Category Archives: Fitness

Can’t Talk Now Mom, I’m Exercising!

The kids “exercising” on makeshift elliptical machines

“Children learn what they live” is an adage my mom often quotes. It’s a powerful reminder to be careful about the example we as parents set for them in daily life. It’s not what we say that they’ll necessarily remember or take heed of; it’s what we do.


So, the other day I watched as my son overturned one of our kitchen stools, placed his hands on the now upturned legs, and ran his little legs in place as fast as they would go. He was huffing and puffing and fully occupied as I stood nearby wondering what was going on. Before I could ask, he looked up at me, waved and said “Hi Mommy! Can’t play ‘wich’ you right now, I’m exercising.” Then he held up two toddler fingers and said, “I’ve got two more minutes.” He was pretending to be on an elliptical trainer like the one we have in our home gym!

I was unequivocally amused by this exchange until I realized that he was playing back something he’s probably heard from me a time or two (or twenty) if I was wrapping up an early morning workout as he came downstairs with his Daddy to start his day. “Learn what they live”, indeed! I guess he’s taken the good with the bad in this case.

While this particular interchange certainly inflicted a bit of guilt (over making him play alone while I exercise), it also made me happy that my kids are picking up on the notion that exercise is fun. And a priority. And a part of our everyday life. As a result, there are other preschool-isms about exercise that come out from time to time. Ones like:

“I’m soaky sweaty! That’s b’cause I’m exercising!”  or 
“My bones in my body are getting stronger b’cause I’m exercising.” or
“Please I ride my bike too, Daddy?” or
(While playing Barbies)  “Where’s the Mommy?” “Oh! She went to Pilates!”

My kids think exercise is fun; it’s a natural outlet for their energy and an exhilarating way to spend part of their day. I only hope that what they’re observing and mimicking in our household today fuels a lifelong exercise habit for them. 

Children learn what they live. Not surprisingly, Mom was right….again.

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The First Run…

Saturday was a landmark day! I went for my first run in 8 months and BOY was it a high! There are only two things that could get me to take that long of a break from running – pregnancy or a serious injury. This time, Baby #3 was the cause of my running hiatus and at 3 weeks postpartum, I was thrilled to feel good enough to officially hit the road again. I’d kept up with the elliptical machine and strength training during my pregnancy, but running was against my doctor’s orders. And running is what I’d been longing to do.

I firmly believe that the key to having regular exercise in your life is to find things that you love to do – activities that draw you to them. If you hate to run, then you are not going to get out there every day and log the miles. You’re going to pull the covers over your head and say “maybe tomorrow.” So while this post is about my love of running, I hope you’ll use it as inspiration to find what YOU love. Maybe it’s tennis, or Jazzercise, or the Wii Fit, or kickboxing, or spinning, or WHATEVER turns you on. I urge you to keep exploring options until you discover something that lights you up. Because when you do, you will never look back. That activity will call your name, drawing you out of bed or out of your office and into the gym or onto the field. And you will willingly, gladly, eagerly respond.

How do I know this? Because I absolutely love to run. Ever since I first discovered the mood-enhancing, endorphin-releasing, calorie-torching power of a long run on a warm sunny day 13 years ago I’ve been hooked. I’ve dabbled in all sorts of distances from the rather long (including several marathons – 26.2 miles each) to the rather short (like Saturday’s run) and everything in between. No matter the distance (okay, maybe except for those last few miles of a full marathon) I love every single second that I’m out there; I think better, feel better, look better and am a better wife-mother-daughter-friend when I am running regularly. It’s not about the distance or the speed for me; it’s really just about being out there! And often, about with whom I’m sharing the road.

Some of my closest friendships have been built on running trails as we’ve logged miles and shared the humdrum fabric of our day-to-day lives. We’ve worked through significant life decisions, comforted one another, and slain demons together during these runs. Laughter, tears, and quiet companionship each have had their place as the seasons have changed and our lives have marched on.

I ran solo on Saturday. I’m not fully back up to speed yet and my running friends would be seriously slowed down if they were to run with me right now. Being out there alone is fun in a different kind of way – I’m focused on the exhilaration of breathing and moving and feeling the wind on my face. It’s pure running. But I’m glad that one day soon, I’ll hear footsteps landing next to mine and there will be new stories to mark the miles.

Photo Credit: The Running Bug

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Let’s Move! Chefs Move to Schools

I’ve been following the Obama administration’s “Let’s Move” campaign for a while now. Led by First Lady Michelle Obama, it’s the effort to end childhood obesity within a generation – no small task given our trends in America! I signed up to receive email updates on the work and the headline below came through on Friday.

Essentially, the First Lady is calling on chefs to offer their services to local schools to help improve the taste, variety, and healthfulness of food served in schools while working within the schools’ dietary guidelines and budgets.

My reaction? BRAVO! This initiative reapplies the successful Jamie Oliver Food Revolution idea which I’ve blogged about here, in an incredibly smart way. I love how this leverages the local presence and often extreme local influence of chefs to help community schools, just like Jamie did in Huntington, West Virginia. The program will be run by the US Department of Agriculture but its success really rests upon the active participation of an eventual ARMY of chef volunteers. I am so hopeful that chefs will step up to serve their communities in this meaningful way. Don’t you just wonder which fabulous local chef will assist YOUR child’s school in this effort?

The fact is, more than 31 million students participate in the National School Lunch program and more than 11 million in the National School Breakfast program – for many children, the bulk of their nutritional needs must be met through this no cost or low cost school-provided food. Amping up the nutritional quality as well as the taste of those meals could go a long way toward rebuilding a nation of people who understand and appreciate fresh, quality food. And of course, the healthier school food is, the bigger impact it can have on reducing childhood obesity in the near term.

i can’t wait to see how this idea plays out across the country!

Here’s the text of the email from the Let’s Move office…would love to hear what YOU think!

Announcing “Chefs Move to Schools”

Posted May 14, 2010

By Sam Kass, White House Assistant Chef and the Food Initiative Coordinator

Since the groundbreaking of the White House Kitchen Garden more than a year ago, local students have spent time on the South Lawn of the White House planting seeds, harvesting vegetables and learning about health and nutrition along the way. Through the garden, the First Lady started a discussion on the role food plays in living a healthy life. The discussion grew into the Let’s Move! campaign and like the garden – we just keep on growing.

Today, I’m excited to announce the “Chefs Move to Schools” program – an opportunity for chefs around the country to adopt a local school to help solve the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation. In the words of the Mrs. Obama:

We are going to need everyone’s time and talent to solve the childhood obesity epidemic and our Nation’s chefs have tremendous power as leaders on this issue because of their deep knowledge of food and nutrition and their standing in the community. I want to thank them for joining the Let’s Move! Campaign.

“Chefs Move to Schools” will pair chefs with schools in their communities to bring fun to fruits and vegetables, and teach kids about food, nutrition and cooking in an engaging way. And by working with school food service employees, administrators and teachers — chefs can help deliver these messages from the cafeteria to the classroom. After hearing fifth graders cheer for broccoli, I know firsthand that chefs can have a huge impact on kid’s health and well being.

Chefs and schools that are interested in participating can sign up here or through www.LetsMove.gov.

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