Haiku Friday and Other Stuff to Read
Posted on November 21, 2008
It’s Friday. What better way to celebrate than with a haiku? Here we go:
5-Mile Run
This morning I ran
Two point five out and then back.
Now I feel real good.
I haven’t written one of those since 2nd grade. That was fun. If you wanna try one take your best shot in the comments section.
Now here’s some good stuff I read from around the web this week:
Fat Fighter TV gives us a News Nugget about a fast food ad ban.
FitHacks schools us down on why consistency is the key with exercise and training.
Healthy Brains come from Healthy Food explains Diets in Review.
Check out Weighty Matters to learn about how Hoodia is not safe or effective enough for Unilever.
Hope you enjoy the links and have a great weekend. I’ll be watching BYU vs. Utah. Go Cougs!
» Filed Under Shout Outs, healthy lifestyle | Leave a Comment
Make Time for Exercise
Posted on November 20, 2008
The incoming First Couple makes time to get exercise. We all should do the same.
President-elect Obama likes to start his day off with a workout, and did so, even during the busy times on the campaign trail. His wife, Michelle, has also been known to start her day off with an early workout.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with Obama’s politics, it’s good to see a prominent politician who actively makes fitness a priority in his life. If one of the busiest people in the world can find time to get some exercise in, I don’t think it’s a stretch to think we can squeeze in 30-60 minutes on most days of the week.
One thing I have found to help with making sure I get my workouts in is planning. Set a specific time and stick to it. Whether it’s early, at lunch, in the evening, it doesn’t matter. Just do it.
Obama also loves to play basketball. Another good example of doing something you love to do. He likes hoops, so he plays hoops. What do you like to do for exercise? Don’t know what you like best yet? Try everything!
Bottom Line: There is time for exercise.
More about the Obama’s fitness here.
» Filed Under Exercise, healthy lifestyle | 10 Comments
Chew on This
Posted on November 19, 2008
Here’s something to think about from the introduction in Walter Willett’s book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating:
“By making the right choices, you will help yourself avoid some of the things we think of as the inevitable penalties of getting older. A healthy diet teamed with regular exercise and no smoking can eliminate 80 percent of heart disease and 70 percent of some cancers.”
Lifestyle, ladies and gentlemen. Lifestyle.
Easier said than done, I know, but we have to do it. There’s no need for so many people to be afftected by chronic diseases that can, in a lot of cases, be prevented.
If you’re reading this you probably are already living a pretty healthy lifestyle. But what can we do to encourage everyone else to make simple changes in the way they live?
» Filed Under Prevention, healthy lifestyle | 4 Comments
Highlights of School Nutrition Report
Posted on November 18, 2008
I was cruising around the CDC’s website and found a report showing how schools are decreasing the availability of junk food to students.
Here are some highlights from The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) 2006, done by the CDC and published in the October 2007 issue of the Journal of School Health:
– Schools selling water in vending machines or school stores increased from 30 percent in 2000 to 46 percent in 2006.
– Schools that sold cookies, cake, or other high-fat baked goods in vending machines or school stores decreased from 38 percent in 2000 to 25 percent in 2006.
– The percentage of schools that offered French fries a la carte decreased from 40 percent to 19 percent.
See the full report from the CDC here.
So there is some progress being made with the types food being offered at schools and that is a good thing. While I think these are good steps, I still think it starts with education. School-aged kids and teens should be educated so they can make better food choices.
“If we want to build on the improvements that schools have made over the past six years, we need to involve many people and programs. Families, schools, school boards, and school administrators all need to work together to develop and implement policies and programs that promote health and safety among our nation’s young people.”
–Director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health
The best improvement we can make, in my opinion, is to make good choices ourselves. When we (parents, future parents, teachers, administrators, everyone!) show examples of good eating and physical activity, our kids will follow.
» Filed Under Nutrition | 6 Comments
Success is a Choice
Posted on November 17, 2008
It’s Monday. Time for some motivation. The following is a quote from Rick Pitino, currently the head coach for the Louisville men’s basketball team.
Coach Pitino has been a successful college coach and is the only coach to lead three different schools to the Final Four (Providence, Kentucky, Louisville).
“If you look closely at all great organizations, all great teams, all great people, the one common denominator that runs through them is a second-to-none work ethic. The intense effort to achieve is always there. This is the one given if you want to be successful. When it comes to work ethic there can be no compromises. Any other promise is made of fool’s gold.
We can see the evidence of fool’s gold around us every day. It’s the people looking for the quick fix. The easy way…as if all you have to do is follow some simple directions and your problems will disappear.
The bottom line: Nothing meaningful or lasting comes without working hard at it, whether it’s in your own life or with people you’re trying to influence.
