Blogger's Choice Awards: We've Been Nominated

The Blogger's Choice Awards is sponsored by PayPerPost and is all about blogs making an impact in the blogosphere. The blogs are nominated by both bloggers and readers who love the blogs they've submitted. Votes are shown in real time (which is something I like) so you're able to keep up with who's in the lead in a certain category. The winners in each category will be recognized at Postiecon, the BCA awards ceremony, on June 2, 2007 in Orlando, Florida.

As you've probably guessed (if the badge in the right hand corner is any indication), One Healthy Sucker has been nominated for Best Health Blog! Yay us!! Go on over and cast your vote for us. It's free, don't worry.

Since you're already giving us your vote, spread the love and vote for another great site Truth & Opinion in the Best Pop Culture Blog category. Truth & Opinion offers a wealth of information and insights on a variety of topics. I love it! Check it out.

OHSucker Weekly 2nd Edition Pt. 2

"Are you ready? Yes, I'm ready!" First things first, next week we're going back to One Healthy Sucker Weekly all in one post. I thought it would work better in two sections but ehhh...I don't particularly care for it that way. Oh well, at least I gave it a shot.

Ok, ok, here's what you've been waiting for.

Upcoming Topics For This Week (4/16-4/21)

Necessary Cleansing
The Spa At Home
Health Site/Product Review
Health Job Spotlight
Make Your Home a Healthy Home
**OHSucker Speaks

As always the topics aren't in any specific day order but I do promise to get them all in. In case you're wondering, OHSucker Speaks is a new weekly post that I'll introduce on Saturdays where I'll talk about a random, not related to health, "let me say my piece" topic. Hope you all continue to enjoy the posts.

Before I sign off for today, let me just put it out there...DON'T BE AFRAID TO SHARE THIS SITE WITH YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY and ACQUAINTANCES!

Also, One Healthy Sucker was nominated as BEST HEALTH BLOG.
PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE (for us of course) IT'S FREE!!



BE HEALTHY!!

OHSucker Weekly 2nd Edition

Wow this week sure went by fast. Don't you think? It's certainly been a week of self examination especially with the Don Imus controversy going on. Don't worry I'm not going to talk about that here too. Trust me, I'm all "posted out" on that subject.

We had a pretty good post week here too, I think. For those that missed them or just wait until today to get the weekly rundown, here's what was served up:

OHSucker in Review Week of 4/9-4/13/07
Monday: What's Up With Hip Hop Abs+
Tuesday: Start! Your Heart
Wednesday: Cheating Is Good, Mmmmkay*
Thursday: Children's Nutrients Get Licked
Friday: Tips For Triathlon Success

* My Favorite Post Of The Week
+ Readers' Favorite Post Of The Week

Ok, my most favorite people aka the reason why this blog exists, that's a wrap for this week. Tune in tomorrow to see what we have on schedule for the upcoming week. As always if you have suggestions, sites/products you'd like reviewed, questions or anything else that may be on your mind. Send an email!

BE HEALTHY!!

Tips For Triathlon Success

I'd begun my search by scouring sites and asking questions in order to bring you the best tips for triathlon success. There were so many variances and different suggestions that I thought I'd just go ahead post the best (in my opinion) blogs, sites, books and common suggestions with my input. Hey what can I say? Only the best for my readers! Enjoy!

Blogs

TriBlog: A great personal account of the "journey from couch potato to triathlete"
Triathlon Training dot Net: A terrific collection of tips for beginners by beginners. They've even posted their "transformation" pictures.

Sites

Beginner Triathlete: Keep track of your process online with a free training journal
Tri-Newbies Online: Awesome site for beginners. Great collection of other sites and relevant starting points.
Hulaman's Free Triathlon Training Tips: Another terrific resource. Best of all, the vast majority of the tips seem to be geared towards the "financially and time challenged".

Books

Here's a list of Books On Triathlon Training. These are a few of the best books on the list.
Triathlon 101
The Triathlete's Training Bible
Endurance Sports Nutrition
Triathlon Training in 4 Hours A Week

Best Suggestions

Regarding bikes: (from Hulaman) "Don't go and spend 3 grand on a new bike only to find out this triathlon training stuff is for other people. Go ahead and use your 10 speed, mountain bike or buy used and upgrade later if necessary. BUT, do make sure your bicycle fits properly and you have a helmet. It will also help you a lot if you equip your bike with clip-less pedals and shoes to maximize your pedal stroke."

Regarding transitioning: (can't remember the exact source but I know it was from one of these folks listed here) "Practice at least an hour a day on your transition". This will help you get your routine down pat for speed and ease.

Regarding weight lifting: (from Tri-Newbies) "Move up in weight every two weeks or so" and "Maintain proper form even if you're fatigued. The more fatigued you are the more prone to injury you become". Having been an Athletic Trainer in college I can't begin to stress how important AND true this is. Most of the injuries we treated were preventable injuries. Especially those that occurred in the weight room.

Regarding swimming: (from Beginner Triathlete) "Get more comfortable in the water by starting your workout with an easy warm up (ie kicking around on a flutter board)". The more comfortable you are in the water the easier your workout is and the less stress you experience. Yes, a no brainer, I know.

Regarding running: (also from Beginner Triathlete) "Take time when increasing your cadence. Be patient with your adaptation". Cadence is your steps per second. Don't become over concerned with getting a faster cadence down. It'll come as you progress with your training.

Regarding recovery: (another gem from Hulaman) "Cross Training is the best way to avoid burnout and still stay fit". Why? Well mostly because you've switched it up a bit, you're not bored and not as fatigued as you may normally become.

That's all folks! Good luck with your triathlon training. I know success at the finish line is just waiting for you...go get it!

Children's Nutrients Get Licked

I feel that I've been blessed with one of the non pickiest eaters in the world when thinking about my soon to be 12 year old child. I never had any trouble with veggie eating, fruit eating and not eating (or wanting) lots of candy. I do realize that many a parent would trade places with me in a heartbeat. Sorry...I wouldn't give my baby up for the world. Anyway on to the point of today's post. In their growing years, children essentially need more nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) than we adults do.

Many of us know this and typically try to get our children to eat certain nutrient enriched foods. We usually have a hard time getting them to eat these "good for you" foods so we turn to children's vitamins as a supplement. Now I'm not going to say children's vitamins aren't any good because hey, I myself, am a product of Flintstone Chewables. I will say that 90% of vitamin supplements taken orally pass through the digestive system unprocessed. So doing the math, that means only 10% of these supplements are processed and used.

This means that many times our children are left without the proper amounts of Vitamins A, B6&12, C, K, D or Riboflavin, Thiamin, Iron, Calcium and Zinc. These are the vitamins and minerals that they need most. How can we get these essential vitamins to our growing children? One innovative way is to give them a vitamin filled lollipop. That's right you heard me. There really is a lollipop that boasts having the nutrients growing children need. This little innovation, KidsPops, comes from the makers of PowerPops (the weight loss lollipop). The idea behind these pops is giving your children one a day (as a vitamin tablet alternative) will allow your child to now get 99% of these needed nutrients because the nutrients are now basically absorbed instantly since the digestive system is bypassed. Now it seems that you won't have to fight with your children to get them to take their vitamins. Especially since these tasty pops come in a variety of flavors and your little ones are getting a healthy treat that they don't seem to mind eating. You won't mind giving them these pops because they're made from only natural flavors and sweeteners. How about that?