SUBWAY® RANDOM ACTS OF FITNESS™ for Kids

RANDOM ACTS OF FITNESS™ for Kids

Study Hall

Nutrition:

Mix it up! You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all. Every day eat some whole-grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy products; meat, poultry, and fish.
www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga95/VARIETY.HTM
Ask your brain: "What's a grain?" A grain is a part of a plant. Grains come from such plants as wheat, corn and oats. They're used to make foods like bread and cereal. Oatmeal, rice and popcorn are grains, too. Foods that say "whole-grain" on them are best because they're high in fiber and nutrients.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk1_lesson1.pdf and http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk3_lesson1.pdf
What's the big deal about sugar and fat? If you eat foods with too much sugar and fat, you don't have enough room to eat other foods that help you stay healthy and grow up strong.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk1_lesson1.pdf
Mighty muscles. Protein helps your muscles get big and strong. Meat is a good source of protein. So are beans, nuts and seeds—add them to your salads and sandwiches!
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk1_lesson2.pdf and http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk3_lesson2.pdf
Be colorful when you eat. If you try to eat as many different-colored foods as possible, you'll be more likely to get all the different vitamins you need. So munch on those strawberries, grapes, blueberries, broccoli and squash.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk3_lesson1.pdf
Rough it up! Just about everyone can use more fiber in their diets. Fiber is "rough stuff" found in the outer layers of plants. High-fiber foods make you feel fuller longer, and keep everything moving along in your digestive system. Which foods make the grade? Whole-grain breads, beans, fruits, vegetables and nuts.
http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/fiber/FIB_whatis.html
Think whole-grain bread is weird? An easy way to start liking it is by toasting it and adding a little jam. It gets nutty and sweet. Pretty soon you'll think white breadis just plain boring!
Be lean at lunch. For lunch sandwiches, choose naturally low-fat options like turkey and chicken, or low-fat versions of normally high-fat meats such as salami, bologna and ham.
http://familydoctor.org/297.xml
Add crunch to your lunch. Sandwiches have more "oomph" when they have vegetables in them (not to mention extra vitamins, minerals and fiber). Try different kinds of vegetables like lettuce, spinach, cucumber, carrots and green pepper.
Cruciferous vegetables rock! You may never have heard of some of these champs (kohlrabi, daikon), but others may already be old friends (like broccoli and cauliflower). They are rich in nutrients and keep you healthy. Ask the chef in your family to cook up a new vegetable today. (Hint: ANYTHING tastes good stir-fried with a little olive oil, garlic and lemon.)
www.deliciousorganics.com
Your body loves green and orange things... Eat at least one dark green vegetable (broccoli, romaine lettuce, spinach) and one orange vegetable (carrots, sweet potatoes, squash) each day. They're loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber to keep you healthy and full of energy.
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/
If a baked sweet potato and a French Fry were going to have a contest to see who was healthier, which do you think would win? If you said the baked sweet potato, you're right! It's orange – which tells you it's full of vitamins and minerals, plus it's baked, not fried, so it's lower in fat.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk3_lesson1.pdf
More fruits and veggies, please! According to the experts, many kids eat less than one serving of fruit a day and less than one serving of vegetables a day, when you should be aiming for five. So get busy!
www.obesity.org
You hear lots of talk about vitamins, but what exactly are they? Vitamins are tiny little substances found in food that make your body work properly. Different vitamins do all sorts of different jobs, from making your cells grow to helping you see in color instead of black and white.
www.mamashealth.com
Learn your ABCs! Vitamin A in carrots, cantaloupe and nectarines helps you see at night. B vitamins in leafy green vegetables, chicken and meat help your body make protein and energy. Vitamin C in oranges helps your body heal if you get a cut , and also helps you resist infections. Vitamin D in milk makes your bones stronger.
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/vitamin.html
Move over, mayo. Regular mayonnaise has a lot of fat in it. Reach instead for light mayo, or even better, mustard. Try a new flavor, like honey mustard.
http://www.health-fitness-tips.com/features/10-essential-health-tips.htm
Juice is good for you, right? Yes and no... While fruit juices contain essential nutrients, it's easy to drink too much of them and not leave room for actual food. Get the benefits of juice by eating fruit and drinking water. You'll also get some fiber as an added bonus.
http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/fruit_juice.htm
Play with your food! Next time you have friends over, ask Mom or Dad to slice you up some carrot sticks, celery sticks, apples, bananas or other fruits and veggies, and put out a bowl of raisins, sunflower seeds or other small healthy items. Next, ask them to give you some low-fat cream cheese or yogurt. Your job? Build something cool with your "building" materials and "cement." Then - eat it, of course!
