Get 'Em Active. But Ask, Don't Demand.

As a parent, you want the best for you kids, both mentally and physically. Sometimes it's easy to over impose your own desires and wants on your kids without really finding out what they want. As a parent, I've learned that sometimes you have to step back and forget about your "likes" and let your child share what they love about life. Just because you were a football star in high school (that definitely wasn't me, ha!) doesn't mean your child will want that too. This post is as much a reminder to myself as it is to anyone reading it. My own children have activity and weight issues and I'm exploring the best ways to turn that around without pushing them away. If you have teenagers (or even just know a teenager), you know what I mean.

Today's fast-paced, media-driven, and get-it-now lifestyle has definitely made life a lot easier, but at the same time, it's made for a generation of overweight and obese children. In fact this is the first generation to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. That's really sad news. The great news is that it can be turned around.

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When I was but a wee lad, outside was my entertainment. Now, some of the things we did outside, I'd die if I knew my kids were doing (i.e., pretending to be the 6-Million Dollar Man and jumping off the roof of the garage to practice our forward roll upon landing; climbing over the lumber yard fence and using planks to cross from one 15-foot stack of 2x4s to another, etc...). Funny thing though is that even with me playing out doors, I still went through a "fat kid" stage around 5-8th grade. I wasn't into team athletics so I didn't have a regimented workout like my brother who played baseball, football, tennis, to help keep the weight off. I really do believe, however, that the fact that I played outdoors kept me from becoming bigger than I was. I looked back at pictures of myself when I was "fat" and compared them to today's overweight kids, and I look pretty darn normal.

I don't think organized sports are for every kid, but because so many who are not involved in organized sports are stuck inside watching, TV, playing computer games, and/or surfing the net, they're not able to burn off enough calories each day to keep their weight at a healthy level. The sedentary lifestyle coupled with fast food and highly refined and processed foods are the main culprits in this huge increase in childhood obesity. Youngsters are even being diagnosed with high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. Maybe if the ultra realistic video games of today reverted back to the "Pong" of my era, kids would return to the outdoors.

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I was really disheartened the other day when I heard Steve Jobs say that the keyboard computer would soon be a thing of the past and that computers would all go to a touch screen. That gives me a heavy heart for two reasons. First, as a writer, it's just one more foot in the grave for the written word. For many (myself included) using pen and paper or the keyboard is a part of the creative process. Sometimes my fingers just have a mind of their own and go to town. Then I have to go back and clean up what they produced. But somewhere in the garble ends up some cool stuff. I'm just not convinced that same thing will happen with touch screens. Although, I guess back-in-the-day, users of manual typewriters probably said the same thing about the electric typewriters and then the laptop.

Second, it just seems one more step closer to the reality portrayed in the Disney movie Wall-e. In the movie, the last remaining humans are on a ship in outer space looking for a home. Everything has become so automated that the humans have become huge blobs that can barely move. They lay in floating hover-bed lounge-chairs which they never leave. They drink smoothies because they're too weak to prepare their own food.

Okay, enough dooms day. I'm not a prude. I really do like invention and advancement. I use a laptop everyday. I have a Garmin to track my distance and mileage. We do have a big flat screen digital TV, but we have no cable or dish. I think technology and advancement is wonderful, but not at the risk of our kids' health. Just the fact that our kids have a shorter life expectancy than ours should be enough of an eye opener that as a society we strive to put exercise, play, and the outdoors back into our children's lives. Research does show that active children have better test scores!

Okay, I'll stop ranting and get back to the point of this post, "Ask, Don't Demand." Taking away the computer, shutting off the TV, and discontinuing cable, may work for some in getting their kids outdoors and into being more active, but I think a different approach may work just as well if not better.

Schedule some outside trips with your kids, but kept the activities open so that your kids have some choice in what they do. Or maybe over the course of a few weeks have them experience several different things to see what sparks an interest—hiking, biking, running, Frisbee football, frisbee golf, wiffle ball, swimming, badminton. When I was in middle school my older brother and I set up an "official" badminton court in our backyard. We had a whole series of tournaments between us and played that entire summer. It was big fun.

