Image: rakratchada torsap / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I believe one of the best pieces of advice another mother gave to me long ago, which had nothing to do with the usual stuff (breastfeed or don’t, time out or not, co-sleep or no way) was to feed my daughter what my husband and I were eating.

When her son was young, she got into a habit of making him an entirely separate meal. She did this because she felt he wouldn’t eat what they were eating, particularly if it had any type of flavor or spice. (I have to admit, I did skip out on flavoring for a while. We ate food as bland as white walls. Funny thing is, I then read about children in India who grow up on spiced foods and I realized I probably should have fed my kids the same exact meal – as long as it wasn’t fire hot, of course.)

When my friend’s son got a bit older, he refused to eat anything that wasn’t a chicken nugget by-product or buttered noodles. No vegetables, no fresh chicken, no fish. No protein, other than the fake kind. Mac and cheese, but only from a box. That is, until he was 7, when my girlfriend had enough of making two meals and fought hard for months to change his poor eating habits. (Trust me: this fight resulted in many tears, his AND hers!)

I saw the same thing happen with another friend. Unfortunately, the habit has not been broken and her kids continue to eat what they want for dinner, which often results in a load-up of carbs (ie: buttered noodles slathered with cheese) but minus a veggie and protein.

I don’t have perfect kid-eaters, and I don’t claim to have all the answers. We still struggle with certain food habits in our home, and while I’d like to say my kids nosh on fresh fruit and natural foods all the time, we don’t. But early on we established rules about food – in particular, rules about dinner. The following four have been my biggies, and I honestly believe they have been the best way to get my kids to eat healthfully – or at least to try new foods.

First, my kids eat what we eat. I don’t cook a separate meal, though if I’m doing something spicy I may leave the sauce off until the end so the girls can eat their food plain. Otherwise, if I make meatloaf, we all eat it. If I make fish, we all eat it. If I make chicken picata, we all eat it.

Second, they have to eat vegetables with dinner. Period. I’ve heard, “But I don’t liiiiiiiike it,” or, “Can I just eat a bite?” so many times my ears twitch when I see the girls revving up to say it again, but my answer is always the same: You have to eat the veggies I cook. This means my children have been munching on artichokes, a household favorite, and brussel sprouts, my 7 year olds favorite, since they could chew. When I put a veggie down in front of them, it’s not a foreign object (though that doesn’t mean they love them all!). Both girls even like salad, and I love having them eat raw vegetables without complaint.

Third, they have to try everything on their plate. Every single time. Their taste buds change over time – sometimes from week to week! What they hated last week, they might like this week; but I -and they – won’t know this until they give it a try. I always ask my kids to take at least one or two bites of each item we’re having for dinner. Sometimes, they even surprise themselves!

Fourth, special treats are just that – Special Treats. We don’t eat sweets after every meal, or on a daily basis. Special treats come once or twice a week in the form of a cookie, a white pretzel (yogurt pretzels, which my kids have had as special treats for as long as they could stand and still think of them as dessert!), or ice cream on movie night. Every other night, if they finish their dinner and get hungry before bed they can eat fruit: bananas, apples, peaches, strawberries, grapes, etc . . .

If Your Child is Still Young . . .

If you are the parent of young children, start now by serving them what you eat. Otherwise, you’ll help in creating a picky eater. Think of it this way: if you lived on pasta and red sauce, you’d miss a variety of nutrients and minerals important for growth and health. Kids are the same. A diet of frozen chicken nuggets and buttered noodles will come to no good. Teach your children about healthful foods as soon as they begin eating solids. Serve fresh chicken (you can always dip them in bread crumbs & saute them in olive oil to make ‘frozen nuggets’), steamed vegetables, fresh fruit, and whole grains from the start. The earlier you start, the better your chances of avoiding a fussy eater.

What if your child is used to eating a separate meal and you are now ready to break that habit? Or you’ve tried to turn your fussy eater into one that is not so, well, fussy?

Randy Wright, author of  “The Wright Choice:  Your Family’s Prescription For Healthy Eating, Modern Fitness and Saving Money,” suggests offering one new vegetable (or food) per week into the current eating plan. So this means if your child is stuck in an “I’ll only eat green bean” phase, offer carrots one night. Ask them to taste the carrots. Serve them again with a leftover meal. Ask them to taste the carrots again. Says Wright, “Slow introduction of new food is much more helpful to getting them to eat their veggies.”

