Because Nothing Should Weigh a Child Down

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Live Light Live Right 6-Week Fitness Challenge

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Live Light Live Right is partnering with bodysculpt of New York for a 6-Week Fitness Challenge. “Body Sculpt of New York, Inc. is a not-for-profit, health and fitness organization, whose mission is to educate parents and children about obesity and offer healthy lifestyle alternatives, physical fitness, and nutrition.” To learn more about bodysculpt of New York visit their website http://bodysculpt.org.

This Fitness Challenge began on July 7th at CAMBA (www.camba.org) community center in Brooklyn, NY and is three consecutive days, for a total of six weeks. It is aimed at improving the overall fitness levels of eligible children, age 12 years and above, conducted by Certified Fitness Instructors, Includes; soccer, cardio kickboxing, track & field, hip hop, yoga, volleyball and healthy eating nutrition workshops.

In order to measure the children’s success, we will conduct a fitness test and body fat assessment at the beginning and end of the program, which is done by the staff at Live Light Live Right.

Come and Join the Live Light Live Right Program at the 11th Annual Children’s Sports And Fitness Expo

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Please come and join the Live Light Live Right Program in supporting the 11th Annual Children’s Sports and Fitness Expo sponsored by bodysculpt of New York in association with BMS Family Health Center on June 28, 2014 from 10:00am to 5:00pm.

Live Light Live Right participants will be joining with body sculpt of New York to do a 6-week fitness challenge this summer.

Please see flyer below for all the information.

Children'sSportsExpo2014

Bike New York Outreach with Brookdale Hospital

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Bike New York holds free bike education classes at the Community Bike Education Center at PS/IS 202, the Ernest S. Jenkyns School located at 982 Hegeman Avenue, in East New York. Whether you have a child who is ready to ditch their training wheels and ride a two-wheeler for the first time, or you’re an adult who is ready to ride, there is a class for you!

We’ll teach the whole family how to ride independently on two wheels! Learn more and register at www.bikenewyork.org. Bikes and helmets are provided for free at the adult classes, and we’ll take the training wheels off your child’s bike.

Niché Bryant, A Report from his trainer Ebony Harris

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Once a shy and quiet young man Niche Bryant quickly became the leading fitness participant at the Camba Beacon Live Light Live Right Program. Niche started the program January 2014 and struggled heavily with the exercise. As time passed, I watched Niche quickly progress. He went from being a participator to a motivator in the blink of an eye. He was so motivating that even the adults found it hard to keep up with him, but they try their best. You can see in his exercise sessions he loves and excels in them.  His favorite workout is the obstacle course which consists of moving quickly through a variety of exercises, i.e. sprinting, jumping jacks, push ups, squats, burpees, etc. When he is not at our program Niche is an avid reader and writer. He strives at keeping his mind, as well as his body fit. He takes all that he has learned from our LLLR workouts and implements them into his school gym classes. In addition to doing that he has brought those workouts home to his family.  His family is one of the strongest support systems I’ve seen. Just as Niche is dedicated to his health and wellness, the Bryant family shows the same dedication to helping him reach his goals by participating as a family.  They keep close contact with his trainers and makes sure he attends his appointments for regular check ups. With his mindset, determination and commitment to his health and wellness, Niche Bryant is quickly becoming an unstoppable force in the Live Light Live Right program. He continues to show us that with a little faith, courage and support, there is nothing he can’t do!!!

–Ebony Harris Youth/Adult Fitness Coach

5 Tips for Building a Healthier Salad

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With the warmer weather just around the corner, salads can be quite appealing. Eating salad is a great way to curb your appetite and add nutrients to your diet. Yet, when it comes to your health, not all salads are created equally. Salads can contain more calories and fat than you think!

Take, for example, a Cobb salad. A classic Cobb salad contains chopped bacon, eggs, blue cheese, avocado, and loads of creamy dressing. Or if one of your favorites is a chef’s salad, typically it comes loaded with Swiss cheese, roast beef, eggs, and dressing. These salads can cost you more than 1,000 calories and 80 grams of fat! That said, don’t give up on salads. If you choose wisely they are not only healthy but delicious!

Follow these 5 tips to help you build a healthier, low-calorie salad: Continue reading →

Good Sports Foundation donation keeps our kids moving

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Live Light Live Right has been lucky enough to be the recipient of a generous donation of fitness equipment and fitness apparel from Good Sports. Good Sport is a foundation that supports healthy, active lifestyles by providing the equipment that disadvantaged young people are in need of. They believe that no child should be excluded from joining any teams or receiving equipment regardless of their economic status. We are very grateful to Good Sport for supporting our children by providing them with the tools they need for a successful healthy life.

