How to Fight the Belly Bulge

It’s Christmas time and while we are all especially fond of the image of the jolly Santa Claus with his bowl full of jelly image – it’s not one that we may want for ourselves. Luckily, there seems to be new research out there that indicates you may just need to eat a few more oranges in order to bring your belly back under control. People who carry a lot of extra weight around their midsection are usually at a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity. These different conditions can actually sap your body’s vitamin C resources. Vitamin … Continue reading

The Right Foods for Your Knees

After the holidays, I was sitting on the floor with the dogs while I watched one of my new DVDs. When I got up (after the hour and a half on the floor), my right knee was killing me. It ended up bothering me for close to a week, so I went with the RICE plan: rest, ice, compression, elevation. Eventually, the pain went away. I figure that I must have either been in a bad position on the floor or twisted something trying to get up. Your knees take a lot of abuse over a lifetime. I read somewhere … Continue reading

Lower Health Care Costs with Exercise

My husband just got taken on full time at the place he is working. I am thrilled, because after three years as contractors this means we get to have full on health insurance again and no more hospital bills ringing in the $20,000 range (and no, I’m not kidding, that’s what it cost us for his emergency appendectomy last year). We have been very fortunate that we haven’t had excessive health care costs over the last few years, with small exceptions, because we didn’t have insurance. In January, we applied for and received an independent form of health insurance that … Continue reading

Living in a Potluck & Barbecue Society

Despite the attempts to make society healthier, we still live in a potluck and barbecue society. Potluck has a lot to do with being too busy to fix balanced meals every night and always being in a rush. Part of fitness is keeping your body and mind on a healthy track. Sit down dinners are a healthy choice because you have to think about what you are preparing, put some time into the preparation and then you increase the benefits because you sit down together, share dinner conversation and strengthen the bonds of family. Splurge Free In our world of … Continue reading

10 Best Fitness Choices for 2006

It’s the time of year for making those top ten lists and as I wind up my workweek and look forward to this weekend, I thought what a better way to summarize the year and the work we’ve done here at Families.com and get in a little fun at the same time. Towards that effort, I have thought about some of the fitness choices we’ve discussed here in the Fitness Blog and I’ve thought about the New Year’s Resolutions we are all considering for next year and those that we planned for this year. In that light, here are my … Continue reading

52% Believe Childhood Obesity is Society’s Problem to Solve

This is hardly a news alert and we’ve discussed the growing problem with childhood obesity in the United States. But according to a poll conducted by Research America and the Endocrine Society, 27% cited obesity as the chief health issue for their children. 16% named a lack of health care and insurance with 9% citing poor nutrition. More Poll Results Among the other results the poll revealed were: 57% believe that most adults are overweight or obese 35% believe that most children are overweight or obese 52% believe that obesity is a public health issue that needs to be solved … Continue reading

The Fitness Week in Review – December 5-8

The week was a short one due to the health crisis my family suffered this week. We’re back on track however, so our week in review is going to be shorter than normal. We’re spending the month of December trying to maintain our fitness and kicking off new fitness programs as well as preparing to make our New Year’s Resolutions. So here are our few articles from this week, please don’t hesitate to let me know your questions or preferences for more articles in the future. Tuesday, December 5 In Dear Heather: I Have a Question we launched a new … Continue reading