Mix it up before dinner. Start each dinner with a mixed green salad. It'll help reduce your appetite for more fattening foods and will automatically add vegetables to your meal.
For a healthy snack, go digging for bugs! Put a graham cracker in a plastic sandwich bag, seal it shut and crush the crackers into a fine "sand" using a large spoon. Then add raisins to the bag and dig for "bugs." Other tasty "creepy crawlers" might include dried cranberries or fruit snacks. What other healthy snack can you think of that would make a good bug?
For better health, tell your parents to stick to the outside aisles of the supermarket, where you'll find more "real" food (meats, dairy, produce) and fewer processed foods.
http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=15959
The next time someone asks you "Do you want to supersize that?" say "No!" Huge portions of food can make you eat more than you should. So get to know what a sensible portion looks like. For example, a portion of fruit, veggies or pasta is about the size of a baseball. A portion of chicken or fish looks like a deck of cards.
www.Kidnetic.com
Score another point for breakfast! Kids who eat a healthy breakfast do a much better job of getting enough vitamins and keeping up their energy throughout the day.
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/nutrition/breakfast.html
Breakfast makes for better students! The State of Minnesota Breakfast Study showed that kids who eat breakfast do better at math and reading, visit the nurse less and behave better than kids who skip breakfast.
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/nutrition/breakfast.html
Hitting the vending machine for an after-school snack? Pretzels, nuts, trail mix, raisins,
and fat-free popcorn are healthier choices than candy, chips and cookies.
Trick your brain...Tell Mom or Dad to serve family meals on smaller plates to make it feel like you're eating more than you actually are.
www.Kidnetic.com
Your brain is dumber than your stomach, so eat slowly – it takes your brain 20 minutes to register the fact that you're full.
www.Medicalnewstoday.com
Your mother always told you to use your napkin. She was right! If you blot the grease off a slice of pizza, you'll get rid of a lot of fat. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=1845980&page=1
When you're trying to eat healthfully, remember that you can still have chips and cookies from time to time as long as you're eating healthy foods most of the time.
www.Kidnetic.com
If you find it hard to stop after eating a couple of cookies, ask your Mom or Dad only to keep healthy snacks in the house. After all, you can't eat a whole box of cookies if they're not there.
Divide and conquer: package big bags of snacks into small portions. Then help yourself to one portion and put the rest away. http://weightloss.about.com/cs/moretips/a/aa062700a.htm
For fun, good health and an up-close look at the miracle of life, plant a small vegetable garden with your family. Taking care of it (digging, weeding, etc.) is good exercise, and eating what you grow is delicious and healthful.
http://onhealth.webmd.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56442
Did you go crazy with cookies yesterday? Don't be mad at yourself. It's not the end of the world. Just start your healthy eating habits again today.
http://diet.ivillage.com/motivate/0,,2zqz,00.html
Fool your sweet tooth. Chew a piece of gum or brush your teeth as soon as you finish eating and that craving for a sweet dessert will subside. http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/healthyeating/entries/2007/01/19/the_chewing_gum_diet.html
Water equals life. Did you know that water is the most needed nutrient of all? You can't survive for more than just a few days without it. It makes up a big part of your blood and is responsible for carrying nutrients to all your body parts, as well as removing waste from them.
www.Kidnetic.com
Did you know you can also "drink" water by eating? Some foods like fruits (watermelon, oranges) and vegetables (lettuce, celery) are mostly water, so they can help you get the fluids you need every day.
www.Kidnetic.com
How dry I am... Sure, you drink when your mouth is dry, but having a dry mouth is your body's way of telling you you're overdue for a drink. So remember to drink before you even get thirsty.
www.Kidnetic.com
Like your water chilled? Store some bottles in the freezer overnight, and then pack them in your lunch the next day. They'll stay cold for a long time, even in the summer, and keep your lunch cool and fresh, too.
Build those bones! Kids need the calcium from milk and dairy products (cheese, yogurt) every day to build strong bones and teeth. Shoot for 3 cups of milk or other calcium-rich foods every day.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk1_lesson2.pdf
Have you heard the news? Milk mustaches are IN. The tell-tale white stripe on your upper lip says you've downed a drink with nine essential nutrients in it. In fact, milk is one of the most nutrient-rich drinks you can find.
http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org
So you know milk has lots of calcium, right? But what else does it have?
