SparkPeople Community Director and Fitness Coach
Jen Mueller left her first career in corporate finance to earn a master's degree in health education. She is a busy mom of four and holds a number of fitness certifications (including ACE's Health Coach, Personal Trainer, Medical Exercise Specialist and Behavior Change Specialist). She is passionate about helping people reach their health and fitness goals. In her spare time, Jen loves running, kickboxing and spending time with her family. Jen enjoys blogging about raising healthy children and how small behavior changes can impact health and quality of life.
Read More of 's Blogs:
McDonald's New Campaign for Kids: No Good or No Big Deal?
I don't watch much TV these days, so maybe I've missed it. But it seems like anytime I've seen a recent McDonald's commercial, Ronald McDonald is no where to be found. I remember those commercials as a kid- he was always buddies with the children, handing them some French fries to put a smile on their faces. But for those of you that thought Ronald might be a thing of the past, think again. McDonald's is launching a new series of ads, encouraging kids to interact with him online.
Posted 4/14/2011 2:00:00 PM By: : 144 comments 25,116 views
Eating More Seafood for Good Health
I consider my diet to be pretty healthy. I'm willing to try a wide variety of foods, but there is one thing that I've never been able to eat: seafood. My parents love fish and seafood, so growing up, I tried all kinds. The only seafood I ever actually enjoyed was breaded popcorn shrimp, mostly because it tasted more like fried batter than anything else. I wish I could enjoy fish. I take a DHA supplement because my diet is lacking in the healthy Omega-3's that fish provides. My husband loves fish, but I never cook it at home (because in general, I don't cook things I don't eat.) So I'm afraid my kids are going to develop my distaste for fish, only because they aren't being exposed to it regularly.
When the government released the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, they recommended that Americans increase their seafood intake to at least 8 ounces per week (which is about two servings). According to a report from the Journal of Food Service, 45% of Americans eat seafood once a week, and only 22% eat it twice a week. I have a feeling that most people who don't aren't like me and just don't enjoy the taste of it. So why are those numbers so low?
Posted 4/12/2011 10:00:00 AM By: : 67 comments 22,816 views
Eating Disorders Strike Later in Life
When you think of someone with an eating disorder, the typical stereotype probably comes to mind: female in high school or college who is a perfectionist and overachiever. Although part of that description might be accurate, eating disorders don't affect just the young. Of the over 10 million people who suffer from some kind of disordered eating (anorexia, binge eating, bulimia, etc.) the percentage of middle-aged women is rising.
Posted 4/7/2011 2:03:04 PM By: : 38 comments 33,111 views
Study: Sleep 8 Hours, Eat 300 Fewer Calories
I'm someone who needs a lot of sleep. I've never been able to get by on 6 or 7 hours a night (unless it's by necessity when my kids were newborns.) I've found that during those periods where I am consistently not getting enough shut-eye, I tend to eat more. Research has shown that sleep loss can increase hunger and affect your body’s metabolism, making weight loss more difficult. Now new research is quantifying exactly how much more sleep-deprived people tend to eat.
Posted 4/5/2011 2:18:59 PM By: : 53 comments 23,370 views
Got Kids? Then You're Less Likely to Eat Healthy
As the mother of two small children, I work hard to provide them with healthy, home-cooked meals. I like to make batches of food I know they enjoy and freeze it for those nights when I'm short on time or just don't feel like cooking dinner. Last night was one of those nights. I'll unfreeze a portion of food for them, but then my husband and I are usually on our own to find something to eat. My choice (because I was tired and didn't want to cook) was an apple with peanut butter. Not terrible, but a little short on calories and probably not the best choice for a well-rounded dinner.
Before having kids, I would have been much more likely to spend a few minutes making a dinner that included each of the food groups (I think mine was missing some dairy and whole grains). But there are nights when I consider it an accomplishment to feed my kids well, and just to get through the day without being hungry myself. Fortunately those days don't happen often, but I can see how parents would be less likely to eat healthy than people with no children. A recent British study found that households without children were healthier eaters.
Posted 3/31/2011 6:04:37 AM By: : 37 comments 16,456 views
Is Your Diet Making You Cranky?
I'm someone who would never do well with an extremely low-calorie diet, because I can't stand to be hungry. My friends and family know that if I'm irritable, it's usually because I need to eat. I eat every few hours like clockwork. I'm starving when I wake up in the morning, and always eat breakfast right away.
Over the years I've learned how to eat a healthy diet but still enjoy the foods I love. If you told me that I'd never be able to eat my favorite dessert or snack again because it wasn't considered "healthy", I wouldn't be happy. These are just a few reasons why traditional diets wouldn't work for me and don't work for many others. Feeling hungry all the time or thinking you'll never enjoy food again would make anyone cranky. New research shows that dieting makes people more likely to be irritable and angry.
Posted 3/29/2011 2:09:57 PM By: : 38 comments 34,963 views
The Secrets to Losing Weight and Keeping It Off
Most of us know what it takes to lose weight: a healthy diet and regular exercise. Figuring out how to permanently change your lifestyle and keep the weight off for good is something not everyone has mastered. It's easy to think of weight loss as having a beginning and an end, as you start a diet and then finally reach your goal. But what's the secret to keeping that weight off for good?
