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Houston's premier web resource for moms!
Bridget Leigh Pugh is a wife, Stay-at-Home
Mother of two children, and dual business owner
in Houston, Texas specializing in Organic
cuisine. Her work in Fair Trade and support of
local farmers is known throughout the Southern
United States. Check out http://www.fudgette.com
Mother of two children, and dual business owner
in Houston, Texas specializing in Organic
cuisine. Her work in Fair Trade and support of
local farmers is known throughout the Southern
United States. Check out http://www.fudgette.com
Want to cook healthy for your family but you're
not sure where to begin? Here's your chance
to ask a real live chef!
Email Bridget now.
not sure where to begin? Here's your chance
to ask a real live chef!
Email Bridget now.
"The trick is to know where the
Healthy Houston Hot Spots are and
what to get when you are there."
Healthy Houston Hot Spots are and
what to get when you are there."
Want to cook healthy for your family but you're
not sure where to begin? Here's your chance
to ask a real live chef!
Email Bridget now.
not sure where to begin? Here's your chance
to ask a real live chef!
Email Bridget now.
New Year's Health Goals:
Step-By-Step Guide to Success
With an estimated 60% of Americans being considered overweight or
obese, health-related goals are the most common New Year’s Resolutions.
Among the most popular health resolutions are losing weight, eating
healthier, and kicking a bad habit such as smoking or drinking alcohol. This
list seems hopeful and exciting, with moms and their families creating a
healthy, happy new lifestyle, yet only about 20% of those will succeed in ever
reaching their goals!
Let’s face it, getting healthy is an uncomfortable and personal battle, and
many times moms try and fail both themselves and their families regarding
health. An alarming study conducted by Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health recently showed that moms who stayed at home for
many years significantly increased their chances of becoming obese and
were also twice as likely than other women to have poor overall health.
Break the cycle of putting moms last by making a New Year’s Resolution to
get healthy! The keys below can help you and your family succeed this year
by clearly defining your goals, using facts to back up the importance of
change, finding smaller, short-term goals within the big picture, and creating
peace and confidence within.
Step One: Setting Clear Goals
When deciding to “lose weight” or “eat healthier”, moms need to know
exactly how to implement their desired changes! Start by creating a “Goal
Journal” or use another form of writing goals down. Add inspirational
quotes, pictures of good role models, and anything else important to
reaching the goals. Involve the family- children and husbands can all have a
Goal Journal or list of New Year’s Resolutions. View these goals regularly
by taping lists to mirrors, computer monitors, or refrigerators.
By writing down a list of clear, measurable goals, we can take the
guesswork out of how to get to the desired outcome. Use time-related
words such as weeks and months as well as measurable amounts, like
numbers, in each goal. Also, instead of saying “want”, choose actions such
as “am” and “will”. By creating a clear timeline and measurable outcomes,
then backing them up with words that encourage action, you and your family
can increase your chances of success at becoming healthier and happier.
Step Two: Using Facts for Support
It’s hard to deny the truth once facts back it up! A great way to create a goal
around facts is to start at the doctor’s office. By finding out exactly where you
and your family rank on weight charts and blood levels, the goals seem to
create themselves. This is also an awesome way to get excited about
change- choose to turn bad news into motivation to move forward.
No time for a doctor? Online tools are not as accurate, but weight charts and
basic BMI calculators are on many health-related websites. Try the one
provided by the Department of Health: http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/, or any
trusted website. Look online for tools to calculate the caloric needs of each
family member and join trusted online memberships, such as Houston
SAHM, for access to local healthy resources. Need some fast facts right
now? Enjoy some of Bridget’s favorite health facts for quick motivation:
· A glass of wine is about 120 calories. If you have 4 glasses of wine a
week for one year, that totals 24,960 calories!
· One pound equals 3,500 calories.
· A woman who is 5’6”, 130 pounds, and healthy needs to consume
about 1700 calories a day to maintain her current weight- Forget the
American average of 2000 calories and always customize this number.
· Playing games with toddlers such as hopscotch, follow-the-leader, and
other moderately active play burns about 120 calories in 30 minutes.
