Healthy Eating Plate Is a Better Version of MyPlate and the Food Pyramid

April 24th, 2012
The MyPlate Graphic

The Older "MyPlate" Graphic

Back in June 2011, The U.S. government unveiled the “MyPlate” diagram, intended to give Americans a visual reminder for the proportions of the different components needed for healthy eating. It was an upgrade from the previous MyPyramid diagram that wasn’t particularly successful. The MyPlate diagram was a representation of what people will actually see when they sit down for a meal.

Unfortunately, the “MyPlate” icon was just a diagram and doesn’t provide much written information. So, a group of colleagues at the Harvard Health Publications and the Harvard School of Public Health got together to create an improved version. They call it the “Healthy Eating Plate.”

The Healthy Eating Plate

The "Healthy Eating Plate" Diagram

As with the “MyPlate” graphic, the “Healthy Eating Plate” provides a graphic version of a dinner plate, and shows the relative proportions of the different components of a healthy meal. However, it goes one step further and adds practical information relevant to each of those components. For example, beside the “Fruits” portion, it adds the note: “Eat plenty of fruits of all colors.”

You can download a free printable version of the “Healthy Eating Plate” at the Harvard Health Blog at:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/harvard-to-usda-check-out-the-healthy-eating-plate-201109143344

If you’re looking for a good printable diagram for the nutrition component of your health classes, this is a great resource.

dick_headshot_web8.jpg

Dick Moss, Editor,
PE Update.com

To check out the PE Update.com website, Click Here!
To subscribe to the free Fun Stuff for PE Newsletter, Click Here!

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted in health, nutrition, physical education | No Comments »

Jenny Simpson – World 1500 Meter Champion – on Dealing With Disappointment

March 12th, 2012

Here’s an excellent interview for those of you who must deal with athletes who have experienced a disappointing performance…and what coach hasn’t dealt with that situation!

In fact, it’s so relevant that you might want to email a link to such athletes so they can watch it themselves.

The interview is with Jenny Barringer Simpson. Jenny, currently 26 years of age, won a surprise gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. She is also the American record holder in the steeplechase with a time of 9:12.50.

Here’s a sample of her philosophy: “But I can tell you from past experiences, you can’t win them all, but you can be a fighter in every circumstance.”

I’m having some formatting problems, so I’ve had to put her interview at the very bottom of the page.

Also, here is footage of her World Championship win. She was not favored to win and the look of shock on her face after the race is priceless (I think the commentary is in Spanish). Her interview about disappointment did not take place after this race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XO9R-Ds60Jo#!

dick_headshot_web8.jpg

Dick Moss, Editor,
PE Update.com

To check out the PE Update.com website, Click Here!
To subscribe to the free Fun Stuff for PE Newsletter, Click Here!

Tags: , , , , ,

Posted in athletics, cross-country running, running, sport psychology, track | No Comments »

Ellen’s Dance Dare Shows the Value of Chasing Your Dreams

February 6th, 2012

Ellen's Dance Dare

This topic might seem like a bit of a stretch for a physical education blog, but, well…it does involve a varsity runner, dancing and goal-setting. It’s inspirational. And besides, it’s hilarious.

One of my university runners, Jenna Thornber, has, for over a year, had the goal of winning an invitation to appear on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Ellen includes dancing in many of her segments, and Jenna thought she’d attract Ellen’s attention by posting YouTube videos of herself dancing in strange situations. So, she posted videos in which she danced in a downtown shopping mall, in the middle of the busiest intersection in Toronto, in a university lecture hall (during a lecture), and more.

I think many people thought it was just a joke and didn’t take Jenna seriously. After all, a girl from a small town in Ontario appearing on the Ellen Show? Impossible.

But, in January 2012, Ellen announced an official dance video contest to win an appearance on her show. The contest, called Ellen’s Dance Dare, involved videos in which the contestants must dance behind unsuspecting people. For Jenna, it was a situation where preparation meets motivation meets opportunity.

