If you do something temporarily your results will be temporary. Fitness is a lifestyle – not a phase

 ”A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow” General Patton

How to Begin

1. Choose an activity that you enjoy. The best exercise for you is the one you’ll actually do, not the one you think you should do. Walking is a great place to start since it doesn’t require special equipment and you can do it anywhere, but you can try any activity that involves some type of continuous movement like cycling, swimming, running, aerobics, rowing, stairclimbing, etc.
2. Start with 2 or 3 days of your chosen activity a week with a rest day between workouts.
3. Begin with a 5-10 minute warm up of light cardio to gradually increase heart rate.
4. Increase your pace and intensity to slightly harder than comfortable (about a Level 5 or 6 on the Perceived Exertion Scale or you can use Target Heart Rate to monitor intensity) and go as long as you comfortably can. Begin where you ARE, not where you want to be. You may only be able to exercise for a few minutes at a time, but that will change quickly if you’re consistent.
5. End each workout with a cool down of light cardio and stretch the muscles you’ve worked to relax and keep your muscles flexible.
6. Each week, increase your workout time by a few minutes until you can work continuously for 30 minutes a session.
7. Don’t worry about distance or pace. For the first few weeks, focus on showing up for your workouts and building time. You have plenty of time to work on your speed and distance.
8. After 4-6 weeks, change your routine by adding another day of exercise, increasing your pace/intensity, adding a new activity and/or increasing the amount of time you exercise.

Tips for Better Workouts

• Make sure you have quality shoes for your chosen activity.
• Start slowly. Doing too much too soon can lead to injuries and misery.
• Try new activities. Doing the same thing can lead to plateaus, boredom and injuries.
• Be ready for exercise by feeding your body regularly throughout the day and by staying hydrated.
• If you’re sore or tired, give yourself extra recovery days if needed.

How Hard Should You Work?

When doing cardio, you should learn how to monitor your intensity to make sure you’re working effectively. One way to do this is to make sure you’re working within your target heart rate (THR) zone. This target heart rate calculator helps you determine your THR or keep track of how you feel with a perceived exertion chart. Always be aware of how you feel when you exercise. If you feel dizzy or lightheaded, stop immediately and rest or call your doctor. If you’re not breaking a sweat, speed it up.

Variety will keep your body and your mind challenged, so after the initial conditioning period (about 6 weeks of consistent workouts), vary your workout intensity and time. Each week, do a long, slow workout–45-60 minutes at the lower end of your THR and one short one–20-30 minutes at the higher end of your THR. Your other workouts can be between 30-45 minutes, in the middle of your THR.

Today we are going to Salute Our Hero’s. With the 4th of July now upon us I really want to encourage all our readers to take sometime out to really remember what our Men and Women in uniform do for each of us and the price they pay daily for you and I.
Please take a few minutes to reflect on the message in the Video, and please feel free to comment below.

Even against the greatest of odds, there is something ingrained into the human spirit. A magic blend of skill, faith, and valor that can lift your certain defeat to an incredible victory. Keep away from people who try to belittle your highest ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you can become great too and facilitate joy. Delete negative people from your life & enjoy

Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer

Be a great example if not for yourself be one for your kids!… your Friends! ……….Your co-workers!! Fill in the Blanks!

Have a great Day everyone as we begin the first session of the day!

By Kittredge, Betsy Miller
on June 10, 2010 9:47 AM
Improving Meal Quality, Expanding Access and Filling Nutritional Gaps

For millions of families, the meals their children receive at school or in child care are their only chance at a healthy meal all day. In 2008, more than 16 million children lived in homes without access to enough nutritious food. America’s children should not have to go hungry – they should have access to healthy foods year round that will help them thrive physically and academically.

We expect children to come to school prepared to learn but hunger and poor nutrition can present major barriers to their success in the classroom. And, since hunger does not take a summer vacation, providing children with year round access to healthier, nutritious foods means children won’t go hungry just because school is out.

The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act will dramatically improve children’s access to nutritious meals, enhance the quality of meals children eat both in and out of school and in child care settings, implement new school food safety guidelines and, for the first time, establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools.

This new legislation will answer President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s call to reduce childhood hunger and support school and community efforts to reduce childhood obesity.

Specifically, these new investments in child nutrition will:
Improve Access to School Meal Programs

* Increase the number of eligible children enrolled in the school lunch programs by using Medicaid/SCHIP data to directly certify children who meet income requirements without requiring individual applications and requiring states to establish and execute a plan to increase rates of direct certification.
* Provide enhanced universal meal access for eligible children in high poverty communities by eliminating paper applications and using census data to determine school wide income eligibility.
* Increase children’s access to healthy school breakfasts by providing competitive grants to school districts to start up or improve their program.

Improve Access to Out of School Meal Programs

* Ensure fewer children go hungry year round by providing meals for over 225,000 children through seamless meal service for children in school based and community based summer and after-school programs, and in low income rural areas.
* Improve access for children in home-based child care by reducing administrative costs for sponsors of child care meal programs.

Help Schools and Child Care Improve the Quality of Meals

* Assist schools in meeting meal requirements proposed by the Institute of Medicine by increasing the reimbursement rate for lunch by 6 cents per meal — the first real increase in over 30 years.
* Enhance funding for nutrition education in schools to support healthy eating and school wellness.
* Promote stronger collaboration and sharing of nutrition education between child care programs and WIC programs.

Encourage Public/Partnerships in Communities

* Connect more children to healthy produce from local farms by helping communities establish local farm to school networks, establish school gardens and use more local foods in school cafeterias.
* Leverage public and private partnerships to help reduce childhood hunger and promote community-wide strategies to improve child nutrition and wellness.

