Ok, parents of school-age children, are you ready to start the back-to-school grind?

Sending the kids back to the classroom means an accelerated and jam-packed schedule for moms (and stay-at-home dads, too).

The team at Gourmè Mist™ wants to help you minimize the stress and maximize the opportunity for health and happiness during this transitional season.

Instead of delaying achievement of your own health and fitness goals, you can begin now to find the time to work out and eat right by implementing a diet and fitness routine.

Fitness Options

With the kids in school, now’s the time for you to get to the gym or start that total body conditioning program at home.  In addition to running, calisthenics and free-weight training, you can try highly effective, low-impact, “whole body” workouts such as:

• Pilates (aka “contrology”) – a physical fitness system and body conditioning routine that helps build flexibility and long, lean muscles, strength and endurance in the legs, abdominals, arms, hips and back. Pilates puts emphasis on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing to relieve stress and allow adequate oxygen flow to muscles, developing a strong core or center, and improving coordination and balance.
• Yoga – a series of postures, stretches and breathing exercises practiced to achieve control of the body and mind and promote tranquility, calmness, quiet, peacefulness and serenity.

Diet

What constitutes good eating?

A good place to start is with the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans. In advancing and promoting dietary guidance for all Americans, the Center has created MyPlate, the federal government’s primary food group symbol.  MyPlate serves as a reminder to help consumers make healthy food choices consistent with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The MyPlate icon shows a plate with the five food groups on a placemat that is suggestive of proportions, i.e., make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

Integral to the MyPlate design is the incorporation of the ChooseMyPlate.gov website address where consumers can apply the recommendations of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans in a personal way. The ChooseMyPlate website provides the public, particularly parents and their school-age children, with the practical “how-tos” to put the Guidelines recommendations of getting more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods into action in their own lives.

How much should we eat from each of the food groups?

There is no one single answer to this question, but by using the Daily Food Plan, you can find an answer that is personalized for you. The Plan takes into account your age, sex, height, weight and how much physical activity you usually do.

• “Green light” foods – Vegetables, Fruits, Water, Beans and legumes, Whole grains
• Proceed, but use caution – Dairy, Meat, Nuts, Fish
• Only once in a while – Juice, Cake, French fries, Potato chips, Doughnuts

We at Gourmè Mist™ advise replacing high-cost, high-calorie products such as salad dressings, mayo, butter, cooking oils, bottled marinades, barbeque sauce, sour cream and aerosol cooking sprays with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar Sprays (less than five calories per serving) to add flavor to salads, pasta, veggies, sandwiches, wraps and snacks. Use for cooking and marinating meats, chicken and fish.

Have a great Fall 2012 health & fitness campaign.