But alas, there are still more things I want to do for my family and myself in 2012. Does this mean I’ve made New Years Resolutions? Heck no. I never make them mostly because I don’t stick with them. They are a waste of time for me.

This year, I’ve taken a different approach.  After reading an article about a husband and wife who made a bet to see who could lose the most weight, I had a conversation with my husband. For our start to the New Year, we decided to see who could get the healthiest in six months. This doesn’t just include who could lose the most weight to get us both out of the obese rating, but also who can get their fat percentage down and build muscle tone.

We decided that the winner gets anything they want. My husband wants a new leather jacket but I haven’t decided yet. But the loser also has to do something! My husband has decided that if I lose, I have to get a tattoo. I decided that if my husband loses he has to take ballroom dance lessons with me.

Six months may seem like a small amount of time, but it really isn’t. It takes three weeks to build a habit and this goes well past three weeks.  Having six months means we can find a groove with our bodies and minds. We can figure out what works and what doesn’t.

This bet is about setting realistic goals. I’m personally shooting for a two-pound a week weight loss after speaking to my doctor and doing at least four days of exercise. Of course, I’ll be cutting certain foods, but also finding new ways to eat the healthy ones.

My 33rd birthday was a few weeks ago, and my husband gave me a vegetarian cookbook and a 15-minute exercise book for busy moms (and a few other gifts too). Some people might see this as insulting, but I see it as completely supportive and one of the best gifts he has given me. He thought of this and understands what we are trying to do. We are even thinking of going to a dietician together to make sure we are on the right page. While it is a competition, it is also to make the two of us healthier so we are both encouraging each other — even if we get a piece of chocolate cake at dinner and then pretend to be too full to eat it, wink wink.

My children are 2, 3 and 6, and they believe in Santa Clause and are quite excited for his arrival and the Christmas holiday in general. I really wanted to include them in on this tradition of cookie making that my grandmother started when I was their age. I asked what type of cookies they wanted to make, and they picked good old sugar cookies with icing. I also chose, to keep in a healthier spirit, oatmeal cookies with nuts and dried cranberries.

For three days, we baked cookies for teachers, my co-workers, church and family.  They loved all of it, mixing the dough, forming the dough into balls, decorating and of course taste testing. I tried to take the opportunity to talk to them about ingredients and potion sizes.

I know that cookies are not necessarily the healthiest items, but if you chose the right kind they can be a nice, tasty treat. For example, you can try this Chunky Peanut Butter Cookie recipe.

I try to keep cookies in moderation and feel that on special occasions they are just fine. Here are a few tips for making holiday baking a little healthier:

• Watch the butter, maybe go with a lighter version. I use margarine.
• Use whole wheat flour instead of white flour. It may change the taste a little, but give it a try.
• Use cocoa instead of melted or grated chocolate.
• Remove low-fat cookies early, so they don’t dry out.
• Substitute applesauce for butter in cakes to decrease the amount of fat.
• When baking, try to use other sources for flavor such fruit, nuts and coconut.
• Look up recipes on the internet. I love Taste of Home, the healthy section
• Use quality ingredients and everything tastes better!

From my family to yours, we hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Many people have certain traditions on Thanksgiving like watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, sitting on the couch with family eating snacks, watching football games, eating too much at dinner, sitting around watching another football game and then eating too much desert.  This isn’t the healthy lifestyle I wanted to teach my children this year.

My kids are now 2, 3 and 6 and are learning every minute. They are understanding choices we make about food and snacks and playing (or exercising). This year, I wanted them to understand how blessed they are and also teach them to give to others. I tried to think of ways that I could do that.  So I planned the day as follows:

• We watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. My kids love music and dancing, so with every band performance or singer we would get up and dance. That kept us very active. The really fun thing was seeing Santa. Their eyes were glued to the big bearded man at the end of the parade.
• We made a healthy snack together.
• We played some Wii games. My kids love the Just Dance series. Their favorite right now is Just Dance 3. So we put that on and danced away for a good hour. It kept them active and entertained. It’s so cute to watch too.
• We made ornaments for our house and family. Each year I love to have the kids color some wooden picture holders and then put a current picture of them in it as well as the date and give them to family. It’s a way to see how they have grown each year and teaches them about giving thoughtful gifts to others.

Of course we went to a family members house for dinner, but again I watched our portions and made sure we had plenty of veggies instead of the filling up on bread and starchy foods.  We had wonderful food, but weren’t super full. We were all able to keep busy running in circles and having fun being with family.