It also has Vitamin D, which helps your body absorb all that nice calcium. Plus it has a good amount of protein, which helps build muscles and gives you energy. http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org
Yikes – yogurt is alive! It's true – yogurt has teeny-tiny organisms in it called "active cultures" (you can't see them), which do all sorts of good things for your body, such as help with digestion, boost your immune system and fight infection. http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/nationaldairycouncil/nutrition/products/product_yogurt.pdf
Hooray! Chocolate milk has as many good things in it for you as regular milk. While it's true that chocolate milk has more sugar in it than regular milk, it also tastes so good that many kids will choose it over other drinks. That means more kids are getting the nutritional benefits of milk. http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/NationalDairyCouncil/Nutrition/Products/flavoredMilkPage6.htm
If you can't brush after eating, eat cheese! Certain kinds of cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss, blue, Monterey Jack, and American) have been shown to reduce the risk of cavities. http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/NationalDairyCouncil/Health/Digest/dcd73-5Page1.htm
If you're lactose intolerant (which mean milk gives you tummy trouble), you can still get the benefits of milk by eating such cheeses as Cheddar and Swiss, which contain little or no lactose.
http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/NationalDairyCouncil/Health/Digest/dcd73-5Page1.htm
Dairy products have lots of good things in them for your body, but some of them have a lot of fat too. Ask your Mom or Dad to get the kinds of milk, yogurt and cheese that are fat free or low fat.
www.Kidnetic.com
Make your yogurt do double-duty. Pop a cup of frozen yogurt into your lunch and it will keep everything cool and fresh. Plus, if it's still frozen at lunchtime, it'll taste like ice cream.
www.Kidnetic.com
Hungry and thirsty at the same time? Make yourself a smoothie. Ask Mom or Dad to mix up some yogurt, frozen fruit and fruit juice in a blender and you're done. Some good taste combinations are banana/strawberry or kiwi/melon.
www.Kidnetic.com
An apple-a-day keeps the doctor away... That saying is hundreds of years old, but it's still true today. Apples are loaded with fiber and Vitamin C. Plus, they're delicious, portable and easy to find. For a really delicious treat in the fall, pick one yourself at an apple orchard!
http://www.bestapples.com
We like apples! Americans eat a whole lot of apples – about 19.6 pounds of them a year each, but people in Europe eat even more: about 46 pounds each per year!
http://www.bestapples.com
A Super-Snack. If you're going on a long hike or bike ride, you'll need to refuel along the way with a snack that provides a lot of power in a small, portable package. Raisins, which are actually dried grapes, fit the bill. They're a good source of iron, fiber, potassium, selenium and Vitamin A.
http://www.calraisins.org/info/history.cfm
The first raisin: People first discovered raisins by accident several thousand years ago when they found some grapes drying on a grape vine. Since then, we've been making grapes on purpose, by picking grapes first and then drying them afterwards.
http://www.calraisins.org/info/history.cfm
Nature rules! Legend has it that California's first raisin crop was grown by nature, not farmers. It seems a giant heat wave struck the valley where the raisins were growing before it was time to pick them, and most of the grapes dried on the vine and turned into raisins by themselves.
http://www.calraisins.org/info/history.cfm
Raisins rock! Raisins are among the top antioxidant foods. An antioxidant is a nutrient in food that keeps us healthier. http://www.healthcastle.com/food_supplements.shtml and http://www.calraisins.org/nutrition/research.cfm
Raisins are good for your teeth. Raisins have something in them called oleanolic acid, which helps prevent cavities and plaque build-up.
http://www.calraisins.org/nutrition/research.cfm
Shine up your insides. Everyone needs some oil in their diet for good health, but make sure it's the right kind of oil, like olive oil, corn oil, soybean oil and canola oil. Try to steer clear of butter.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk2_lesson1.pdf
Move those feet! Fitness experts say grown ups should take at least 10,000 steps every day—that equals about 5 miles of walking. It's good for kids to take even more than that. Here are some good ways to sneak in more walking: walk around during commercials while you're watching TV, dance when you clean your room, jog in place while you talk on the phone, etc.
www.Kidnetic.com
Start your own team. You don't need to be on a formal team to play sports. Get together with friends as often as you can to shoot hoops, kick around a ball or play Frisbee. The important thing is to get moving!
www.Kidnetic.com
Little kids have tons of energy, so the next time you have to entertain your little brother or sister, make it fun and healthy for both of you by running around and playing games instead of watching TV.
