Jenny McCarthy Blogs On Oprah
Filed under: Archives, At Home, At Work, Blogging, Food Items, For Women, Helping Others, Parenting, Weight Issues, decluttering
On Monday, May 4, 2009, Jenny McCarthy will begin blogging on Oprah.com. Jenny is calling it her “give it up before summer” blog.
She’ll be blogging about how to give up such things as sugar and/or chocolate. If you have anything you want to give up, you can sign into the blog, join in the conversation and share with Jenny McCarthy what it is you’re struggling with.
Like Jenny, is it chocolate? Is it gossiping? Or how about white foods or caffeine?
It’s easy. Just log into Oprah.com. Look for the link to Jenny McCarthy’s blog and leave a comment.
It sounds like a fun endeavor. We all get to weigh in and have our say and read what others are saying, too.
For more information on Jenny McCarthy and her crusade on autism, check out Children With Autism – Help For Parents
Or, you can find some of Jenny McCarthy’s books here:
- Healing and Preventing Autism: A Complete Guide
- Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth
- Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism
- Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds
According to Oprah.com it appears Jenny McCarthy’s blog will last for thirty days. If it’s a hit, maybe Oprah will keep Jenny as a permanent blogger on Oprah.com.
Tags: addicts, blog, Blogging, blogs, caffeine, chocolate, comments, giving up, jenny mccarthy, oprah, oprah.com, sugar, weigh in, white foodsHelp For Parents With Fat Children
Filed under: At Home, Diet & Health, Helping Others, Infants and Children, Parenting, Weight Issues
- Image via Wikipedia
Statistics show children are getting fat at an alarming rate. Helping a child lose excess weight is essential to their health and well being.
Studies show if one or more of the parents of an obese child are overweight, their children may be fat as well.
It comes down to the food and activity choices you and your fat children are making.
Helpful hints:
Only keep healthy foods and snacks in your pantry and refrigerator.
- Cut up fruits and vegetables, store in clear containers
- Stock snacks such as low fat popcorn. Some brands are 94% fat free.
- Buy whole wheat pastas and breads
- Encourage your children to drink water – stop buying soda and/or juices that are filled with sugar
- Learn new cooking techniques which reduce calories
- Talk to your family doctor about a diet for your fat child
Encourage your fat children to exercise
- Plan walks in the park or on walking trails
- Organize family bike rides
- Play games such as basketball or soccer with your children
- Purchase Wii Fit
exercise games. Purchase one or more and play them with your child
- Child learn from their parents. Set a good example for them by exercising and eating healthy
Stop rewarding fat children with food
- Reward children with a movie rental – plan low fat snacks
- Reward them with a toy or an article of clothing
- Most importantly, reward a children with attention, affection and.or words of encouragement
- Watch shows such as The Biggest Loser with your children and talk to them about how they feel about being fat
Having a fat child is not only hard on the parents, but is even harder on the fat child. Find whatever help you can by asking your family doctor or friends who have encountered the same problem with fat children.
With fat children showing signs of major health issues, it’s imperative they get help as early as possible.
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What Are The Popular Baby Names
Have you ever wondered which are the popular baby names?
Have you ever wondered what baby names were popular the year you were born?
Did you know the Social Security Administration keeps a record of the popular baby names?
They do, and they have a record of popular baby names that goes back to 1879.
Just go to their website at Social Security.gov, and check out the popular baby names for previous years. Or use their search tool to find out which baby names were popular the year you were born, the popularity of a name, the top 1000 names by decade, and coming soon, the top baby names by state.
How did your name rank? Was it a popular baby name when you were born?
Care to share? Leave a comment.
Tags: 1000 names, baby name, popular baby names, social security administrationReduce Clutter – Get Organized
Filed under: Archives, At Home, At Work, Home Improvement, Organizing, Parenting, decluttering
Reducing clutter will aid in getting yourself organized. But how we reduce that clutter is the first challenge.
If your home or office has a lot of clutter, to avoid becoming overwhelmed, start small. Whether it’s a drawer or closet, getting started is half the battle. You’ll find that the act of decluttering becomes contagious. Now only for ourself, but often for other family members, as well.
If children are involved, make it a game. Set up boxes or totes and let them determine that which can be donated, or maybe later sold in a garage sale. If children are taught charity (the gift of sharing and giving to the less fortunate), they will soon learn how to easily give up toys they are not playing with.