Another approach to take is to try inviting your kids to join you in your favorite activity. Tell them you'll take it easy on them. That's usually enough of a challenge to get them out there. If they say no, dig a little to find out what they're interested in. It may be that they're really interested in mountain biking, but have never said anything because you're into running. Or maybe it's dance or gymnastics. Now there are limits. I'm not donning a tutu, but I will sign my daughter up for dance class and root her on whole-heartedly from the sidelines if that's her area of interest. The point is, find out what your child is interested in. Sometimes all they're waiting for is an invite. Other times is maybe that they're waiting for you to ask what they're interested in.

A few months back I told my 14-year old that I was starting a beginning running group at my fitness studio. I told her that if she and her best friend wanted to join the group, that would be awesome. That's all I said. A week later, she came to me to ask more questions about the group and who'd be in it. Eventually she and her buddy both joined the group and completed the 10-week program. This past week (while on vacation at the beach), she even got me up early 5 of the 8 days we were there to run. Next week we're running a 5K together to celebrate July 4th and her accomplishment. This was such a success (I think) because of the invite.

I'm holding a 4-week bootcamp at the studio in July and my daughter came to me the other day and said, "So, Dad. You gonna make me do this bootcamp too?" Then she gave me a big grin and we both began to laugh.

So, if you're not already, get active with your kids. I'll be working on it in my household. Invite your family to join you in your favorite activity and explore their interests too. There's a lot of healthy fun and memory-making to be had outdoors.

Good Carbs Bad Carbs

Fad diets are great for three things—making the originator of the diet rich, making people spend a lot of money, and confusing the heck out of people. Dictionary.com defines "Fad" as a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group.
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The success of a fad diet or fitness trend is usually not measured by the number of people who make healthy lasting life-changing habits. No, their success is usually measured by how much money they rake in. They're usually enough curious people that end up trying the method or product that monetarily the trend is a success. Often fads do produce an initial positive change that stirs-up a lot of hype, but usually the fad is not something that a person can stick with long term and incorporate into a life-long habit. The problem this causes is that the public tends to remember that initial change not that it didn't have a lasting effect. So, even long after the fad has past, the original thinking (or lack there of) that went along with the fad tends to hang around. That's kind of what happened with the No-Carb-Craze. There are still people that shy away from any kind of carb because they think they're all bad.

In general, people want that quick fix. We've all been suckered into one gimmick or another. I've owned an Ab Roller and yes a Health Rider too. Now that I look back and picture me on the Health Rider contraption, I think I must have looked like an overgrown kid on an adult hobby horse. And to think that thing cost almost $400! I bet more than a few of you have a Thigh Master hidden away on a closet shelf too! I remember when I was a kid, one of my mom's friends had a vibration belt machine. I think the theory was you could jiggle the fat away!

The '80s saw the low-fat craze which was followed in the '90s by the no-carb craze. There was even a store down the street from my home that was a Carb-Free Store. Luckily, People are finally coming out of the ban-the-Carbs-era, but it's amazing how many individuals still think carbs are the bad guys. The reality is that anything can be the bad guy if you over indulge. Carbohydrates are essential to your survival.

Actually one theory sports scientists have as to why many marathoners bonk around mile 20 is that the brain goes into protective mode when it thinks it's in danger of running out of carbs. So, to protect itself, the brain actually fatigues the muscles causing you to slow down, hence protecting those important carbs.

But even if you're not running a marathon, carbs are essential to your diet. According to Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) guidelines, your total caloric intake should be comprised of 45%-65% carbs. For simplicity let's just say 50%. So for a 2000 calorie diet, that's about 1000 calories.

So what is your DRI for carbs? In order to determine this, you need to know how many calories you consume in a day. You can do this a couple of ways. One way is to keep a log of your daily eating. Simply list (hand written in a journal or electronically on a spreadsheet) all the foods you eat each day for 3 days. Pick three days that represent your typical eating habits. Don't include a day that contains unusual eating such as attending a pot-luck-dinner or a dinner party where you may eat more than you normally would. Then use a calorie-counter book to list the calories for each food listed. Most of the new books include calories for common fast foods and prepackaged foods too. Or you can use a site like FitDay.com. This site is free and you can keep track of all your foods by using their extensive food data base as well as adding in your own foods that may not be listed. This site not only will keep track of calories, it can generate reports on other areas such as vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Once you know the total calories for each of the three days, calculate the average for the three days to determine your daily Total Energy Intake. Your Total Energy Intake could be too low, just right, or too high. To determine the appropriate Total Energy Intake for someone with your height, weight, and activity level [click here] to use the Daily Calorie Needs Calculator. Compare your actual Total Energy Intake with the Daily Calorie Needs Calculator result. Are you in the ballpark? Do you need to eat more? Cut back?

