Once again, this New Year, the media is filled with fitness and lifestyle experts invoking Americans to eat better, work out more, and get in shape. While it’s hard to argue with such advice, the reality is that our very ability to work out and stay fit depends on our willingness to take the time out of our already full daily schedules and devote the time necessary in order to help ourselves become or stay healthy.

Today's millennials know that being active, eating right, exercising and maintaining a good outlook on life is key to developing and fit body. One that hopefully will continue to function the way it was meant to from the time the first man and woman foraged for food.
So, if we know that we are supposed to be physically fit and eat right why are Americans in general still overweight and subjecting themselves to various lifestyles that promote bad eating and drinking habits that eventually play a big role in driving up our own health insurance costs.

Take the following point for consideration. Obesity-Related Cancers Are Rising Among Millennials, New Study Says

Researchers speculate that obesity-related health conditions and lifestyle factors are contributing to the rise in select cancer rates among Millennials. These include poor diet, gallstone development, the rise in diabetes and inflammatory gastrointestinal disease.
Six cancers tied to obesity—colorectal, endometrial, gallbladder, kidney, multiple myeloma and pancreas—are on the rise in young adults, according to new data published in The Lancet Public Health journal.

Millennials are reportedly America's most active generation, but that does not exempt the younger demographic from a disease. In fact, a recent American Cancer Society-led study says specific obesity-related cancers are on the rise in young adults (age 25 to 49), with the steepest increases in successively younger generations.

The study states: "We found that, in the USA, the risk of developing cancer has increased in younger adults ... with a steeper increase in progressively younger ages and successively younger generations born since around 1950. ... These trends might have been influenced by the rapid rise in overweight or obesity prevalence in the USA. Between 1980 and 2014, overweight or obesity prevalence in the USA increased by more than 100 percent (from 14.7 percent to 33.4 percent) among children and adolescents and by 60 percent among adults aged 20 to 74 years."

Now, if these facts should provide you with enough incentive to get up and get moving so that you don’t become a part of the above statistics. After all, you know you needed to get in shape, isn’t that why you made that fitness resolution in the first place this past New Year’s Eve? Well, now it's approaching the end of February and you still haven’t worked up a sweat over it. So, its now time to get motivated and begin. After all, like the man said, “It’s Never Too Late” to get yourself in shape!

There is a lot of info out there on the net on how to begin a new physical regimen. Or you can join a gym and enlist the help of a fitness trainer. But whatever you do, you're going to see facts that recommend you track all of your progress so that you can provide yourself with proof of just how well you’re doing, or NOT doing, and what you still need to do in order to accomplish your predetermined goal. And yes, we do mean reaching a goal. Setting goals are paramount to being successful at achieving a fitness regimen and keeping to it.

To take a little excerpt from our company’s mission statement:
At HRMUSA,  we are all about getting people fit, boosting physical performance, and improving lifestyle. Heart Rate Monitors USA is proud to be one of the most informative databases of heart rate knowledge and wellness tips.

From training tips to setting goals, you will discover how heart rate and activity monitoring can combine with pedometers, heart rate monitors, and blood pressure machines to help you achieve your goals.

We are about getting people fit and improving their physical performance and lifestyle. And Heart Rate Monitors are a great motivational tool to keep pushing you! And since we are looking at your taking the first steps into changing your stagnant lifestyle into a more active one, combined with a healthier diet and exercise program, HRMUSA has many activity monitoring devices to help you achieve your goals. But one device that is suited to a beginner into fitness is the Garmin Vivosmart HR+GPS Activity Tracker  The Garmin Vívosmart HR+ smart activity tracker is able to track distance, time and pace for indoor or outdoor activities. With GPS, you can get even more accurate distance and pace stats as well as a map of your activity when running or walking outdoors. In addition to tracking your runs, steps, and calories, the Vívosmart HR+ measures floors climbed and intensity minutes.