Ask your children to help around the kitchen at mealtime. When I am making foods with which my kids can help prepare, they are much more likely to be excited about the meal when it’s time to eat than they are if they’ve been doing something else while I cooked. We love making lasagna together; the kids layer the veggies and meat on the noodles and cover them with cheese and sauce. They are proud of the creation and more likely to eat it when they assisted.

Let them choose recipes. This is for kids five or so and older, but we have a variety of kid and mom cookbooks (and I have a ton of adult cookbooks). Plus, I subscribe to a few cooking magazines (can you tell I love to cook and eat!?). I have my kids go through and choose meals. Then, we shop for the ingredients and make the meals together. This gives them a sense of pride, and they are more likely to try new foods when they are proud of their work.

Wright also says, “Teach kids about food and they will learn healthy habits early in life.” In our house, we often talk about what different types of foods do: carbs provide short term energy and are good when you are running and playing a lot; proteins provide the ‘filling’ stuff so you aren’t hungry an hour later; fruits and veggies are great for vitamins and minerals.My daughters will try to guess which item on the plate is a carb or protein.

Grow a garden. This has been a big one in our family. We’ve put in a small garden the past three years. We let the girls pick out the seeds and plant them. We check on the garden every few days; and we eat what grows. They’ve tasted and enjoyed new vegetables, like zucchini, that they really didn’t want to eat when I bought it from the store. While it might be too late to put in a summer garden now, you can begin to think about next year.

Getting your child to eat new foods goes beyond putting the new food in front of them and telling them to eat. Will they do it this way? Probably. Will it be a struggle? Most likely. That’s not to say that getting them involved in talking about, preparing, and eating new foods is an easy task or goes without a fight. It’s not easy to change habits. Still, it can be done, and the sooner the better.

How do you get your kids to eat healthy meals?

Sometimes in running, you need to do speed work; and sometimes, you need to rest. The same is true in life.

Sometimes you need to go out there and do a zillion and one things, and then sometimes you need to take a step back, breathe, regroup.

For a runner, a marathoner, a triathlete, or any type of athlete, these often go hand in hand.As you gear up for a race, you go harder and harder and harder; after the race, you might stop, reflect, recuperate. Get a massage. Go for wine with friends. You slow down not only in training, but in life as well. Give your body a chance to get ready for the next high-energy task at hand.

I’m in the rest mode right now. Not because I just raced. I mean, it’s been months since I’ve raced. Nearly a year! I’ve trained for a few races, but my body reminds me time and again, when training gets heated, that I’m not really cut out for this right now. For whatever reason, I need to slow down. Take a breather. Take care of myself.

I’m getting better about reading the cues: not sleeping well at night, bad headaches, muscle aches, a tendency to over-think everything. Getting as cranky as a toddler with no nap.

So I’ve taken a step back. I’ve dropped my weekly running miles and cut out the bike for a few weeks. I’ve ramped up the yoga and meditation to get my body back to where it needs to be. I’ve simply, well, stalled.

The problem is, I have always been a full force person. A go out and do it kind of girl. My biggest regret ever would be to wake up one morning and realize I hadn’t done absolutely every single thing I could do, I wanted to do. So I go out and do, do, do. I think that’s part of my love for distance running. I go, go, go until I stop.

When I was younger, I did, did, did until  I collapsed, which was the only way I wound up in rest mode. Same went with running. I’d go so hard I’d overdue, then get injured, then have to take a break. Rest came because it had to, not because it was time.

I’m trying to get better about stopping before the collapse. I’m proud of myself right now for understanding I need to cut back some miles, sleep a little more, chill a little more.

I miss the craziness of training full force, though. I miss my twelve to fifteen mile bike ride on Tuesday. Miss my early morning Saturday long run. Long for the excitement a good anticipated race brings.

Taking it easy is hard. I read about people doing these great rides and runs, and though my body says no, my mind says, TAKE ME! I WANT TO GO, TOO!

Maybe it’s good to know when to slow down, but it is still unwelcome as the uncle who belches the entire ABC song at your fortieth birthday party.

What are your clues that it’s time to take a breather? And when you hear them, do you listen?

