Eat Healthy & Save Money!

People are always saying how expensive it is to eat healthy. "A head of lettuce is $3 but a double cheeseburger is $1. This is true, fast food establishments sure have made it easy for us to eat a lot for not a lot of money. It is also convenient to drive through in between errands. So here are some ways to eat healthier foods and save lots of money.

For the sake of this article, let's base all numbers on a family of 4.

1. Substitute 4 drinks per day (sodas, drinks, sports drinks, etc) with 3 glasses of water and 1 glass of milk. You will save approx. $160 per month.
2. Buy fruits & vegetables in bulk. Get some friends & neighbors to chip in on bulk produce at a local produce outlet or farmers market. You will save approx $50 per month.
3. Substitute beans for meat in sauces, soups and omeletes. You will save nearly $60 per month. (Hint: Bring water to boil before cooking your beans to avoid "gassy" situations!)
4. Eliminate snack foods such as cookies, crackers, pastries and chips and replace with sugar-free jello, watermelon, salads and other high-water content foods. You will enjoy enormous nutritional improvement and will save roughly $100 per month.

So what happened here? We just got you on the path to a healthier lifestyle and saved you about $370 per month! Not too shabby! Have a great day and get off that couch!

-Diana

Kids Workouts

I remember being a kid. And some days I really miss it! But there is a big difference between kids when I grew up and kids today. When I grew up we didn’t have a play station or Wii, we didn’t have cell phones with texting capabilities, we didn’t have a gaziilion television channels and the only social network I knew of was my group of friends! My Mom had to drag me in for dinner. I would have played outside with my friends until midnight if she let me.
But today we have a generation of couch potatoes. Video games, entire television networks dedicated to kids, e-mailing, and texting are all factors in the epidemic of childhood obesity.
Another interesting factor is how competitive organized kids athletics are becoming. I hear more and more kids complain that playing organized sports is not as much fun as it used to be. The level of competition is getting higher, the parents are out of control, the Coaches’ kids get the best positions and if you don’t play tournament, you “must not be serious about your sport”.
So here are a few solutions:
1. Coach your kids!
2. Try intramural sports (usually a lot less of a commitment and a more even skill level.)
3. Work with your kids to help them get better and boost confidence.
Now here are some solutions not pertaining to organized sports:
1. Have a pickup game of basketball, a sandlot game of Baseball/softball/wiffle ball/stickball, a game of freeze tag, relay races, street hockey, flag football, etc. Some of the best sporting events of my childhood took place on the neighborhood playground!
2. Have a Family Bike ride or walk. (Encourage by example!)
3. Discuss the importance of exercise and diet with your kids.
4. Conduct group workouts.
Speaking of group workouts, if you or anyone you know is in the Philadelphia area and would be interested in a kids workout group, I would be thrilled for the opportunity to run the class. Contact me today for details.
Take care until next time!
-Diana

Precocious Puberty

Hi Everyone – Today I want to discuss an alarming trend that is happening with the health of young children… “Precocious Puberty”. Poor diet and obesity in adolescents is forcing them into puberty at a very early age. Growing levels of obesity are seeing some children start puberty as young as seven, studies show.

Experts say the extra fat tissue is encouraging young bodies to produce hormones, which kick start sexual changes. Researchers in the U.S. found that one in ten girls aged seven had developed breast tissue, one of the first signs of puberty. Doctors in Britain backed up the research, saying they have treated girls of seven and eight with puberty problems. They warn that the early exposure to estrogen has serious health implications because it puts the girls more at risk of breast cancer and heart disease. They are also more likely to be bullied and could be encouraged into sexual relationships by teenage boys who take them to be a few years older.

As for young boys, signs include a deepening of the voice, facial and pubic hair growth, the enlargement of the penis & testicles and in some cases, enlarged breast tissue (gynecomastia).

Because growth in height stops when puberty ends, children who enter puberty earlier than normal often end up being shorter than their full adult potential, as their musculoskeletal system does not have the chance to fully develop. However, the majority of concerns related to precocious puberty involve the social and emotional aspects of these children’s lives.

I urge any of you whose children may match this profile to help them! Encourage healthy eating habits, support them with lots of love & encouragement and get them off the couch and into a healthy lifestyle.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any direction or encouragement.

Thank You!
-Diana

Happy Labor Day!!

Labor day is the day that we celebrate the workers who helped build this great Country and continue to do so to this day. The American workforce is the best in the World and has instilled a work ethic that is second to none.
The end result of this work ethic is a quality lifestyle. Rewards such as home ownership, a Family, food on the table, vacations and retirement all come as a result of hard work.
So we work hard at work, but we don’t always work hard for our bodies! Why is that? Your health is everything and if you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor, you have to be healthy enough to enjoy it.
So let’s start now. Let’s start fresh. Let’s help our children develop a healthy lifestyle work ethic. And by work, I mean workout! Just an hour of aerobic activity per day can make a huge difference in your child’s overall health. All they have to do is go outside and play hard! On rainy days, they can exercise inside. For more exercise ideas, please visit my website, www.mykidsbfit.com .
Let’s work at healthy eating habits as well. The next time the kids come in and ask for a snack, give them a healthy snack like an apple with some low fat peanut butter, a banana cut up and put in milk or carrots & celery with fat free ranch dressing.
It takes a bit of work at first, but once kids get into a healthy routine, they will enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Happy Labor Day everyone!
-Diana