Kids Holiday Workouts

Hello Gang –
I’ve gotten back a lot of positive feedback from the kids and parents from Ss. Peter & Paul Elementary School, which was featured in last week’s blog. The kids said they felt very energetic for the rest of the school day after doing our quick circuit. Many of them have adopted a program suitable for home! Success!! If you are interested in a kids group fitness program, please don’t hesitate to call.

Now that the Holidays are in full swing, are you managing your caloric intake as we have been discussing over the past few blogs? I hope so. Temptations are everywhere during the Holidays and your kids are exposed to cookies, sweets, treats and double mocha hot chocolate latte smoothies with whip cream and caramel, etc, etc, etc!
Even though it’s cold outside, your kids should get bundled up and go outside and play. The fresh air in their lungs will feel good and help offset some of the impurities that they are breathing in at home such as dust from forced hot air ductwork. (Sick Air Syndrome). Also, the aerobic benefits of running around to keep warm will offset some of the calories of the treats.

When the kids come in, treat them to some hot chocolate. In fact, there are a number of sugar-free hot chocolates on the market, which your kids will love. Keep the treats out of reach and dispense in moderation. And when it’s really too cold to go outside, you can exercise along with my video. To find out how you can order my video, visit www.mykidsbfit.com. Meanwhile, check out the video below for a sample exercise.





Now get off that couch!!!
-Diana

Entering the teenage years

Hey Gang – Hope you all had a great weekend.
Over the last few months mykidsbfit.com has been teaching a gym class at SS Peter & Paul Elementary School in Glenn Mills, Pennsylvania. Every week we had the pleasure of working with 8th grade boys and girls, which is a critical age for long- term development.

At age 13, kids are really coming into their own. They are developing interests, setting goals, finding independence and are beginning to make important decisions that directly affect their future.

Some of these decisions include which high schools to attend, which clubs to join, favorite music, relationships (gasp!) and extra-curricular activities. At this age, children are technically savvy, are developing political and charitable ideals and are very image conscience. They also are extremely vulnerable to peer pressure.

It is critical as parents to communicate with you child, respect their opinions, give them a little space and affirm how wonderful they are. It is also very important to make sure they keep activity in their lives. If they choose extra-curriculars that are not athletic, then it is even more important to make sure they stay active. The kids at Ss Peter & Paul are an awesome bunch of kids and I will miss them now that the program is over. What they did come away with is a great program of exercises, which they can follow at home at their own pace. Below is a quick video of the kids hard at work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=civDgW4NCw0



If your kids are in a school in the Greater Philadelphia region that may be interested in our program, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@mykidsbfit.com.

Thanks and take care - Diana

MOM!....My pants don't fit!!

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and were able to get up off the Couch that day! There is no better couch day all year than Thanksgiving Day! Did you manage to have the active Thanksgiving, which I proposed in my last blog? I know I did, but hey, I live this stuff!
So perhaps you and your kids over ate this weekend. If you did, it’s not the end of the World. Consider it your “last hurrah” before you begin your healthy lifestyle.
But beware, the Holiday parties start now and last through to the New Year! Don’t let your kids use the excuse that they are going to eat what they want through the Holidays and “big clothes” season. Don’t you use that excuse either!
If you feel your family gained a few pounds over Thanksgiving and want them off as soon as possible, have a low-calorie, high-protein exercise-filled week. Start by buying some supplies: Quart of egg whites, green peppers, onions, fresh fruits, plain shelled almonds, whole grain breads, chicken breasts, salmon fillets, Whole grains, fresh root vegetables, greens, all-natural peanut butter, sugar-free Jello, 1% milk and olive oil.
Wake up an hour early each day this week. (Monday-Friday). Eat a light snack like a handful of nuts or a banana. Drink water. Go for a 45-minute brisk walk, drinking water as you go. When you get home, have a 2-egg white omelet with peppers & onions that were sautéed in olive oil. For lunch have some toasted whole grain bread with the all-natural peanut butter on it, milk and some fruit. For dinner, have some protein such as baked chicken or fish, root veggies and a leafy green vegetable. After dinner, take a 20-minute walk. If you want a snack, have some fruit or air-popped popcorn or sugar-free Jello and have it before 7PM. Stop eating for the day after this.
Do this every day for a week, substituting different fruits, veggies and proteins to eliminate being bored. During the following week, eat the same way, but you can cut back to three morning walks per week. If you stick with this routine through the Holidays, you will come through the Holidays healthy and happy! If you or your kids do have little slip-ups along the way, add back in an extra walk the following week. As a Family, you could do this together.
Walking and talking with your kids is a great way to stay in shape and keep the lines of communication open. And if you want to ensure that communication during your walk, leave the cell phones at home!

