That's Fit

Here are some "kick butt" tips for keeping fit, active and regret free on the Fourth of July from KickYourButtIntoGear.com. As KickYourButtIntoGear.com is owned and managed by a fellow expert in the field of fitness, Exercise Physiologist, Tracy Benham ... the tips are awesome advice for you and you family to adhere to!

• Sports and summertime go together. Plan an activity early in the day. Play baseball, touch football; go to the local pool or beach.
• Get outside early and see if you can think of and do more than four activities before four o'clock to celebrate the Fourth.
• Eat a bowl of fruit before you head for the barbecue goodies. Tons of fruits are in season. Make a Fourth of July fruit cocktail. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries...
• Use a plate. You will be less tempted to mindlessly snack.
• Skip the cheese and the Mayo on your burger and load up on lettuce tomatoes, pickles, onions and relish.
• Alternate cocktails and other caloric beverages with a glass of water. Or ... just avoid the high calorie beverages all together!

I'm a single mom, so when I go grocery shopping, I have my 11-year-old son in tow. The trip down the grocery store aisles is peppered with calls of "Can we try this?" and "Mom, this looks really good!" Unfortunately, the things that "look good" often aren't terribly good for you. Usually I say yes to one or two treats, but other than that I load our cart up with healthier alternatives. Once we're home, my son doesn't seem to miss the sugary treats at all.

Revolution Health has an article with grocery shopping tips including a list of healthy snacks. Veggies, fruits, whole-grain foods, and low-fat dairy are the stars of the list -- they're always healthy, energy-boosting snacks. Take a look at the gallery to see the top picks.

I asked, you answered. On June 21, I put out a call for help on the school snack front. I wanted healthy snack ideas fit for delivery to my kids' classrooms once per month but was stuck on what exactly I could provide for the two teachers charged with educating my boys. I knew what I didn't want -- cookies, crackers, chips, and otherwise junky treats -- but I wasn't sure what I could offer, short of cutting up fruit for two classrooms full of 20 kids each. Well, you did know. And you did share. And here's what you had to say.

Matt said: "How about granola? There are some good low-sugar brands out there."

Heather said "How about raisins or other dehydrated things? Raisins are great fuel for the body!" Heather suggests nuts, but cautions that there are probably serious allergy issues involved with nuts. She also recommends making crackers in the dehydrator from flaxseed and veggies.

The trick is moderation of course -- a treat is not a treat unless it only happens occasionally. But a vice can also be sensible. Over at Mark's Daily Apple, he shares his own idea of sensible vices in two different posts, the original and the sequel. Food Vancouver talks about why red wine is another sensible vice. And the folks over at HealthCentral show us that simple pleasures can also be good for you.

Unfortunately, many of my vices (peanut butter cup ice cream) do not fall in the sensible category. What's your biggest vice? Is it a sensible one?

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OK, readers, I need some help. Here's my dilemma: At my kids' elementary school, parents are expected to bring one bulk snack once each month, something that will serve about 20 kids. If every mom or dad complies with this expectation, teachers end up outfitted for mid-day snacks all year round. Simple enough. But I'm concerned with what I should donate each month. Last year, I tried to offer something not so terribly unhealthy -- mini bags of pretzels, for example -- but this coming Fall, I want to do better.

Here's my ideal: Fruit, maybe grapes divvied up into baggies, sliced apples, something whole and fresh and well, healthy. I guess I could plan with my kids' two teachers to pick a day each month where I show up and pass out my wholesome snack -- no way of refrigerating these snacks for later -- but I'm wondering if you have any kid-friendly suggestions I might use for this homework assignment, something I can deliver and leave with the teacher to use when appropriate. Most parents donate bags of chips, crackers, and cookies, but I don't want to succumb to these easy treats. I hate nothing more than seeing my kids walk out of school with Oreo mustaches. Not exactly fuel for the brain, you know. So help me, won't you? Leave a comment below and tell me what to do.

Here's to the good health of kids -- yours and mine.

As I've been leading you through the paces of enjoying the best Walt Disney World has to offer, without trashing your health and fitness habits, this is one of the easiest days to master. On our second day of vacation we headed to the holy land of wholesome family fun, The Magic Kingdom. Ahhh yes! This is the place where children squeal, Mommies well up with tears of joy on a regular basis, and Daddies shout like kids themselves on the roller coasters. It's also a place where every last visitor is likely to do a ton of physical work. In fact ... read on and you'll learn exactly how many calories we burned during this day. It's insane!

So! Our day consisted of pushing the kids in the double stroller, then watching the castle show. Did I mention each of my children weigh almost 40 pounds? Then we pushed the kids in the double stroller some more, and rode some rides in Fantasyland. In fact, before we even stopped for lunch, we pushed the double stroller again and rode rides in: Fantasyland, Tommorowland, back to Fantastyland, Mickey's Toontown Fair, Adventureland, back to Tommorowland and finally landed back in Adventureland for lunch. Then we ran circles in the water squirters at both Ariel's Grotto and Pooh's Corner to cool off for about an hour. The latter half of the day resembled the first half, except it seemed even busier.

Being overweight is not genetic. If you've heard otherwise, consider it a myth, says Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. There are very few inherited conditions that cause someone to be overweight. In fact, if everyone in a family is heavy and kids are following the same path, it's because lifestyle habits have been passed down through generations, not because weightiness is in the genes.

Ever hear yourself muttering these words to explain why your child is not exercising: "My kid's not athletic." Hey, guess what? You don't need to be athletic to be fit. One 30-minute walk every day -- a power walk, not a stroll -- is all one needs to achieve fitness. I'm not athletic. Still, I've found a way to be a pretty good runner.

Another kid myth: Talking about weight encourages eating disorders. Nope. But here's a fact: Talking about it in a positive light, focusing on exercise and not weight, and rewarding kids not with food but with activities and time together will help steer your kids in the right direction.

When it comes to using dishes, I've always been a bit, um, frugal. I don't like doing 'em, so I do what I can to use a few dishes as possible. This mean eating from the bag, box or whatever. When I'm grabbing some crackers, chips or even dried cereal, I grab the bag and munch away.

Correction -- that's what I did do. I saw this great tip on Fitsugar a while ago and it makes a lot of sense. Instead of eating from the bag, put a serving into a dish, then seal the bag and put it away. Out of sight, out of mind -- this simple step will keep you from mindlessly eating the whole bag. You're able to snack away while controlling how many calories you consumer -- now, is that a perfect solution or what?

When you reach for a snack, fresh fruits and veggies are always a wonderful option, packing loads of nutrients without packing on the pounds. However, most of us have occasions where an apple just isn't going to cut it. For those occasions, check out FitnessMagazine.com's 2008 Healthy Food Awards: The Best Snacks.

We're not just talking granola bars (although they do list their favorite) -- you'll find cereals, puddings, canned fruits, energy bars, cookies and more.

Keep in mind, even the best cookies aren't going to provide the same nutrition as a piece of fruit, but if you're going to splurge, some items are better than others. I was pleasantly surprised to find some of my favorites on the list -- does it contain any of yours?

To learn more about healthy eating habits, check out AOL Body's America Takes It Off Summer Quick Fix.

I adopted my son at age 10. Which means that he had 10 years of developing food preferences before he ever met me. Ten years of not-so-great habits that he developed. When he first moved home our family dinners were accompanied by the sound of him gagging and pretending to throw up. Suffice it to say, his reactions weren't terribly motivating for me.

In time, I learned that he was completely unfamiliar with a home-cooked meal. Thankfully, he enjoys many healthy snacks like fruit, vegetables, and yogurt. But when it came time to actually eat a meal, if it didn't come out of a box he didn't want anything to do with it.

Both he and I have had to give a little bit, but we've finally found our groove. He eats home-cooked meals without complaint (and without gagging noises) now and I've learned to make healthy foods that are more kid friendly. Some of the winning meals at our house include:

Good role modeling never goes out of style. It may even be the exact reason why people gobble down Goldfish crackers -- or animal crackers.

In one study, cited in June's The Oprah Magazine, college students who watched a video of a colleague talking while eating Goldfish crackers chose Goldfish over animal crackers 71 percent of the time. Those watching someone eat animal crackers went for Goldfish only 44 percent of the time, despite a reported overall preference for Goldfish.

This Monkey See, Monkey Do phenomenon holds true for babies too.
Chow down on fruits and veggies while your baby is in the womb and while you're breastfeeding and your little one will be more likely to consume these items when offered them, say researchers mentioned in the May issue of Woman's Day magazine.

The lesson here: Think before you eat, because people, even babies, are likely to mimic your actions. And be careful about whose eating habits you watch, because you're likely to pick up the very snacks you see.

For some strategies and tips for healthy eating, check out AOL's America Takes It Off series.

Are there 100 calories in 18 Fat Free Rold Gold Tiny Twist Pretzels or in 25? If you picked 18, you are correct. How about two dark chocolate kisses or five dark chocolate kisses -- which serving has 100 calories? Good news: You can have five kisses for 100 calories.

Women's Health magazine puts readers to the 100-calorie test with this online questionnaire. Even better than my two previous questions, this survey features photos of various foods in their competing serving sizes and asks you to pick the 100-calorie portion.

Shrimp and cocktail sauce, peanuts and dried cranberries, baby carrots and hummus, bagel and doughnut portions, even McDonald's French fries are a few of the foods that make an appearance in this quiz. It's sure to help you fine-tune your snack smarts. So get started. And best wishes for a stellar test score.

When you go into work tomorrow, take a look all those nooks and crannies in your drawers and cupboards. Chances are, you'll find some surprises: A few candies here, some salty snacks there, maybe with a few cans of soda thrown into the mix? And I know as well as anyone that when you hit that 3 pm wall of fatigue, your defenses are down and you're prone to some unsafe snacking. Don't do it!

Instead, give your snack drawer a much-needed spring cleaning. Don't worry, you don't need to curtail mid-afternoon snacking altogether, but do make sure you pick up some healthy choices. Like?

• Nuts. They're full of protein and will help energize you in the afternoon.
• Dried fruit. Some raisins or dried cranberries will satisfy your sugar cravings and help keep you awake.
  
• Green tea. It's calorie-free and will help give you some much-needed energy.
  
• Dark chocolate. If nothing else tickles your fancy, a little bit of dark chocolate can do wonders for your mood. But make sure you know when to stop.
  

What do you stack in your desk?

We know how tempting those low-fat, low-cal products on the store shelves are when you're watching your weight. But some of those so-called diet foods are total impostors loaded with calories and sugar. The editors at AOL Health put together a photo gallery of some of the top offenders.

Now, we want to hear from you. Forget fake diet food, tell us what smart substitutions you make that help keep your diet on track. Share your tips in a comment below.

I'm forever leaving my house unprepared for the snack demands my little boys make when we're on the road. My intention is to always have a healthy snack and water in the car when we head out on errands, but more often than not, I forget to plan ahead. Not anymore. I'm borrowing some of these ideas from Family Circle magazine and from now on, I'm going to be the mom who can whip out a nutritious snack with a moment's notice. Here's some of what I plan to prepare.

Soy Crisps: We don't do potato chips in our household but we might try soy chips. A huge 140-calorie portion contains only two grams of fat and nearly 10 grams of healthy soy protein.

String Cheese: We are fans of string cheese and really like the Sargento Lite brand. To keep this calcium-filled snack chilled on road trips longer than a few hours, I'll pack it in a mini cooler bag with a mini ice block.