Kids Just Wanna Be Fit

I was speaking with one of my nutrition coaching clients yesterday and what I heard brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart. We were talking about how the decision that her and her husband have made to improve their nutrition has impacted their young children as well. They have a 5 year old son and a 1 year old daughter. My client was telling me that her son has decided that he wants to eat exactly what his mom is eating for breakfast every morning, he is focused on drinking more water and he’s going around school telling all the other kids that he is eating healthy now. I LOVE IT!!



You see, kids naturally want to be healthy & fit, actually we all do. I don't think anyone consciously decides "I want to age prematurely, be sick, disease ridden, tired and worn out." We are hard-wired for health, fitness & wellness. When a child or young adult establishes the importance of healthy living in their own lives, then they are much more likely to maintain those healthy habits for a lifetime, they have the ability to be a positive influence on their family members and their peers and they can affect the course of health and fitness that their future family will follow. What I’m saying is not just philosophy or theory – it is truth. I know because I am living proof.



When I began my health transformation at the age of twelve, my commitment to daily exercise throughout my teen years motivated my mother to begin exercising more consistently. When I cleaned up my own nutrition, and asked my mother to stop buying certain unhealthy foods and begin buying more nutritionally dense foods, well her nutrition improved too. I have had the opportunity and privilege of being a positive role model, an inspiration, and a mentor to countless friends, peers, business associates, and of course, clients.

I am not sure if my clients understand the incredible gift they are giving to their two young children. I commend and congratulate them, and all parents who follow suit.



It is such an honor for me to be affiliated with Chances for Children http://www.chancesforchildrenaz.com/. I am grateful to Janell Bolen, Susan Loken, Erin Dray and countless others who volunteer their time, energy, and resources to the cause of eradicating childhood obesity and improving the health and fitness of children who do not have a home environment that supports healthy eating and exercise. Feel free to contact me directly if you'd like to know how you can contribute and assist in our mission. 1.800.775.0712 ext 7015



Call To Action:



1. Be an Example: make a decision to improve one aspect of your health. For example: Go to the gym, take your lunch to work, make dinner instead of ordering out, drink water instead of soda, hire a fitness trainer or nutrition coach (I know a really good one :). Our actions speak louder than words.



2. Encourage a child or young adult to make a healthy choice today. For example: encourage them to play outside instead of playing video games or passively watching TV, support them in enrolling in an extra-curricular athletic activity, encourage them to drink water instead of fruit juice, gatorade or soda, encourage them to eat a piece of fruit or veggies instead of chips, cookies or candy.

To Your Best Health,

Melissa Guthrie

BSc Nutritional Science

BSc Exercise Physiology

ACE Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor

New Leaf Certified Metabolic Technician

Triathlete/Runner

Healthy Cooking Enthusiast

Better than Bottled Water

I am always amazed at how little water humans consume, especially considering that the human body is between 60-70% water. The hard fact is that water is water and so beverages like soda, fruit juice, coffee do not really count toward the body's daily water requirement.

Many people under estimate the impact water has on their energy levels, their metabolism, and their over all health. For optimal health, it is essential to consume at least 80 oz of water per day while reducing and eventually eliminating some of the less-than-ideal beverages. Studies have shown that people will consume more water if it is flavored and if it is colder than room temp. I have a couple of simple, healthy ways to flavor your water.


Reduce: fruit juice
Reduce or eliminate: sugary drinks like Gatorade, lemonade, or kool-aid; alcohol, coffee, black teas
Eliminate: soda & energy drinks

Flavored Water: Take a pitcher of good water (i.e. Reverse Osmosis) add to it any of the following:
Fresh berries - raspberries, strawberries, etc.
Sliced citrus - lemon, lime, orange, tangerine, etc
Other fruits - watermelon cubes, cantaloupe cubes, fresh pineapple, fresh sliced peaches,
Vegetables - cucumber slices
Fresh herbs - lemongrass, mint

What can you create? Anything goes. You can choose just one item or multiple items. I enjoy a combination of lemon, lime and orange. Watermelon water is hard to beat. Cucumber & lemongrass is refreshing too. Store the pitcher of healthy flavored water in the refrigerator.

Healthy Iced Tea: Take a large sun tea jar. Fill with good water. Place any flavor of HERBAL tea bags in the water and steep in the sun. When finished steeping place in the refrigerator. I find that this is great without any added sweeteners. (For a faster version - boil water in a large pot, add tea bags and steep on the stove. Then pour the tea into a pitcher or tea jar and put in fridge.

The benefits of making your own flavored water verses buying flavored water is first, you'll spend a fraction of the amount of money making it yourself, second these homemade waters have real nutrients in them (nothing artificial or controversial) which comes from the fruits, vegetables or herbs themselves, third you'll be using pure water - 3 out of 4 bottled waters are really just tap water - what a scam!

Drink to your health!

Melissa Guthrie
BSc Nutritional Science
BSc Exercise Physiology
ACE Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
New Leaf Certified Metabolic Technician
Triathlete/Runner
Healthy Cooking Enthusiast