, and herbs can actually help you stay in shape. That’s a lot healthier than picking something up off a shelf.

Gardening isn’t just for pretty flowers anymore. You can grow a great garden to feed your family tasty, nutritious foods.

Sending any child off to school can be tough for a parent. You want to know that they’ll be safe even when you’re not around. If you’re the parent of a diabetic child, sending them to school can be an even more difficult feat. Here are the steps you need to take to ensure your diabetic child stays safe and healthy while at school.

1) Before the school year starts, arrange a meeting with the school’s principle, nurse, and your child’s teacher(s) to develop a plan. This will not only make them aware of the situation, it will also allow you to develop a plan and determine who is responsible for doing certain things for your child. You should also be sure to cover how your child’s situation will be handled when their teacher is sick or away.

2) Educate everyone involved about what diabetes is and how to handle it. Everyone responsible for caring for your child should know several things.

• Your contact information. Everyone should be able to reach you in case of an emergency or if they just have a question or concern about your child’s health.
• Information on what diabetes is and how you are specifically treating your child’s diabetes (extra meals, insulin shots, etc).
• Information on how to recognize a blood sugar crisis and what to do to treat it.

3) If your child needs extra meals or snacks during the day, it’s your responsibility to provide them. Set up and area with your child’s teacher where you can leave snacks and other food. Be sure to check the stockpile regularly and refill supplies as needed. Don’t count on the teacher to inform you if you’re running low.

4) Talk to your child. If your child has had diabetes for a while, they’re probably already aware of what that means. Whether they’ve been dealing with it for a while, or a newly diagnosed, you should make sure they understand that even at school, they’re not allowed to eat certain things. Teach them to recognize the warning signs of a problem and tell their teacher right away.

5) Ask that the teacher inform the other students that your child has diabetes and what that means, in a respectful way. While you may not feel it is a good idea to point out your child’s differences, your child will be getting special treatment (frequently leaving class, extra meals) and the students may resent your child if they don’t know why. If the teacher doesn’t feel they can properly teach the subject, offer to prepare a lesson for them to present.

Dealing with a diabetic child’s needs is not easy. While the school is responsible for making special provisions for your child, you should not count on them to do everything. They have other children they are responsible and can only do so much. It is up to you to go the extra mile to make sure your child is properly cared for.

Many women accept PMS as a fact of life. They think that the have to deal with the crabbiness, moodiness, cramps, bloating, and other painful and annoying symptoms over and over with no relief. Many women never even mention their PMS symptoms to the doctor for this reason. But there is help and you don’t have to live with these symptoms month after month until you reach menopause. In fact, it’s important that you talk to your doctor and get treatment as soon as possible.

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Who says that the cold weather means you stay indoors? There is no reason why the winter can’t be a fun time for family just like the summer. Here are some ideas for having fun in the winter air.

1. Go sledding. The big hill could be in your back yard or somewhere else in the neighborhood. Grab the sleds and head for the top. Sledding is one thing that adults can do and still feel like a kid. Everyone loves the feeling of their heart in their throat as they go speeding off towards the bottom of the hill. Hardware stores sell out of sleds so get yours early.

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With all the T.V. shows, computer programs, and video games available now, it’s hard to get kids up and moving anymore. That’s one big reason why childhood obesity is becoming more and more prevalent. Getting your child in shape doesn’t have to be a fight; you just have to find activities they enjoy that are good for them as well. Here are some great workouts that will entertain your kids at the same time.

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By Holly Rigsby, CPT
www.FitYummyMummy.com

If there were ever a magic potion for fat loss – it would be water. Our bodies are comprised of about 70% water. We lose about a liter (34 ounces) of water per day under normal circumstances and when the temperature in our body rises, as during exercise, we lose higher amounts of water through sweat. It only makes sense that we need to continually replenish this supply for water is necessary for nearly every function in our body. Water regulates our temperature, supports and protects our organs, helps with digestion, transports nutrients to our muscles and helps move along waste by products.

Water is, in essence, the key to fat metabolism. Here’s why: one of you liver’s primary functions is to metabolize stored fat to be burned for energy. If you are dehydrated, the kidneys cannot function properly and the liver begins to take over – as a result of working overtime, the liver metabolizes LESS fat so MORE fat remains in your body.

Sometimes we mistake mild states of dehydration for hunger. If we don’t get enough fluids, our bodies give us indications that are similar to hunger pains. When this occurs, we start eating because we misunderstood what are bodies were telling us. Unnecessary calorie consumption can lead to excessive fat!

