Hoping my man delivers this Sunday!

Super Bowl!  My team the Patriots are in it this year and there is a lot of party planning going on in Boston right now.  Not the usual high-brow dinner fare, we’re talking pigs in a blanket, ribs, hamburgers, french fries, buffalo wings, the more grease and sugar the better.  Time for another version of this is why you’re fat!

And for those of you who don’t want to know and plan on scarfing down an entire bag of chips by yourself … read this and you’ll make a couple of smart choices to go with the splurges!

Super Bowl Sunday is actually the 2nd largest day for food consumption, coming in right after Thanksgiving!

Here’s some examples

• 1 Buffalo Wing w/blue cheese dip 220 calories (yes, only one!)
• 1 Slice of cheese pizza 240 calories
• 5 Pigs in a Blanket 540 calories
• 1 ounce of potato chips 155 calories
• Beer, between 150 and 200, Guinness only has 96!

Sources are the Orlando Sentinel, Wasted Calories and CalorieCount.com.

Thanksgiving, of course, is only once a year and honestly scarfing down a huge amount of calories every once in a blue moon probably won’t kill you.  But what you don’t want to have happen is for Super Bowl Sunday to be the event that knocks you off the wagon and gets you back into bad habits.  So a few suggestions …

Add veggies. Cut up some veggies and throw them on a plate.  Try to eat them first so you’re full and you eat less crap.

Make a plate. Fill a plate with food and just eat off the plate, don’t keep dipping your hand into the chip bowl, you’ll have no idea how much you’ve eaten and you’ll inevitably eat more, a lot more.

Put the food away from the TV. If you’re hosting a party, put the food in an adjacent area, not right by the TV.  People will focus on the game, not the food and that’s why you’re there right?

Splurge smart.  Have one slice of pizza, or one cupcake, eat some junk if you want to, but keep it in moderation.  This really isn’t a good excuse to eat yourself sick.

It’s about team spirit, fun and friends.  Super Bowl parties are so much fun because of what’s happening.  You’re surrounded by friends, you’re rooting for your favorite team, you’re making fun of Super Bowl commercials, that is what’s so great about it!  Tasty snacks are a bonus but they’re not the end all/be all.   Please add your healthy party ideas below, it’d be great to share.

Keep it in perspective and have a great time this Sunday!  Go Patriots!!!!

Cheers,

Lisa

Winter sports are a blast.  The three to four months of snowy wonderfulness let us do different activities to stay healthy: downhill or cross-country skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, winter running, ice skating, and more.  There’s so much to do, you just need a few tips to enjoy it to the fullest.

Wear layers.  It’ll start out cold, but you’ll warm up quickly, so have flexible layers that you can easily carry.  Think thin layers that build, such as a thermal layer, a long-sleeve tee, and a windbreaker.  Give yourself options to keep your temperature properly regulated.

Good gear. You want to make sure nothing breaks when you’re a long way down a snowy trail.  Be sure your gear is in good working order and, if it’s not, get it fixed or replace it.

Sunscreen. Yes, the sun is weaker, but the snow is a strong reflector; make sure you’ve got plenty of sunscreen on all exposed areas to make sure you don’t do any damage.  You might also consider moisturizer after your workout to make sure your skin stays supple.

Adjust Where Needed. You might find after a workout or two that you need to adjust things.  Maybe there’s a better running route in winter than the rest of the year; maybe the gear you started out with doesn’t work as well as you thought.  No worries; simply adjust and carry on.

Outdoor winter workouts can be truly invigorating.  What’s your favorite type of winter workout?  What gear is important to you when you head out the door?

Cheers,

Lisa

Are you ready for your cute tanks? This one is from ActivewearUSA.com

February 1st is here!  For me, it’s a mental turning point.  Time to shake off winter hibernation tendencies and start thinking more about outside activities.  Time to do a quick evaluation of where you are and where you want to be …

Spring shows off different body parts as the warm weather fashions invariably reveal a lot more skin.  No worries; here’s a little check list of body parts and training ideas to get you going in the right direction.  These are just quick ideas; a chat with a gym staff member or a tune-up session with a trainer are an even better idea.

Leg training! You’ll be getting out “the sticks” soon; leg-baring shorts, capris, and skirts will soon be worn.  If you need to do any clean up, now is the time.   Yes, squats and lunges are effective, but don’t forget the inner and outer thighs, too.  Think side-lying leg lifts and inner-thigh squeezes to tone up those chunky bits you’d like to banish.

