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:
Cup of Joe Eases Exercise Pains
For many morning exercisers, a cup of coffee is part of the pre-workout routine. It can help a person gather the energy to jump on the treadmill for a run instead of running back to bed. But according to a new study, coffee can also help lessen some of the pain of working out.
Posted 4/7/2009 6:16:26 AM By: : 135 comments 13,040 views
Bigger Butts = Better Health
Researchers at Harvard University have found that body fat just below the skin (called subcutaneous fat) on the buttocks, hips and thighs may help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Although the study was done on mice, they are finding the same kind of results in humans.
Posted 4/3/2009 5:59:03 AM By: : 234 comments 31,753 views
Finding Balance: Dealing With Guilt
This is the third in a series about how to find the balance between work, family and your own health and fitness goals. Click here to read the first blog entry in this series.
I was talking to a co-worker the other day about the subject of guilt. She was saying how she feels guilty about little things all the time--like using a paper towel (which gets thrown away) instead of a dish towel. My response was "Just wait until you have kids! Then the real guilt begins!"
Posted 3/31/2009 10:15:17 AM By: : 128 comments 19,082 views
Step Up the Pace to Turn a Walk into a Workout
Walking can be a great form of exercise. It's cost effective, easy on the joints and can be done almost anywhere. But how fast does your walk need to be? A new study in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that 100 steps per minute can help someone achieve a moderate intensity workout.
Posted 3/27/2009 6:10:45 AM By: : 128 comments 37,926 views
Family Eating: Getting Kids to Eat Their Veggies
This is the second in a series about eating healthy as a family and the challenges that can come along with it. Click here to read the first blog entry in this series.
Getting kids to eat vegetables can be tricky, especially if it's not always been part of the mealtime routine. My 2-year old has always been served with veggies at lunch and dinner, and usually eats at least some, even if she doesn't finish them. Lucky for me she has yet to realize that everyone's grilled cheese doesn't always come with broccoli on the side. My mom raises her eyebrows at some of the veggies my daughter eats that she never served when I was growing up- like butternut squash and edamame, for example. But it's great that even at this young age, my daughter is learning about a wide variety of foods that can be tasty and healthy at the same time.
Posted 3/20/2009 8:59:22 AM By: : 86 comments 20,571 views
The First Lady's Agenda: Healthy Living
Historically, first ladies have had their own agendas and things they want to promote while their husbands are in office. For example, Laura Bush championed America's libraries and Hilary Clinton focused on health care reform. One of Michelle Obama's agendas is a focus on healthy living. She believes that fresh and nutritious foods shouldn't just be a luxury for those who can afford them, but rather they should be a staple of every American's diet.
Posted 3/17/2009 6:04:11 PM By: : 254 comments 24,092 views
Optimism Leads to a Longer Life
Who knew just how powerful positive thinking can be? Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have determined that optimists live longer, healthier lives than pessimists. A new study looked at death and disease rates of women ages 50 and over. They found that women who were optimistic (expecting good things to happen instead of bad) were 14 percent less likely to die from any cause than pessimists after eight years of follow up in the study.
Optimists also were less likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes or smoke cigarettes, while pessimists were 23 percent more likely to die from cancer. Although the study doesn't prove that negative attitudes cause negative health problems, the results appear to be linked in some way.
Posted 3/13/2009 6:23:21 AM By: : 90 comments 15,008 views
Family Eating: Healthy Recipes Everyone Will Enjoy
This is the first in a series about eating healthy as a family and the challenges that can come along with it.
Whether your kids are 2 or 22, cooking a healthy meal that everyone likes can be a struggle. It's frustrating when I work hard to make dinner, and my toddler takes one look at it and won't even try a bite. Or her new thing is to take a bite and say "I love this!", getting my hopes up that she'll finish her meal. But that statement is usually followed in the next bite by "I don't like this. Done, mama." I know part of that is just a phase, so I try to be patient with her. But I'm always struggling to find recipes that I think everyone will enjoy.