As you declutter, you may encounter some items to which you have an emotional attachment. If you’re not willing to let go of these items, think about packing them up and putting them in storage.
On thing I learned from reruns of the “Home Made Simple” show on TLC (The Learning Channel , is to have either a “path” or a “home” for everything you own.
A home for your clothes would be a closet or drawer
A home for dishes, pots or pan may be in a cabinet, drawer or hanging off of a pot rack.
A home for books would be a bookcase or shelf
A home for a family heirloom may be a curio cabinet
A path for excess toys, clothes not being worn, or decorator items not being used may be…”to our favorite charity”
A path for broken or worn out items would be ….to the garbage
A path for seasonal clothes or sports equipment would to …..to storage
A path for important papers would be……to be filed.
I now use this technique when I go shopping. If I see something, and I think of buying it, I ask myself, “Do I have a home for it?” Often the answer is no. By using this technique, I’m not only saving money, but reducing excess clutter.
Some say, if you bring one new item into your home, you should remove two like items. Although this appears to be a great system to declutter a home, I haven’t tried it yet.
Photo Credit: ifindkarma’s photostream
Tags: decluttering, decorator items, emotional attachment, excess clutter, family heirloom, garage sale, half the battle, photo credit, pot rack, rerunHelp For Parents – Overweight Teenagers
Filed under: Archives, At Home, Diet & Health, Parenting, Weight Issues
If you are a parent with an overweight teenager(s), it’s not easy to know how to find help.
But with obesity in teens rising, helping a child to lose excess weight, becomes essential to their health.
We often leave teens home alone, assuming they will make good choices. And, oftentimes, they do great. They have their chores and homework done, and may have also surprised you by cleaning the bathroom.
But, what food choices are they making?
If your refrigerator and pantry are stocked with fattening foods, those are likely the first things your teenager will grab. After all, they do taste the best. But, if you have made a concentrated effort to have fruits and vegetables available (cut up in containers), your teen may reach for those instead.
A child’s food choices do begin at home. Unfortunately, any parent who has a child who is beginning to gain weight, must first take stock of their own eating habits. We must also take an inventory of what foods we are keeping in our refrigerator and pantry. We are the ones who bring this food into the home. We need to take responsibility.
Children are often brought up is a situation, where they are “awarded” with food. They cry or whine, and we take them to their favorite fast food restaurant. Or maybe we offer them a cookie. After all, we want them to quiet down, so we use whatever tactic that works. But, without realizing it, we are “programing” them. Soon, food equates to comfort. Hence “comfort foods”. As adults, we can list our comfort foods, too. Mine is ice cream.
Teenagers often frequent fast food restaurants, or the food court, at a mall. These places become their “hang out”. More than likely, if they have money, they will make a poor food choice. If they were to order an alternative low fat item, they may be teased. They don’t want that…so peer pressure steps in. However, a teen who has higher self esteem, won’t care what the other think.
As parents, we may also stock the refrigerator with sugar ladened sodas. They are pre-made, cheap (especially the store brands), and they are portion controlled. In addition to that, they are packaged in a disposable (recyclable) container. No extra glasses to wash. But, they are also full of sugar. One soda has over 100 calories.
We know fresh fruits and vegetables are a better choice than chips, pretzels, candy bars, etc, but we don’t have time to cut up fresh vegetables, nor we we like the fact that the fresh fruit we buy, often gets thrown away because it doesn’t get eaten. Packaged snacks have a shelf life of months. If eaten out of the bag, there’s no extra dishes to clean.
Whole wheat bread is a much better choice for sandwiches, however, it is a more dense product. It seems to dry out faster, and often turns moldy. The white bread with all of it’s preservatives, seems to last much longer, and is more appealing. And….a young child who doesn’t have all of their teeth, would probably have a problem with dense whole wheat bread.
Eating steamed, broiled or baked recipes, is much better for all of us, but the prep time is longer, and you have to be “tied to the stove”, so they don’t get overdone. Our time becomes too valuable, so we take short cuts.
We also give our children too many choices. Instead of saying “do you want water or milk?”, we say, “What do you want to drink?’ Of course the child is going to say “a cola”.
In this day and age where both parents are holding down full time jobs, or children are being raised in by a single parent, children are often left alone to make their own choices.