Let’s Share Volunteer Program

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The Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center’s Volunteer Services Department and the Live Light Live Right Program has developed a new program titled, Let’s  Share Volunteer Program. Funded by the United Hospital Fund and the Robin Hood Foundation, The Let’s Share Volunteer program engages trained volunteers to provide education, advocacy, and support to pediatric patients and their families facing childhood obesity. The first nine volunteers of the program have completed their training and graduated on February 10, 2014.

The Let’s Share Volunteer Program will engage volunteers in a variety of activities, including providing information and assistance to new participants and their families; nutrition education on how to read food labels; show visuals on portion size; and explain handouts on better food options. The volunteers will also be able to assist with outreach, health fairs, weight bias and bullying workshops, and the creation of a local directory of available resources in the community and links related to obesity clinics, available subsidized or free exercise facilities, local grocery stores, farmer markets providing fresh fruits and vegetables, and green cart sites.

The volunteers attended 16 hours of training provided by the Live Light Live Right team including the medical, nutritional, and behavioral therapy sciences behind childhood obesity.

The next training session for the Let’s Share Volunteer Program will be held in late Spring 2014. For further information about volunteering for the Let’s Share Volunteer Program, please call Arlene Martin, Director of Volunteer Services at (718)240-5277.

Obesity’s ‘Disease’ Label May Demotivate Weight Loss, Make People Comfortable With Overweight Status

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A recent article in Medical Daily addresses the issues related to classifying obesity as a “disease” rather than a condition. This has sparked a great deal of controversy. It has allowed some people to feel more comfortable and even “feel healthier,” as shown in a new joint study from the University of Minnesota and the University of Richmond. The researchers went on to state that the people actually saw themselves as healthier because they now were given a diagnosis. Changing the nature of the condition changed how people believed they were affected by it. The apologists however “feel that disease is not always in someone’s control.”

More research is required to gain a greater understanding of how the “obesity is a disease” message influences beliefs about the controllability of weight, and the role of this message in reducing stigma against the obese.”

Source: Hoyt C, Burnette J, Auster-Gussman L. “Obesity Is a Disease” Examining the Self-Regulatory Impact of This Public-Health Message. Psychological Science. 2014 

Our Participant of the Month, Tanisha

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Tanisha is 15 years old and has been in our program since 2012. When she began her journey she weighed 189.5 lbs, her height was 5 feet 1 inches tall and her BMI was 34.4. Her doctor, Dr. Coulanges, referred her to our program because she wanted to change her lifestyle. Tanisha was motivated to lose weight and improve her eating habits to improve her health. Another big motivator: she was going to be starting high school that year.

She eliminated soda, cakes, cookies (except for special occasions) and junk food from her diet. She also stopped eating after 6 p.m., started drinking lots of water and exercising more. One of the great things that she learned and has implemented was reading food labels. This has really helped her to make the right food choices.

She said her friends have really noticed the difference in her, they support and encourage her. Her family has been instrumental in her success. They also changed the way they eat and now eat the same food that she does, making it easier for her to stay focused. Her mom used to fry a lot of foods prior to her starting the Live Light program. Now they eat more salads and whole breads.

Currently she weighs 158.3 pounds and her BMI is now 28.0. Tanisha wants to lose another 15 pounds. With all the work and commitment she has shown, she will be able to do it.

The Live Light team is really proud of her success.

Winter Vegetables..Enjoy the Flavor of the Season!

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on’t let the cold weather keep you from celebrating the flavors of the season. Winter is a great time for produce! There are many flavor-packed, versatile winter vegetables in season.

Sweet potato and winter squash lead the pack. They are very flavorful and highly nutritious. They are root vegetables, meaning they grow underneath the ground where they are able to absorb high amounts of minerals and other nutrients from the soil. They are also able to absorb important nutrients from the sun through their leaves. So they are really superfoods!

Most root vegetables are high in complex carbohydrates, which slowly break down into sugar in your body to give you energy. They are also high in fiber and phytonutrients, and low in fat. Additionally, they are generally high in vitamin C, beta-carotene, and contain essential minerals such as potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and small amounts of iron.

Root vegetables can be eaten in just about any way imaginable, and still taste great. The wide variety of flavors work well in a hearty vegetable soup, stew or casserole dish. You can bake, steam or barbecue them, and serve them as a side dish for your favorite meat.

Check out some ways to incorporate these highly nutritious .. and delicious.. foods into your menu!

Continue reading →