So we are lucky enough in our little neighborhood to have neighbors with kids around the same age.  In the last couple of months we have established a roving dinner at our houses.  There are three families in our little group and each week a different family hosts everyone for dinner.  The boys get to play and the parents get some grown up conversation.  It truly has been a lot of fun.  Of course there are only three families so on the fourth Wednesday of the month we go to Chipotle and enjoy an evening out! 

When we were in college we always loved free food.  The nice thing about our meals is all the “mommies” try to make well balanced home cooked meals for the parents and children.  While the one night a month may be challenging because you have to make a dinner for nine, it is always nice to know when it isn’t “your week” that you are going to have a healthy meal that you don’t have to make.

Our weekly gatherings have become a focal point of our week and allowed us busy “active mommies” socialization and kid friendly locations.  Just as having a workout partner is important for fitness, it is also important to have other mom’s to connect with and share ideas and good food.  It also lets the “working Daddies” talk shop, sports, and repairs (at least that seems to be the common theme with our husbands).  I highly suggest finding a group of families and enjoying some good food and company, start your own roving dinner and family fun!

Recently I was offered the privilege to review a new fitness book by a representative of Simon and Schuster.  I agreed and was sent the workout book, The 90 Second Fitness Solution: The Most Efficient Workout Ever for a Healthier, Stronger, Younger Youby Pete Cerqua and Alisa Bowman.  I was extremely skeptical when I first received the book, how can you get fit in 90 seconds?  Everything I have learned as a coach and pilates instructor screamed “there is no way!”  But, I was intrigued by the title and began reading this well written and illustrated book.  The book is important, it helps you to train smarter and with limited time.

Now as an “Active Mommy,” I am always looking for a way to maintain fitness even with an extremely busy schedule.  I began reading about the author’s ideas and became excited about the possibilities; he easily dispels many of the usual workout routines as inefficient.  There are different levels in the book and after passing level 1 the strength training routine takes 15 minutes just a couple of days a week.  So you are wondering, I thought it was a 90 second fitness solution?  Well the secret to his workout is holding exercises for 90 seconds; the two most important are the wall sit (squat position with back flat on wall) and the plank position (full push-up position with abs held tight).  The illustrations for the exercises are excellent and easy to follow.  In addition, the testimonials throughout the book will motivate you and encourage you to keep following the routine.

I believe the most important part of the book is that you can do this fitness routine AT HOME and only a couple of days a week.  You do not need a gym membership, a babysitter, or tons of time.   As a working mom, I am able to do this strength program for 15 minutes with my son watching me and even being a participant.  Have you ever tried to do a wall sit with your child in your lap?  How about a plank with your legs wide and your son sitting on your back?  Trust me, the strength moves burn and you get an intensive workout that makes a difference.   As someone who struggles to get a strength workout in, this 15 minute workout is making a huge difference in my life.  I do still run in the mornings because I enjoy it and of course I teach pilates three days a week, but my body is becoming firmer and I can actually see a difference in how my clothes fit.

The other part of the book focuses on the diet, the author talks about the importance of eating real food.  I have talked about eating the foods on the outside of the store; including fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits.  The author gives great evidence why this system works and includes some great recipes to help you make tasty meals.  The only part of the book I haven’t tried and I am still not sure about is the author’s fasting techniques to lose weight quickly.  I believe the “real food” diet is an important component of healthy living and weight control and the author gives you the evidence and results to support this assertion.

Overall, combining this 15 minute workout a couple of days a week with a change in eating can really make a difference in your body, health, metabolism, and well being.  If you are someone who needs a fast way to increase your fitness level or add in a strength routine this book is for you.  If you are someone who feels they do not have enough time in the day, can you find 15 minutes to make the strength training gains?  Check this book out, I have seen a definite difference in myself in just 3 short weeks of doing the prescribed workout.  Excellent book and excellent idea for all of you “Active Mommies!”

photo by Shirley77

So after writing about the importance of portion control, one of my readers mentioned the Flavor Magic Portion Control Sheets.  Like me, she heard about these interesting diet sheets through some friends.  According to the five people I have talked to about using the product, the sheets help them to reduce their portion size to the size of a deck of cards and flavor their meat too.  So, I am hoping to find out if others have tried this product and what they think.  To me, it seems like a great way to marinate meat and control your portion size?  The problem is: how do you also limit your portion size of side dishes?  I am looking for some feedback on this product and what others think about it.  It seems to only be available online and the website does give a lot of information.  If you have tried this product, please comment on how it works as a diet aid, for portion control, and/or about the taste of the different marinades.