Until next time –
Diana

Healthy & Happy Thanksgiving

OK – We got through Halloween! Hopefully you and your kids took my advice and have been indulging in the candy just a little bit once in a while. So now we have what is probably the biggest gastro-challenge of the year…Thanksgiving!

So how do we help our kids to combat the temptation to over indulge? By remembering the following rules:

1. Start Thanksgiving morning with a family walk or touch football game or some type of 30-minute aerobic exercise to compensate for the extra calories later.

2. At dinner, don’t be as concerned about calorie watching as overeating. Put small amounts on your plate and eat slowly." Drinking a big glass of water will help fill you up, and remember, you should drink at least 32 oz of water every day.

3. Starving yourself all day until the big feast makes your body less efficient at burning calories. It thinks “Oh no, I'm starving” and switches into survival mode, slowing down your metabolism and storing fat.

4. To keep your metabolism humming, you should eat a healthy breakfast within 90 minutes of waking and wait no more than 4 hours between meals or healthy snacks.

5. Be sure to load up on fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables such as squash, carrots, turnips, and pumpkins. And bake them with a little olive oil. Candied yams are not healthy!!

6. Get moving! After dinner, get the family active with fun indoor or outdoor activities.

And finally, don’t beat yourself up! If you feel like your family forgot their healthy habits, then just get the family back on the healthy track when you sit down to Black Friday’s leftovers!

So this Thanksgiving, remember to be thankful for the gift that is your life and the gift that is your children. The best way to show your appreciation for this gift of life is to treat it with respect. Respect for your body, your mind and your Family is best served with a healthy lifestyle.

I am thankful for you, my readers, and wish you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!
-Diana

Your Immune System

Winter is approaching and flu season is upon us. The winter is already hard enough on us. “Cabin Fever”, stress, Holiday eating and a lack of exercise are all factors, which can lead to poor health and a weak immune system. So how do we boost our immune system?

Workout every day for at least 20 minutes.

This moderate exercise (coupled with healthy eating habits) will reduce stress, offset calories taken in, increase your energy level and boost your metabolism.

In the video below, I demonstrate the basics of jumping rope. This exercise is not on our website, so check it out here! For more exercise ideas and how to order my DVD and Guidebook to A Healthy Lifestyle, please visit my website; www.mykidsbfit.com.

Here Come The Holidays

Hello everyone!

I hope you had a safe and happy Halloween! I know I had a great time handing out treats to all the kids in my neighborhood! But you know I couldn’t help myself and was telling them all to not eat everything tonight!

One of the best things about Halloween is that it signals the beginning of the Holiday Season. I love getting bundled up and taking walks through my neighborhood and seeing how everyone decorates their homes. The crunching of the leaves under my feet and the cup of hot chocolate waiting for me at the end of it all! Taking these winter walks is a great way to combat all the food that we are exposed to over the Holidays.
I want to again stress moderation. Distribute your kids’ Halloween candy over several months. Don’t let them stay inside and snack just because it’s cold. Reward them with a treat after an hour or so of daily exercise. I just saw a commercial for the NFL’s “Play 60” campaign. It is encouraging kids to get outside and play every day for 60 minutes. This is an awesome idea.

