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“Hoop With Me,” taught by Jean Hooper from Hoop’n with Hooper, is a daily, interactive kids workout program that encourages kids to be active and eat healthy while having fun at the same time.  Using a $6 water-filled Maui Toys “Wave Hoop, Jean is able to energetically teach kids how to dance inside a hoop.  Even if they have no prior “hooping” knowledge, Jean can teach them fun, simple steps to all kinds of music from Motown to the hits of today.  What a fun and exciting way to exercise and help fight childhood obesity with “AMERICA’S FAVORITE” Hula Hoop teacher! 

Like many kids, Jean is a former “couch potato.”  She has an unbelievable love for cookies and candy but she has taught herself how to be disciplined and wants to share these tips with kids all around the world.  Jean’s tips are fun, logical, and easy to follow.  With her comedic style and genuine honesty, she encourages kids to live a more nutritious and active lifestyle and to have fun while doing it. 

America’s Fitness Boom has bred a generation plagued with severe joint problems and eating disorders.  The famed phrase “NO PAIN – NO GAIN” was drilled in baby boomers brains, along with extreme methods of diet and exercise regimes.  The search for physical perfection created a generation of driven and at times even obsessed individuals.  Many fitness gurus and celebrities profited from the boomers need of achieving quick and easy methods of weight-loss.  Men wanted that perfect six-pack and women desired buns of steel.  All sorts of exercise gadgets, diet books, tapes were being sold via television, radio and various publications.  The boomers grew more and more obsessed with their bodies, being toned, tan was the ultimate goal.  

The baby boomers, who are considered the 78 million Americans born from 1946 to 1964, have made sports injuries become the No. 2 reason for visits to a doctor's office nationwide, behind the common cold, according to a 2003 survey by National Ambulatory Medical Care.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission examined emergency-room visits in 1998, and discovered that sports-related injuries to baby boomers had risen by 33 percent since 1991.  The most common injuries sustained by over use by the boomers are the knees, shoulders, hips and the lower back.
Today many baby boomers include daily exercise to enhance the quality of life and retain their youthfulness.  It’s become a way of life for boomers to include sports activities and going to the gym, but unfortunately for many to excess. One of the biggest problems is that they often live in denial.  If they have played golf or tennis their whole life they often expect to keep doing that till they die.  To get them to do weights or other sports instead is hard since their social lives have been based on golf and tennis or skiing etc.
The high divorce rate in this generation has reignited boomers to get back to the gym and back to their diets.  Divorced men and women are trying to find another mate and start working out at the extreme levels of intensity as they did in their twenties which often leads to horrible injuries. Sports-medicine practices are growing at an incredible rate because of the baby boomers.  The improved diagnostics and surgical advancement have made it so easy for people to have surgical repairs and joint reconstruction.  The biggest problem is that there is no cure for degeneration of the spine, wrist and hands.  Hips and knees you can replace, but later you cannot be as intense in certain weight bearing exercises.  
The baby boomers must realize the old methods of working out and extreme dieting are harmful and can create chronic health issues, which often leads to depression and weight gain.   There are 4 steps to getting started on to a fitness program, first step by having a complete physical by a family doctor, second step have a structural evaluation by a licensed physical therapist or chiropractor, third step see a nutritionist for a sensible meal plan, fourth step is to find a good certified personal trainer to design a workout program and to teach you how to properly train your body and avoid injury.

Whether you're looking to lose weight or simply change to healthier eating habits, there are dozens of different schools of thought as to which “diet” is best. There are simple low calorie diets, low fat diets, “counting points” plans, liquid diets, and pill supplement-based diets. So many to diets to choose from! And there's (at least) one more - low-carb. Many people have found success in both losing weight and gaining other health benefits by following a high protein, low carb diet.


The Reasoning Behind the Diet

Carbohydrates are generally used by the body as a source of energy. When they aren't needed for energy, they are stored as fat, and at the same time keep fat from being burned as energy. The body basically thinks that it should use all those carbohydrates in the body as energy, not burn the fat. Therefore, the fat gets stored in all those fun places such as around our stomachs, in our thighs, or under our chins. Another tricky thing about carbohydrates is that the more you eat starches and sugars, the more your body craves them. So you end up in a big, crazy circle of storing excess fat.