Ab training! Bulky sweaters hide a lot of winter sins; tank tops and clingy tees do not.  If you need to do a little ab training, you’ve got a few weeks to make a difference. My one secret weapon: add a kegel to whatever you’re already doing.  It sucks in the lower abs just above the pubic bone and gets rid of any trace of a “pooch.”  It’s amazing how well it works!  If you’re a guy and you just did an eyeroll, I do mean you too!  Trust me, kegels work on everyone!

Arm training! Cozy hoodies will be leaving us soon. Does the idea of flaunting yours arms at an outside cafe sound great or terrifying?  Get out some free weights and get to work; svelte arms are actually pretty easy to accomplish, but it does take consistent training.  If you slack off, it will show quickly.  I’ve done a Hollywood arms video that works really well; we still use this series all the time in my Pilates studio.

That’s just a few ideas to get you thinking about your usual routine and how you might mix it up.  Let me know any go-to spring training tips that you have.  Ladies, I look forward to seeing you rocking those shorts and flirty skirts!  And guys, I do love tank top season for you too!

Cheers,

Lisa

How coffee tables across America will look on Sunday

We’re just a few days away from America’s favorite unofficial holiday: Super Bowl Sunday.

Did you know it’s second only to Thanksgiving for the amount of food consumed?  The average viewer (and last year’s game was the most-watched TV program ever with 111 million tuning in) consumes 1200 calories in snacks and beverages while watching the game, including 450 million chicken wings and 14,500 tons of chips.

I would never tell you not to enjoy some refreshments during the game, but there are ways to counteract what you consume by making the viewing experience more active than just fluffing up the couch cushions.

The sack dance. The New York Giants are known for their fearsome pass rush, and the Patriots D are no slouches in this department either. When either Eli or Tom drops back and gets sacked, expect the player who wrapped the QB up to dance exuberantly afterwards. Match their enthusiasm with your own sack dance; bonus points for creativity. Just don’t knock over the guacamole.

Commercial crunches. Super Bowl commercials receive nearly as much hype as the game, but almost always follow a similar script in terms of content. Use the chart below for every time one of the following things happens in a spot:

• A man is portrayed as an idiot: 10 sit-ups or crunches
• An animal talks: 10 jumping jacks
• A man gets hit in a sensitive spot or is otherwise physically “injured”: 10 full-body grimaces
• A washed-up B-level celebrity appears: 10 seconds of running in place (or for the entire length of the Matthew Broderick / Ferris Bueller Honda commercial)

Madonna dance-off. The Material Girl is this year’s halftime entertainment so challenge your viewing companions to get into the groove during her performance.  Bonus points for Vogue-ing.

Instant replay challenge. In the Super Bowl, every call on the field is of the utmost importance, so expect a few challenges from the coaches. When this happens and the referee heads to the sideline booth to look at the replay, get up and pace. Pace hard and fret. If you’re a die-hard Pats or Giants fan, you’ll be doing this any way.

Touchdown and field goal signals. As good as the defenses are, both teams have explosive offenses and points should be plentiful. Every time a team finds the end zone or a kicker boots one through the uprights, stand up and emulate the referee, reaching your arms as high to the ceiling as possible.  Hold the stretch through at least the first commercial unless required to do one of the “commercial crunch” exercises above.

Post-game workout. If the team you’re rooting for wins, get off the couch and do your happy dance. Bonus points for spiking a pillow (just don’t knock over the empty guacamole bowl). If you backed the losing squad, collapse to the ground and commence full-body wailing and flailing. Continue until exhaustion sets in or until the NFL Draft in April, whichever comes first.

With these tips and exercises, you shouldn’t have to worry what the number on the scale might read on Monday morning. Enjoy the game and may your team win, as long as your team is the New England Patriots. (We claim no neutrality here at the Massachusetts home of Lisa Johnson Fitness.)

Next on The Reluctant Hubby's transformation agenda: dumbbells

Today is the final day of my family’s January journey through our 30-Day Whole Foods Thrifty Challenge. We ate nothing but food that we purchased at Whole Foods on a budget of $491.10 (for three of us). We wanted to show that one could eat healthfully even on a near-poverty level budget. And we succeeded; in the process, Lisa lost five pounds and I lost nine.