If your kids hate the cold, but love to play, there are indoor facilities popping up all over the place that offer indoor soccer, baseball, basketball and deck hockey. And of course, there is my exercise DVD and guidebook to a Healthy Lifestyle available on my website: www.mykidsbfit.com. This DVD would make a great Holiday gift for your kids or your friends who have kids! You can see some of the exercises on the website as well.

So as Winter approaches, remember to indulge in moderation, exercise regularly and get off that couch and into the fresh air!
Take care - Diana

Healthy Halloween!!

It’s Halloween Week and that means 3 things; candy, candy & candy! Sweets and treats will be tempting your kids (and you, too!) for weeks to come. As with many things in life, they are best served in moderation. Once your kids are back from their neighborhood prowl, remember that one of the healthiest ways to deal with the candy that comes home is to manage its consumption. To avoid arguments when the temptation of candy is staring them in the face, set up the rules with the kids first, before they head out the door to trick-or-treat. Some good tricks that seem to help:

• Send them out with tummies full of a warm and healthy dinner so they don't come home starved or, worse, end up eating candy along the way.
• Be a sport and allow a little extra on Halloween night.
• Store candy out of sight, such as in a kitchen cupboard that only you can reach.
• Limit candy to one a day at an agreed-upon time, such as with a glass of milk as an after-school snack, or for dessert at dinner.

Are you having a Halloween party this year? If so – here’s a couple of healthy snack ideas:

BooNanas
Slice bananas width wise in half.
Stick a popsicle stick into the flat end lengthwise.
Dip them in orange juice and then into shredded coconut.
Press raisins onto them to make eyes

Black & Orange Dip
Place black bean dip into a bowl.
Cut Orange Bell Peppers into triangle, rectangle and crescent shapes.
Use triangles as eyes and a nose, crescent as a mouth to make a face in the dip.
Arrange Sweet potato chips and orange pepper strips around a large plate with bowl of black bean dip in center.

Remember to have a SAFE Halloween. Escort your kids or know where they are at all times. Lend them your cell phone and keep in touch. Make sure they have reflective costumes and watch for cars. Most of all – make sure you have fun!!

Diana

Hey Everyone!

I hope you had a great weekend. I sure did!

I was running some errands this past Saturday and I saw literally hundreds of people participating in the Breast Cancer Walk. It was very moving to see all those people wearing pink clothes and accessories in support of their cause. There were people standing on their front porches cheering them on and offering them refreshments and support.

This got me thinking. I’d say half of the walkers looked like they were not regular exercise enthusiasts, but there they were, smiling and sweating simultaneously! What had driven them to take part in this day? I am sure they were touched by the disease one way or another and wanted to help raise money for a cure. I see the same thing with “Walk for a Cure”, The MS “Bike-A-Thon”, Leukemia & Lymphoma’s “Team in Training” and so many more.

If this is what it takes to get folks off the couch, then that’s great. They are helping some magnificent causes and are helping themselves in the process. It’s a true “win-win”. If you are looking to inspire your children to create healthy lifestyle habits, then perhaps participating in one of these events is something you can do as a family. Develop a training regimen, which will prepare your family for the event. Discuss the importance of not only exercise, but community as well. Hopefully you will instill in your Children great healthy habits, which will make you look good on the outside and a desire to help others, which will make them feel good on the inside!

Thanks and see you out there!

-Diana

Well it certainly is a wonderful time of the year. It’s baseball playoff season! Here in the Greater Philadelphia Region, we are very excited about our Phightin’ Phillies!

Some of us are even lucky enough to go to a game! How exciting! But you know me. I’m thinking about what people are consuming during the game! So let’s talk about the dangers of stadium food. When I think of baseball food, I think of hot dogs, Cracker Jack, peanuts in shells, Super Pretzels and soda. So let’s break it down.

· A handful of Cracker Jack has 120 calories, 23g carbs, 15g sugar & 2g fat.

· A hot dog (in a bun) has 240 calories, 25g carbs, 2 g sugar and 21g fat.