So you see that this activity monitor has everything you would need in order to track not only your daily activity but also while you're putting yourself through your exercise routines as well. And with the heart rate monitoring, which is wrist-based. So, you no longer need a chest-strap to track your heart rate during your exertions. The Vívosmart uses Garmin’s new Elevate wrist heart rate technology to monitor heart rate at the wrist 24/7. It quantifies the intensity of your fitness activities using intensity minutes.
As we said above, getting yourself fit and maintaining that commitment is based heavily on reaching pre-set goals. And the Vívosmart HR+ Activity monitor learns your current activity level, then assigns an attainable daily step goal. As you meet your milestones, it will adjust your goal for the next day, gradually nudging you toward a healthier lifestyle. Throughout your day, it reminds you to stay active with a move bar and vibration alert if you’ve been inactive for 1 hour. Go for a short walk to reset the move bar.

It seems like the Vívosmart is just the ticket for you to begin your fitness regimen for 2019, and you have some time to make up since your starting your fitness journey a little behind the start of the New Year, but with help from the Garmin Vívosmart you will soon be able to see just how well you do on reaching those new goals.

And maybe you can be a part of the Garmin community of healthy people that strive to “Beat Yesterday”!

Earlier this year, maybe it was a New Year’s resolution that you actually kept. You decided to commit to getting fitter, eating better and in the process, being more active than you have been for many years. That being said, you have seen quite a bit of improvement as far as losing some weight, trimming down a few sizes in your clothes but more importantly finding it easier to be more active because you now have the lung power and better muscle tone to tackle a healthier lifestyle that revolves around eating right and exercising. But just how well is your family doing in regard to their own wellbeing?

After all, a healthy family starts off by someone leading by example. So, if you’ve just made that decision this year to be healthier, have your wife and children jumped on the bandwagon with you to get fit? Just like you found out, eating well and being physically active every day are keys to your child's health and well-being. Eating too many high-calorie foods and getting too little physical activity can lead to excessive weight gain and physical health problems, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, which are now being diagnosed in children in alarming amounts. Obesity also is associated with an increased risk of other health problems such as depression.

You play an important role in helping your child, and the entire family, learn about healthy eating and regular physical activity. Parents have the power to set examples. Make healthy eating and daily physical activity fun, to help children learn good habits to last a lifetime. Here are some tips on how you can promote healthy eating habits and encourage active lifestyles in your family.

Today, many kids are overweight or obese. A healthy, active lifestyle can help maintain weight. It also can prevent health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and high blood pressure. The tips below can help your family be healthier, happier and allow you all to be more active and enjoy new activities that you may have put off because no one was up to the challenge of doing them because they were overweight!

Eating better (for children and families)

Start the day with a healthy breakfast. It refuels the body and provides energy for the day.
Let your kids help plan and prepare 1 meal each week.  This helps them to get involved with the planning and sparks their interest in eating right.
Eat together as a family as often as possible.
Take time eating and chew slowly. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to tell the body that you
are full.
Eat more vegetables and fresh fruits. Aim for a total of 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables
each day.

Eat more whole grains. Examples include oats, brown rice, rye, and whole-wheat pasta. Try to
eat at least 3 ounces of whole grains each day.  Besides the good fiber and carbs your eating, these types of food will help you feel full.

Drink plenty of fluids. Choose water, low-fat or nonfat milk, and low-calorie beverages.

Serve a variety of foods.  Serve food in small portions.

Eating better (Rule of thumb for parents)
Reward children with praise, not food.
Do not demand or reward “a clean plate.” Let your children ask for more if they are still
hungry.
Read nutrition labels for serving size and This information can help you select foods that fit
your family’s needs.
Bake, broil, or grill foods to reduce saturated fat intake!
Avoid cooking with butter or vegetable oil. Use healthier versions like olive, canola, or
sunflower oil.
Choose snacks that provide nutrients and energy. These are essential for active, growing
children.
Ask your doctor about vitamin supplements for you and your children.

