Only in America....

Now, I know it's wrong that my first thought upon being sent the link to this article from a friend was "WHY didn't I know about krispy kreme cheeseburgers when I was pregnant?!? That would have been even yummier than mango macaroni with extra cheese" but hey, you can't help what you think sometimes.  I'm still a bit speechless at this article, and while in jest I have titled this post "Only in America", it's unfortunately becoming more and more common everywhere to see shocking food options in such big portions that our view of normal portion sizes is becoming increasinly distorted.   Just recently I have seen one fast food restaurant chain advertising huge "snack" chicken wraps dripping in cheese and all kinds of things.  When did a snack stop being a piece of fruit and a glass of milk?  Is this how warped our views of acceptable food choices and sizes have become?

A couple of years ago a nutritionist friend told me that a  portion size of a food (ie of pasta, rice, meat, vegetables) at meals should only ever be the size of your clenched fist.  (Note: luckily yesterday when I had pizza I was able to double fold, pound and squash the slices so they fit into my fist.  Phew.  Major post pizza guilt avoided there).

On a serious note though, lately I've become more and more interested in childhood obesity (and obesity in general), and I'm not sure if this is prompted by having my own baby or by my return to university and psychology.  Some of my (many) hopes for the Little Princess are that she will grow up healthy, unridiculed by her peers, that she will enjoy the kind of happy, easy, outdoorsy,  long summer days spent bike riding kind of childhood that I had, and that we can keep her protected from some of the influences of the "outside world" for as long as possible.  And that when she is at an age that she is exposed to things like krispy kreme cheeseburgers at public events, that we will have hopefully equipped her with enough common sense, knowledge, and love for herself, that she will make a better choice. 

P.S. I am still toying with the idea of organizing a group of mums in London/Surrey to run a 5k for an obesity charity (something along the theme of "Fit Mums for Fit Kids") so if that's something you'd be interested in, please drop me a line. 

http://www.thestar.com/living/food/article/848767--a-krispy-kreme-cheeseburger-only-at-the-state-fair

Big Steps for Small Steps

Just a quick update on my last post.  I've just heard back from Small Steps, and it looks like I will be able to run for them, so my running campaign will soon be renamed Big Steps for Small Steps :-)  You can check them out at http://amyhanson.co.uk 

Happy running!

How much do we do to help other people?

It's easy to get caught up in our daily lives and trying to get things crossed off of our never ending, ever expanding to-do lists (or our honey-do lists, the lists we give our husbands to do...which reminds me, I have about 5 things to add to my honey-do list...).  I've been inspired by my cousin's 15 year old son, who is busy trying to raise $2000 and shave his lovely long red curls off for the breast cancer campaign "shave to save", breast cancer being a cause close to his own heart.  I thought teenagers were supposed to be the best example of selfish, disinterested in society behaviour, so this strikes me as a fantastic thing to do and has left me with the question, "What can I do for an organization other than Myself, Inc?"  Being a tired, overwhelmed new mom is a great excuse for not doing much for the greater good, but in the end it's not really a great excuse is it?

So I'm busy trying to come up with a plan.  As I'm currently already training for both a 5k here in England, and next summer's midnattsloppet 10k midnight run in Stockholm, I believe I'm going to do them for a charity other than Improve the Size of my Own Ass (which is a good cause in itself, believe me).

I'm waiting to hear back from a charity I would really like to run for, called Small Steps, which buys shoes for children who work on dumps around the world as their feet are especially exposed to harmful toxins and chemicals.  I'm also debating organizing a group of local moms together to run a 5k for a childhood obesity charity as I thought that would be a great example for our own kids, and hopefully others.

Would love to hear what you all are doing for the greater good of the world... or if you would like to make a donation to Tim's Shave to Save efforts, drop me a line or it's on facebook at the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?cropsuccess&id=731800343#!/group.php?gid=113705828679407&v=info