Of course, it's hard to beat a good old fashioned snowball fight when it comes to getting the heart rate up and burning some calories. We highly recommend at least one slingfest per year. (Just make sure you're not using ice balls.) Here are a few more untraditional games you can play in the snow: Build the Biggest Snowball Break up into teams of two or three apiece. The goal of each team is to roll the BIGGEST* snowball. The end comes when the teams can no longer physically roll their snowball (or you run out of snow.) …
Feel Good
6 Ways to Avoid the New Year’s Blues
Do you ever get the blues this time of year? I sure do, and I have a feeling I'm not the only one. On January 1st, you start the year with a natural high associated with a new beginning. A restart. Whew. Finally, permission is granted to try again. Thanks New Year, I needed that!... right? You get a nice dose of self-forgiveness and a recommitment to those dusty goals. It's a great feeling. Then, the Christmas tree goes back into the basement and the work week starts. Yikes. Nothing has changed. The to-do list is still impressively long. The temperature is not pleasant. The scale still …
A Healthy Dose of Fun
It's that time of year again. The beginning of each new year brings with it the inevitable urge to get healthy; to eat better, exercise more, and lose those love handles. Usually the effort lasts a solid week or two and then most of us fall off the wagon. It seems like one of the reasons for the sudden and predictable collapse comes from our tendency to "adultify" our plans. Our plates get filled with food that would have any self-respecting child running for the hills. And our workout routines involve overly structured regimens and boring reps. Blech. …
10 Simple Ways to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed
Are you overwhelmed? It's actually one of the worst symptoms of Adultitis. Feeling overwhelmed stinks and let's be honest, adulthood sure invites this daily, with the bills and responsibilities and all. It's suffocating. I wish I would've known when I was five just how good I had it. Being overwhelmed can leave you feeling like you're submerged in quicksand and you're watching yourself sink deeper and deeper. Yikes! It clouds your mind, leaving you with little more than a zombie existence, until you're able to snap out it. But how do you do that? You must prescribe for yourself one (or more) …
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Melt Away Pounds With A Classic Childhood Toy
An exercise routine doesn't have to involve drudging to the gym and doing boring reps. Blechh...that's SO adult (and not very fun.) Wouldn't be a novel concept to get the heart rate up and put a smile on your face -- at the same time? Pull that old hula hoop of yours out of storage (or buy one for five bucks at Toys R Us) and let the gyrating begin! Seriously, it's probably the best and cheapest piece of weight loss equipment you can buy. According to expert weight loss consultant Jennifer Jolan: There is only 1 hula hoop exercise that you need to do. Simply twirl it around your waist. …
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How Your TV Can Help Your Whole Family Lose Weight
Typically, couch potatoes are people who spend a lot of time in front of the television. And many people have blamed television and video games as a major reason for the rise in childhood obesity in this country. But your television can actually serve as a catalyst to help you lose those unwanted pounds AND bring your family closer together. Don't believe me? Then you've obviously never strapped a white Nintendo Wii controller to your wrist. Mickey DeLorenzo is a regular guy from South Philadelphia who lost weight with his beloved Wii and had fun doing it. In 2006, he began his "Wii …
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Chocolate Chip Cookies That Won’t Make You (Very) Fat
In our recent tournament, chocolate chip cookies were declared the All Time Greatest Childhood Food. Of course, you want to enjoy these treats as adults, but they are not so friendly on the waist line. I guess we aren't burning as many calories now, compared to when we were seven years old. Give this healthy recipe a try and don't forget to dip 'em in milk. Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 cup butter or trans fat-free margarine, softened 1/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup firmly-packed brown sugar 1 large egg 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup …
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Banana Splits Without The Guilt
Banana splits were a real treat from childhood. They certainly weren't an everyday snack. Turn them into smoothies, however, and you can have one every day and it transforms into a healthy choice. Woo hoo! Ingredients: • 2 bananas • 8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained • 1 1/4 cup of milk • 1/2 cup of unsweetened strawberries (frozen or fresh) • 2 tbs. honey • 6 ice cubes Garnish whipped topping chocolate syrup maraschino cherries Preparation Combine bananas, pineapple, milk, strawberries and honey in a blender. Blend until smooth, no lumps. Start adding ice slowly and blending …
Tip of the Week: Laugh Attack
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #32: Laugh Attack: Do something that will get you to laugh out-loud (one that puts you in danger of peeing your pants a little bit). It's not news how important laughter is. As Jason says in his speaking programs, "Laughter is the natural stress release valve." Even though it's a challenge these days with bad news everywhere, it's actually more important than ever to be working toward those 400 laughs a day that four-year-olds are managing. With Halloween just four days away, why not have a little fun this week, ensuring …
Beat the Clutter
Do you have any clutter in your life? If yes, then you are also probably living with a case of Adultitis. Whether it's in your house, cubical, or head, clutter is causing you stress and preventing you from moving forward. Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books talks about this, referring to the "Cycle of Completion." He says, When you don’t complete tasks, you can’t be fully prepared to move into the present, let alone your new future. When your brain is keeping track of all the unfinished business you still have at hand, you simply can’t be effective in embracing …