· A serving (1 cup) of peanuts in their shells has 305 calories, 27g fat, 8g carbs and 2g sugar.

· A Super Pretzel has 160 calories, 1g fat, 34g carbs and 3 g sugar.

· Finally, treat yourself to a 16oz soda and you have 200 calories, 0 fat, 27g sugars and 54g carbs!

So, your day at the ballpark just got you over 1020 calories, 142g carbs, 49g sugars, and 51 grams of fat! (Not to mention the fact that you probably just spent about $45.) Instead of stretching at the 7^th inning, you may want to consider running up and down the stadium stairs a few dozen times!

Save your health and save money by providing healthy snacks for you and your kids when watching the game at home or at the ball park.

Have a great day and GO PHILLIES!!

-Diana

Wow! Can you believe it’s Fall already?! When I think of the fall, I think of The World Series, Football, beautiful foliage and pulling my leather jacket out of storage. I also think curling up in a comfy chair with a blanket and hot chocolate.

The last one – the one on the chair, is the dangerous part! Too much time inside puts you in danger of weight gain. So what can you and your kids do to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you are inside more often? Here’s a few ideas:

1. First you can exercise. Visit our website, www.mykidsbfit.com for some workout ideas.

2. Exercise in front of the TV. Riding a stationary bike or a stretching regimen are great ways to burn calories while watching “The Tube”.

3. Don’t snack your day away! Remember you need to take in fewer calories than you burn per day to maintain a healthy weight.

4. If you do snack, snack well with healthy snacks.

5. Bundle up and take a walk. It’s nice if you have a friend to walk with. I love the sound of crunching leaves under my feet!

6. Speaking of leaves, rake ‘em!! The repetitive motion of raking is a workout! Every 10 minutes or so, switch arms so that you are pulling the leaves with opposite muscle groups. Quicken the pace and you will really work up a sweat!

Once back inside, if you need a snack, here are a few healthy ideas.:

· Air popped popcorn is a good healthy snack – but bland. Spice it up a bit by sprinkling some grated cheese and cayenne pepper on top.

· Frozen yogurt pops are a great treat for kids. Put low-fat yogurt into Dixie cups and cover with plastic wrap. Insert a popsicle stick into the top and place in freezer until solid.

· Fruit kabobs are a fun snack that can be ready for your kids when they get home from school. When they are already made and ready to grab, the kids will eat them and love them!

Talk to you next week!

-Diana

Eat Healthy & Save Money!

People are always saying how expensive it is to eat healthy. "A head of lettuce is $3 but a double cheeseburger is $1. This is true, fast food establishments sure have made it easy for us to eat a lot for not a lot of money. It is also convenient to drive through in between errands. So here are some ways to eat healthier foods and save lots of money.

For the sake of this article, let's base all numbers on a family of 4.

1. Substitute 4 drinks per day (sodas, drinks, sports drinks, etc) with 3 glasses of water and 1 glass of milk. You will save approx. $160 per month.
2. Buy fruits & vegetables in bulk. Get some friends & neighbors to chip in on bulk produce at a local produce outlet or farmers market. You will save approx $50 per month.
3. Substitute beans for meat in sauces, soups and omeletes. You will save nearly $60 per month. (Hint: Bring water to boil before cooking your beans to avoid "gassy" situations!)
4. Eliminate snack foods such as cookies, crackers, pastries and chips and replace with sugar-free jello, watermelon, salads and other high-water content foods. You will enjoy enormous nutritional improvement and will save roughly $100 per month.

So what happened here? We just got you on the path to a healthier lifestyle and saved you about $370 per month! Not too shabby! Have a great day and get off that couch!