www.Kidnetic.com
Being outside in the cold weather can give you lots of chances to make your body stronger. Try playing tag in the snow, sledding or having a snowball-throwing contest (make your target a tree, not your little brother.)
www.Kidnetic.com
When the temperature soars, let water be your best friend. Drink lots of it so you don't get dehydrated. And play in it by washing your family's car or running through a sprinkler. (Just don't drink the water you used to wash the car!)
www.Kidnetic.com
The woods can be a great place for adventure. Take a family hike and turn it into an obstacle course. Scramble over rocks, jump over streams and shimmy under branches.
www.Kidnetic.com
Kids should be active for 60 minutes every day, but you don't need to jam all that activity into the same hour. Take the 10-minute challenge: See how many times a day you can be really active for a 10-minute period. What's active? Dance, jog to a friend's house, rake leaves, vacuum like you mean it, jump rope or do jumping jacks. All those 10-minute activities add up to a lot of good exercise for your body.
www.Kidnetic.com
Practice makes perfect. The next time you're by yourself, turn off the TV and entertain yourself by practicing something you've wanted to get better at. Shoot 25 foul shots, hit tennis balls against a back wall, do cartwheels on a line, time yourself doing sprints, etc.
www.Kidnetic.com
Feeling blue? Shake your tail feather. Exercise gets more oxygen to your brain, which makes you feel good. Plus, once you start moving around, you start to concentrate on what you're doing, which helps you forget what was bothering you in the first place.
www.Kidnetic.com
Woof! To make your best friend happy, and get in some more steps—walk your dog! You'll both be happy. If you don't have one—ask if you can walk a neighbor's.
Ready, set, clean! Next time Mom or Dad asks you to help clean the house, turn it into a workout by moving quickly from job to job and cranking up the elbow-grease factor. You'll get done faster, get some great exercise and make Mom or Dad happy.
Don't be a couch potato. If you're watching TV, do something active during every commercial – jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups or lift light hand weights.
www.Kidnetic.com
For fun and exercise in the fall, rake leaves into a big pile. Find a friend and jump into the pile. Repeat. Then stuff the leaves into giant pumpkin-shaped bags and make your house look great for Halloween.
There's power in numbers, so grab a friend to play an active game or walk wherever you need to go. You'll be more motivated to keep moving if others are involved.
www.Kidnetic.com
Stretch like a cat to prevent injuries. When you're flexible, you can play harder without having to worry about getting sprained and strained muscles.
www.Kidnetic.com
It's easy to find things to do for good flexibility! Gymnastics, yoga, ballet and martial arts all make you stronger and more flexible. Plus, they're really fun.
www.Kidnetic.com
The wintertime is loaded with ways to get fit and healthy without even leaving your yard. Shovel the driveway, construct an igloo, build a snowman (then change its clothes daily to amuse the neighbors).
www.Kidnetic.com
Rolling, rolling, rolling... The next time you're looking for something fun to do, strap on some inline skates, take off down a paved path, and sculpt some great lower-body muscles. Be sure to take a friend with you – you'll both work harder and have more fun.
www.Kidnetic.com
Feeling a little sore from a tough practice or dance class? You'll feel better quicker if you do a light workout rather than rest completely. A light workout increases blood flow to the sore area, which helps it heal.
www.Webmd.com
Variety is the spice of life, so if you're bored with your routine, try hitting the local library for new videos or DVDs to learn a new activity such as dance, yoga or even martial arts.
The stair challenge: Any time you see stairs, take them – you'll strengthen your leg muscles and get a bit of a cardiovascular workout. Challenge yourself to climb them quickly, or two at a time (or both!)
www.Kidnetic.com
To keep your back healthy and strong, practice good posture, do sit-ups regularly and pick up heavy items by squatting down, not bending over.
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org
Cool it. Make sure you take the time to cool down with light exercise or stretching at the end of your workout. It prevents you from getting dizzy, and keeps your muscles from feeling sore the next day. Your cool-down is also a good time to stretch.
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/
If you want to play better during a game, it's a good idea to warm up first with some light exercise. Light exercise (such as a slow jog) makes your muscles warmer and more flexible, which makes you quicker and less likely to get hurt.
http://www.soccerperformance.org/training/introwarmup.htm
Brrrrr—it's cold outside! When playing or exercising outdoors in the winter, you want to stay warm, but don't dress for a week at the North Pole. Instead, wear layers you can peel off as you warm up.