We attribute the weight loss to four things: no processed foods, no eating out, minimal snacking, and smaller portions for our meals. Interestingly enough, I weighed the same this morning as I did seven days ago, so perhaps my body has adjusted to the way I’ve been feeding it.  Which means the real hard work is just about to begin.

In February (and the rest of my life), I won’t have an artificial constraint preventing me from eating what I want and how much of it. In fact, tomorrow I have already promised my son that we will get McDonald’s hash browns for breakfast (it’s what he’s been talking about for a couple weeks now).  I fully expect to enjoy the hash browns and then feel kind of crappy soon after, having purged fast food out of my system.  And I’m actually looking forward to that crappy feeling because I want that to be my reminder to continue the healthy habits I’ve adopted this past month.

Do I plan to never eat poorly again? Absolutely not; I’ve got 45+ years of ingrained habits and favorite flavors to overcome. There will certainly be pizza and ice cream in my future and that’s okay.  But they will be less frequent, and balanced with significantly higher amounts of fruits and vegetables, especially for snacks. The mantra of “you can’t eat it if it’s not in the house” will be front and center in my mind when I’m shopping for groceries.

The other change, and what will be the next focus of these weekly posts moving forward, is weight training. The pounds I’ve lost haven been mostly visceral fat around my abdomen (although I’ve noticed a few other places, including my face seeming a touch thinner).  My next goal is to take what I have and move it around a little bit; further shrink and tighten my abdomen and build my chest and arms.  This will be no “Pumping Iron” transformation; I’m aiming for a torso that I won’t mind taking my shirt off at the beach this summer. I plan to resume trips to the gym, but Lisa is also planning to show me a 20-minute workout I can do at home with the dumbbells and other fitness gadgets we have tucked in a corner.

The ultimate lesson I can pass on to you, I guess, is that it’s easier than you think to change how you eat. Just stop buying the unhealthy crap and focus on natural foods. You don’t have to break the bank doing it and you’ll feel better once you get past the sugar withdrawal (day three or four).  Good luck to you. And, more important, good luck to me too.

Previously on The Reluctant Hubby: February = January 2.0

A much better view than a treadmill. And it allows you to have fun while you get fit.

We live our lives at fast forward and we’re always trying to carve out more time: time for family, time for yourself, time to meet the boss’ latest list of to-do items.  Somewhere towards the bottom of the list is fitness; the things we’ll do to reach our “perfect” selves.

Eye roll.

We can do better than that.  Here are 10 sane tips for living a healthy life.

Food is the most important aspect of fitness. We need to eat well, lots of fruits and vegetables and lean protein and not a lot of junk.  The biggest way we control how we look is by what we put in our body.  Don’t give me the excuse that fast food is faster than home cooking.  It’s not; be smart, educate yourself if you need to, and start eating healthy, mostly at home.

Sleep is the second most important aspect of fitness. Our body does a lot of rest and recovery while we’re sleeping.  It sets us up to have great days where we feel focused and are able to get things done.  The flip side of that, sleep deprivation, leaves us foggy, irritable, and lots more likely to skip a workout or blow our diets.  When you’re tired, will power is so much harder to come by.  Focus on a good night’s sleep and your body will thank you.

Keep track of your weight in the way that works best for you. You might hear “weigh yourself daily.”  You might hear “throw your scale out the window.”  Maybe it’s working with a favorite pair of jeans as a barometer.  Whatever your method, have a barometer/measuring stick that you can use to know when you’re gaining weight and when you’re doing just fine.  And yes, if you need to ignore this step to stay happy, that’s okay.

Do what resonates with you.  If the idea of running a 5K sounds intriguing, sign up for one.  Does a yoga class tempt you?  Take it.  Whatever appeals to you is worth trying.  Give it more than one session before you make a final decision.  If it’s fun, keep going; if it’s awful, chalk it up to a learning experience and try something else.

Ruts are stupid. If all you ever do is run laps in your neighborhood, you’re not accomplishing much. When was the last time you increased your weights during your lifting workout?  Even better, when is the last time you completely revamped your lifting workout?  Is there really any point to being able to do a plank for five minutes?  Keep changing things up to keep your body progressing.   You’ll be likelier to avoid injury and you’ll keep those muscles stimulated and toned.