Image: Clare Bloomfield / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As many parents know, obesity in children has hit an epic high. Statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show 12.5 million children between the ages of 2 and 19 are considered obese. Think of it this way:

1 out of 3 children is considered obese by his or her 5th (FIFTH!) birthday.

One third! Imagine three small children in the same room, and guess what? One is likely at a very unhealthy weight.

Obesity affects children much like it affects adults; but remember, their bodies are much smaller and not yet completely grown, so they are putting stresses on their small bodies that are still trying to grow and form into a healthy adult body.

Obese children are more likely to:

• suffer high blood pressure
• have high cholesterol counts
• fight breathing problems, such as asthma
• become diagnosed with type-2 diabetes
• become obese adults

Sadly, in one particular study, 70% of obese children had one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol; 39% had two or more.

The numbers to me are staggering, and yet they continue to grow. Obesity has tripled in children since the ’80s.

What is behind this increase? Why are our children struggling with weight? Fighting problems like type-2 diabetes?

I have my own thoughts on this, which I’ll be exploring in the next few months as we talk about keeping our children healthy; but to start off the discussions, I wanted to share this information I recently received about a study conducted by Poll Position.

Poll Position asked over 1,100 adults this question:

‘Do you think childhood obesity is a disease, or is it caused by poor parenting, poor food choices, or both?’

Thirty four percent responded with this: poor parenting and poor food choices.

I’m not sure what ‘poor parenting’ constitutes. Does it mean parents who allow kids to eat whatever they want whenever they want? Is it parents who make one ‘unhealthy’ meal for kids and another meal for adults? Is it someone who takes a child out to a fast food restaurant for fries and a burger most nights of the week? To me, these are poor parenting choices, but it’s one thing to say poor choices and another altogether to say poor parenting.

I see signs of children not understanding nutrition and healthy food and exercise on a nearly daily basis. At a recent field trip, the leader of the class asked how many of the 2nd graders drank a lot of soda; many of the kids in the class raised their hands, and my heart fell. To me, soda is a junk food that should never be introduced to children. (But I won’t go on THAT rampage right now; I’ll save it for later!) These kids love it, of course; it’s loaded with sugar! (Not to mention caffeine, which a seven year old really doesn’t need.)

Do the kids understand how bad soda is for their bodies? Probably not. Should they understand this? Of course!

Where does this start? At home. 

But I don’t believe it is always poor parenting. I do feel many parents don’t really know much about nutrition, health and fitness in children.

Should they? Of course! We need to get it out there. (Which is the reason for this series!)

For instance, I had a conversation with someone I consider a good mom. She takes care of her children, she’s loving, she’s responsible. She told me she believed one type of food was healthy because it was baked; what she didn’t realize was the food, which is purchased in the freezer section, is first fried at the factory and then frozen. The only baking that gets done is the heating up before it heads to the table. When I told her this, she was shocked. To me, it was basic food knowledge.

Was that an example of poor parenting? Not in my opinion. That’s an example of not understanding the basic concepts of food: what is healthy, what is not. The need for protein, the need for breakfast.

Another example: I know several kids who don’t eat breakfast in the morning. Breakfast! Study after study shows the benefits of eating breakfast, and how important that meal is (the most important of the day!) You haven’t eaten for eight, ten hours . . . you need to eat! Yet these kids go to school and then don’t eat until lunch. What’s that, twelve, fourteen hours later?

In the next few months I’ll be discussing a variety of topics as they pertain to children, food, nutrition, fitness and obesity and health in kids. I hope you will join the discussions and give your feedback, starting today:

Do you think obesity in children is a disease? Is it caused by poor parenting, poor food choices, or a combination of the two? Or is it caused by something entirely different?

And if we say that the obesity epidemic in children IS caused by poor parenting, what do we mean by this?

A second grader told me it was real easy, and he gave me step by step instructions that included things like

• get a screwdriver
• take off the tire
• put on the new tube
• pump it up

Super easy, he said with a shrug. He does it all the time.

I considered hiring him for the job, but I thought:

1. That would be strange, and
2. I really need to learn to do this on my own

So I gathered together my requisite ‘tire changing items’

And my laptop, tuned to this video from Schwinn

I got everything set out in my driveway and turned on the video.

