Hi everyone! I hope you have been happy and eating healthy lately!  This week I would like to talk to the parents who are working full time with families and may not see it feasible to exercise on a daily basis. I am here to let you all know how common this is for many working adults. Whether you are exhausted from taking care of a newborn, chasing after toddlers, doing endless driving and field sidelines for school kids, a day can end without any exercise in sight. Some parents may even feel guilty for taking time away from their children to do a structured workout.  With our busy lives, you need to set aside time for exercise at least every week, because it never happens if left up to chance! Working out gives you more energy, helps you lose weight, improves your circulation and your mood, tones your muscles, and makes you healthier.

Please keep in mind parents, you are what you eat and so are your kids. If you’re living an unhealthy lifestyle, the chances of your children following in those same footsteps are very high. McDonald’s, Burger King and other unhealthy foods should not be eaten often. If kids consume too much fat, their bodies will become accustomed to those foods causing obesity and heart disease. Unhealthy foods are killing many children. For example, according to American Heart Association in 2011, about one in three American kids and teens are overweight or obese; nearly triple the rate in 1963. I also read in the same article that “childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern among parents in the United States, topping drug abuse and smoking”. Excess weight at young ages has been linked to higher and earlier death rates in adulthood.

Answer me this, does the information I provided make you happy? Does it please you all to know how many children are suffering from obesity and could potentially have no future because of it? I know this is preventable; we all must educate ourselves on the importance of exercising and eating healthy. You owe it to yourself and your family to stay as healthy as you can.

I have provided some suggestions for keeping yourself healthy while juggling parenthood.

1.       Find a gym with a great day care.

2.       Participate in outdoor activities with the children, like bike riding.

3.       Rent a dance video and pop in for inspiration.

4.       Jog or walk with your newborn or toddler in the stroller.

5.       Take advantage of TV and telephone time. Do squats leg lifts, sit-ups, push-ups during this down time.

Here is the website to the American Heart Association and a youtube video regarding childhood obesity.

 http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Overweight-in-Children_UCM_304054_Article.jsp

I hope this information was beneficial. Talk to you all soon!