Being more active (for children and families)
Move more. Try to get between 30 and 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Short sessions
of movement throughout the day add up.
Include physical activity in your daily routine. Walk as a family before or after meals.
Make playtime with your family fun. Be active by shooting hoops or playing tag.
Be active in the home. For example, you can dust, vacuum, garden, or walk the dog. These
activities are good ways to burn calories.
Include activities, such as hiking or biking, when you go on vacation.
Know your daily calorie needs. Balance calories you consume with calories you burn.
Limit TV, computer, and video game time to less than 2 hours per day. Encourage physical
activity instead.

Now one key tool that you can use, like the “Carrot on the Stick” is using an activity monitor, that’s really made just for kids to get them interested in doing more, being more active and actually having them WANT to be more physical on a daily basis, why? Because with this new child’s activity monitor from Garmin, the Garmin Vivofit Jr Kid's Activity Tracker  that keeps your kids on the move so they can earn more gaming time if they’ve reached they're 60 minute goal time of being active! The Vívofit Jr. Activity Tracker can be managed by parents using the compatible Garmin app. From the app, you can add multiple children and see their steps, sleep, daily activities and task data when it automatically syncs³ to your smartphone. Assign tasks, find out how many reward coins each child has, and even invite the family to compete in a daily step challenge (from the Adventure Trail) — all from your Apple® or Android® smartphone. How awesome is that?

Finally, as a parent, you have an incentive for your kids to get up and get moving, all with the aid of Garmins child’s fitness tracker. Setting goals when they are younger makes it all that much easier for them to continue to be active and motivated as they grow into young adults. And since your going to be leading by example, both you and your significant other can set your own goals of being fit by using your own Garmin of choice to stay on course be just that much ahead of your kids in being fit. After all, you don’t want to be breathing too hard in trying to to be a step ahead of your kid's activities now, do you? One nice activity tracker that can go the distance for you in helping you maintain your goals and if your partner needs that incentive push this activity monitor from Garmin, the Garmin Vivosmart 3 HR Activity Tracker  their way. This activity monitor can keep both of you honest as you meet your goals and challenge your partner to do the same. The Vívosmart 3 Activity tracking capabilities include steps, floors climbed, calories burned, intensity minutes and more. Move IQ automatically detects exercises such as walking, swimming, cycling, and elliptical training. Sometimes it easy to get involved with work that can keep you sitting for most of the day. But your Vivosmart can alert you when you've been sitting just a bit too much and alert you that its time to get moving. This watch can also automatically start a timed walk or run activity. So you’re free to get up, get moving, and let Vívosmart 3 capture your active life. As always, you can review your activities later on Garmin Connect, so both of you can see just how well you're doing on a daily basis and making sure your one step ahead of your kids.

Welcome to Family Fitness, from your family oriented partners here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com!

Yep, the 4th of July is right around the corner, and we are all looking forward to this day to celebrate our country’s birthday. And how do we celebrate it, well with Fireworks and Food of course! Now the fireworks part is always a crowd pleaser and I don’t know anyone who’s not a fan of great cookout food like barbeque, hot dogs, steaks on the grill and don’t forget the corn on the cob, slathered with butter, salt and other condiments of your choosing. But after all that food has been passed around and maybe passed around, again and again, you just might be feeling more than a little guilty and not looking forward to jumping on that bathroom scale in the morning.

Anyone that is trying to get a little leaner by watching what they eat, how much they eat and trying to stay away from those sweets and extra carbs that can put a whammy on your weight loss and fitness goals, know that a holiday like the 4th of July needs to be handled with some restraints. Now, by no means are we suggesting that you forgo those cook-out treats, but again, moderation is the key and knowing when to politely say NO to that extra helping of baked beans and that second slice of cheesecake.

Since trying to live a healthier lifestyle revolves around exercising and counting your calories based upon your daily activity levels, we thought you might want to know just how many calories you consume when eating that holiday or just plain backyard cookout fare. And the kicker is, just how much more you would need to exercise on top of what you're already doing in trying to become fitter and leaner!

For example:
A Cheeseburger can pack a lot of calories -- especially when they're topped with all the trimmings: cheese, bacon, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc. In analyzing the caloric makeup, it was found that a 6-ounce burger with a bun and all the toppings adds up to 700 calories. To burn this off, pick up a racquet -- because you'll need a marathon badminton session lasting nearly 133 nonstop minutes to shed that weight.