As parents, we can help our overweight teens by spending time with them, watching a show like NBC’s The Biggest Loser. Without having to nag at a teenage to “watch what they put in their mouth”, this type of show will show them how hard it is to lose weight as they get older. It may also inspire your teen to spend more time exercising, as well as encourage them to eat more healthy.
When a teenager is ready to deal with the issue of being overweight, make an appointment with your family doctor. They will undoubtedly have several eating/diet plans that will work well for your overweight teenager(s).
To read more about obesity in teens, read a previous article of mine, titled: Overweight Teens – An Increasing Problem
No tags for this post.How To Get In The Spirit Of Christmas
Filed under: Archives, At Home, At Work, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Parenting
Getting into the Christmas spirit can be difficult, especially when life happens, and time is a rare commodity.
With Christmas becoming so commercialized, it’s no wonder, some become disheartened, at this time of the year.
Catherine, a cyberspace friend of mine, asked me how I get into the Christmas spirit, so I’m answering her question, with this article.
First of all, let’s look at what Christmas is.
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
It’s a time to worship His birth, and rejoice.
The spirit of Christmas means to share love and to give of yourself. It is not about, what you get.
To get into the Christmas spirit, try the following:
1) Listen to Christmas music. The traditional songs are beautiful. However, there are other Christmas songs that are joyful as well. For children, the Chipmunks sing silly, happy, sing-along songs. Many radio stations play Christmas music, and Christmas CDs are always available during the holidays.
Play Christmas music at home, in your car, or in your MP3 or Ipod. Learn the words, and sing along.
2) Watch Christmas movies. Currently “Deck The Halls” was recently released on video. There are many others that will get you into the Christmas spirit.
3) Christmas often means gift giving. However, a lot of people have forgotten those less fortunate. Pick a name off of the local “tree of joy”, or Ronald McDonald house, and get your children involved in picking out gifts for elders, families or other children who may otherwise be forgotten about during the holidays.
Many shelters need volunteers to serve Christmas dinner to the homeless. If you cannot give of your time, consider making a donation to your local shelters.
4) Christmas may also entail decorating the outside of your home with lights and/or lawn decor. Some people are nuts about Christmas lights, and go all out, whereas others, keep it simple and hang a star, or some garland around their front door.
Make it a family event to drive around and look at the lights.
5) Christmas trees are traditional. Some families have more than one tree, whereas others make cutting down a tree, a family affair. Decorating them with pretty ornaments or home made ones, can become a tradition for any family. Putting on the tree top, can also become a celebration.
6) Christmas stockings are often a tradition for families. Stockings can be filled with candy, small toys, games, etc. Use your imagination. Decorating or making Christmas stockings can be a fun family event.
7) Wrapping Christmas presents, to some, is a real chore. But if you get family members involved, your burden can be lessened. Put on Christmas tunes, and get children involved. Let them decorate the packages for other family members. Let their creativity emerge.
8.) Go to church on Christmas Eve. Most churches have special services, and the message usually enforces the true meaning of Christmas.
9) Display nativity scenes. Currently there is yard decor for outdoors, and indoor scenes can range from small sets to large, impressive ones.
10) Often many people bake during the holidays. Pick a few of your favorite recipes, or try new ones. Share your baked goods with neighbors, friends and relatives.
Plan a cookie exchange party, and have each person bring 6-12 cookies for each of the other guests. By the time the evening is over, you will have had a fun time, and you will leave with several dozen cookies of different varieties.
11) Take time to see Christmas through the eyes of a young child. They don’t understand how commercialized it’s become. They get excited about little things like Santa, Christmas trees, lights, and sugar cookies. Their innocence is magical.
12) Make it your goal to give meaningful gifts. Let the older children know you have a budget. Have them make a “wish list” and pick one or two items off of their list. Let them be surprised by what’s under the tree on Christmas morning.
As parents, it is our responsibility to teach children that they don’t always get everything they want, when they want it. Some things have to be earned.
13) A sure fire way to get into the Christmas spirit, is to spend time with others who have Christmas spirit. Before long, you will find it’s rubbing off on you.
To avoid getting so over whelmed during the holidays, make it your goal to shop and/or make gifts all year long. After Christmas, great buys can be found on winter items, that can easily be stored until the following year. During the year when you are in your favorite stores, take time to find a gift of two to put away until the following Christmas. This method not only spreads the expense of the holiday, but will alleviate some of the stress of last minute shopping.