You want to succeed? Okay, then succeed. DESERVE IT! How? Outwork everybody in sight. Sweat the small stuff, sweat the big stuff. Go the extra mile…but whatever it takes put your heart and soul into everything you do.
That won’t happpen unless you choose to make it happen. Success is not a lucky break. It is not a divine right. It is not an accident of birth. SUCCESS IS A CHOICE.”
This is something I always try to remember and apply to all aspects of my life. Success with family, profession, health, etc. can be accomplished through hard work.
Happy Monday and go succeed today.
» Filed Under Behavior Change, Mental Health, healthy lifestyle | 6 Comments
Some Stuff For You To Read
Posted on November 14, 2008
Here are some great posts from around the web I enjoyed this week. Hope you enjoy them as well!
Trying to eat a little better? Learn about Smarter Snacking for You and the Kids.
How do you overcome challenges in life? Check out Are You Planning for the Fog?
Olympic swimmer Garrett Weber-Gale shows us how he finds Motivation in Unique Ways.
To top it off, check out the differences between Lifestyle Versus Diet.
Have a great weekend and take care of yourselves. Be healthy and be happy.
» Filed Under Shout Outs, healthy lifestyle | 10 Comments
Quick Thought on Exercise
Posted on November 13, 2008
“As the number of people affected by heart failure is expected to rise with the aging U.S. population, it is promising to know that regular aerobic activity can not only help patients extend their lives, but exercise can also positively impact their everyday activities and outlook.”
From Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Director at ScienceDaily News here.
Exercise can help heart failure patients feel better. It can also help us avoid some heart problems.
Exercise: Get Some.
» Filed Under Exercise, Heart Health | 6 Comments
How do You Teach Kids to be Healthy?
Posted on November 12, 2008
Research has shown that overweight/obese children as young as 10 can have the same blockage of arteries as 45-year-olds. What’s the cause? The same thing that usually causes blockage in adults –an unhealthy lifestyle.
“The time has come to seriously deal with the issue of childhood obesity and physical inactivity on a governmental and parental level.”
Source here.
Ok, so how do we fix this? Honestly, I think it starts in the home. In a home where parents live a healthy lifestyle is a home where a child is more likely to live a healthy lifestyle. When that child is grown up, he/she is also more likely to maintain that healthy lifestyle.
I don’t have any kids yet, but I will soon (our first is due in March). Those of you with kids, how do you encourage/help your kids live healthy, active lifestyles?
I remember when I was a kid, we didn’t have ipods, cell phones, or fancy computer games to keep us entertained. I remember going outside and building forts with my friends, or riding our bikes around the neighborhood, or even getting a game of street hockey or baseball going.
Today it seems there is more TV, text messaging, IMing, computer gaming, etc. for there to be any desire to be active at all. How do sports and other physical activities compete with today’s technology?
What about eating habits? How do you teach children to make good food choices? Is it possible?
The bottom line is there is a problem with childhood obesity and other lifestyle related health problems in kids.
Am I wrong in thinking that healthy parents can help develop healthy kids? What else can be done? What’s your take on the problem and what are some solutions?
» Filed Under Prevention, healthy lifestyle | 7 Comments
Get Faster. Go Longer.
Posted on November 11, 2008
59 minutes, 59 seconds. 2 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds. Those times may not mean anything to anyone else, but to me, they do. Those are my goal times for sprint and olympic-distance triathlons for next year.
A little ambitious? I hope so. I’m aiming high. My best time for a sprint tri is 1 hour 10 mins. My best (and only) time for an olympic-distance tri is 3 hours 21 mins.
Why am I telling you this? Because I want to be held accountable. I want you to ask me how my training is going. I want you to encourage me.
I also want you to tell me I can’t do it. Tell me I’m wasting my time. Tell me I can’t get faster. Because once someone tells me I can’t do it, I know I will do it.
Above is a picture of me last weekend in a sprint-distance tri. It was a good race, but I just want to go faster.
I love triathlons. I love them because I get to do a variety of things. I don’t like doing the same thing over and over again, and with triathlons, I get to swim, bike, and run. For me, nothing is better than that.
You’ve heard me say this probably a thousand times, but do something you love to get physical activity. I don’t know what it is for you but find something you love.
Find your passion. Get Faster. Go Longer. I’ll see you at the finish line.
» Filed Under Exercise, Triathlon, healthy lifestyle | 10 Comments
The Incredible Edible Egg
Posted on November 10, 2008
I saw this commercial on TV for eggs and thought it was pretty good. I like triathlons and I like eggs, so this was perfect (go here if you can’t see the video):
Read more about my thoughts on eggs in The Power of Eggs.
» Filed Under Nutrition | 2 Comments