Once you know what your daily caloric intake is (or should be) all you have to do is take 50% of your total daily calories and that's the number of calories you need each day from carbs. (If you want to have a range of calories to work with, multiply the Total Energy Intake by 45% and 65%. For a 2000 calorie diet, the carb-calorie range would be 900-1300 calories)

Nutrition labels usually list carbs in grams not in calories, but it can easily be converted. One gram of carbs equals four calories. So, a food that has 20g of carbs is going to contain 80 calories from those carbs. And thinking of it in the inverse relationship, if you're wondering how many grams of carbs equal 1000cals (your daily requirement of carbs for a 2000cal daily diet), just divide 1000 by 4 and you'll get 250 grams. So about about 1000 calories of your 2000-calorie daily diet will come from carbs and that equates to about 250 grams of carbs. (Keep in mind that you need to replace 2000 with whatever The Daily Calorie Needs Calculator computes as your daily caloric need.)

Cool. Now that you know the percent of daily calories that should come from carbs and you know how many grams of carbs that equals, there's one more thing you need to keep in mind—not all carbs are alike. The ban-all-carbs craze of the 90s (for the most part) categorized all carbs as bad. But, that you see, was the fad's "gimmick"—Eat Meat, Not Bread. It was a lot easier for the consumer to remember. And so began the dawn of the lettuce-wrapped burgers. Funny thing is that lettuce is actually a carb. Perfect example of what we're still trying to overcome today—over generalization of carbohydrates.

There's a lot of science and fancy words I could throw at you—saccharides, monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides, glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, and on and on. But the main thing to know is that all carbs consist of different types of sugar units (saccharides). What makes carbs good or bad depends on the number and type of sugar units it contains.

Simple carbs consist of one or two units of simple sugar. Because of this, they are very easy to digest and digest quickly. As a result, simple carbs are fast-acting. Ever notice how quickly you get a burst of energy after eating a candy bar? Problem is unless you put that energy to use with some type of physical activity, most likely those calories will be stored as fat. Eating too many simple carbs combined with a sedentary lifestyle are two of the biggest causes of obesity and adult onset diabetes today. I think sports nutritionist Nancy Clark says it best, "Carbohydrates are not fattening; excess calories are fattening."
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Simple carbs are mainly represented by highly refined, processed, and packed foods such as cakes, cookies, crackers, white bread, candy, sugary soft drinks, fruit drinks, table sugar, corn syrup, pastries, fast foods, etc. Only about 10% of your daily carbs should come from simple carbs. 10% of 250 grams is only 25 grams. It's amazing how quickly you can use up or go beyond your 10% simple sugar limit:
Little Debbie Mini Powdered Doughnuts = 19g
REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups (2 cups) = 21g
Hershey Bar = 25g
Snickers Bar = 30g
Mountain Dew (12oz can) = 46g
Coke (12 oz can) = 39g
Coke (Medium from McDonalds) = 58g
Coke (32 oz Big Gulp Fountain Drink) = 91g

Complex carbohydrates contain long chains made up of three or more single sugar units. Because of this, they take longer for your body to digest and as a result will stay with you and provide energy for the long haul. You still need to be physically active or even complex carbs can eventually be stored as fat, but it takes longer to do so. As a runner, you most likely will have put those complex carb calories to good use during your runs.
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Complex carbs include unprocessed, unrefined, whole grains (wheat, oatmeal, corn, brown and wild rice, etc.), nuts, seeds, dried beans, vegetables, and fruits. Complex carbs are also better than simple carbs because they contain many other vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Some complex carbs even provide other health benefits. Oatmeal for example, has been shown to help lower total cholesterol levels.