Want some inexpensive gift and wrapping paper ideas, check out the following articles:
1) Last Minute Cheap Christmas Gift Ideas
2) 22 Cheap Holiday Gift Ideas
Hopefully I have answered Catherine’s question, and have helped others to find the true spirit of Christmas.
Tags: blog, Gift IdeaPedometers May Help With Weight Loss
Filed under: Archives, Diet & Health, Parenting
Much has been written about individuals needing to walk a minimum of 10,000 steps a day.
Charting how many steps you walk can easily be accomplished with a pedometer.
Many articles have been written stating that those who use a pedometer are more apt to walk more.
Apparently, if you are tracking your steps, you are more likely to meet your daily goals.
Having read these reports, it makes me wonder if anyone, adults and children alike, could use this technique to achieve weight loss.
I would venture to guess, it could almost become a game, of sorts.
Anyone needing to lose weight, could chart how many steps they take each day.
It could end up being a contest between family members and/or friends.
At the end of each day, the number of steps taken by each person could be recorded.
Then at the end of each month, a special prize (non-food), could be given to the person who has walked the most steps.
Wearing a pedometer, could not only help individuals to lose weight by increasing their activity levels, but could also result in a great “bonding” experience.
BMI, Blood Tests, Breakfast and Breast Feeding
Filed under: Archives, Diet & Health, Infants and Children, Parenting
On December 3, 2007, NBC aired a broadcast with regard to childhood obesity.
Four of the issues discussed were:
1) Getting a BMI (body mass index) test on your child.
This test determines if your child is over or underweight, or if they fall in the obese category.
2) Have your child screened for high cholesterol.
High cholesterol is becoming more common in young children, and may lead to a variety of problems.
3) Ensuring that your children eat breakfast.
Eating breakfast has again been proven vital to maintaining a healthy weight in children.
It is also a known fact that when children eat breakfast, it helps to fuel their brains, and they do better in school
4) Breast feeding is now proving to be an indicator for normal weight children.
It was suggested that an infant be breastfed for the first six months.
It’s sad to see that children should have to be subjected to blood and/or cholesterol screening at an earlier age, however, without it, we have no way of knowing if we need to change our children’s diets.
How To Raise A Fat Kid
Babies aren’t born fat. A lot of toddlers aren’t fat. Millions of teenagers are not fat either.
But……we can change that.
Here’s how:
1) Take children, of all ages, on a regular basis, to fast food restaurants and let them fill up on burgers, fries and colas.
2) When children become unruly, or you want a break from them, set them down in front of the TV, and let them watch their favorite shows, or play video games, for hours. You will get a great break, and they will put on pounds.
Don’t forget to give them a big bowl of chips or pretzels, and sugar ladened colas. They’ll love you for it.
3) When a child asks for a jump rope, bicycle, skateboard, or scooter, get them a laptop, video game, iPod, or MP3 player instead. After all, wouldn’t you rather know they are safe in their room, rather then having to worry about them playing outside?
4) When buying groceries, stock up on sugar ladened sodas. They are great. At 100 calories each, they will pack on pounds fast. Plus, they are prepackaged in disposable (recyclable) containers, and are portion controlled. But, the best thing, the kids won’t dirty a glass.
5) When you do take children to fast food restaurants, or out for that extra cheese pizza, do not ask them if they want “water or milk”. Let them make their own choice. I bet they’ll choose a soda, or milk shake.
6) Under no circumstance should you have fresh fruit or vegetables available to children. They might actually get to like them, and start losing those pounds. Yikes!!!
7) If you are going to visit Aunt Sue, who lives a block away, make sure you drive. It would be terrible to think of walking, and wearing out those new tennis shoes.
8.) If a child whines or cries, before using any other method, offer them a cookie, ice cream, or donut. All children need to grow up knowing about comfort foods. Right?
9) On the weekends, when you are catching up on the household chores, let the children sleep in. After all, it is so much easier to get things done when they are not under foot. All of the extra sleep will do them good. Plus, hopefully they’ll marry rich, and won’t have to know how to clean or do household chores.
10) If your child wants to enroll in sports, cheer leading, or dance, discourage it. All of the extra activity is bound to keep them in shape. Can’t have that.
If you have read to this point, you must know, raising a child to be fat, is dangerous.
Childhood obesity is on the rise. Obesity in all people. can lead to diabetes, heart disease, numerous other ailments, and even early death.
As parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children better eating habits. We need to teach children how to get more exercise in their daily schedules.
We need to learn how to say “No”.
We must get junk food out of our homes.
We need to set a good example for our children.
Children learn what they live.
Let’s teach them how to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
We say we love our kids, but we may be killing them with food.
Let’s say “No” to raising fat kids.
For another article on teens who are overweight, read Overweight Teens – An Increasing Problem
Overweight Teens – An Increasing Problem
Currently the number of overweight teens is increasing.
Teens with weight problems, have often been overweight children.
As teens, the bad eating habits picked up as young children, in addition to making poor food choices, leads to excessive weight gain in teenagers.
Combine that, with lower activity levels, and an overweight teen, may become obese. This could inevitably, carry on into adulthood.
It is a proven fact that we “live what we learn”, therefore if parents have poor eating habits, children may also.
Teens are also notorious for becoming fast food junkies.
With burgers and fries containing hundreds (and even over a thousand) calories, making this type of choice for just one meal a day, can lead to an increased weight gain.
Now that the fast food restaurants offer lean choices, there are other options. However, some teens do not choose those items that are lower in calories and/or fat.
If you have an overweight teen, or are an overweight teen, it is difficult to make life style changes that will have a lasting result.
However, with statistics pointing to an increase in diabetes and heart disease in young adults, not making a change, could result in a major health problem, not to mention a shorter life span.
Starving yourself is not the answer.
Yo-Yo dieting (losing and gaining weight, over and over again), appears to mess up one’s metabolism over time, making it harder to lose weight.
Studies are now showing that 5 to 6 small meals a day may be the key. The meals give your body a continuous supply of food, which is used for lasting energy. Breakfast is proving to be the most important meal of the day.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are essential items to include in your daily meals. They are full of vitamins and nutrients, as well as fiber. Some suggest eating organic fruits and vegetables, but that is a choice only you can make.
Lean meats and fish/seafood are great sources of protein. Proteins can be found in red meat, chicken, turkey, seafood and dairy products, etc…. Avoid fatty cuts of meat.
Eliminating “white foods”, is another answer. White foods are items such as sugar, white bread and buns, pasta, and white rice.
Sodas are full of sugar. Diet sodas use artificial sweeteners, which gets a bad rap as well. The best choice for liquid, is water.
Better choices are breads made with whole wheat. The first ingredient should be “whole wheat”. Items made with whole wheat are also higher in fiber. Fiber also makes you feel full, faster. The benefits of a high fiber diet are numerous.
For rice and pasta dishes, substitute white rice or pasta, with brown rice, and/or whole wheat pasta. The taste difference is minimal. In fact, brown rice has a great nutty flavor.
For those who crave chocolate, dark chocolate is proving to be a better choice. Studies show that chocolate made with high cocoa content (70% +/-), is much better for us. By eating dark chocolate, you will find your craving may be satisfied by eating just a small portion.
And finally, we all know that increasing our activity level, will burn calories. Exercise and strength training adds muscle. Adding muscle, will aid in burning calories faster. Plus, muscle gives your body more definition.
Losing weight in the teen years can have many advantages. Here’s just a sampling of how a teenagers life may change, by dropping excess weight.
1) You will feel better
2) You will be healthier
3) You can wear more of the latest fashions
4) You can avoid derogatory comments from peers
5) You can go into adulthood with better health
6) You may become a role model, and motivate others to do eat healthier, as well Maybe even start a teen support group. 
7) You will have more energy
8.) You will spend less money if meals are prepared at home, instead of eating out. Also, filter your own water, instead of buying bottled water
9) You can learn how to cook healthy meals
10) Your may have less cavities
11) Acne problems may disappear
11) You can break the “bad eating habits” cycle, and may avoid passing it onto to your children
12) You may do better in school, as you are eating breakfast and nourishing your brain, prior to going to school.
13) You may become more popular in school
14) You may be able to sign up for sports, cheer leading, and/or dance, and have extra stamina
15) You may be happier
For those who are looking for more detailed information on teen weight loss, Dr. Phil’s son, Jay McGraw, has written a book that discusses teen weight issues in detail. It can be ordered online here:
Remember, prior to starting any weight loss program, consult a physician. Your family doctor may also have options for weight loss programs that are modeled for teens.
For more on children’s weight issues, read How To Raise A Fat Kid
Tags: taste difference, young adultsLife Saving Tips
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