I hope my kids had as much fun as I did this Thanksgiving. I think I have come up with some great new Thanksgiving traditions.

How did you spend your Thanksgiving?

I started to get a little concerned because for the first time ever I am leaving all three of my children and husband for a girls weekend to San Francisco. I made sure to go to the store and get plenty of healthy snacks, and I made enough dinners for for my family so my husband could just grab and go.

What I didn’t think about was how I would do while out of town. I am not sure what is all planned for this weekend other than being in the city and definitely going to Wine Country. But my concern is how will I keep up with my new healthy lifestyle? This is something I am sure we all grapple with when going on vacation.

I did some planning for my long flight. My first thing was to get some healthy snacks so that I would not be tempted to stop and buy something quick and fattening. I packed almonds, dried fruit and oatmeal cookies to carry on with me, so that I can have some protein and good hunger killers.

I also told my friends who I am meeting up with that I still would like to watch what I’m eating and to walk as much as possible. We have made plans to visit organic farms and make dinners at home, with each of us making our own special recipes. We are parking at a neutral place and walking up and down the streets. I’m making sure to stop at a local grocery store to pick up munchies for while we are out so I will not be tempted to stop for a quick treat.

All in all, I think I’m pretty prepared due to good friends and quick thinking.

How do you make sure you stick to your healthy lifestyle while out of town?

Before I tell you why I’ve been forced into changing how I eat, let me give you a brief history of my family. There are certain gastro issues and diseases that run in my family: Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and now Dumping Syndrome.  Because of this family history, I am more prone to have some gastro issues as well.

Years ago, I went to the doctor to see why I was having issues with cramping, nausea, sweating and most of all needing to use the restroom within 15 to 20 minutes of eating. Sometimes this wouldn’t occur until a few hours after I ate. My doctor at the time told me to take medication 30 minutes before eating, and I would be fine. He also said that it is caused by rich foods. I didn’t like having to take pills every time I ate and stopped.

Fast forward to this year. I had begun to have all those same problems again and decided to figure out what was really causing it.  After speaking with my doctor and doing a little research, I found out that fatty foods are most likely the reason behind my stomach issues. For a week straight I kept a log of all the food I ate, what time and also my reaction to it (if there was one). Sure enough, any type of fatty or rich food would set off my stomach issues.

With that in mind, I have adjusted my eating accordingly. Good bye to most fast food — which I shouldn’t eat anyway — sweets, and other high fat foods. I’m eating more fruits, veggies, lean meats and whole grains — things that I had tried to focus on in the past but could never stick with. Now that I have a serious reason to, I will definitely practice healthier eating habits. Keeping the food diary also is very helpful to me and my doctor. I want to try to avoid medicines and procedures, so the new eating guidelines are my best bet.

Hopefully, now that I know what is going on and why, I can make the appropriate changes and start to feel much better.

Have you had to make a change because of a medical condition? What kind of changes did you make and how has life changed since making those adjustments?

With all that said, I was shocked to notice one day that my 3-year-old son was getting rather plump. I’m not saying that he is fat. I just noticed a weight gain. The reason I was really shocked is because he is my child who doesn’t really eat. He loves his apples, bananas, milk, etc. But he never really eats a full meal.

After speaking with my husband, who has begun to watch the kids during the days more because of a working hour change, I discovered the culprit—French fries and chocolate milk!

My husband has been taking them to get food almost every day to give everyone a break during the day. He goes and gets a healthier lunch for himself at Subway, but then stops by McDonalds or Burger King to get the kids French fries and chocolate milk. After learning that, I wasn’t surprised that my son was gaining weight.

My husband and I had a brief discussion regarding French fries and other junk foods. We also decided that we needed to get them moving more. After a quick tour of our local YMCA, we setup a family membership.

My children are the type that if they see us exercising they try and copy it. By taking them to a family focused-organization like the YMCA, they can see other people working out, they have time to play without the TV on in the background and they can use the pool year round.

In addition, they can take their own fitness classes. I am currently eyeing the tumbling tots class for my 3 year old, a baby moving class for my daughter and a special needs gymnastics class for my 6 year old. I plan on them all attending swim lessons as well.

Getting my children out of the house and directly involved in activities is just a great addition to having them eat right, and I just wish I had done it sooner.

What changes have you made as a family to get everyone on the same page?

Luckily for me, physical therapists were able to help. I was able to go into work, have them look at my back and injury and learn how to heal it. Since I’ve always had a bad back, I thought it might be a good idea to find ways to prevent injuries and what to do in case I injure myself again.