Posted 3/24/2011 10:31:23 AM By: : 55 comments 33,687 views
How to Save a Life
Hands-only CPR is a technique being promoted by the American Heart Association to make it easier and safer to help someone in an emergency. If you've never been CPR-certified, now is a great time to consider it. If it's been a long time since you took the class, consider doing a refresher course. Whether it's a family member, friend or stranger who's in trouble, wouldn't you want to know what to do if they needed your help?
Posted 3/22/2011 6:07:15 AM By: : 20 comments 15,173 views
Healthy Diet Makes for a Healthy Brain
Providing my kids with a healthy diet is one of my top priorities as a mom. Honestly, I cringe when I hear about how much fast food and junk some of my daughter's 4-year-old friends eat on a daily basis. We know that quality food helps kids develop a healthy body, but it can also help develop a healthy brain. New research shows that toddlers who eat a diet high in sugar and processed foods may have a slightly lower IQ later in life.
Posted 3/17/2011 1:44:50 PM By: : 31 comments 29,034 views
Add Veggies, Subtract Calories
I cook a lot of dinners at home. I don't consider myself to be a great chef, because I've never been one to throw some ingredients together to create a meal. I feel most comfortable when I don't have to deviate from a recipe, which is why I'm always on the lookout for good cookbooks. I like cookbooks that have simple, healthy recipes. I don't want meals that are loaded with sodium and saturated fat, especially since I'm cooking for my 4 and 2-year old.
I've had a lot of success with cookbooks like The Sneaky Chef or Deceptively Delicious, not because they try to hide vegetables in the food, but because the recipes are generally healthy and something standard that my kids will try. I like to be very upfront with my kids about what they are eating. If my daughter asks "What's in this?" I never lie. Even if there are things in it I know she doesn't like, I'll tell her anyway. Most of the time she'll still try it, because she knows I'm not trying to fool her into eating something she won't want.
Posted 3/15/2011 6:37:28 AM By: : 56 comments 22,605 views
Think Exercise is Bad for Your Knees? Think Again!
Over the years, I've gotten some interesting comments when family or friends find out I'm a runner. "Be careful- that stuff is terrible for your knees!" or "Why would you want to do that kind of damage to your joints?" are some of the most memorable. While I laugh a little on the inside, I politely explain to them that exercise is good for your joints, and running is no more likely to cause knee problems than anything else, since I'm healthy and have had no knee issues in the past. People are usually surprised at that response. Now I have new research to back up my claims that exercise is, in fact, good for your knees.
Posted 3/10/2011 10:00:00 AM By: : 111 comments 64,278 views
Where are the Least Active Areas in the U.S.?
There are times when I feel like I should be living somewhere else. As a runner, I've gotten strange looks from neighbors over the years who think I'm crazy for running in the rain or running while 8 months pregnant. Where I live in the suburbs, I wouldn't say that regular physical activity is the norm. Unfortunately, it's probably the exception.
I've always been aware of this in my hometown, but became even more aware when I moved away. My husband and I moved to Memphis, Tennessee for three years. If I felt like the exception at home, in Memphis I felt even stranger. I lived and worked with so many people who had never exercised a day in their lives. The fact that I was training for marathons and getting up at 4:30 a.m. to work out each day made me quite an anomaly. Of course, there were others like me. But the general culture was one of good, Southern eating (fried foods, lots of yummy desserts) and not much exercise. That's why I wasn't surprised to read that Tennessee residents were some of the least likely in the nation to be active.
Posted 3/8/2011 1:49:27 PM By: : 79 comments 16,539 views
The First Lady's Anti-Obesity Campaign: One Year Later
Michelle Obama knew that taking on the challenge of childhood obesity would be no easy task. One year ago she launched "Let's Move!", a campaign to help fight obesity in young people. She has been help raising awareness for what kind of future our country has if we don't start reversing the trend and focusing on good health and regular activity. Has the program made progress in the past year? In some ways, "yes". In some ways, it might be too early to know.
Childhood obesity is a complicated problem with no easy fix. It's not as simple as removing all soda machines from schools or replacing French fries with fruit in a Happy Meal. Those things can certainly help, but they aren't enough. Childhood obesity is impacted by so many factors, including a child's home life, school life, social life and more. Making a significant change is going to take time and support from a variety of sources.
Posted 3/3/2011 10:22:35 AM By: : 97 comments 24,997 views
School Lunches: The Newest Childhood Obesity Risk
Growing up, my mom usually packed my lunch for school. I was totally content eating the same thing day after day- typically peanut butter and jelly. Most kids in my grade school packed their lunches, but in high school things changed a little. I would pack my lunch, but then I'd also see what was being served in the lunch line. I'd usually buy some French fries and/or Little Debbie snack cakes (which I still love to this day), to "round out" my healthy meal. There were lots of high calorie, high fat foods to choose from.
I had friends (in grade school and high school) who bought their lunches daily. Sometimes there would be salad on their plates, but more often it was things like pizza and tator tots. That's why I wasn't surprised to read about a new study which found that kids who regularly purchased school lunches were more likely to be obese than those who brought their lunches.
Posted 2/24/2011 2:00:00 PM By: : 89 comments 32,692 views
Lifting Weights Isn't Just For the Young
When you think of weight lifting, especially at a gym, images of muscular men and thin, young women might come to mind. It's easy to be intimidated, or think that after a certain age the only exercise you really need is a daily walk. But that's not true. New research is showing that adults who start a regular strength training program can help minimize muscle loss and increase independence as they age.
Posted 2/22/2011 5:51:33 AM By: : 63 comments 29,868 views
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