What are your 4th of July long weekend plans?

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Happy 4th of July weekend to all my American family and friends!

(Yes, I'm both Canadian and American, so I'm sending love to both!)

Since most people have Friday off (including myself), I hope you're all making it as enjoyable as possible without sacrificing your health and fitness goals.

Today my husband and I are heading out for good mountain bike ride around our area. We both own Ellsworth mountain bikes, and love to hit the trails when we can. Even our dogs join us (the oldest one, Kodi, who is 15, stays home though).

Last night, we all went for a walk in the park, despite the rain and thunder that just won't stop.... and finished up with movies and strawberries for snacking (yummy).

Tomorrow, we're going down to the lake, to do some wakeboarding and BBQ'ing. However, one has to be careful when enjoying their time at a BBQ - BBQ's are typically full of high sugar, high bad fat, and high refined carb foods: cookies, cakes, brownies, chips, pretzels, refined hot dogs, etc... the list can go on and on.

I even saw one women in front of me at the grocery store by $175 worth of "BBQ" food which included the items I listed above plus a whole lot more. It was scary. I felt sorry for her arteries and waist line.

Since most people are going to do some sort of picnic/BBQ celebrating, why not try to enjoy the seasonal foods that aren't going to destroy your health and fitness acheivements? Sure, we all need to enjoy something naughty now and then, but there is a limit. So, instead of cookies, cakes and other sugary foods, why not bring along fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries and other fresh and fun food items? Instead of bags of chips, why not crunchy carrots, cucumbers or snap peas? For meat, choose unprocessed cuts of any product you like - the porterhouse isn't going to clog your arteries, it's all the trans fat in those baked goods you might have bought.


I hope all of you have a safe and fabulous 4th of July with friends, family and fun.

I'll be back after the weekend to talk more about the potential downfalls of artificial sweeteners.

In health, Cassandra