· Have a friend that needs to quit smoking? Pass on the website www.
whyquit.com and no one wants to smoke again!
· One Cinnabon roll from the mall has approximately 730 calories and 24
grams of fat.
· One 16 oz. Double Chocolate Chip Frappaccino from Starbucks has
510 calories and 19 grams of fat.
· According to experts from the World Health Organization, up to 30% of
all cancers are caused by diet.
Step 3: Create Small, Appropriate Goals within the Big Picture
It’s overwhelming to think of losing 40 pounds or to imagine kicking a bad
habit forever. Instead of thinking about the end result, think in the now. Make
small goals and write them down in the Goal Journal. Keep the rules the
same as for larger goals, yet make small, short-term steps such as “In
January, I will lose 1 pound a week by counting calories and following my
personal trainer’s exercise plan 5 times a week”, “I will not smoke for 24
hours”, and “This week, I will not go to any fast food restaurants”.
Measurable goals have black and white terms- either they are achieved or
not. Each short-term goal, no matter how small, is a personal victory!
Specific steps make these goals attainable, and each month, as your reach
your smaller, short-term goals, you become closer to the big picture without
focusing too far in advance.
Step 4: Create Peace and Confidence Within
Instead of concentrating on the negative, use the Goal Journal to create lists
of positive attributes and favorite personal traits. A weight issue, addiction to
French fries, or a bad habit is simply that- a tiny piece of an amazing woman
and mother! When putting a problem that can be solved with a bit of
planning and patience in perspective, it creates a sense of self-confidence
that can aid you through the harder moments in reaching a goal. Take
“failure” out as an option, and be proud of all the effort even after a bad day...
or week…or month! The journey of becoming healthy, either through weight
loss, eating better, or quitting an unhealthy habit can be a pleasant, soul-
searching experience. Encourage the whole family to tap into their inner
fighter, and succeed through confidence and a peaceful courage to become
a healthy person.
Mom, New Year’s Health resolutions are attainable with a bit of planning and
doing it the right, healthy way! By setting clear goals with measurable
outcomes, there is no guesswork with success. By using facts as
motivation, you can get real with where you stand, and how dangerous that
current situation is for your family. While on the road to a healthier lifestyle,
setting small, short-term goals can break up the big picture and allow you
and your support system to enjoy frequent, confidence-building victories.
And finally, by taking care and creating peace and self-confidence within, you
can realize that a bad habit or unhealthy body is one small aspect of a
wonderful overall woman and mother. Using these four steps together, no
resolution is too large. So, go grab a Goal Journal, gather the family, and
pledge yourself to a more healthy, happy life- together!
Step-By-Step Guide to Success
With an estimated 60% of Americans being considered overweight or
obese, health-related goals are the most common New Year’s Resolutions.
Among the most popular health resolutions are losing weight, eating
healthier, and kicking a bad habit such as smoking or drinking alcohol. This
list seems hopeful and exciting, with moms and their families creating a
healthy, happy new lifestyle, yet only about 20% of those will succeed in ever
reaching their goals!
Let’s face it, getting healthy is an uncomfortable and personal battle, and
many times moms try and fail both themselves and their families regarding
health. An alarming study conducted by Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health recently showed that moms who stayed at home for
many years significantly increased their chances of becoming obese and
were also twice as likely than other women to have poor overall health.
Break the cycle of putting moms last by making a New Year’s Resolution to
get healthy! The keys below can help you and your family succeed this year
by clearly defining your goals, using facts to back up the importance of
change, finding smaller, short-term goals within the big picture, and creating
peace and confidence within.
Step One: Setting Clear Goals
When deciding to “lose weight” or “eat healthier”, moms need to know
exactly how to implement their desired changes! Start by creating a “Goal
Journal” or use another form of writing goals down. Add inspirational
quotes, pictures of good role models, and anything else important to
reaching the goals. Involve the family- children and husbands can all have a
Goal Journal or list of New Year’s Resolutions. View these goals regularly
by taping lists to mirrors, computer monitors, or refrigerators.