I watched it about fifteen times, attempting but failing to find the rear wheel release lever to get the back tire off.

I asked my Twitter friends for help, of course

Then I You Tubed another video, and, again, spent a few minutes attempting to figure out where the rear wheel release lever might be.

I was confused

Then my husband came home, and he looked.

He told me the bad news: My bike doesn’t have a rear wheel release lever. Then he got out this

And showed me how to get off the wheel.

Yay for hubby!

We deflated the tube, put on the new inner tube and got the tire back on the bike before realizing I’d purchased a tire with a presta valve. And, of course, we didn’t have an adapter.

Luckily, my neighbor did.

Today I took the bike for a spin and the tire held up, so apparently I did it right.

My suggestion to those of you learning to change a bike tire? First . . .

1. Check first to see if your bike has a rear wheel release lever, which makes the process much easier. Plus, you don’t have to carry tools on your long rides, which is what I’m going to need to do now in case of a flat while I’m twelve miles out. And
2. If you get a tube with a presta valve, purchase the $1 adapter so you can use your regular bike pump

Then, check out this video from Schwinn that shows how to change bike tires.

I hopped on my bike today for a short ride. 9 miles, around the hood, and all went well until about halfway through. I had on my tri shorts and was riding my new Schwinn (which, by the way, I LOVE!) but about halfway through I felt a pang. And then another.

My backside is bony. You would never hear the song “Baby’s Got Back” and think of me.

And for whatever reason, today’s ride hurt it even more. In fact, I can still feel the imprint of my bike seat, and it’s been hours since I hopped off.

Which brings me to this . . . I need a new seat! But, having no real experience riding, I’m not sure what to get. Bigger seat, or stay small? Gel filled, or not? Buy shorts with more padding? But then, when I train for my tri, what do I wear? And when I do my tri, I will have on different shorts.

I’M SO CONFUSED!

Bikers, cyclers, all of you pedalers of all ages, please help a bony butt girl out! What should I look for in a seat?

In other news . . . looks like my first tri will be the Jekyll Turtle Crawl. Sprint or Olympic? Not sure yet. Much of that depends on how my health holds up. I’d like to do the Olympic, though, so I’m shooting for that.

Got my new Adidas in the mail yesterday and plan to use them for my treadmill run tomorrow.

For now, I’m going to ice my a$$ and hope someone out there has a good seat recommendation to ease the discomfort!

Or when I see those posts that say running can’t be fun; have you ever seen a runner smiling? (I smile a lot when I run, by the way! Some may say I look like a crazy person!)

Running is probably one of the most beautiful things, aside from marriage and babies, I’ve ever done.

I’ve run through numerous states, over a variety of landforms: hills, valleys, rocks, grass, sand.

I’ve run up mountains and down mountains; along the beach and past fields of flowers.

I’ve run in places I would forget if not for the specific running memories, like the small town in Utah that smelled so sweetly of wildflowers, and the snow-covered back country streets of West Virginia, where I prepared for my first-ever 5K.

I’ve run during sunrises and sunsets.

I’ve run in rain, in snow, in wind, and, once because I was mildly stupid, a small hurricane.

I’ve run through mental pains, like when my close friend died, my aunt died and my mother had a stroke.

I ran my first half marathon to commemorate a miscarriage at eleven  weeks, an event that left me devastated. At each mile marker of that race, I said goodbye to the baby I never got to hold.

On some of these runs the tears and heaping gulps of frustration stopped me, doubled me over; and when they did, I looked out over wherever I was – ocean or country, hills or flatlands -  and I thought, Wow. Life is beautiful.

All runners understand the beauty that rests in nothing but the feet and the mind. It’s tangible.

I can’t imagine living my life without it.

I had two excellent birthday runs this weekend. Both were beautiful; just see for yourself:

For the 12th year in a row.

It has gotten much easier, hitting that 3rd decade of my life. I’ve learned to take the milestone in stride. You realize, twelve years after, how much it really doesn’t matter. Life goes on. Things change. I’ve had a few kids, and we got a dog. We own a house rather than renting a cramped (but super cute) condo in Pasadena.

I’ve run two marathons. Completed a triathlon. Jogged endless 5Ks, 10Ks and halfs.