Improve Food Safety Requirements for School Meals Programs

* Ensure school meals are safe for all students by extending food safety requirements to all areas in which school food is stored, prepared, and served.
* Support improved communication to speed notification of recalled school foods consistent with GAO recommendations.
* Ensures all foodservice employees have access to food safety training to prevent and identify food borne illness such as through web-based training.

Streamline Program Administration and Support Program Integrity

* Increase efficiency, improve program administration, support services and program access and modernize the WIC program by extending period of certification for children, increasing support for breastfeeding, and transitioning from paper food vouchers to an electronic benefit program.
* Strengthen School Meal program integrity and remove program silos in after school meal programs by simplifying program rules and affording schools greater flexibility for addressing program costs.

Supporters of the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act

Ignore the breif advertisement and the beginning of the video

With Fathers day just around the corner a new government ad to bring the awareness that we all should have a have about HEALTH RISKS that were given to us from our parents. Be Aware.. Be Proactive and Begin a Health Improvement Plan!  Call us to let me help you Identify what YOURS are and how you can begin prevent or delay their manifestation in your life so you can live a happier healthier life with your wife and kids! Wives.. You will probably be the ones to call and set up the appointment. 445-0033

Feel FREE to Comment!

Another Great Recipe for you!
I’d add some broccoli and cauliflower to that dish to round out a
dinner that will help you feel satisfied while losing fat.)#

Chicken in Coconut-Lime Sauce

SERVES: 4

3 tbsp coconut oil
4 bone-in chicken thighs
4 bone-in chicken drumsticks
½ cup sliced green onions
½ cup prepared salsa
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 dried red hot peppers
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
13½ oz (1 can) coconut milk
½ cup fresh lime juice
a few lime slices (for garnish)
a few fresh red hot peppers (for garnish)
½ cup grated coconut (for garnish)

In large frying pan, warm coconut oil over medium-high heat. Brown
chicken in batches, about 5 minutes on each side; remove from frying
pan and keep warm.

To frying pan, add green onions, salsa, garlic, dried hot peppers,
curry powder, salt, and black pepper; cook about 2 minutes, stirring,
until onion is browned.

Return chicken to pan; pour coconut milk and lime juice over chicken.

Simmer over low heat about 30 minutes, or until fork can be inserted
into chicken with ease.

Remove and discard hot peppers.

Remove chicken to a platter. Garnish with lime slices and fresh red
hot peppers, and sprinkle lightly with grated coconut before serving.

This recipe serves:  4

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt to taste
white pepper to taste

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, 3 to 4 oz. each
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

For the honey-mustard glaze:
1. In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar and sugar over medium heat until the mixture boils and the sugar dissolves. Add the honey and Dijon mustard and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat.

2. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the grilled chicken breasts:
3. Preheat the grill to medium-high.

4. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

5. Place the chicken breasts on the grill. Grill until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side.

6. Place the breasts on a serving platter and brush them with the honey-mustard glaze.

Serving Size: 1 chicken breast

Spring Chicken Fricassee with Asparagus and Peas
This recipe serves: 4
INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 ” lengths
1 cup shelled, fresh peas
4 cooked red potatoes, quartered

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. While the oil heats, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and brown on all sides. As the chicken pieces finish browning, remove them to a plate and set aside.

2. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.

3. Return the chicken to the skillet. Add the wine, let it boil rapidly for a minute and stir with a wooden spoon to remove any bits that may be stuck to the pan.

4. Add the chicken broth, turn down the heat so that the mixture simmers slowly and place a lid, slightly ajar, over the skillet. Cook until the chicken is completely tender, about 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until it is crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain.

6. Add the asparagus and peas to the chicken. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes to heat through.

7. To serve, heat the cooked potatoes and divide them among 4 bowls. Add chicken, asparagus and peas to each bowl and spoon some of the sauce over the top.

Serving Size: 1 bowl

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Number of Servings: 4
Per Serving
Calories 420
Carbohydrate 35 g
Fat 14 g
Fiber 7 g
Protein 37 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Sodium 466 mg

Here’s some good news for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month: A February report from the National Cancer Institute and three other organizations says the tide may be turning for this type of cancer, with “significant” decreases seen in incidences and death between 1975 and 2006.
The reasons: more people are getting screened, so colorectal cancer or its warning signs are detected and treated earlier with more success. Also, people can make healthier living choices to reduce their risk (see below).

“We know everything we need to know to stop this disease,” says David S. Alberts, MD, director of the Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona in Tucson.

Roughly 20 percent of colorectal cancer patients have a family history of the disease. But daily habits like diet, physical activity, weight and smoking play an even bigger role.

45 Percent of Colon Cancer is Preventable
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death and the third most common type of cancer diagnosed in the U.S. An estimated 147,000 Americans were diagnosed with the disease in 2009 and approximately 50,000 died from it.

Yet 45% – nearly half – of colon cancer is preventable, according to a 2009 report from AICR. And the new NCI report says if Americans practice healthier habits — avoiding “physical inactivity, being overweight and obese and a diet high in red and processed meats” — colorectal cancer rates could decrease even more.

What can you do to prevent colorectal cancer? AICR’s expert report — based on convincing evidence from many scientific studies — advises:

•Limiting red meat to 18 oz. (cooked weight) or less per week
•Avoiding processed meats
•Limiting alcohol to 2 alcoholic beverages for men and 1 for women daily, if you drink at all
•Being physically active for at least 30 minutes a day, and
•Staying at a healthy weight and avoiding abdominal fat.
Awareness of possible symptoms like ongoing pain or rectal bleeding is also important. Although many illnesses or conditions can upset your digestion — like stress or the flu — check with your doctor if symptoms last or are severe. It is also possible to have colon cancer and not have any symptoms, making regular screenings very important.