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/enviromentalissues/a/how_to_layer.htm
Head for the hills. When snow falls, strap on some cross-country skis with your family and hit the trails. Cross-country skiing works your heart and lungs and nearly every muscle in your body. Plus, it's affordable and the scenery is great.
http://www.new-fitness.com/exercise/skiing.html
Set goals. You'll stay more interested in getting fit if you set goals and then reward yourself as you achieve them. Start by asking yourself what you want to accomplish, and then come up with a plan for how to do it. Let's say you want to make the soccer team. Your plan might include learning to keep the ball in the air for five minutes without using your hands. When you reach a goal, first reward yourself (download some new tunes to work out too!), then set a new goal.
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exbeginners/a/beggoals.htm
Why do people gain weight? Your body needs food to work and grow, but if you eat more food than your body needs to get those jobs done, it stores the extra food as fat. You can keep your body at a good weight by eating reasonably-sized portions of healthy food and getting plenty of exercise.
www.Kidnetic.com
Your heart has a big job: pumping blood through your body 24/7. Help your heart do its job better by getting plenty of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is any kind of activity that makes your body use oxygen, such as swimming, running skating, soccer, and biking.
www.Kidnetic.com
Make regular pit stops. Just as a race car needs to stop for gas during a race, your body needs a steady supply of fuel to run right, so stick with regular meal and snack times. Fruit or yogurt makes a quick, healthy snack when you're on the run.
www.Kidnetic.com
Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say... The expression means that it takes time and patience to get a big job done. Being healthy is a big job, so it's OK to change your eating and exercise habits just a little at a time. Little changes really add up after a while.
Hitting the books too hard? For every hour of homework, take a five minute break to stretch, exercise, play with your pet or simply daydream. You'll feel better, and come back refreshed.
http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/tp/stressreliefkid.htm
Want to live longer? Floss your teeth. New research shows healthy gums may be linked to a healthy heart. Make it a habit when you're a kid and you won't think twice about it as an adult.
research.unc.edu/endeavors/win2000/floss.htm
See the glass as half-full. Studies show that cheerful people live longer, healthier lives. You'll also be more popular – everyone likes to be around positive people.
www.mayoclinic.org/news2000-rst/603.html
Sunblock: it's not just for the beach in the summer. Protect your face, neck and hands with sunblock year-round to reduce your risk of skin cancer. The lighter your skin, the more protection you need.
http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/index.php
Make like a library and be quiet for at least five minutes a day – it's harder than you think to shut out the world completely, but your brain and body will thank you for a little down time.
A good night's sleep is an important part of good health. When you don't get enough sleep, all sorts of things suffer: your patience, memory, judgment, performance and more. So get to bed!
Stress.about.com
Exercise your brain as well as your body by learning something new as often as you can. Studies have shown that learning new things boosts the level of a chemical in your brain called dopamine, which makes you feel good.
http://www.thementalfitnesscenter.com/learnsomethingnew.html
Crank it up. When your sports practice starts to seem boring or easy, talk to your coach or teacher about new ways to challenge yourself. You'll stay more interested in what you're doing and get stronger too.
If your fitness goals seem overwhelming to you, try breaking them up into smaller, more manageable pieces. Work on just one goal at a time, if that's all you can manage, and be proud of yourself for doing it.
http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/nutrition/physical-fitness.asp
Cool water fact: Most of your body is water. If you weigh 90 pounds, about 63 pounds of your total weight is water!
www.Kidnetic.com
How does sweat cool you down? Here's how it works: when you're hot, water comes up through your skin as sweat and evaporates into the air. This evaporation cools down your skin, which cools down your blood, which in turn cools down your whole body.
www.Kidnetic.com
Water: drink it up! On an average day, your body loses two to three liters of water just from living. (Two liters is the size of a big soda bottle.) If you're exercising and sweating, you lose even more water. So drink up throughout the day to keep your body working well.
www.Kidnetic.com
Got a headache? A pounding noggin is one of the signs of dehydration. Be sure to drink 6 – 8 cups of water a day, spread out throughout the day. If it's hot out or you're exercising a lot, it's even more important to drink because you're losing more water than at other times.
http://headaches.about.com/od/migraineprevention/a/dehydration.htm and http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/NU/00283.html
Take that to the bank! Think of your bones as a bank account. The more calcium and exercise you get, the more "deposits" of bone tissue you make in your body. You want your "bone bank account" to be big because your bone mass peaks by your late 20s – and you need to make sure your bones are strong enough by then to support you your whole life.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk3_lesson3.pdf and http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/osteoporosis/kidbones.htm#1