So, having several video productions under her belt, Jenna went to work and created a dancing video masterpiece. A student at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Jenna had the perfect venue for ambush-dancing. Her video showed her dancing behind a professor during a lecture, behind an unsuspecting student at a urinal, popping from a laundromat dryer, squirm-dancing beneath a bench-presser, and much more!

And guess what. – on Thursday February 2nd, two clips from Jenna’s video appeared on the Ellen Show. One clip showed her peaking around the corner of a public bathroom then dancing behind a student at a urinal – it received the biggest laughs of all the contestant clips that were featured. The other clip showed her dancing behind a diver on a high tower.

She shared the episode with First Lady, Michelle Obama, who I assume watched the Jenna’s video along with Ellen and millions of viewers.

Getting noticed by Ellen is the first step. The final step is to win the contest and a flight to California to meet Ellen on-air. Having seen a number of the other contestant videos, Jenna’s blows them out of the water!

Here’s the video – just don’t watch it at work – every time I see it , I end up laughing out loud.

And here’s the video of the Ellen segment with Jenna’s clips in it. Go to 5:40 to see the start of the segment.

The moral of the story? Chase your dreams!!

dick_headshot_web8.jpg

Dick Moss, Editor,
PE Update.com

To check out the PE Update.com website, Click Here!
To subscribe to the free Fun Stuff for PE Newsletter, Click Here!

Tags: , , , ,

Posted in Dance, physical education | No Comments »

Ball Girl Uses Parkour Skills to Make a Spectacular Catch

January 11th, 2012

On April 25, 2011, we posted a blog about how you can develop parker skills in your gymnastics unit. Well, here’s video that shows a real-life way to apply those Spiderman-like parkour skills. The video show a ball girl at a Triple A baseball game against Fresno and Tacoma, showing up the outfielder by jumping up a wall to retrieve a foul ball.

I love the way she nonchalantly tosses the ball to outfielder, Jake Wall, then trots back to her chair, tipping her hat and calmly acknowledging the crowd.

But Actually…..

In fact, the catch was really made, as was the jump, which due to her parkour skills was incredibly high. However, the situation was actually staged. The footage was intended to be part of an advertisement for Gatorade and the video of the catch was clipped into actual game footage. While the advertisement never received airplay, the video was posted on the internet where it’s become a sensation. It has received 3.7 million views so far.

dick_headshot_web8.jpg

Dick Moss, Editor,
PE Update.com

To check out the PE Update.com website, Click Here!
To subscribe to the free Fun Stuff for PE Newsletter, Click Here!

Tags: , ,

Posted in baseball, physical education | No Comments »

“Get Active” Videos – Keep Kids Active Over the Holidays

December 5th, 2011

 
With the holidays approaching, a question many parents are asking themselves is, “How can I keep your children active when they are home from school?” It’s a good question for physical education teachers too.

You can help by making your students aware of the following website. it provides a ten-week series of video exercises to correspond with the Get Active! program.

This series was produced by Katina Taylor, Vice President of the Jason Taylor Foundation, in partnership with the Strong Women, Strong Girls program, Strong Women, Strong Girls is a nationally recognized mentoring program dedicated to raising the aspirations and self-esteem of elementary school girls. The program connects girls with college women and puts them on the path from the classroom to the boardroom—or any other path they choose to take. Since the start of the program, 10,000 girls have participated!

But there’s no need to participate on this program to advise your students to use these videos. You can find the video series here:

http://swsg.org/our-program/resources/get-active/

Here’s the first video in the series:

 

dick_headshot_web8.jpg

Dick Moss, Editor,
PE Update.com

To check out the PE Update.com website, Click Here!
To subscribe to the free Fun Stuff for PE Newsletter, Click Here!

Tags: , , , ,

Posted in fitness, physical education | Comments Off

« Previous Entries
Next Page »