Sane people focus on flexibility. Training yourself into a tightened mass of muscle is a great way to cause backaches and injuries.  Make sure you’re keeping your range of motion as you train.  Remember to work your body in all directions to keep it fluid and pain-free. Consider adding in a yoga or Pilates class to keep your body happy.

Hydration matters. Getting enough water every day is important.  That doesn’t necessarily mean drinking 64 ounces religiously, because water you digest through food counts too.  But you need to train yourself to make sure you’re getting enough fluids.  There’s a great hydration calculator here.

Check in regularly with your doctor. This takes about two hours per year (including travel time and flipping through bad magazines in the waiting room), so make sure you get yourself checked annually by your doctor.  Even better, bring a list of questions with you to her office and discuss them point-by-point. There is nothing too little to mention and it will give your doctor a better understanding of your health and concerns.  We all know someone who caught something major from a routine check.  Doctors save lives; use them.

You’re supposed to have fun. If the idea of going to the gym just seems so crushing you can’t bear it, it might be time to try something new.  We  should enjoy our workouts.  We should find them stimulating.  Maybe it’s time to join a basketball league or maybe this means taking walks around a local lake.  Whatever floats your boat, go for it.  It really is okay to have fun and will make it more likely that you actually do it.

Don’t train in a vacuum. Friends and family are a great way to stay fit and mingle with your community.  Grab the family and head to the park for a great day of play or maybe you and a girlfriend can go to a Zumba class together.  Put your little guy in a stroller and let him enjoy the view while you run along behind him.  To be truly healthy, you’ll need to include the people around you, and why wouldn’t you?  It’s good for them too.

So there you go, 10 sane tips to live a healthy and fit life.  Please feel free to add your ideas below.  It would be great to share with readers.

Cheers,

Lisa

A smiling Bobby, quite different from how he looks on billboards.

I’ve been watching this go by in the stream for a couple of weeks now.  Stark black-and-white photographs of  ”fat kids” with polarizing one liners talking about diabetes and bullying.  I write frequently about childhood obesity here and I’m a strong advocate of working with families to help decrease the rates in this country.

Fat kids face real issues: increased bullying, lower sense of self-esteem, and very real medical issues such as diabetes, hypertension, and shortened life spans.

Does a billboard with a picture of a fat kid (okay, I hate typing that phrase and I never use it, but it seems to be the vernacular for this discussion) exploit the child and increase bullying?  Or does it open up discussion and raise awareness and maybe really help some kids?

I honestly don’t know, so I asked my almost 10-year-old, showing him the health initiative’s main site, Strong 4 Life.  I pointed to the picture of Bobby and said, “What do you see?”  He answered, “A fat kid.”  I said would you tease him?  He said, “Yes, he looks teasable.”

I hung my head in parental shame, but I kept prodding.

Me:  Does he look happy to you?

Son:  No, he looks sad.

Me:  Why do you think he’s sad?

Son:  Because he’s heavy.

Me:  So would you tease him because you know he’s sad because of his weight?

Son:  No, that would be mean. (Score one point for parental intervention!)

Me:  Do you have heavy kids in school?

Son:  Yes.

Me:  Do they get teased because they’re fat?

Son:  No, the teachers wouldn’t let that happen.

Me:  So do you think this billboard is helpful or hurtful?

Son:  I think it helps.

My son then said we could tell the kids in Georgia to move up to our school system so they wouldn’t feel sad.   We also watched the 15 and 30-second videos on the site that feature these kids.   My son realized how painful it can be to be overweight and struggling with it.

So back to the original question: does this campaign help or hurt kids?  In this little corner of a Boston suburb, it helped.  I was able to show my son why teasing based on how someone looks is bad and he understood and now knows it’s not okay to do that.  I also have to preface that he is in a public school with a very low-rate of obesity.  In my son’s grade there is literally one kid out of about 90 with a weight problem.

Our school system also has an incredibly strong anti-bullying stance. My son was unfortunately the target of bullies and I was amazed at how quickly everything was handled.  After a playground attack, I was standing at the principal’s office the next day and people were taking action within minutes.  The kids who bullied my son were immediately addressed (as were their parents) and anti-bullying curriculum was brought into the classroom.  It was pretty impressive.