A high protein, low carb diet drastically reduces the amount of carbohydrates in the diet. By reducing the carbohydrates and eating more protein, the body is forced to burn the excess fat stored in the body. Unlike when you eat carbohydrates, your body does not tend to crave more protein when you eat it. You are more satisfied and feel full while burning that excess fat. Another benefit of eating higher amounts of protein is increasing your metabolism.


So Why the Bad Rap?

If you’ve ever told someone that you are going on a high protein, low carb diet, you may see their eyes roll - Not YOU too? Simply put, most people don’t understand the reasoning behind a high protein, low carb diet. They have visions of NO carbs and eating bacon and sausage to your heart’s content. Low carb doesn’t mean no carb, and high protein doesn’t mean just any protein.


So What Does Low Carb Really Mean?

Generally speaking, a high protein, low carb diet means limiting your carbs to approximately 30 to 60 grams a day. It’s also important to watch the kinds of carbs you are eating. Carbs are in a lot more than just bread. They are in fruits, vegetables, and other whole grains. You want to eliminate or at least drastically reduce the carbs you consume in the way of highly processed breads or grains, candy, cakes, and other processed sugary foods. Think whole grains, including multi-grain bread, grains such as quinoa, and fruits and vegetables that don't have a high sugar content.

The Protein Side of the Diet

So what about protein? A “normal diet” consists of about 15% protein. A high protein diet usually has around 30% to 50%. As stated earlier, a high protein, low carb diet shouldn’t be an excuse to indulge in bacon for every meal (although you don’t have to forgo bacon altogether either). You want to aim for eating a variety of proteins and stick with lean sources as much as possible. You can enjoy steak, hamburger patties, and pork ribs (Just watch out for the sugar in barbeque sauce. Opt for a good spice instead), but balance your protein diet with healthier sources such as fish, chicken, turkey, cheese, nuts, and soy-based proteins.


Don’t Forget your Fruits and Veggies

Just because you are on a high protein, low carb diet, doesn’t mean that ALL you eat is protein or that you get rid of ALL carbs! Round out your diet with a healthy selection of fruits and vegetables, as long as their carb level is low. Avoid potatoes, carrots, and high sugar fruits such as bananas.

You can enjoy fruits and vegetables at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Add some fresh berries to your breakfast. If you are grilling for dinner, throw some zucchini or eggplant on the barbecue. Cut up veggies are also an easy snack to reach for in the fridge.


Other Benefits of a High Protein, Low Carb Diet

While weight loss is the most obviously sought-after benefit of a high protein, low carb diet, there are other benefits as well. Many people on a high protein, low carb diet report higher energy levels, better moods, increased concentration, clearer skin, less heartburn, and less compulsive eating.

Diabetics are also known to benefit from a high protein, low carb diet as it helps to moderate the insulin levels that cause them so many problems.

Bodybuilders also benefit from this kind of diet. The high protein aspect helps to build and repair muscles. It also keeps the energy level up.

Another benefit is that the diet does not require you to buy unusual or special foods. You are simply decreasing the number of carbs while enjoying other delicious and satisfying choices.


Ways to increase your protein

If you are on a high protein, low carb diet, you may think the major obstacle is finding ways to limit your carbohydrates. But it can be just as difficult to increase your protein when grabbing a quick snack. Here are a few ways you can increase your protein without eating a steak at every meal:

- Switch to whole milk for your whole grain cereal

- Try smoked salmon on your scrambled eggs or in an omelet

- Keep hard-boiled eggs and string cheese in the fridge to grab as a quick snack

- Have yogurt with some fresh berries as an evening snack

Another great way to add protein is to make sure you have protein supplements around. PROSHOTS from www.NUVOSPORT.COM , is available in a 2.9-fluid-ounce liquid shot that comes in several exciting fruit-based flavors. Protein supplements such as these can be a quick boost of energy and are convenient as well. Follow us on Facebook for amazing new offers and goodies.

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"Proper nutrition is the essential ingredient in the recipe for being healthy and fit. Whether you are an adult or child you must provide your body with the highest quality sources of protein and proper sources of carbohydrates and fats everyday.  Nuvo Sport provides an all natural protein supplement with a well balanced blend of fruits and vegetables that can easily be taken throughout the day."

Michael Torchia
Fitness and Nutrition Expert
President/Founder
Shape Up America Campaign

"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children."

                        Dietrich Bonhoeffer