I’ve learned since turning thirty the first time to listen to my body if it is in pain. That doesn’t mean I accept it gracefully; I just listen more these days, and I take a break as needed.

I’ve learned it’s not so much the race but the participation in that matters. I could run through Florida or California, Georgia or Alabama, and it wouldn’t matter. What would matter would be that I enjoyed it. Soaked it all up. Got the medal at the finish line, regardless of my time.

I’ve learned PRs are cool, but that’s not all there is. I can be the slowest in the pack and enjoy it the most. That’s fine by me.

I’ve learned aging means understanding the difference between pushing through the pain and then not running for six weeks; or stopping, icing, resting and lacing back up in seven days.

I’ve learned to run just to run.

I’d say over the past 12 years of turning thirty, I’ve learned a hell of a lot!

—

That said, I started triathlon training this week. I figured out a schedule I believe will work while reducing the stress on my body that happened last year. I got back into the pool today, and all in all it was a good swim. 25 minutes, three laps at a time before a rest.

My only problem, and I know this is something I’ll need to deal with sooner rather than later – after swimming, I took the girls in, and because I wasn’t technically exercising, I experienced Raynauds. (Don’t know what that is? Fun little issue when your body temp drops and the blood stops circulating to your extremities.)This just started a few years ago, and only in my right pointer finger and right heel. This year it has moved a bit, and today it happened for the first time ever in my right thumb.

And I didn’t even feel that cold!

Pooey. Not sure what to do about this. I want to continue to swim, but it’s dangerous to allow it to happen often or for long periods of time. I certainly don’t want to give up swimming because of it.

Will I look like a total dork if I wear some type of gloves for warmth, so my fingers don’t turn white and then purple?

Yes, but turning 30 for 12 years has taught me I don’t give a crap how much of a dork I resemble, as long as I’m happy, safe and having a good time.

So guess I’ll be purchasing some gloves.

I hope I can run a few races and participate in a few triathlons this birthday year.

But I really hope that when I turn 30 next year, for the 13th year in a row, I can look back on this year and say how great it was!

The downs? My running continues to be an uphill battle. I lace up and get out, but I’m walking a lot and huffing and puffing when I do jog. My pace, which was down around 9:15 for a while, is now hovering in the mid-10s and sometimes the low 11s. A 5 mile run that used to take 45 minutes now takes 54. Ouch.

It’s disheartening, to say the least. Since getting sick the last time, and then experiencing flu-like symptoms for four hours after the two runs that followed the last sickness, I have not been able to get my breathing coordinated or my pace up.

I am simply slogging through the mire, putting in the motions, and, above all of the drudgery when out there, I get home and wind up having a lot of aches and pains that I normally wouldn’t experience doing such short, easy runs. My hip hurts. My ankles hurt.  I feel I’ve aged about ten years in the past two months! Which makes me mad, because I was in such a good place with my running before all of this started.

But on a good note: I got my new Schwinn!

As I posted before, I was chosen as a Joy Agent for Schwinn bikes, and my new Prelude arrived at my local bike store (LBS in biker’s terms – I know, as I’m learning them!), monkeywrench, last Friday.

I picked her up on Wednesday, so excited to see how sweet she looked and to feel she was lighter compared to my old – but still lovely – Schwinn.

The bike did not come with a water bottle, and in my excitement I failed to notice. So, I haven’t been able to do a longer ride,  but I did take her out for 7 miles last week and it was wonderful! I was able to easily hit 17mph, which for me is near racing speed (I did about 18 during my sprint tri). It was an easy pedal, so I’m hoping that’s a result of the new bike and not the fact that I haven’t cycled in a while and was overly eager to do so!

Plus, cycling didn’t make me sick!

But the best thing? Well, it has to be the experience itself. There’s nothing like getting out and experiencing life. Cycling is such a great way to do this.

Today I did a 5 miler and followed it up with a cycle around the neighborhood with the kids! So far, feeling well. Who knows? Maybe I will one day be mamacycler rather than mamamarathoner . . .

I’m a runner stalker comparerer. (Yes, I made up that word: comparerer.)

*sigh*

I can’t help it.

I’ve found other runners who run a zillion miles each week and I thrive on stalking their running posts, tweets, and blogs; tallying up their mileage; ogling their fast pace; and then feeling like I really should be running longer, faster, harder.