By writing down a list of clear, measurable goals, we can take the
guesswork out of how to get to the desired outcome. Use time-related
words such as weeks and months as well as measurable amounts, like
numbers, in each goal. Also, instead of saying “want”, choose actions such
as “am” and “will”. By creating a clear timeline and measurable outcomes,
then backing them up with words that encourage action, you and your family
can increase your chances of success at becoming healthier and happier.
Step Two: Using Facts for Support
It’s hard to deny the truth once facts back it up! A great way to create a goal
around facts is to start at the doctor’s office. By finding out exactly where you
and your family rank on weight charts and blood levels, the goals seem to
create themselves. This is also an awesome way to get excited about
change- choose to turn bad news into motivation to move forward.
No time for a doctor? Online tools are not as accurate, but weight charts and
basic BMI calculators are on many health-related websites. Try the one
provided by the Department of Health: http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/, or any
trusted website. Look online for tools to calculate the caloric needs of each
family member and join trusted online memberships, such as Houston
SAHM, for access to local healthy resources. Need some fast facts right
now? Enjoy some of Bridget’s favorite health facts for quick motivation:
· A glass of wine is about 120 calories. If you have 4 glasses of wine a
week for one year, that totals 24,960 calories!
· One pound equals 3,500 calories.
· A woman who is 5’6”, 130 pounds, and healthy needs to consume
about 1700 calories a day to maintain her current weight- Forget the
American average of 2000 calories and always customize this number.
· Playing games with toddlers such as hopscotch, follow-the-leader, and
other moderately active play burns about 120 calories in 30 minutes.
· Have a friend that needs to quit smoking? Pass on the website www.
whyquit.com and no one wants to smoke again!
· One Cinnabon roll from the mall has approximately 730 calories and 24
grams of fat.
· One 16 oz. Double Chocolate Chip Frappaccino from Starbucks has
510 calories and 19 grams of fat.
· According to experts from the World Health Organization, up to 30% of
all cancers are caused by diet.
Step 3: Create Small, Appropriate Goals within the Big Picture
It’s overwhelming to think of losing 40 pounds or to imagine kicking a bad
habit forever. Instead of thinking about the end result, think in the now. Make
small goals and write them down in the Goal Journal. Keep the rules the
same as for larger goals, yet make small, short-term steps such as “In
January, I will lose 1 pound a week by counting calories and following my
personal trainer’s exercise plan 5 times a week”, “I will not smoke for 24
hours”, and “This week, I will not go to any fast food restaurants”.
Measurable goals have black and white terms- either they are achieved or
not. Each short-term goal, no matter how small, is a personal victory!
Specific steps make these goals attainable, and each month, as your reach
your smaller, short-term goals, you become closer to the big picture without
focusing too far in advance.
Step 4: Create Peace and Confidence Within
Instead of concentrating on the negative, use the Goal Journal to create lists
of positive attributes and favorite personal traits. A weight issue, addiction to
French fries, or a bad habit is simply that- a tiny piece of an amazing woman
and mother! When putting a problem that can be solved with a bit of
planning and patience in perspective, it creates a sense of self-confidence
that can aid you through the harder moments in reaching a goal. Take
“failure” out as an option, and be proud of all the effort even after a bad day...
or week…or month! The journey of becoming healthy, either through weight
loss, eating better, or quitting an unhealthy habit can be a pleasant, soul-
searching experience. Encourage the whole family to tap into their inner
fighter, and succeed through confidence and a peaceful courage to become
a healthy person.
Mom, New Year’s Health resolutions are attainable with a bit of planning and
doing it the right, healthy way! By setting clear goals with measurable
outcomes, there is no guesswork with success. By using facts as
motivation, you can get real with where you stand, and how dangerous that
current situation is for your family. While on the road to a healthier lifestyle,
setting small, short-term goals can break up the big picture and allow you
and your support system to enjoy frequent, confidence-building victories.
And finally, by taking care and creating peace and self-confidence within, you
can realize that a bad habit or unhealthy body is one small aspect of a
wonderful overall woman and mother. Using these four steps together, no
resolution is too large. So, go grab a Goal Journal, gather the family, and
pledge yourself to a more healthy, happy life- together!