You have to be on your toes as a shopper. There are lots of grain products masquerading as whole-grain or whole wheat. Marketing gurus are quite clever in disguising what's really in their products. Just because it's brown doesn't mean it's whole-wheat or whole-grain. Some products contain caramel coloring to give it that brown whole-wheat/grain look. Also, steer clear of products using phrases such as "wheat", "enriched wheat flour", "multigrain", "5-grain", "rye", "made with whole wheat", "made with whole grain", or "contains the goodness of whole grain." Unless it says 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat, it's probably not. Check the ingredients on the label. The closer to the front of the list the more it contains. Look for breads that have at least 3 grams of fiber. If you're at your local bagel shop or bakery, ask them to tell you about their whole-grain and whole-wheat products. In my experience they're more than willing to share with you what goes into their various offerings.

Carbs are an important link in a complex electrical and chemical chain of events that produce energy on which your body runs. Think energy in, energy out. As long as you're fueling your body properly and you're physically active, you'll be putting that fuel to good use and weight gain will be easier to avoid. It's when a higher percentage of simple carbs are ingested and a more sedentary lifestyle is adopted that weight gain will take hold.

Over 1000 Run Their First 5K!

Many of you know that have the honor and privilege of being a board member for a wonderful nonprofit organization called GO FAR (Go Out For A Run). GO FAR is a 10-week program that trains elementary-aged kids (mainly 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders) to run their first 5K. In addition to the running, the program also fosters character-building skills and teaches the young participants how to make good fitness and nutrition decisions.

This past Saturday, over 1,000 runners (mostly kids ages 8-12) participated in the Spring 2010 GO FAR 5K in High Point, NC, to celebrate the completion of their GO FAR programs. Students from 24 area elementary schools that host GO FAR programs as well as a few other non-school-related organizations that host GO FAR programs participated in the race. It was quite a site seeing hundreds of kids clad in school-colored GO FAR shirts, gathered around school tents, while doing group stretching with their GO FAR coaches prior to the race. Some were even doing motivational cheers to pump themselves up for the big event. Not only did I see kids and coaches, I saw entire families participating.

I was honored that Robin Lindsay (GO FAR founder) asked me to video tap the event again this year. I had a blast going from group to group getting footage of all the excited participants prior, during, and after the race. While videotaping, I even helped one poor little guy who got a tummy ache during the run by walking with him a few blocks. I thought he was going to have to sit out, then all of the sudden he got a burst of energy and was gone....left me in his dust. Now that's sticktoitness! I saw the little fella later and he was laughing and having a great time with his fellow running buddies.

To find out more about GO FAR and how to bring the program to your school or community, be sure to check out their website.

Below is my video creation. I hope you have as much fun watching it as I did making it.

The Unsung Hero: The Beginner Runner

Sometimes it really is easy to forget all that it took to get where you are today. Whether it be growing a family, getting an education, building a career, starting a business, or becoming a runner. Once you get to a certain level of "comfortableness" you often forget all the hard work it took to get there.

The beginning running group that I'm leading at RunnerDude's Fitness has really reminded me of all that it takes to get out and run. The five ladies (ranging in age from 14 to 49) are amazing! Whether you're young and never exercised or "more seasoned" and never exercised it really doesn't matter. In both cases it can be very intimidating. In speaking to each member of the group individually during their fitness assessment, they all shared the same concern, "Can I keep up?" "What if I'm the slowest one?" "Are the other ladies older? younger? fitter?"

When you decide to join a running group or any fitness group for that matter, a person really is taking a big step. It takes a lot of oomph and guts to put yourself out there for all to see. Self-doubt and lack of self-esteem can sometimes overwhelm someone new to fitness.

That's why it's so important to find a supportive group of other beginners or at least in a group where more experienced athletes will be nurturing and supportive of a beginner. This group of ladies are really rocking-it. Once they met and realized they all were truly beginners, they relaxed. They're doing a 10-week run/walk program that will have them running the distance of a 5K by the end of the 10 weeks. We're not working on speed or time. Simply building endurance and confidence. They're gaining tremendously in both areas. We've begun our second week of the program and they've all ready picked up the pace (on their own).

All the ladies have expressed a new sense of pride in what they're accomplishing. Two ladies have reported losing some weight which was a goal of theirs and that's been even more motivating. One of the younger runners is no longer experiencing that mid-run fatigue that sometimes sets in especially with new runners. She's beginning to see that her body really is adapting and becoming conditioned. This group has no whiners. They're talking proudly of the delayed onset muscle soreness as if it were a badge of honor. Last night there was a light rain, I was kind of expecting the group to be a no-show, but to my surprise they appeared and the run took place as normal. That's a runner.