-Diana

Kids Workouts

I remember being a kid. And some days I really miss it! But there is a big difference between kids when I grew up and kids today. When I grew up we didn’t have a play station or Wii, we didn’t have cell phones with texting capabilities, we didn’t have a gaziilion television channels and the only social network I knew of was my group of friends! My Mom had to drag me in for dinner. I would have played outside with my friends until midnight if she let me.
But today we have a generation of couch potatoes. Video games, entire television networks dedicated to kids, e-mailing, and texting are all factors in the epidemic of childhood obesity.
Another interesting factor is how competitive organized kids athletics are becoming. I hear more and more kids complain that playing organized sports is not as much fun as it used to be. The level of competition is getting higher, the parents are out of control, the Coaches’ kids get the best positions and if you don’t play tournament, you “must not be serious about your sport”.
So here are a few solutions:
1. Coach your kids!
2. Try intramural sports (usually a lot less of a commitment and a more even skill level.)
3. Work with your kids to help them get better and boost confidence.
Now here are some solutions not pertaining to organized sports:
1. Have a pickup game of basketball, a sandlot game of Baseball/softball/wiffle ball/stickball, a game of freeze tag, relay races, street hockey, flag football, etc. Some of the best sporting events of my childhood took place on the neighborhood playground!
2. Have a Family Bike ride or walk. (Encourage by example!)
3. Discuss the importance of exercise and diet with your kids.
4. Conduct group workouts.
Speaking of group workouts, if you or anyone you know is in the Philadelphia area and would be interested in a kids workout group, I would be thrilled for the opportunity to run the class. Contact me today for details.
Take care until next time!
-Diana

Precocious Puberty

Hi Everyone – Today I want to discuss an alarming trend that is happening with the health of young children… “Precocious Puberty”. Poor diet and obesity in adolescents is forcing them into puberty at a very early age. Growing levels of obesity are seeing some children start puberty as young as seven, studies show.

Experts say the extra fat tissue is encouraging young bodies to produce hormones, which kick start sexual changes. Researchers in the U.S. found that one in ten girls aged seven had developed breast tissue, one of the first signs of puberty. Doctors in Britain backed up the research, saying they have treated girls of seven and eight with puberty problems. They warn that the early exposure to estrogen has serious health implications because it puts the girls more at risk of breast cancer and heart disease. They are also more likely to be bullied and could be encouraged into sexual relationships by teenage boys who take them to be a few years older.

As for young boys, signs include a deepening of the voice, facial and pubic hair growth, the enlargement of the penis & testicles and in some cases, enlarged breast tissue (gynecomastia).

Because growth in height stops when puberty ends, children who enter puberty earlier than normal often end up being shorter than their full adult potential, as their musculoskeletal system does not have the chance to fully develop. However, the majority of concerns related to precocious puberty involve the social and emotional aspects of these children’s lives.

I urge any of you whose children may match this profile to help them! Encourage healthy eating habits, support them with lots of love & encouragement and get them off the couch and into a healthy lifestyle.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any direction or encouragement.

Thank You!
-Diana

Happy Labor Day!!

Labor day is the day that we celebrate the workers who helped build this great Country and continue to do so to this day. The American workforce is the best in the World and has instilled a work ethic that is second to none.
The end result of this work ethic is a quality lifestyle. Rewards such as home ownership, a Family, food on the table, vacations and retirement all come as a result of hard work.
So we work hard at work, but we don’t always work hard for our bodies! Why is that? Your health is everything and if you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor, you have to be healthy enough to enjoy it.
So let’s start now. Let’s start fresh. Let’s help our children develop a healthy lifestyle work ethic. And by work, I mean workout! Just an hour of aerobic activity per day can make a huge difference in your child’s overall health. All they have to do is go outside and play hard! On rainy days, they can exercise inside. For more exercise ideas, please visit my website, www.mykidsbfit.com .
Let’s work at healthy eating habits as well. The next time the kids come in and ask for a snack, give them a healthy snack like an apple with some low fat peanut butter, a banana cut up and put in milk or carrots & celery with fat free ranch dressing.
It takes a bit of work at first, but once kids get into a healthy routine, they will enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Happy Labor Day everyone!
-Diana