There’s another side to this, however.  Not everyone has anti-bullying campaigns in their school.  Not everyone has parents who know they can intervene on behalf of their kids.  Do I believe some kids have taken this exposure of the obesity problem as an opportunity for bullying?  Sadly, yes, I’m sure that’s happened.  I’m sure the kids on the billboards have caught some flack and their parents too for “abusing” them.

I recently talked about childhood obesity and how it’s not fair to place all the blame on the parents.  It’s an easy cop out.  The obesity epidemic is far more complex than angrily pointing a finger at the Mom and Dad trying to raise their kids.  Pediatricians, the local community, and the local schools all need to be involved.  And don’t get me started on USDA-sanctioned school lunches …

Is the education my son got today worth it if another kid gets bullied somewhere else?

I turn the question to you.  My readers are smart, measured, and opinionated.  What do you think of these Georgia billboards?  Is this promoting bullying?  Is this helping to find a solution?  At the very least, it’s achieved the first objective; it’s gotten people talking.

Cheers,

Lisa

A chocolate chip cookie could cost you 5 laps. Do you still want it?

A regular can of soda has about 140 calories.  Maybe that information just made you shrug, but what if I told you that, according to Runner’s World, it’s the equivalent to running between a mile and a mile and a quarter.  Do I have your attention now?

What if that same information was on the can itself, giving you pause before you popped open and took a swig?

Should we label junk food with examples of how much exercise it takes to burn them off?  A few health policy groups think it’s a good idea.  Honestly, I do too.  We’re already labeling food with calories, fat grams, etc., and it doesn’t seem to be working all that well. Maybe if we put it in graphic terms of time needed to sweat it off, that will get more people’s attention.

I remember a clip from the second season of “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.”  He was at a high school and let a group of students pick any snack they wanted.  After they munched away he informed them they now had to burn it off on the track.  Each was assigned a number of laps until they had expended the same amount of calories they had just consumed.  The girl who chose the apple was happy; the guy who chose the candy bar was pretty bummed.  But, he said he had no idea how much exercise it took to work off his chosen treat, and he’d pick more wisely next time.  It got through to him quite viscerally.

What would you do if you were staring at a bag of junk food on the shelf and reading how many laps it was going to cost you?  Would you reconsider your choices?  Or do you think we should just let people do whatever they want and it’s up them to figure out the “costs”?  Generally my readers are for less government interference, and rightly so when you consider how bad some of the information they dole out is … But maybe this is one they can’t mess up.  Thoughts?

Cheers,

Lisa

Her form is good, except for not having straight wrists!

Years ago I was in a hotel in Las Vegas watching a pro football player get trained by a team trainer.  The guy was doing bicep curls and complaining about how much his back was hurting him lately.  While pumping 65-pound weights.

Sounds impressive, right?  Well, the problem was he couldn’t actually do a 65-pound bicep curl; it was too heavy for him, even though he could still get the weight up to his shoulder … How?  He was leaning back, severely arching his back to lift the weight up.

Back then I was still a new Pilates instructor and I thought I could help him, so I walked up as politely as possible and said to both of them, “I know why your back hurts. The weight is too heavy; drop to 50 pounds and lift it right.”

They sneered at me and walked away.  Yeah, I was real effective.  (By the way, it was a player for the Dallas Cowboys; I have no idea who … )

Now I know a pro-NFLer is taking a lot of abuse on the field, but he wasn’t helping himself any by using bad form off the gridiron.  He might have actually shortened his career because of it.  That’s dumb.

Likely, you’re not a pro athlete looking to extend a multi-million dollar career, but bad form, at it’s best, is ineffective. At it’s worst, it can injure you.  Form matters, a lot.

The motto in my studio (honestly, I use it daily) is “Form first. Strength second.”  Do the exercise right and then you can try doing it at the heaviest weight you can handle.  Otherwise you’ll wind up like that Cowboy, heaving weight around using any body part that gets the weight from Point A to Point B even if it means you’re doing more harm than good.

How Do You Learn Good Form?

Good question. If an athlete couldn’t get an elite trainer to keep his form in check, what prayer do you have?  I’ll give you one tip: don’t look to see what someone else is doing in the gym.  Likely, they’re doing it wrong!  Here are some tips:

Hire a good trainer. Look for a top-notch trainer which high-level credentials.  If you want to be super picky, look for someone with a college degree in kinesiology or physiology.  They really know how to move you in the right directions.  Other good credentials are NSCA or ACSM personal training certifications.