Watching these ladies brought back all that it took me to get into running. I had completely forgotten my "secret runs." As a child, I was overweight and somehow I missed out on the athletic gene. (My brother got a double dose of it.) In 8th grade we had to run the mile as a part of PE. Back then, I wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of shorts. My legs rubbed together and the inseam of the shorts would ride up in the crotch and I just looked goofy. Plus back then, "fat kids" clothes for some reason only came in plaid. So, if you can, picture an overweight non-athletic kid with a mop of brown hair running around the football field in a pair of Sears plaid Toughskins pants. I'm not even sure I had on sneakers. More likely, it was a pair of Wallabees or Earth shoes (remember those?). I was a sight I'm sure. Ran that mile in 18 minutes! I wasn't last though. There was one kid behind me.

Something happened that day. I realized that I could actually run. I was dead, but I actually made it. For a few weeks after that, I went on secret runs. I even bought a pair of "running shoes" from Pic-n-Pay. I think they had plastic uppers. After school, before my brother got home, I'd run in my neighborhood. Ran down Orange Street onto Church Street and back. T-shirt, plaid Toughskins and my Pic-n-Pay best. Probably wasn't more than a mile, but I ran.

That summer after 8th grade, I decided I wanted to lose weight, before going on to 9th grade at the high school. So, my mom and I went on Weight Watchers. I lost a little over 40 lbs that summer. I was plumb skinny by the beginning of school. I got caught up in the weight loss and kind of stopped running, but later that year in 9th grade, I had to run the mile again and this time I ran it in 9:00. I was shocked and amazed. I had cut my time in half!

I ran a little after that, but it never amounted to much. I lacked the confidence to try out for track. (Once a fat kid, always a fat kid). 5Ks and 10Ks really didn't exist back then, or if they did, I didn't know about them. Actually I never knew there was any thing other than team sports. I had watched my brother play baseball, football, basketball, and tennis, so all I knew were team sports. The one thing I knew for sure was I wasn't cut out for competitive team sports. Two years of baseball and 1 year of football, proved that to me.

It wasn't until my freshman year in college that I realized people ran and competed in 5K and 10K races. The cool thing about this new revelation was that the competition was really against yourself. The elites competed against each other, but everyone else ran for fun, fitness, or to compete against themselves. I found my niche.

The courage of the 5 ladies in my beginning running group, helped me remember my roots and really appreciate where I had come from as well as appreciate even more their courage for joining the group and giving it their all. Ladies...you rock!

Kids Complete Fitness Program and Run Their First 5K!

If you've been following the blog, you may remember a post about a wonderful nonprofit organization called GO FAR (Go Out For a Run). GO FAR is a comprehensive fitness program for children which promotes physical activity, healthy eating and good character. The goal of the GO FAR program is to empower children to make healthy lifestyle choices that they may integrate and sustain throughout their entire life. Specifically, GO FAR teaches children to set and reach goals and complete a 5K road race. GO FAR was developed in response to the childhood obesity epidemic.

Today I had the wonderful privilege of attending the 7th Annual GO FAR 5K Fall race held in High Point, NC. 1000 runners (a record crowd) ran the race. About 75% of the runners were kids and the other 25% were coaches, volunteers, and parents. The success of the race is a result of the GO FAR kids, their great mom's and dads, teachers and the dedicated volunteers and wonderful sponsors.

What a wonderful experience of accomplishment for the kids, coaches, parents, and volunteers. I didn't know any of the runners, but my heart swelled with pride as I watched them cross that finish line. It was truly inspiring seeing their beaming faces as they finished and received their medals.

GO FAR is not just a program for North Carolina. The organization has already branched out to other states and it hopes to grow even more. To find out more about starting a GO FAR Club in your area [click here]. To get a sampling of what a GO FAR 5K race is like, check out the video clip below that RunnerDude filmed of today's festivities!

