Is having kids bad for you? Yes says Helena Laroche, M.D., of the University of Iowa, and her colleagues. This is a story that has got a lot of press in the last few days as a study at the UI shows that parents eat more high fat foods and in general eat more than people without kids.

I hate to be the one that brings up some of these lifestyle differences because I have two kids but there are a few factors that would lead to obesity in parents. Those living with children also more frequently ate high fat food such as cheese, ice cream, beef, pizza and salty snacks but not chocolate, they reported online for the Jan. 4 issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

So why do I think as a parent that we parents have more of a problem with obesity than non-parents.

1. Junk food abounds – Having kids around means that there is a lot of oppotunity to eat the McDonalds, Pizza Hut and any other fast food that it just makes life easier to have the kids eat. This is not good for them or you, as we weaned ourselves from the easy way out we just overcooked so that there was a lot of leftovers for my lunch and future dinners.

2. Cleaning up the plates – Kids only eat until they are satisfied and if there is food left on the plate they will leave it. I am the most guilty of cleaning the plates. I hate to throw out any food but instead I have tried to more often than not throw the leftover food but instead pack it away for the kids next snack.

3. Treats – Again bad for us and bad for them. There is always chocolate and chips in the house. Why? I will never know. My wife is better at keeping these out of the house than me.

4. When can I exercise? – Single people and couples do have extra time to go to a gym as well as the disposable income often to join a place to work out outside of the house. I know that my wife and I let our gym memberships lapse after the birth of our first and nver joined back and instead workout at home when we find time.

5. When do I get to eat my good meals? – This time I do better than my wife. We eat with the kids but for breakfast my wife feeds the kids first and often does not get a chance to sit down to breakfast so this can lead to the danger of missing meals and then binging to make up the difference. My wife does not do this but given the opportunity I definitely do.

So there are really a lot of differences in the fitness and eating habits of singles or couples compared to those with kids. I think probably the best way to avoid any of the problems really does come down to planning your eating and planning your exercise but as we all know planning takes work and most of us will avoid it if there is an opportunity.

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Tags: American Board of Family Medicine, Family Medicine, fat food, food, Helena Laroche, Iowa, junk food, leftover food, obesity, the University of Iowa

On the eve of the newest season of the Biggest Loser my wife just found a story on the People magazine website that apparently Matt and Suzy from last seasons Biggest Loser just got married this past weekend. Last season I did not remember these guys being together although they were very supportive during the final few months while working out at home and in the studio for the finale.

According to People Magazine:

At the wedding the bride wore a white beach wedding dress by Renée Strauss featuring a sash and a Tacori crystal broach. She also wore her grandmother’s diamond stud earrings and diamond pendant necklace. Hoover dressed in khaki linen pants with a white buttoned-up shirt rolled at the sleeves. Both the bride and groom went barefoot to the ceremony.

The couple, who are both 30, called the wedding’s tropical location “beautiful.” They will also spend their honeymoon in Jamaica. For their reception, instead of a cake, the pair planned to serve homemade cupcakes baked by the bride and a friend.

Matt Hoover, a former wrestling coach from Iowa, popped the question to Seattle-based Suzy Preston, a hairstylist, live on the Today show in March – while both were in their workout gear. (Preston thought they were there for a fitness segment.)

Dropping to his knee in New York City’s Rockefeller Center plaza, Hoover said, “I have gone through a lot of changes in the past year. … I want to keep changing, but I want you to be by my side.”

Taking a ring from Kraiko Diamonds out of his pocket, Matt Hoover continued, “I had this made for you.” Then he told a teary Suzy Preston, “I’d like to ask you to be my wife!”

Suzy Preston answered with an enthusiastic “Yes!”

What a nice story. I am sure that as these two said they have seen each other at their worst and I still remember the two of them last season.

Matt Hoover was really guarded and had problems in his life fighting with the fact that he was a competitive wrestler just a few years ago and let his body go. He wanted to do everything himself and although you felt for him you really wanted to scream at him to lean on everyone else to help support him. Matt ended up winning last season but just barely as he was competing with Suzy Preston who to my wife and I seemed a bit like a whining wimp in the first place. One we got to know Suzy’s character though we did start cheering for her and in the end we cheered for her to win against Matt and Seth..

Tags: coach, competitive wrestler, Dropping, Hoover, Iowa, Jamaica, Matt, Matt Hoover, New York City, Rockefeller Center plaza, Seattle, Suzy Preston, the People, wrestling, wrestling coach

I think most people reading this weblog know that I am a pretty big fan of meditation and because of this I tend to find and post articles about meditation more than I should. I found this article at Psychology today and thought I would post it in its entirety.

In the highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, people look at life differently. Upon entering the local Buddhist monastery, there is a spectacular sculpture the size of a large oak. The intricate carving of clouds and patterns are painted in powerful colors. But as soon as winter gives way, this magnificent work will melt to nothing. The sculpture, in fact, is made of butter, and it is one of the highland people’s symbols of the transient nature of life.

And life here is not easy. Villagers bicycle to work before dawn and return home long after sunset. Many live with nothing more than dirt floors and rickety outhouses. Upon entering these modest mud-brick homes, you’ll find no tables or chairs — just a long platform bed, which sleeps a family of eight. However, when the people invite you in for tea, their smiles are wide and welcoming. How do they possess such inner calm in conditions we would call less than ideal?

When villagers cook, sew or plow the fields, they do so in a tranquil state. As an approach to life, weaving meditation seamlessly into almost every action throughout the day seems unfamiliar to Western cultures. Is there something we can glean from this way of life that will improve our own? The romantic notion of quitting everything and joining Tibetan monks on a mountaintop is not the only way to meditate. You don’t need to quit your job, give up your possessions and spend 30 years chanting. Recent research indicates that meditating brings about dramatic effects in as little as a 10-minute session. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects who meditated for a short time showed increased alpha waves (the relaxed brain waves) and decreased anxiety and depression.
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