In mid-January of this year, the USDA disclosed new guidelines (the first major overhaul in 15 years) it intends to pass to make school lunches healthier. The current guidelines for school lunches are so high in sodium, fat and calories that it’s no wonder the U.S. nation has such a drastic problem with childhood obesity.

The new proposed guidelines do attempt to reduce sodium, establish calorie limits by age (calorie limits have never been imposed in the past), switch from whole milk to 1% milk, add more fruits and vegetables and reduce starches/starchy vegetables (e.g. French Fries). According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, over 32 million children eat school lunch, so clearly these menu choices have a huge impact on our children’s lives and the future of our country.

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Get Fit And Sexy While Surfing The Internet

After our previous article on how to turn television time into a more stimulating exercise (either physically or mentally), I was inspired to write about how to make computer time more healthy and how to lose calories while sitting. Most people complain that they spent a lot of time chained to their desks and want to know how they can add some fitness to their workdays.

First of all, are you following the rules of healthy computer usage? For every hour you sit down in front of your computer or at your desk, you should spend five minutes stretching your legs, preferably walking outside while thinking calm, gentle thoughts. These exercises you can do at your desk may not seem like much, but that can already add up to 30 minutes of exercise a day or more, while making you more productive at work, since stretching and centering exercises reduce the number of careless mistakes made at work.

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Yes You Can Turn TV Time Into Workout Time!

Sometimes my son gets furious with my husband and me when we strictly limit his daily TV time because it means he must find other ways of amusing himself, which can range from anything to reading to playing outside. But we are strict about this rule because it keeps him more active and it strengthens his brain!

However, even with our nationwide obesity epidemic, there seems to be no escape from television. How do you reason with a child who desperately wants to watch Hannah Montana or Spongebob? How do you reason with adults, who after a day of work, want to sit down to a brainless activity like television to relax? Unless they want to exercise while watching TV? According to csun.edu, the average American spends a whopping four hours per day in front of the TV. Television appears to be, for most, a necessary evil, but it is eroding away our ability for healthy weight loss both physically and mentally.

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In today’s busy world, the reality for many of us is that we have to eat on the go. Many busy people trying to stay healthy turn to smoothies as a solution for eating on the go. So the question remains, is this a kind solution for healthy living or not?

There is really no straight answer to this question because it depends where you get the smoothie and what ingredients are used to make it. Smoothies in many retail shops are made with added sugars, pre-sweetened fruit, high-fat yogurt/ice cream and unhealthy toppings. However, if you love your smoothies and want some tips on making them healthier, I invite you to read on…

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Delicious, Underutilized Oatmeal!

In my last post, we discussed how many eggs you should be eating and what your safe levels of cholesterol should be. Now what if I told you there was an actual breakfast food that could reduce cholesterol? Yes, it’s oatmeal! Oatmeal magically reduces the amount of LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol in your body.

Oatmeal’s other fun factor is that it makes you feel full a lot longer, making it easy to reduce your calorie intake just by exchanging your normal greasy breakfast with this one-bowl wonder. Plus, it can be easily portable and a quick snap to prepare, making it a great option to bring to work.

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Too much of a good thing?

One of the diets I skimmed through today is called “The Simple Pescatarian Diet” which adheres to some solid health principles, such as eating lots of fish, fresh fruit and dairy (mercury levels and lactose intolerance aside) but I feel its overuse of eggs is a tad questionable. The regimen advises the dieter to eat 6-7 scrambled eggs during the week, which led me to today’s blog question: how many eggs should you be eating?

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Master Yourself, And You Master The World

Through mass media and self-help diatribes, we’ve been bombarded with such tired adages as “Give it 100%!” or “Go all the way!” Lately I’ve been hearing such ridiculous statements such as “Give it 110%!” or even larger figures. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think we can give a hundred percent to everything in our lives without becoming overwhelmed. We often divide ourselves up between a variety of roles, and mindless pep talk like that doesn’t really grasp the reality of the human condition. Sometimes you need to give it less than a hundred percent, and today I’d like to encourage you to do just that when you are eating: eat only until you are eighty percent full, a technique known by Japanese as hari hachi bu [1].
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Eat Hot Stuff. Become Hot Stuff. Nice!

My husband turned me on to spicy foods after we got married, and now I love turning on the heat!

But I Don’t Like Spicy Food!

If you don’t like spicy food, it may be just because you haven’t tried the right kind. Perhaps the spicy food you tried was far too spicy, or you tried to wash it down with water, which swirls the spiciness around your mouth and makes spicy food even hotter. If you would like to neutralize the spiciness, Isuggest that you eat your spicy dish with a glass of non-fat milk to lessen the sensation. If you still can’t take the heat, you can skip this article. But I warn you – you’re missing out on something delicious, not to mention something very potent for weight loss!

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Catechins In Green Tea Aids Weight Loss

The Japanese, particularly the ones who live on the island of Okinawa, are amongst the longest-lived people in the world. We’ve been quick to adapt to their cute portions of fresh food, but some of their other cultural quirks – such as sumo wrestlers and geishas – have not yet entered the American mainstream.

Today I’m going to discuss green tea…that hot, steamy drink that is commonly served as ‘house tea’ with your sushi and now shows up in markets and bodegas in glass bottles and cans. A lot of people are aware that drinking green tea can help you lose weight, but I’d like to dish out the details so you know exactly how to utilize this weight loss tool for your body.

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Jogging is a good form of exercise, but there are others too!

Exercise is essential to weight loss, health, happiness, strong bones, heart health and preventing disease, so it’s time to find one that you enjoy. Don’t wait any longer – get started TODAY!

Excuses

It’s time to find the time to exercise. It may already feel like your day is too full with so many different things, but your body can’t afford to skip exercise. I suggest making a list of all of the things that fill your day, and then numbering them from highest to lowest by priority. Surely something can be cut or at least reduced so you can try and squeeze in some activity. Exercise doesn’t

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