What I learned is that I can still do some exercises while I’m injured. In fact, I learned that I should be doing some exercise and stretches to help my pain and build up the muscles. I now know that besides being soothing and calming, yoga can help me stretch and strengthen my back. If you are thinking about yoga, but are feeling overwhelmed at how to start, this yoga guide can help you sort through the different styles.

Aquatic therapy is another great option, especially during the summer. Working out in pools is a great way to work on injuries without sustaining more. The water acts as a great resistance, but isn’t too harsh on knees, legs, back, etc. The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis has several aquatics classics, including classes for those who suffer from arthritis.

Now before I work out I make sure I stretch and warm up so that my muscles are ready to go. I sit up fully and try to be mindful of my posture to help prevent my back from aching.

Prevention is the best medicine, but in case another injury happens I know what to do.

How have you dealt with exercising while dealing with an injury?

The Chunky Monkeys are joining in the Partnership for a Healthier Johnson County  Dump Your Plump program. Dump Your Plump is an eight-week wellness challenge for teams of 4-10 to support each other as they exercise and learn to eat healthier. After much persuading, I formed the Chunky Monkeys, a group of six co-workers who have similar ideas of becoming healthier with the help of others.

Each Monday we weigh in, record our new current weight and the number of days we have exercised and send it into Partnership for a Healthier Johnson County. We can earn points for reaching exercise goals, turning in time sheets on time, and for meeting team goals.  At the end of the week, we find out group totals and weekly winners.

I love good competition and seeing weekly updates. I’m completely motivated to do well for my team and myself, and the monetary motivation that comes along with winning isn’t bad either. I try to motivate my teammates with different prizes for those who have worked out at least five days. We are currently into week 3, and I’m seeing some great results from my fellow Chunky Monkey teammates. Everyone has been putting in more days of exercise, and I am seeing the results. I can’t wait to continue to see improvements — not just by my team, but by all of the teams.

If you have lost touch with your Fit Friends, find a way to re-group and re-focus your efforts. Look for a fun way to work toward a common goal, like we do for Dump Your Plump, or just pick up the phone and ask a friend or two to meet you in the park once a week.

I just don’t understand why so many women and even men feel like they need to lose weight in order to look attractive or that to lose weight they have to turn to “fad” or extreme diets. Don’t these people understand that by simply eating in a healthy balanced way and getting some exercise, you will be healthy and could even lose some weight?

These diets are the same things that our friends, families and even children are hearing about. There are so many different magazines that say they are health and fitness magazines, but each month they have a different style of exercise or food fad to follow.

People are taking this information at face value, even though research has proven that fad diets don’t work. This article lists some of the popular fad diets from 2009, and the sad part is that some version of these diet plans still exist even though research has proven that eating balanced meals and exercising are the two keys to a healthy lifestyle.

Whatever happened to going to your doctor for a physical and being told to just exercise a little more and eat more fruit and veggies? I personally chose to teach my children, and husband, to eat a well-balanced meal that may include a vegetarian meal every once in a while.  I chose to take them on our walks around the neighborhood and play soccer or baseball with them outside.

I know that my kids might go to a fad diet at some point, but I hope that they remember what I have taught them and go back to the basics.

Most parents have a fairly easy time taking their children to parks, on walks, on bike rides, or getting them onto sports teams.  If I want to take Brian to do any outdoor activities I have to plan well in advance and also make sure I have help.  Brian can easily gett over stimulated.  He also tends to try to run away from adults, he throws fits when its time to leave and can just be overall difficult. 

I have always wanted to try him on a sports team or some sort of planned exercise but have never found something I thought he would be able to handle.  Nor have I been able to find something that meets his special needs. Being from the south side of Indianapolis I have never found many team sports or play groups for autistic children. Even the Special Olympics doesn’t offer anything for children my son’s age.

Until this year.

This summer I vowed to find something for him to keep him engaged and exercising. I searched the internet, local newspapers and autism groups, etc. That’s when I got an email about the Greenwood Little League and the challenger division.  This is a special division just for special needs children so they can participate without feeling the pressure that a regular league would give them.  They each get turns batting and if they are in the outfield parents and coaches are making sure they are involved by throwing baseballs to kids.

Granted there are only six games, but since Brian has never participated in a team sport this is a great way to see how he will do.  I can not wait until these games start at the end of April! Finding the Little League option gives me hope that I can find some more activities for Brian to do this summer to keep him as active and healthy as the other kids.