Consider buying a text book. I live in a University town, so I frequently go to the college bookstore at the end of the semester and pick up a used text book or two.  You can do the same (or just look online) for textbooks on proper form.  The ACSM bookstore is a great place to look for titles.

Join a professional fitness network. IDEA Fit is a great organization and anyone can purchase an annual membership for as little as $99.  One of IDEA’s strengths is its extensive video library with lots of clips featuring professionals breaking down exercises and cueing proper form.  For the cost of about 90 minutes with a personal trainer, you can have a year’s worth of good, solid information.

Have you ever seen form so bad you cringed?  Did you try to correct it or just shake your head sadly and keep moving?  I have to say since that Vegas incident many years ago I’ve only intervened twice and that was when a gym member was clearly on the verge of killing themselves so I yelled at them.  They were so shocked they stopped and actually listened to me.  Heh.

Cheers,

Lisa

A light, wholesome, healthy snack ...

We work harder and longer than ever before.  We spend huge stretches of time strapped to our desks.  When was the last time you took a full hour-long lunch break and didn’t feel guilty about it?  Now couple time demands with the cheapest food supply this country has ever seen and snacking has gone from an occasional luxury to our fourth meal.

Even calorie-wise, we “snack” on average an additional 580 calories every day above and beyond breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  No wonder we’re all getting fat and sick …

Everyone understands the time crunch and how easy it is to grab “something quick” and eat it, but I want to take a minute and talk about the economics of food these days.  Since the advent of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) hitting grocery store shelves around 1972 or so, we’ve been able to come up with ever cheaper ways to produce food.  HFCS provided the food industry with a stable substance that wouldn’t break down for months.  Zero waste equals cheaper food.  The food industry has certainly benefited from this, but have we?

When was the last time you tracked all your little nibbles?  A lot of snacking happens in the background as we’re doing something else (watching TV, web surfing, working at your desk).  This means you’re not as aware of the calories you’re ingesting, which probably means it’s adding up to a lot more than you think!

Stop Reckless Snacking!

I’m not going to say to only eat three squares a day and otherwise touch nothing, but we sure don’t need an extra 4,000+ calories per week in our diet!  That’s the equivalent to more than one pound of weight gain. Here are some ideas to keep snacking under control.

Just Eat; No Multi-Tasking. Stop doing two things at once.  Take a few minutes to sit and enjoy your snack.  You’ll enjoy the flavors more, get a little brain break for the task you’re working on, and you’ll be less likely to overeat.

Plan Your Snacks. A handful of carrot or celery sticks provides lots of satisfying, crunchy, water-crisp vegetables with lots of fiber to fill you up and very few calories.  Also they’re vegetables and we all need more of those right?  Plan for healthy, nutritious snacks to keep calorie counts down and health front and center.

Don’t Eat Out of Habit. We all have little routines we follow and snacking can fall into a two or three times a day habit.  We tend to just reach for something because we’re programmed to, not necessarily because we’re hungry.  If you feel the need to nosh, ask yourself if you’re really hungry or if it’s just the clock in your brain.

You’re Likely Thirsty. I think people grossly misread thirst as hunger and will pop something in their mouth to chew when they should be pouring themselves a glass.  If you’re getting an urge to snack, try drinking water instead.  I’ve found it takes a couple of weeks to retrain your body to tell the difference.  Yes, just water, maybe with a splash of lemon juice or lime; skip the sodas, fake sugary stuff, and juices.  They’re just empty calories and/or chemicals.

Don’t Give in to Sugar Temptation. Sugar is great, in really small amounts.  But all too often, Americans reach for sugar snacks to feed a dip in blood sugar.  The classic afternoon slump is quickly sated with some Oreos, but we keep forgetting the rebound effect sugar can have on our systems, leaving us hungry and craving again in no time.  Look for healthy snacks that will fill you up and keep powering you through your day.

Snack No More Than Twice a Day. There is no reason for three or four drive-bys through the kitchen.  Limit your snacking to conscious eating when you’re really hungry and no more than twice a day.  You’ll be surprised (I was!) by how often you’re grabbing a little something and not really aware of doing it.

What do you do for easy and healthy snacks?  If you’re a parent, how do you encourage your children to snack well? Feel free to share your go-to healthy snacks too.  I’d love to hear about them.

Cheers,

Lisa