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Drinking lots of water throughout the day helps to keep you feeling full. If your stomach feels full – you are less likely to overeat!

A constant supply of water is vital before, during and after a workout. Dehydration leads to a lack of energy, muscle fatigue and cramping. Even small amounts of water loss can hinder exercise performance.

Remember that alcohol and caffeine are diuretics, making you lose even more water, so be sure to compensate for the additional loss.

How to do it: You can replace the water lost during a typical day by drinking a minimum of 6-8 8 oz. glasses of water a day. Begin by drinking your first big glass of water right when you wake up. Drink a full glass of water with each meal. Keep water with you at all times.

To prevent dehydration, make sure you’re drinking adequate amounts of water before, during and after a workout. As a rule of thumb, drink 8-12 ounces of water at least an hour before beginning to exercise, 8 oz during exercise and 8 oz when finished. If you are hungry about an hour after eating, try drinking a glass or two of water- you maybe misreading thirst for hunger. If you are still hungry after 15-20 minutes then proceed with a supportive snack to tide you over until your next meal.

Here’s a ‘success strategy’ to get you started: Make drinking water more fun by adding a slice of lemon or lime. Drink water out of a frosted mug or colorful glass. Grab-n-go flavor packets add variety to water between meals. Keep a bottle of water in the car at all times. At work, pack an allotted number of bottled water and set a goal to finish the pack by the end of the day.

For those who tend to prefer carbonated beverages to plain water try sparkling water. Not only is it crisp and refreshing, it satisfies the need for carbonation. Just make sure you choose a sparkling water that does not contain sugar or fruit juice to avoid additional calories.

So if your goal is fat loss, combine a total body strength training program, supportive nutrition and some interval training with your magic fat loss potion and you’re destined for success!

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
www.FitYummyMummy.com

I know, as soon as you saw the words “easy” and “lose weight” in the headline, you were ready to write this off as another one of those gimmicks or programs that sound too good to be true and usually are. But bear with me and you’ll learn 3 strategies that I guarantee will help you in your weight loss efforts.

You’ve probably been conditioned to believe that weight loss had to be tied to countless hours at the gym, the latest supplement breakthroughs or eating nothing but celery stalks and tofu. Fortunately, dropping a couple dress sizes doesn’t take anything that drastic. What it does take is making some small changes in the behaviors that led to the addition of those unwanted pounds. Here are 3 lifestyle changes that will immediately help you lose that unwanted fat and get your body back.

1. Stop Eating Out. Think back to when you were growing up. Do you remember what the dinner plates looked like? Now compare that to what the “plates” look like at O’Charleys, Applebees or any of the other chain restaurants. It’s no wonder we’re gaining weight. There are dozens of studies about eating out and they all lead to one conclusion: if you eat out, you overeat! Not only is it almost impossible to exercise effective portion control when you eat out, but you’re also compelled to get you money’s worth so you eat everything you’re served rather than stopping when you should.

The bottom line is that those who eat out consume more calories than those that don’t. Take a break from eating out for the next six weeks and see how easily you can drop a dress size or even two. And you can use the money you saved eating at home to buy a couple of new outfits to showcase your improved body.

2. Eat Smaller Portions. You don’t have to avoid the foods that you enjoy – you just can’t eat big servings of them. An easy way to do this is to use smaller plates for your meals. This will help you fell like you’re not depriving yourself while still exercising good judgment. And don’t think that just because something is on your plate, you have to eat it. As opposed to what your mother told you, you don’t have to ‘clean your plate.’ In fact – you shouldn’t. Eat slowly and stop when you aren’t hungry any more. You’ll quickly find that you can enjoy your favorite foods and your skinny jeans at the same time.

3. Make Better Choices. I know I just said that you can eat the foods you enjoy and still lose weight, but that doesn’t mean overindulging on processed foods, candy, sodas and chips. The key is moderation. So when you go to the supermarket, do the bulk of your shopping around the perimeter of the store and spend less time in the isles. When you’re at work, keep health snacks handy so you don’t have to rely on the company’s vending machine for your energy boost. But most importantly, make good choices with the meals that don’t really matter. Your quality of life won’t dramatically improve if you choose a cheeseburger over a grilled chicken salad for lunch, so don’t do it. Save the times when you are going to choose foods that might be considered unsupportive for the meals that you really look forward to. Improving your choices will accelerate your weight loss and help you save unnecessary calories without really trying.

Obviously, there is nothing magic about any of these three strategies other than the results that they produce. So start applying these three simple ideas and prepare to get your body back.