Setting fitness goals for yourself and finding the motivation to regularly hit the gym is exciting. However, results will take a little time to start to show, so don’t let yourself become discouraged if you aren’t seeing them as quickly as you’d like. Instead of becoming discouraged and impatient, take a look these reassuring aspects that will restore your fitness motivation along the way: Continue reading “3 “Eureka!” Moments to Feel Proud of Your Progress”
Tag: nutrition
How to Help Your Teen Stay Healthy Through Puberty
When your children begin to go through puberty, it can be a difficult time for them. There’s unhealthy peer pressure, recess and childish games are replaced with more sedentary activities, and you have less control over their lives from what they eat to how much physical activity they get. But that doesn’t mean that your kids have to lead an unhealthy lifestyle. Continue reading “How to Help Your Teen Stay Healthy Through Puberty”
Raise a Healthier Kid with These 5 Steps
It seems like our lives are busier than ever–especially in the lives of our kids. As we shuffle them around from one activity to the next, it often means there’s less time spent preparing healthy meals for them and making sure they’re getting enough exercise. As a parent, there are several things you can do to ensure your child grows up healthy. Continue reading “Raise a Healthier Kid with These 5 Steps”
Everything You Need to Know About Staying Hydrated
After completing a long workout, there’s nothing sweeter than drinking a tall, cold glass of water. But if you’re only drinking water after your workout, you need to stop and reevaluate your strategy. Instead, you need to be drinking water before and during your workout as well. Continue reading “Everything You Need to Know About Staying Hydrated”
Everything You Need to Know about the FDA’s Trans Fat Ban
Recently, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) announced a ban on trans fats. Trans fats have been popular since the 1960s due to their ability to spread easily after being taken out of the fridge and keep foods from going bad too quickly. It wasn’t until recent years that the health risks of trans fats was fully recognized. But how are they bad for you and why did the FDA move forward with this particular ban? Continue reading “Everything You Need to Know about the FDA’s Trans Fat Ban”
Why You Should Think Twice Before Starting a Cleanse
Many people believe that cleanses are a good way to keep your body healthy or to lose weight in a short amount of time. However, there could be potential dangers when starting a new cleanse. Cleanses, by themselves, can present many unwanted issues.
Lack of Nutrition
While it seems detoxing with fruit juices or fruit-infused waters would be a healthy solution that is by far not the case. Continue reading “Why You Should Think Twice Before Starting a Cleanse”
What Does a Fit Body Really Look Like?
With the media constantly barraging women with images of the “perfect” body, it can be difficult to know what being fit actually means. Contrary to popular belief, being skinny and sculpted doesn’t equal being fit.
Being fit is a lot more than just looking sexy at the gym or in a bathing suit. You can look amazing and still be unhealthy. Being fit means that you have a body that is healthy and can endure the daily physical strains you put on it, like running a distance or picking up that big bag of mulch. Continue reading “What Does a Fit Body Really Look Like?”
What’s Up with the Fuel Up to Play 60 Craze?
If you’re a parent with a kid in school, you’ve probably already heard of “Fuel Up to Play 60“Â even if you’re not sure what it actually means. So let’s discuss some of the real questions you have about the program, such as:
- Is it just another publicity stunt?
- How does it work?
- What are parents expected to do?
First Things First: Is This Just Another Publicity Stunt?
Unfortunately, many educational movements turn out to be just another means to an end for politicians and corporations. No Child Left Behind and other educational reform programs have ultimately succeeded only in getting politicians elected and giving corporations more money.
At first glance, Fuel Up to Play 60 has the ingredients to make another disappointing reform program: the faces of the program are predominantly Michelle Obama and the NFL. Government organizations like the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are involved as well as private non-profit organizations like the National Dairy Council (NDC).
However, many of the program’s policies are well-founded in issues that stretch beyond the basic educational system into fundamental American issues such as:
- The obesity epidemic
- An increase in Type 2 Diabetes
- Our culture’s general lack of emphasis on physical activity
In addition, the program’s general goal is to encourage healthier lifestyles in today’s youth. Unlike other educational reform programs that depend on hard-and-fast results or profits, Fuel Up to Play 60 considers their program a success when students, teachers, families, and communities make health a higher priority in their day-to-day lives.
How does it work?
Fuel Up to Play 60 doesn’t support just one group of adults and expects them to succeed on their own. Instead, they give students, educators, families, and communities the tools they need to organize a health reform movement in their schools. As the program’s name suggests, these tools are broken into two main categories: fuel and play.
What’s the Fuel?
Good nutrition gives us the energy we need to be active and healthy every day. Fuel Up to Play 60 has guides and other resources for students, teachers, and parents on how to eat healthily. However, most of the parent food guides are driven by the NDC’s input and therefore are dairy-centric. Check out these healthy eating guides on the website’s educator platform, which are much more inclusive.
What’s the Play?
Play does not mean just any physical activity, but fun physical activities. Fuel Up to Play 60 strives for kids, teachers, and families to enjoy staying active for at least 60 minutes a day. They’re taking the work out of workouts to make a healthy lifestyle seem like a natural, fun part of everyday life. Their playbook may be a little heavy-handed towards the NFL, but many of their activities are easily accomplished by any child regardless of their love for football.
What am I expected to do?
Family fitness is a great way to bond with your kids and bring your family closer together in a safe and healthy way. Parents can help their kid’s schools successfully complete Play 60 challenges by participating themselves.