Some things just get my goat.

Last week, the Daily Journal ran a poll about taxing soda pop. Some people in our government thing that they can tackle the obesity rate in our country by making things like soda more expensive.

I was reassured that 79% of the people who responded to the poll said “No, pop should not be taxed to fight obesity.”

Do we have to legislate for stupidity? As one responder said “why does everyone have to be punished for the actions of a few?” It makes me wonder if we are still in high school.

Here is what I know about the matter. Every list of quick fixes for weight loss talks about cutting soda from your diet. One writer stated that you should make it a special drink but not a daily thing. As a person who did just that, I know that giving up soda not only allowed me to lose weight, my rosacea improved as well.

There are a ton of good reasons why we, as people, should not drink as much soda as our country does. The lack of nutritional content, the caffeine content, the road to obesity and diabetes that it leads to are facts we have all heard. And yet the scary thing is that a 1997 USDS study shows we drink 1.6 cans of soda. That was 14 years ago. I wonder what the rate is now.  

The truth of the matter is we have tried this ‘taxing’ tactic for years. With liquor, with cigarettes. And it does not work. But if we want to continue on this same route, we should put higher taxes on games systems such as Wii and Xbox.  Do the same for DS systems, gameboys and all of their games. After all, these things lead to physical inactivity. Shouldn’t that be high on the list of  things to be taxed in the fight against obesity.

Have we not figured out that we can not regulate for stupid? That the way to work on obesity is getting gym and recess back into schools. That eating right might include soda as a special thing like punch. That it might mean parents have to be parents to their kids as well as themselves.

And that is the hardest trick of all.

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

Like many people this year, I decided to work on my diet and exercise habits.

 I already walk in the afternoon and have cut or limited various bad foods from my diet. So now I am looking to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet while increasing my level of exercise.

 The latter has been helped by my cable company. Instead of watching another episode of Ruby on the Style Network, I am looking through the ON Demand Sports and Fitness category to get to Exercise TV.

 Here I have found some interesting workouts. Two weeks ago, I tried a Back 2 Bollywood with Sarina Jain. While I loved the leg and arm work, my shoulders protested the constant movement. I still do it whenever I get the chance. My 9-year-old daughter asked to join me for that one. She ended up only watching.

 I have also tried some of the yoga workouts and various dance work outs. As much as  love kickboxing with Denise Austen, I did not like it so much with the guy on this system who was trying to make my body go in positions that are possible for more flexible people than myself.

 My biggest surprise has been doing Latin dances with Jennifer Galardi and Billy Banks. I know it is hard work but doing it to a dance makes the work out more fun. If I have to workout, the least I can do is find ways to make it fun. How can it not be fun when you are doing the Cha-Cha or Salsa moves. Suddenly, I feel as if I could be a contestant for Dancing with the Stars.

 But only in my living room.

 How are you finding ways to make exercise fun this year and are you seeing any good results yet?

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

by Karyn Bowman

Many of my weekday mornings are spent at Northfield Square Mall from 8 am till 9 am.

It is not because there are terrific sales going on at that time of the day. In fact, most of the stores are closed or only have one or two people in them, adjusting displays or doing the daily clean up work. Only Taco John’s is open to provide beverages to those early walkers.

What I – and several other people – go for is the chance to walk without having to deal with the cold weather. Some people are walking by themselves, others are in two’s and three’s. All are walking around the mall at the pace that best suits them. Depending on how fast you go, it can take 10- 15 minutes to go around the entire building.

Many times when I am walking, I join my pastor and his wife. They go at a pretty fast clip, which is great for me. At this rate I am going to be losing my left-over pregnancy belly by springtime. Because of the various studies that have stated and verified that belly fat is a leading factor in heart problems and diabetes, I am trying to decrease mine. Let me give credit to where credit is due because I do not think I would be seeing changes already if were not for Debbie’s quick steps.

I think I have shared in the past that my family has a history of heart attacks and diabetes. I do not want to be like my grandmother, who had her first heart attack when she was forty. Nor do I want to be the next relative who announces they have diabetes. That is why I walk in the mall every morning I get.

Besides losing my love handles, there is another benefit. I get to learn great snippets of information. I recently heard a group of men talking about the History Channel’s new reality show called Pawn Stars. This is a show about a pawn shop that has ritzier clientele and interesting items that come in. Having never seen the show before, I am willing to tune in to this new gem on Monday nights.

 Another thing I’ve learned, besides Wet Seal having the boots I want, is that Aéropostale is having a great deal on jeans. You bring in an old pair that can be donated to Haiti and the store will give you 25% off on a new pair of jeans. You cannot miss the huge packing boxes in the windows.

According to the website, some of Aéropostale’s jeans start at $45 – $50. But that doesn’t mean the price is still at that level. What I do think is great is that commerce is willing to do something to help others in a time of great need. For more information call the Northfield Square Mall location at (815) 935-8850.

I am not sure what else I am going to learn on these daily walks but I am willing to find out!

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook.