Even Jillian Hates it…

In the latest issue of Shape Magazine,  Jillian Michaels, tough as nails fitness trainer from the Biggest Loser,  admitted that she hated to exercise.  Jillian goes on to further explain that she exercises because of how great she feels when she’s done and because she knows it essential for living a healthy lifestyle.

I don’t know about you but knowing this makes me feel a lot better about my attitude (or lack of it) towards exercising.  It’s also refreshing for someone who is considered an expert in the health and fitness field to be so candid about her feelings.

What do you think?  Do you hate to exercise?

(via Shape Magazine, photo courtesy of JillianMichaels.com)

Boston!

In honor of the Boston Marathon today Fitbe lets us in on the secret (and maybe a little weird) pre-race rituals of some of the best runners.  Here are a few of the highlights:

Bill Rodgers, four time winner of both the Boston & New York City marathon, wore a snoopy hat. 

Ryan Hall, US 1/2 marathon and 12k record holder, shaves his face, head, and legs before a race.

Molly Huddle, US 5k record holder, eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the morning of the race and does butt kicks and high knees. 

Do you have a pre-race/game ritual?  Care to share? I’d love to know!

(via Fitbe & Photo Run)

It’s a Food Revolution!

I’m so excited!  I’m down right giddy!  Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution premiered last night and I must say I’m both impressed and horrified with the show.  Impressed that Jamie (yea, we’re on a first name basis) would take on the L.A. school system and horrified when he teaches us what kind of food is on our childrens lunch tray.

For those of you that didn’t watch the show Jamie focused on teaching us where our food comes from.  He also taught us that the same cuts of beef normally called “waste” and used in pet food can also be used (FDA approved, mind you) for up to 15% in hamburger for human consumption as “filler”.  Disturbing.  That’s the only word I can think right now.  I’m too grossed out and busy researching for organic, grass fed beef ranchers that sell direct to the public.  At least then I’ll know what I’m feeding my kids.

Check out Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on Tuesday nights on NBC and learn more about the food revolution here.

4 Tips for Living Longer

While scouring blogland for all the latest health and fitness news I stumbled across a blast from my past, Dr. James “Red” Duke, Jr.  Dr. Red Duke would do a syndicated weekly health spot on the news when I was a kid.  For some reason I always thought he was a vet and associated him the Clifford the Big Red Dog (give me a break,  I was 8).

I was glad to see that Dr. Red Duke, 82, was still practicing and is as active as ever.  He shares his 4 simple tips for longevity:

Eat right
“Eat a high fiber diet filled with color. Those things are all good anti-oxidants and are great for the colon.”

Keep your mind extremely active
“Always have multiple challenges to tackle.”

Stay physically active.
“You don’t have to go to the gym, just get up and walk.”

Sleep more
“I don’t like it, but I have to get eight hours of sleep now. My older battery doesn’t recharge like it used to.”

(via Health & Fitness Sports Magazine)

Personalize Your Mat!

This is the coolest thing ever! Head on over to Yogamatic and get yourself a personalized yoga mat.  Even Oprah got in on the action when Jennifer Anniston gave her one personalized with pictures of her dogs.

I.Want.One.Of.These.  I’m thinking to keep myself motivated I should personalize my mat with a before shot of me in a bikini…..  Yep, that would do it.  What your motivation?

P.S.

Sadly, Yogamatic has never heard of Fitness Junke and did not sponsor this post.

P.S.S.

Oprah has never heard of Fitness Junke either.

 

(Photo courtesy of fitsugar)

Cartoons + Cereal = Fat Kids

 

You may have noticed that I’m a little obsessed about the rising obesity rates for our children and the fact that I’m scared that my kids will be obese.  All Mom’s know that if a product has a favorite cartoon character on the box their kids will beg, borrow, and cry to get it into the grocery cart.  Of course, most of the foods with Dora the Explorer, Spongebob, and the Trix rabbit are high in sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and are processed out the yin yang.

In a recent study conducted by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, researchers found that children often rated the cereal box with a cartoon character on the box as being the best tasting.   Eighty children were given samples from 1 of 4 boxes of cereals:  a box named “Healthy Bits” with a picture of the penguins form the movie Happy Feet, a box named “Sugar Bits” with the same Happy Feet penguins, and 2 more boxes that were given the same name but did not have any cartoon characters on them.  Cascadian Farms Organic Kids Clifford Crunch was the cereal used in all the taste tests.

The results?  Children rated the boxes with the penguins as being more tasty than the other 2 boxes of cereal and rated the box labeled “Sugar Bits” with no penguins as tasting the worst.

Evil Mom idea:  I’m totally going to buy  2 boxes of Cascadian Farms Organic Kids Clifford Crunch and put my children’s favorite cartoon characters on the box.  Disney princess for the girl and Yo Gabba Gabba for the boy.  Check out the cereal’s nutritional information here.

P.S.

Why didn’t I think of this idea before?  I’m going to start doing this with all the healthy food my kids won’t eat.

 

(Photo courtesy of almightydad.com)

 

I’m rooting for ya Kirstie!

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Kirstie Alley is a contestant on the new season of DWTS.  I’m so excited for her!  She has been doing the yo yo dieting thing for as long as I can remember (which isn’t that long now that I think about it).  She has told the press that she wants to lose 30 pounds and dances 4-5 hours per day.  I really hope this gets her off the yo yo diet train for good!

(Photo courtesy of abc.com)

It’s the weekend so what the hell…

Let’s talk cocktails ladies.  (I say ladies because these are girly drinks so I apologize if I offend any fellas because they drink girly drinks.)  It’s the weekend and I know you like to get your drink on.  Have you tried a Skinny Girl Margarita?  They are soooo yummy!  And a 4 oz serving is only 100 calories. 100 calories!

P.S.

I totally picked this picture because someday when I’m filthy rich I’m totally going to buy a VW Bug and drive it around some island resort with a cocktail in my hand.  Hey, a girl can dream can’t she?

Jake.Gyllenhaal.

Is on the cover of Men’s Health.

In the article Jake says, “I’ve had to teach myself to slow down a bit.  Because I get so into it, it becomes a real addiction. But it’s like a New Year’s resolution.”

Thanks for the inspiration Jake!