Summer is over for my family here in Germany, for my relatives in Canada and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. Make no mistake, I am not melancholy about the return to school, to routine, to grey skies. No. This time of year is full of opportunities to start fresh, to think anew, to harvest what we’ve planted.
There’s a seed of hope and inspiration in each of the carnival posts this month. As usual, the ten best of all submissions received are full if thought-provoking, practical tips for staying fit and getting healthy as a family. And, as an …read more

July and it’s already time for the thirteenth Healthy & Fit Family. There are plenty of people who still believe that 13 is unlucky, but I am feeling pretty confident about this edition. As usual, the carnival is limited to the ten submissions I thought were most family-oriented, health-oriented and fitness-oriented.

 
The First of May is Labour/Labor day in Europe. It’s a chance for unions to parade, families to relax and outdoor swimming pools to open. Not that I am going near the cold, cold water in our local park. No, I have other ideas for how our family is going to splash around in warm water this afternoon. Have I become a temperature wimp? Probably, but it’s a great way to introduce the Eleventh Healthy & Fit Family.
It seems to me that the old adage “no pain, no gain” is especially destructive when you want to be active as a …read more

We all know the advice:
A healthy weight gain during pregnancy is usually between 25 and 35 pounds (11 to 15 kg) a little less if the mother-to-be is overweight, a little more if she is underweight, double the recommendation if you’re a fashion model whose pre-pregnancy diet included tissues. For obese pregnant mothers, there are no-gain eating plans to be followed under close supervision of their doctors or midwives.
By now, you’ve probably seen at least one article about the study April’s issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. It’s the study that says women who gain weight toward the upper end …read more

 Take one popular blog carnival, run it monthly, limit it to ten spots and you’ve got a very readable, very competitive collection of posts. Hopefully, Craig Harper is right and all of us need to learn to have our work judged and evaluated. Still, managing expectations of perfection is tough for everyone.
I do worry about the decision to limit the carnival to 10 spots sometimes, but I want it to be completely readable. Parents who want to head healthier families are often overwhelmed with blame guilt information and it can often seem impossible to counteract the billions of dollars in advertising …read more