Fitness For Mom

I'm trying to reprogram my brain from holiday mentality. Hopefully the rest of you don't fall into this trap, but whenever there's a holiday or vacation I give myself permission to eat foods I wouldn't normally eat. I felt like I was recovering from the Christmas treats and not thinking that I deserved a serving of chocolate or two with every meal and now we are leaving on a cruise on Saturday. I am thrilled to be going on a cruise with my husband and be warm in the Caribbean but I'm already battling with myself over all the delicious food. So far the plan is to avoid the breads, stay away from the buffet, and only eat the desserts that are to die for.
Any other advice?
Do you ever find yourself being mental about food?

If you haven't entered to win Hot (Sweaty) Mamas on my book blog you really should. Very few entries and it's an amazing book. Click here to enter.

My little sister, Abbie, came to exercise with me last week. We had a fabulous time at Zumba and then I begged her to stay and do a few more "fun" exercises with me. We started with walking lunges across the gym and back and then got 45 pound plates and pushed them across the gym. We were on our third set racing across the gym with the plates, screaming at each other and laughing as we raced when suddenly I heard a bang. Abbie flew over her plate and onto the gym floor. She didn't even have time to catch herself with her hands, her face took all the damage. I felt awful!
What's the worst injury you've had while working out?

I'm giving away two copies of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a a Fit Mom on my book blog. It is a fabulous how-to manual for Moms of all fitness levels. I loved it. Enter the giveaway here.

Five Ways to Get Fit as a Family
by Kara Douglass Thom

I don’t want my kids to grow up thinking exercise is something grown ups “have” to do. For many adults the process of starting an exercise program can seem monumental and looked upon with dread. Isn’t starting anything always the hardest part? And often, adults don’t start exercising because they sincerely want to for the love of fitness, but because of health concerns or to lose excess weight. But if a child grows up with fitness as an integral part of his or her life, there’s no need to start. As parents we can remove what is most difficult about being fit: getting started.

When my daughters were very young I became aware that fitness needed to be included in parenting. For fitness to be a family value in our home, I had to make fitness part of their world, too.

In the book, Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom (Andrews McMeel 2011) an entire secret is devoted to mentoring. If you’re a parent, whether you’re aware of it or not, you are your children’s “fitness mentor.” When parents exercise, their children are more likely to grow up to be active adults. I think we can raise those odds when we also exercise together. Sure I still find time to exercise on my own, but I also seek out ways for my kids to join me when possible.

To that extent I've become a firm believer in the family fitness triad: being a fitness mentor to my children through my own workouts, helping my children discover their own fitness passions and finding time to be active together.

Need some ideas to include kids in your workouts? Here are five ideas for family fitness:

1) Is your child or children taking lessons? Sign yourself up, too. Whether it’s swimming, rock climbing, martial arts, or tennis, learning or perfecting the same skills that your child is working on gives you a common fitness goal—great for conversation at the dinner table.
2) Do you workout with a personal trainer? If you have teens or tweens, schedule a group session together every once in awhile. Request a workout that you can repeat together at home or the gym.
3) Is there an upcoming event you can train together for as a family? If your children are too young to compete, include them in the training process by telling them about your event and your preparation. Simulate an event for them at home or in the park.
4) If you have kids who play in the childcare center while you workout, take advantage of programs like Kids Play, which is a great introduction to “group fitness” for kids. Also, after your workout is over, take 10 or 15 minutes to shoot baskets or engage in a different kind of active play in the kids area before you leave.
5) Share your favorite workout with your kids. They probably know how much you love Zumba or Boot Camp or (fill in the blank with your favorite activity). Create a pint-sized workout for them so they can see what it is you do when you go workout and why you like it so much. The ulterior motive, of course, is that they’ll grow up to be your favorite workout partner.

This guest post comes from Kara Douglass Thom, a triathlete, freelance writer and mother of four. She and Laurie Kocanda are the co-authors of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom.

With Thanksgiving coming up I'm already strategizing about what I will and won't eat. I can skip the rolls, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie but I am definitely enjoying turkey, sweet potatoes, and hand-dipped chocolates.
Health News said those who log more than 5 miles per day could relax about holiday eating because fluctations in their diet are less likely to affect them. I agree that if you work hard you can justify some extra calories once in a while but for me it works best if I set limits.

How about you? What do you have to enjoy at Thanksgiving dinner and what can you do without?