A Gift For You

The greatest gift of all is good health. Swimming, jogging, dancing, walking or any other activities can help your heart. Similar to unwrapping a gift, exercise causes you to feel warm, perspire and breathe heavily without being out of breath. Whether it is a structured exercise program or just part of your daily routine, all exercise adds up to a healthier heart and a healthier you.

On January 8, 2011 at 10:00 am Calvin Lawson, trainer to the Biggest Loser’s, will instruct an amazing hour long exercise course to bring in the New Year and New You. Join us at Spike Sport located at10914 S Gessner Dr Houston, TX 77081. The class is limited so RSVP now!!

t-ar’sheill.sinclair@heart.org

In the mean time here are some exercise tips to get you through the holidays
Choose activities that are fun, not exhausting.

Wear comfortable, properly fitted footwear and comfortable, loose-fitting clothing appropriate for the weather and the activity.
Find a convenient time and place to do activities.
Use music to keep you entertained.
Surround yourself with supportive people
Don't overdo it. Do low- to moderate-level activities, especially at first. .
Keep a record of your activities. Reward yourself at special milestones. Nothing motivates like success!

President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act on December 13, 2010.

The new law gives communities powerful new federal oversight and money for improving nutrition and addressing the increasing crises of childhood obesity in our schools.

Nancy Brown, American Heart Association CEO was among noted supporters, Anne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation quoted in the White House Press Release. Brown said that with the implementation of this law, our nation’s children will be less likely to grow up with early risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

Several of the highlights from the White House fact sheet include that will benefit Houston students include:

Gives USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) the authority to set nutritional standards for all foods regularly sold in schools during the school day including vending machines.

Provides additional funding to schools that meet updated nutritional standards for federally subsidized lunches and is the first real increase in rates in more that 30 years. In Houston, about 78 percent of the students qualify for federally subsidized lunches.

Helps communities establish local farm to school networks, create school gardens and ensures that more local foods are used in the schools.

Sets basic standards for school wellness policies including goals for nutritional promotion and education and physical activity.

Provides $4.5 billion in new funding for the programs over 10 years.

The White House provided an example of the "before and after" school menu.

A school lunch today might mean a hot dog on a bun with ketchup, and 1/8 cup each of raw celery and carrots with ranch dressing; canned pears and low-fat chocolate milk.

Under the new act, that lunch would be whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce and a whole wheat roll; a 1/2 cup each of green beans, broccoli and cauliflower; 1/2 cup kiwi; plus some low fat milk, and a small dab of low fat ranch dip and soft margarine.

For more information on this historic new law see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/12/13/president-obama-signs-healthy-hunger-free-kids-act-2010-law

Contributed by Nancy Thorne

Wii Wii Wii!! Nintendo and the American Heart Association Offer "12 Days of Getting Active" Holiday Tips

Check out this amazing article we found on MarketWatch.com courtesy of Business Wire:

A new survey from the American Heart Association shows that playing active-play video games can lead players to participate in more real-world physical activity. According to the survey, 58 percent of people who play active-play video games have begun a new real-life fitness activity like walking, tennis or jogging since they started playing the games. Additionally, 68 percent of people who play active-play video games say they are more physically active since they got involved in video games.

Inspired by these results, Nintendo and the American Heart Association are combining fun and fitness this holiday with "12 Days of Getting Active." A series of daily tips starting today will help make it easy for people to get active, even when they are challenged with busy schedules and sweet temptations. The tips will be posted at http://www.activeplaynow.com/, the joint American Heart Association-Nintendo online information center, and will focus on how active-play video games can get everyone in the family engaged in fun, physically active behavior leading into and through the New Year.

"We are looking at active-play video games as part of a realistic approach to fitness," said Barry A. Franklin, Ph.D., Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Laboratories at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan and an American Heart Association volunteer. "We are finding that they often act as a gateway to other forms of physical activity. So as people get up off the couch to play Wii games, they're likely to stay up and do more -- like walking, jogging or playing tennis."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-wait-for-jan-1-survey-shows-active-play-video-games-can-get-people-moving-now-2010-12-08