Childhood Obesity On the Rise

In 2004, the National Center for Health Statistics showed that 66% of US adults between the ages of 20 and 74 were overweight or obese. According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, most adults in the US will be overweight or obese by 2030.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), since the 1980's obesity has been on the rise in the United States. Colorado was the only state in 2008 that had an obesity rate less than 20%. Thirty-two states had an obesity rate equal to or greater than 25%. Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia had obesity rates equal to or greater than 30%.

The bigger shocker is the increase in the percentage of obese children. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES ) taken from 1976-1980 showed that 5% of children ages 2-5 were obese, 6.5% of children ages 6-11 were obese, and 5% of children 12-19 were obese. Compare that to similar NHANES surveys taken from 2003-2006 which showed 12.4% of children ages 2-5 were obese, 17% of children ages 6-11 were obese, and 17.6% of children 12-19 were obese.

Because of these dramatic increases, more and more children are at risk for health problems during their youth and as adults. Just like obese adults, obese children have a greater chance of having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes. Also, obese children have a greater chance of becoming obese adults. According to the CDC, one study showed that 80% of children who were overweight at ages 10–15 were obese adults at age 25. Another study showed that children who are overweight before the age of 8 are more likely to be more severely obese.

There are a lot of possible culprits to blame for this epidemic of obesity in the United States. The dawn of video games (remember Pong in the 70s?! Man I'm old!), personal computers, the remote control, and 24/7 television programming have all contributed to more sedentary livestyles for children. The increased focus on testing has decreased or eliminated recess and even PE in many elementary schools across the country. Refined grains and the onslaught of packaged cakes, cookies, crackers, and other snacks have flooded the supermarkets. And...portion sizes are grossly out of proportion.

When I was a wee lad, a meal at McDonald's (the one in our town was a drive-up, it had no inside seating) consisted of a hamburger, fries and a soda. The portion size of that meal was comparable to the size of a regular-sized Happy Meal today! So even though it was a fried burger, fried potatoes, and a regular Coke (they didn't have Diet Coke back then), the number of calories was a fraction of a calories in an adult-sized value meal at McDonald's (or any fast food restaurant) today.

Another big culpret is our busy, non-stop lifestyles providing much less time for meal planing and preparing meals at home where you have better control over content and portion size.

So what can we do about this epidemic? Research shows that parents and family dynamics play a big part in the establishment of a child's eating habits—good or bad. Exposing kids to a variety of fresh foods and eating them with your kids will help. Kids watch what you do. If they see you eating healthy foods, they're more apt to eat healthy foods. Even better if they can help you prepare the healthier foods. If they see you exercising, they're more likely to be more physically active. It's recommended that adults be physically active at least 60 minutes most days. That's hard to do, but try. Break it up if you have to. Park at the far end of the parking lot at work. If it's close by, walk to the grocery store. Take the stairs not the elevator.

If you do these simple things, your kids will take notice and it will become ingrained into their daily habits. Take a walk with your kids each afternoon before dinner (even if it's only 15 or 20 minutes). This also provides you time to talk to your kids about their day. Plan one day a week where the entire family participates in a physical activity like flag football, tag, badminton, volleyball, or kickball. Let the kids pick the activity/sport so they feel like they have a say.

Go for a family run. Pick a local 5K as a family goal. Not everyone has to run. Many 5Ks have a walk or a kids fun run as a part of the race festivities. In a recent post "How Running changed My Life: Noah's Story," Noah shares about his healthy transformation. He also talks about his upcoming marathon which is going to be a family affair. His wife is running the 10K and his young son is running the 1-mile kids run. Just a little more than 2 years ago, Noah would have never pictured his family running, much less running a full marathon, a 10K and a kids 1-miler. Noah's son has great role-models and has a great chance of never having to deal with childhood obesity.

So, give it a try. Make healthier choices for meals and get your family active! Below are some websites to help you get started.

BAM! Body and Mind—wealth of ideas on nutrition and fitness for kids

MealsMatter—How to plan healthy meals

Family.go.com—20 Lighter Family Favorites

EatingWell.com—recipes & menus, nutrition & health

MayoClinic.com—20 Lighter Family Favorites
EatingWell.com—Fitness for kids: Getting your children off the couch

Kidnetic.com—Getting Kids Active–10 Minutes at a Time!

About.com—All Kinds of Active Play Ideas

KeepKidsHealthy.com—Fitness and Exercise Guide