In the past, this comparison issue has caused hamstring problems. It’s made me frustrated, led to over training and caused some running burnout.

It even caused tendonitis. (Yes, I’m blaming my old running injury on Comparerism.)

If I knew someone who started running AFTER me, but who ran MORE than me and FASTER than me and FARTHER than me, I got frustrated.

I thought, “Why am I not doing this?”

“What am I doing wrong?”

“Why am I not THERE?”

So I ran more.

And then I get injured.

I’m glad to say I’m growing up; at least a little.

I’m still a comparerer but I know my body’s limits and I try really hard to stay within those now.

I know I’m not alone in this. I believe I have my own runner stalker comparerer who tries to keep up with my workout schedule. I run 5, she runs 7; I cycle 10, she cycles 20.

One day I want to say I ran 60 to see what she responds.

Maybe all runners are (obsessed) interested in (stalking) comparing numbers with others. Maybe this is what drives us: knowing what can be done, and wanting to determine if we can, indeed, do it.

I never feel frustrated with the other runners. I’m happy they are able to accomplish more miles or a faster pace.

At the same time I wonder why their hamstrings don’t seize up like nerves stabbed by ice picks when they don’t follow the ten percent increase rule; when they skip stretching and yoga and massage; or when they follow a 20 miler with a ten miler the very next day.

I’m going to stop comparing now.

I have put myself on an Anti-Comparison Campaign.

When I find myself reading a runner’s numbers, I’ll do ten pushups.

If my itchy fingers begin to type their names in my search box so I can look up their latest race pace, I’ll do fifteen jumping jacks.

I will remove myself from all social media that notes how many miles people have run and at what pace, unless they are slower than me. (Well, okay, I’m not going THAT far.)

Then again, maybe this comparison thing is the push I need to keep me motivated.

Do you compare yourself to other runners, and, if so, does it push you beyond your limits or does it keep you motivated in a healthy way to see what you can accomplish or how far and fast you can go?

(how my rides begin)

My Mighty Schwinn . . .

This morning, after running intervals and taking my daughters to school, My Mighty Schwinn beckoned me.

It was as though the wheels were talking. “Ride me,” they whispered, and how can you NOT oblige?

I obeyed.

Although I was tired, and had worked hard at the four mile interval training – getting into the 7s on my fast speeds – I felt the need to ride. I headed out past the marsh, crossed a very busy road, and took off on a two laner that, when followed, leads more into the country.

(aren’t they pretty?!)

It was a gorgeous ride. Each time I get on My Mighty Schwinn I realize how much I love cycling. I wound up pedaling ten miles, so twice the amount I should have done, but it felt fantastic. I really needed to clear my head, and that cycle did the trick.

. . . A Kangaroo
I recently had a chance to review an AUTOSEAL® Kangaroo Water Bottle from Contigo. I love, love, love the idea of this bottle so much, which includes a compartment in which you can keep money, a key, and your ID. Perfect for taking on a walk or to the gym, so you don’t have to carry your purse. And look how cute she is!

Another great feature is measure markings on the side so you know how much you’re consuming – perfect for when you’re running and need to make sure you’re replenishing fluids. A clip on the side lets you attach the bottle to a gym bag, and the bottle comes apart easily for cleaning. To keep spills down, you press a button to allow the water to flow when you drink. No spills and no caps to remove before sipping.

While the bottle was designed for taking to the gym, I can see using this all around town: when I take the girls to soccer practice, or sit for a while at gymnastics. I’m one who isn’t a huge fan of toting a purse all over, so the fact that I can keep a few dollars and my key and license in the side compartment is great.

The only downside for me was that I’d hoped the bottle would fit on my bike so I could take it cycling. However, the base was too large. How convenient if I could just take out the water bottle to get my money when I made a stop. I would absolutely use this instead of my regular water bottle!

The bottle comes in a variety of colors, and it’s a great deal at MSRP $12.99. If you want your own, these retailers sell the bottle or you can go straight to the Go Contigo website to purchase.

OR! I know! Stay tuned because we’re going to do a GIVEAWAY!

. . . And Train

So, just throwing this out there. I love the band Train. They keep coming up with the best songs. Yesterday after my cycle I heard Save Me, San Francisco and couldn’t stop singing it. Here’s the video. Let’s see if you can!