Stats with a Side of Sweet Peanut Butter

Today's post promises to be a bit of a hodge-podge as I have two important things to discuss: a set of statistics and some sweet peanut butter.

Let's start with the statistics. A fellow trainer gave me her copy of the American College of Sports Medicine's official journal, and it contained an article that talked specifically about menopause. Now, I'm not going to talk about menopause here in this post, but I will share a set of statistics mentioned within the article. They come from Healthy People 2010, which is a decade-long study conducted by our government's Center for Disease Control. (Basically, they just wanna know how we're doing so that they can help us be our healthiest best). And so, the statistics I speak of:

Surprising, right? And guys, I might not have your numbers at this point, but you should still pay attention to the following statement. Loosely translated, it means: get active, people! Ladies, what's up with the 70% of you that aren't participating in leisure time activities? And as a personal trainer, I can attest to the fact that exercise is like milk. It does a body good. Really good. Plus, strength training is fun. Not to mention beneficial in its own right. To those of you that DON'T strength train, I know it can be intimidating—but you can do it. Forget about everyone else and just do it at your own pace and at your own level. My guess is that you'll love it. At least that's my hope for you.

Your dose of fit? To all of you, I say be as active as you can. And be so regularly. Find a schedule that works for you and stick to it as best you can. There's really no excuse for choosing the couch over a crunch, or the bean bag chair over a pick-up game of baseball. (Unless you're hurt and/or sick.) And please, don't be afraid to ask for help. And don't, under any circumstance, compare yourself to anyone else out there. Myself included. When it comes to leisure time activities, exercise and strength training—it's all about you. What you can, and what you feel comfortable doing. And if we all work on that together, we'll become a nation of physically fit people and we'll blow the CDC away with our improved statistics within their Healthy People studies.

Next topic, let's talk about peanut butter. I made a most excellent discovery the other day when I mixed a tablespoon of peanut butter with a tablespoon of almond butter, plus some cinnamon and honey. It tasted like pure joy on my Golden Delicious. And it got me thinking—why haven't I gotten more creative with peanut butter in the past? I mean, I now get that it just screams "ADD SOMETHING TO ME" every time I open the jar. So right now I'm thinking about vanilla. And of course, pumpkin. Maybe together, maybe not. We'll see what happens next time I get an apple craving.

Question: If you have all the ingredients in the world, what would you choose to mix into your peanut butter? Also, how much physical activity do you get in one week. And ladies, do you strength train? Why or why not?