photo by uhuru1701

As mothers, we are always looking for ways to cut back and control our portions.  I found a great slide show on msn.com that has great hints on easy ways to cut back on calories.  We have all heard about “America’s Portion Distortion,” it is important for us to set good examples for our children and watch what we are eating as well.  The slide show focuses on certain areas we add calories without even thinking about it.  There are two slides that really touch base with me, liquid calories!  I have a hard time just drinking water, I enjoy juice, soda, and sugary drinks (ie. Starbucks white chocolate mocha).  These drinks are a source of a lot of calories so I have been trying to drink unsweetened green tea and only one glass of a “tasty” drink during the day.  I have also added a glass of skim milk at dinner which satisfies my thirst and fills me up.  Overall, there are easy ways to cut hidden calories out of your diet without huge changes in your eating and drinking habits.   Check out the slide show on msn.com.

photo by transverant

So I have been working very hard to lose the baby weight, while it has been a struggle the weight is slowly coming off.  I have been stuck at a plateau for a long time and I finally realized that while I was exercising religiously I needed to make a change in my diet.  Last week, I decided to focus on the South Beach Diet and cut out many of the carbs and processed foods.  My sister is actually on a gluten free diet, for health reasons, and had a lot of success losing weight and keeping it off and the South Beach diet is very similar.  I finally decided on doing a “modified” South Beach Diet, I focused on eating lean meats, cheese, and fresh fruits and vegetables.  I didn’t NOT cut out the fruits and vegetables that the diet suggests you cut out.  In one week I saw a difference in the scale, I lost a surprising five pounds in a week and a half!  What helped me to handle this diet?  I was pretty strict and healthful throughout the week and I cheated on the weekend.   Now when I say I cheated, I wasn’t terrible… my cheat on Saturday was a Starbucks coffee and my cheat on Sunday was a couple of bites of Cold Stone ice cream and a Girl Scout cookie after dinner.  Trust me, the little cheats made all the difference in keeping me on track.  So here is my suggestion, commit to a healthful eating pattern, but let yourself indulge a little on the weekend.  Just remember, it is only a little indulgement not going crazy!  Those little cheats can help you stay on track so that you don’t feel that you are depriving yourself of all your favorite foods.

photo by Shelly

In February, our StrollerFit group of moms focused on our Heart Health in honor of American Heart Month.  Most people do not know that the number one killer of women in America in heart disease. Children will only live what they know – monkey see, monkey do.  We, as parents, may wish we could instill the “do what we say, not what we do” premise, but our children will always aspire to be just like us.  What does this have to do with being “heart healthy”?  Plenty.  Children will not just learn their pleases & thank yous from us parents, they learn how to form lifestyle habits.  What you do every day reinforces to them that this is the right way to live.  Whether your day includes a half mile walk or two stops at McDonalds ~ your child takes it all in.  Moderate physical activity can help the heart get stronger.  Most people also find that exercise reduces stress and boosts energy levels. Regular physical activity also may lead to other important health advantages, including weight control, weight loss, better circulation and blood pressure, and lower cholesterol levels.  The American Heart Association has some great resources to help you learn about heart health and share the information with your family.  Check out the American Heart Association website for some fun games and activities for kids.

photo by CRT

Well my son is finally starting to feel better.  He is definitely on the up and up, tonight he asked to go to Cold Stone.  I don’t know about you, but my son absolutely loves ice cream and in particular blue (cotton candy) ice cream with sprinkles from Cold Stone.  Because he was feeling better we indulged his love for ice cream and took him to Cold Stone after he ate a good dinner.  So it is really warm in Arizona right now, it made it to 91 degrees today. so we got him an ice cream and went outside to a nice grassy area to let him and my husband eat.  My son took one bite of ice cream and proceeded to run around and play, unfortunately the ice cream was left in my hands!

This is one of the biggest mistakes a mother can make, eating the rest of her child’s food.  When we usually go for ice cream, my husband and I share some of his ice cream and my son gets his own.  Usually, he doesn’t have a problem finishing his ice cream.  Tonight, I was left with the temptation of a whole cup of blue ice cream with sprinkles.  I admit, I started to take a few bites and realized I needed to stop.  This brings me to my point, many times we fall into the trap of finishing our kids meal.  Those few bites of mac and cheese or that left over chicken finger add up in those calories we eat every day.  I have really committed myself to stop eating his food.  The hardest part is not eating his left over restaurant food.  One of the women I do pilates with told me she actually used to order her son a whole entree and proceed to eat the rest of it.  One good tip is to actually share your food with your child instead of the other way around.  At dinner now, my son and I will split my meal.  If I have a piece of chicken my son gets part of it or when we make ravioli he gets a couple of mine.  I have reached two goals with this philosophy; first, I eat less and second, I have encouraged my son to eat the same food as his Dad and I.  I am happy to say that I have broken the habit of eating my son’s food and cut back on my usual food intake.

photo by chattycha

Many of us moms are on the quest to lose that last couple of pounds of baby weight.  I know that I struggle with snacking during the day and at home with my son.  Recently, I received my yearly order of Girl Scout cookies.  Now I am glad that I supported the Girl Scouts, but it is a struggle for me to not eat that whole box of thin mints!  In addition, we seem to be having a lot of free food at work lately, including those donuts for Mardi Gras today and those left over Valentine Day sweets.