Great Kids Workout

Hey Gang – Last week I spoke to you about exercise and caloric intake. I got a lot of positive feedback from that posting – Thanks! Regular exercise and an active lifestyle are most effective when coupled with a nutritious diet. I am always advocating that as a Nutritional Consultant.
So as Summer winds down and our thoughts turn to cooler days, what kind of exercises can we do when we are indoors? There are lots of options such as running stairs or game systems such as the Wii Fit. There is also the type of structured exercise regimen that I teach on my Healthy Lifestyles Video.
Below you can view a video of the “Ball Pass” exercise, which works kids’ abdominal muscles and improves stability. Please click on the video below to see my demonstration and my Helper Jake’s first attempt at the Ball Pass.

In the coming months I will show some videos of different exercises from my website, give you recipes for healthy snacks, discuss goal setting for your children and exercise solutions to fit into busy lifestyles.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.
Enjoy your last week of Summer!
-Diana

Calories In vs Calories Burned

Hey folks – thanks for checking in today! I want to get right to work with you regarding Childhood Obesity. There are two critical components that contribute to this epidemic. They are sedentary lifestyles and high caloric input. At its essence, these are the root of the problem and the fix is not difficult – especially if healthy eating habits are developed early in a child’s life.
Using a Calorie Count Calculator, I was able to determine that an 11-year old male child who has a sedentary lifestyle (i.e 2 hours of computer/video per day plus 1 hour of TV per day) will burn approximately 1100 calories per day. This is assuming a child is 4’2”, and 75 pounds. (This is within healthy weight range).
So how does this child become obese? They simply take in more calories than they burn. Have a bowl of cereal and orange juice for breakfast and you are at 200 calories. Add a snack at some point (such as a doughnut, cookies pop-tart, etc) and you are up to 500 calories. Next they have a soda. You’re up to 650 calories. Have a peanut butter sandwich with potato chips and a juice bag and you are at 1200 calories. Now add an after school snack of fruit rollups, a healthy dinner of chicken potatoes and a vegetable plus milk and you are at 1700 calories. What did I just hear? The Ice Cream Truck?! Wow! We just crossed the 2000-calorie milestone!
Now, let’s add 1 hour of moderate exercise such as playing tag or soccer moderately to this same child’s day. You can take away 235 calories or have 1335 calories burned that day. So we need to still lose 665 calories.
Let’s replace the morning snack with a healthy snack such as carrots & celery and you are at 1735 calories taken in. Remove the soda and potato chips and replace them with water and an apple and you are at 1485 calories taken in. Finally, replace that fruit rollup with actual fruit and we are pretty much square! Heck, we can even still get our kid the ice cream! (Let’s just not do it every day!)
So you see? It really isn’t that hard to keep our kids on a healthy path. Encourage them to eat well and get off that couch! They will enjoy a more healthy body and the healthy benefits that come along with it.
Please know that these caloric numbers are based off of online calculators from a number of sources. They are estimates. These online calculators are a great way to track your Child’s progress and caloric intake.
Until next time,

Diana

Welcome to The Kids Fitness Blog!

Hello Friends and welcome to the first Kids Fitness Blog! I am Diana and I am a certified Personal Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Expert. In addition to my Personal Fitness Training Business I am also an owner at My Kids B Fit. mykidsbfit.com is a site where you will find health & nutrition information focused on children.

There is an epidemic in this Country that is Childhood Obesity. Type II Diabetes in children, early puberty and asthma are more common than ever. Kids need to maintain a healthy lifestyle by developing healthy habits now. There is way too much time spent inside playing video games or surfing the web. Our Children need to get off that couch and get active! Our exercise videos and equipment will help kids get in shape and have fun doing it! It's also a program that parents can do right along with their kids.

The video above should give you a good idea of what we are all about at My Kids B Fit! In the future, our blogs will offer information relevant to kids' health, nutrition and exercise. Look for our blog often and please forward this on to anyone with children.

So until next time, stay healthy and GET OFF THAT COUCH!!

-Diana