Or eating a Hot Dog: now how many of us think nothing of eating two, three or more during the course of a holiday gettogether? But, would you grab that extra hot dog if you knew you'd have to swim for more than a half hour to burn it off?

One Chicken Breast with #BBQ Sauce
Calories: 253
Exercise Equivalent (Cost to Burn Off the Calories): 61.7 minutes of canoeing
Fit Tip: Go skinless, and you could try lemon and pepper instead of barbecue sauce to lower the calories. Or, at the very least, compare barbecue sauces and pick the lowest-calorie brand (that is still tasty).
FYI: One chicken drumstick with barbecue sauce has 242 calories and will cost you 34.4 minutes of swimming.

Coleslaw
(1 cup)
Calories: 350
Exercise Equivalent (Cost to Burn Off the Calories): Mowing the lawn (walking with a power mower) for 59.7 minutes
Fit Tip: Use light or nonfat mayonnaise and add some green and red peppers to increase the yield while cutting calories per cup. To make it simple, you can find coleslaw mixes in the vegetable section at the grocery store.

Homemade Baked Beans
(1 cup)
Calories: 392
Exercise Equivalent (Cost to Burn Off the Calories): Golf (walking and carrying clubs) 74.3 minutes
Note: The problem is, baked beans are made with added sugar and/or molasses.
Fit Tip: You can try using less sugar (or molasses) in your recipe. You’re probably adding too much anyway. Try making your own bean salad instead. Choose your favorite beans, chop up an onion and some peppers, add a little lemon juice and vinegar for flavor, and you’ve got a nutrient-packed side dish.

Grilled Sweet Corn I’m good for two to three ears of corn at any time!
(One ear)
Calories: 90
Exercise Equivalent (Cost to Burn Off the Calories): Kayaking for 5.4 minutes
Note: With a moderate glycemic index of 56 (compared with 100 for white bread), corn provides carbohydrates for energy without excessively raising blood sugar.
Fit Tip: You don’t need to drench good sweet corn in butter. Grilled corn tastes great without any toppings.

Potato Chips
(2 handfuls)
Calories: 300
Exercise Equivalent (Cost to Burn Off the Calories): Jumping rope for 32 minutes. Now tell me! Who hasn’t had more than 2 handfuls of chips at any holiday gathering, see what I’m getting at!
Fit Tip: Slice your potatoes and put them on the grill with garlic, pepper and other spices for seasoning. Also, you can try grilling a sweet potato, which has only 112 calories.

And who isn’t imbibing in a few alcoholic beverages?
Two Beers
(12 ounces each)
Calories: 300
Exercise Equivalent (Cost to Burn Off the Calories): Taking a run at a nice pace of 4.7 mph for about 40 minutes, will have those calories put to rest
Fit Tip: Try ultra-light beer ­ do a taste test.

Seeing what you need to do in order to burn off that delicious holiday food can be a little daunting. One thing that can help you keep track of just what you need to do, how well you’re doing in accomplishing those various activities is a good activity monitor. And since your looking at using the sport of running as the main activity in your quest for becoming a healthier you a good activity monitor to consider is the Garmin Vivosmart HR+GPS Activity Tracker  The Garmin Vívosmart HR+ Smart Activity Tracker; is able to track distance, time and pace for indoor or outdoor activities. With GPS, you can get even more accurate distance and pace stats as well as a map of your activity when running or walking outdoors. In addition to tracking your runs, steps, and calories, and the Vívosmart HR+ also measures the floors climbed and intensity minutes.

Now while a good activity tracker like the Garmin Vivosmart watch can keep you aware of just how much you are doing in reaching your fitness goals. It can’t stop you from excessive eating! That is something you need to work on in order to gain control of your eating habits.

But it can be done and with a commitment to consuming just what you need in order to live a healthier life. Its really up to YOU to keep that portion size in line and stick your fork into healthier food choices. You can eat just about anything you want as long as you remember that moderation is the key!

Oh Yeah, Happy 4th of July from All the gang here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com