There are great little ways to cut back on calories throughout your day and to burn extra calories by doing short bursts of exercises.  Today on msn.com there was a great article about 11 Small Tricks for Weight Loss, there are some tips I have mentioned before; using a smaller plate, chewing gum, and buying pre-cut veggies to snack on, but there are other great tips like drinking water, watering down fruit juice, blotting pizza, and literally tightening your belt.  I actually find that chewing gum during the day really helps me to curb cravings and snacking.  I find that the taste of the gum limits my craving for chocolate (my biggest downfall) and other sweet foods.  I also find that keeping water in my office helps me stay hydrated, curbs my hunger, and keeps me from cramping during my workout.

I think most importantly, we need to keep moving throughout the day.  If you have an office job, like me, it is important to get up and move throughout the day.  I occasionally take walks around our campus to run errands, instead of calling people and just sitting at my desk.  I check my office mail-room at least two to three times a day just to get up and move.  Other great ideas include doing a set of lunges, squats, push-ups, and tricep dips at three different intervals throughout the day.  If you do 12 lunges on each leg, 12 squats, 12 push-ups and 12 dips you will find a strength gain and get your body revved up at different intervals and speed up your metabolism.  If you have a lunch break, talk a walk or jog for the first part of the time and then eat your lunch at the end.  If you can find a partner at work or at home to join you on these lunch time jaunts it will help you keep motivated.    If you are at home with your child it is important to find time to also do different activities as well.  Have you child join you while you do the above routines or add in some baby lifts, dancing, or abs.  Just get out there and get moving, every little bit counts!

photo by Mundoo

I recently took a trip back to my ob/gyn on Monday.  As many of you know, we had an unfortunate miscarriage in December and I have been working hard to get back into shape.  It has been quite a struggle to lose the baby weight and I have been working on my diet and exercising regularly.  The exercise part is easier for me, the diet part is a quite a struggle.  Trying to make healthy meals for our entire family is hard when you have a two year old.  My son LOVES pasta; mac and cheese, spaghetti, ravioli, you name it!  We do a good job of eating vegetables and fruit, but our main meals seem to focus on carbohydrates.  My doctor suggested the South Beach Diet to me and I have been researching higher protein, low carbohydrate diets lately.  The problem is, you find positive and negatives for most diets. When researching WebMD on high protein diets I found a lot of extremely helpful information that I believe helps explain these diets.  We are trying to eat a little less carbs, but we are not cutting them out totally.  I have found a small amount at each meal satisfies all members of the family and we are getting a lot of our carbs from fruits and veggies.

I have actually made a new decision on our families eating and shopping habits; we are trying to stay on the periphery of the supermarket when shopping.  We may have to shop a little bit more, but we end up eating fresh fruits and vegetables, unprocessed food, and fresh meats.  Most processed foods contain preservatives, high salt, gluten, and high calories.  Processed foods are usually found in the middle aisles of the supermarket, thus we have been stocking up on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and dairy products.  Our new diet plan is working well, we  have been having some great meals and I have felt healthier, leaner, and happier with our eating.  My workouts have felt stronger and I have been sleeping better.  These simple changes are easy to make and do not force you to make sweeping lifestyle changes.  All in all, moderation and a commitment to fresh foods makes a huge difference.

Photo by Babybee

Today I spent another day at home with my little boy.  We ended up in the urgent care on Sunday because of a high fever and a reoccurring strep infection.  He is feeling a lot better, but he still isn’t eating a lot so I have tried to give him some healthy foods to get some nutrients.  I have been thinking a lot about healthy eating and foods that are important for our every day health.  I found a great article on WedMd about the “Six Super Foods Every Women Needs” and I thought I would share them with you all.  I am excited about the nutritional benefits and disease prevention of each of these foods and I have given you a little overview of each.   These are great foods for heart health, cancer prevention, and other diseases:

1.Low Fat Yogurt – Probiotics (healthy bacteria), More calcium then an 8oz class of low-fat milk.

2. Fatty Fish – Omega 3 fatty acids with DHA and EPA

3. Beans – Low fat source of protein and fiber, folic acid

4. Tomatoes – lycopene a powerful antioxidant (fights breast cancer and heart disease)

5. Vitamin D fortified low fat milk or orange juice – Vitamin D helps bones absorb calcium

6. Berries – anthocyans (anti-cancer nutrients), Vitamin C, Folic Acid, antioxidants