I thought this might be a good forum for us to share recipes that have worked well for our families. Personally, I like recipes that don't have tons of ingredients, don't take long to prepare and are generally good for you. I'll start by sharing one that works well for us.
Posted 3/10/2009 10:03:57 AM By: : 45 comments 12,282 views
How Do Your Food Attitudes Influence Your Kids?
Every parent wants what's best for their child. And for some, that means reading labels and doing as much research as they can to ensure their child's diet is a healthy one. But could too much focus on things like trans fats and high fructose corn syrup lead to unhealthy feelings and behavior in our kids?
Often the parents aren't as concerned about obesity as they are about other health problems (like diabetes and hyperactivity) that can be strongly influenced by diet. But experts are finding that creating a diet that is too strict (such as only eating organic foods to avoid pesticides) can create unhealthy feelings about food. Many children start to become anxious and afraid of what's going to happen to them if they consume "bad" foods. These feelings and attitudes aren't just showing up in older kids and adolescents, but even in children as young as age 5.
Posted 3/3/2009 6:36:51 AM By: : 52 comments 8,959 views
Finding Balance: How Do I Make Time?
This is the second in a series about how to find the balance between work, family and your own health and fitness goals. Click here to read the first blog entry in this series.
I work a lot from home, so with two little ones around, finding time throughout the day to get my job done can be a challenge. These days, packing up for a trip to the store, doing the shopping and coming home to unpack the groceries can be a half-day affair. With so many day-to-day tasks to complete, how do I find time to take care of myself?
Posted 2/24/2009 6:26:00 PM By: : 81 comments 20,535 views
Betting On Weight Loss
Would a cash incentive make you more likely to stick with your weight loss program? Recent studies suggest that "diet bets" work for many people who haven't been successful at losing weight by other methods. So how exactly does it work? People who enter into the bet lose cash if they don't lose more weight than their competition. Money becomes the big incentive to shed the pounds.
Posted 2/20/2009 7:22:10 AM By: : 156 comments 23,276 views
Confession: I'm Struggling With My Post-Baby Body
Getting back into shape after baby. Is it really as easy as many celebrities make it sound? Heidi Klum did the Victoria's Secret fashion show just a few months after the birth of her third child. Denise Richards posed for Playboy when her daughter was 5 months old.
Posted 2/17/2009 6:22:41 AM By: : 118 comments 43,132 views
Finding Balance: Where Do I Begin?
This is the first in a series about how to find the balance between work, family and your own health and fitness goals.
Starting over is hard. You had a regular exercise routine, a healthy diet and were working toward your health and fitness goals. Then life got in the way. Maybe you got off track because you got busy at work, bought a new house or if you're like me, had a new baby. Your own goals took a backseat to other priorities, and some of those old habits started to creep back into your life. Now the new year has you ready to make a fresh start and find the time to put yourself first. But the question becomes: Where do you begin?
Posted 2/10/2009 6:13:12 AM By: : 116 comments 21,101 views
Can I See Results in a Month?
This is the time of year when well-intentioned New Year's resolutions start to get tough, and many of us begin falling back into old habits. One reason for this could be unrealistic expectations. You've been working out and eating right for over a month now, and so far you have only seen a small change on the scale. No sign of the 6-pack abs you're working toward, and you're not getting the compliments from family and friends you would have expected by now. But is a month really enough time to start seeing results? How long and how much effort does it take to start seeing real changes in your body?
Posted 2/6/2009 10:00:00 AM By: : 201 comments 257,027 views
How Are Your New Year's Resolutions Going?
You might have noticed that it's been a while since my last blog. No, I didn't give up writing for dailySpark, but rather I took some time off after the birth of my second child. Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, I've decided to set some health and fitness goals for the year. I know I'm a little late for New Year's resolutions, but better late than never, right?
Posted 2/3/2009 4:00:00 PM By: : 67 comments 8,953 views
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