I did it! I started a Be Fit NOLA Tour de Cure Team!! My grandmother (mom’s side) had diabetes and my aunt also has diabetes – I have to be extra cautious because this is a disease that I’m genetically predisposed to…so I am at risk.  This is a personal quest but obviously it’s also a quest on a much larger level for what we believe-in at Be Fit NOLA. Participating in the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure is a way for us to encourage you to join us in a 25 miles bike ride to raise money for a fabulous cause.

To prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

Now you can make a difference in the lives of more than 23.6 million Americans with diabetes by joining thousands of cyclists around the nation who are riding in Tour de Cure.

Tour de Cure is a series of fundraising cycling events held in 43 states nationwide to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The Tour is a ride, not a race, with routes designed for everyone from the occasional rider to the experienced cyclist.

The event is being held May 23, 2010 at Tammany Trace Trailhead (Koop) Drive in Mandeville.

This is a great opportunity to do something good for yourself and for a good cause…while having fun with us!!

To Register to Ride with Us – On the Be Fit NOLA team click here and for team name put in Be Fit NOLA (we are a Corporate team).  Our goal is to get at least 5 riders together who will raise $150 for a total of $750.  We would of course love to get more!!

If you aren’t interested in riding- please support my fund raising efforts

Aaron and I will start riding and everyone will be invited to join us.

Yesterday was the start of National Nutrition Month sponsored by the American Dietetic Association.

“National Nutrition Month focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. Registered Dietitian Day, also celebrated in March, increases awareness of registered dietitians as the indispensable providers of food and nutrition services and recognizes RDs for their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives.”

So in recognition of National Nutrition Month and the very exciting news that Be Fit NOLA now has a registered dietitian on board to blog for us – Lauren E. Futrell Dunaway, MPH, RD…more to come on Lauren later this week.  We have decided to do a fun giveaway.

Here’s how it works

To be in the drawing to win a brand new iPod, you need to leave a comment to this post with the top 3 healthiest items in your refrigerator and the top 3 unhealthiest items in your refrigerator. This is not required to win, but we would love it if you could also take a picture of what’s inside your frigde – add it to your Flickr account, join the Be Fit NOLA Flickr Group and share the picture of what’s in your fridge there (for our delight, nitpicking, and entertainment).

We will draw a winner next week, March 10^th.

BTW, for Aaron and I…in our refrigerator (picture included) the top three healthy items are: a variety of fruits and vegetables, skim milk and skinless grilled chicken (red container). Top three unhealthiest items are: the WholeFood’s Dill Tuna, a bottle of white wine (in the back) and light mayonnaise (on the door).

Get a Be Fit NOLA t-shirt for writing a review!!  We’re not asking you to run, bike or swim…we’re simply asking you to share your opinion(s) and enlighten us and we’ll give you a t-shirt for it.

The post I wrote the other day “Be Careful When Talking About The Health of My City” in defense to what someone else had to say about our city is a prime reason why you should take the time write a review – people outside of New Orleans just don’t see it.  They don’t get all that our city has to offer for health and fitness.

Writing a review of your gym, yoga or pliates studio, boot camp, favorite park, running or cycling trail, personal trainer, health store, or best healthy meal in a local restaurant is your opportunity to unveil New Orleans’ hidden treasures.  We sweeten the pot by adding a t-shirt…not just any t-shirt.

Aaron is a little picky about the fit of his shirts – so to please him and ensure you love our shirts we ordered men and women’s Gildan Soft Style t-shirts from Purple Monkey. We’ll run this giveaway until we’ve received 50 reviews and given away 50 shirts.

Read this post as a refresher of what we’re looking for in a review. We ask that you make your reviews at least 100 words long. (We will post constructive criticism type reviews but nothing flat out rude, mean or inaccurate)

Don’t be shy either…tell your friends about it.  Let’s really open up about New Orleans’ Health and Fitness!!

I can talk about New Orleans getting healthier…but I won’t allow someone else to cast a shadow on my town about it!!  You know you are truly a New Orleanian when you’re ready to police the Internet and defend her honor!!

We started Be Fit NOLA to educate, motivate and raise health and fitness awareness in the Greater New Orleans area but our second purpose was also to show the world that New Orleans is much underrated when it comes to being recognized as a healthy and active place to live.

My ear is to the ground for everything health and fitness related for New Orleans and this is how I came across this blog post “New Orleans – Transforming “The Big Easy” into “The Big Healthy”” on EmpowerHer.com

Here are some excerpts:

Statistics show that even prior to the August 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastation, the people of New Orleans, La. faced some of the poorest health conditions in the country. I do not intend to put a damper on this week’s celebrations, but want to raise awareness of the plight that still faces “The Big Easy.”

According to a post Hurricane Katrina survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, life has not been “easy” at all with, “more than one in ten adults or 13 percent ranking their overall health as fair or poor.” The statistics were even higher among the economically disadvantaged with 19 percent of them ranking their health as fair or poor. The Kaiser statistics showed the percentage for the uninsured and those on Medicaid and Medicare were even higher

The results also showed that, “chronic conditions were also widespread, with over four in ten or 41 percent of adults saying that they had been told by a doctor that they had hypertension, diabetes, asthma, other breathing problems, or other chronic health conditions.”

Like most environments, overall health and mental health statistics go hand in hand. The Kaiser findings reported “mental health challenges were also evident for adults, with about one in twelve or eight percent ranking their mental health as fair or poor.” The survey found about one in twenty adults reporting symptoms of depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The author of this post, Joanne Sgro is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist…and she lives in Arizona.  She did attempt to end her post in a positive note:

While a rebirth calls for a celebration and New Orleans or “Hollywood South” has so much to celebrate– individuals still have an obligation to celebrate responsibly.

A new beginning in this wonderful, talented city will have it flourishing; and hopefully with more attention to health.

What gets me is if she had really done her homework for this post she would have come across Be Fit NOLA.  Had she come across Be Fit NOLA and read the content of our posts she would have known that New Orleans IS paying attention to being healthier.

I know how the internet and blogging works.  You use what’s hot in the media right now (key words like New Orleans, Super Bowl and Saints) and you write about it as it relates to what your area of focus is because that will help with your SEO and traffic.  I have no problems with that…but do all your homework before casting a shadow on our city.

I left this comment on the post:

I’m the founder and CEO of a new site and company called Be Fit NOLA (www.befitnola.com) and I think this post is off mark. I understand you are using results from surveys taken post Katrina and since you don’t live here – you can’t understand how quickly progress and change is happening in New Orleans. One month, three months and six months in this city brings in 2-3 years worth of change. The success of the Saints has been all through the year…not just with the Super Bowl. The joy, happiness and renaissance movement happening in New Orleans is affecting everyone and creating major change.

We started Be Fit NOLA to not just educate the people of New Orleans about health and fitness but the world about what is available in New Orleans when it comes to health and fitness. There is so much people don’t know about this city. So please look a little deeper into what’s going on in New Orleans before casting a shadow on the city.

I definitely welcome your comments!!

New Orleans (NOLA) isn’t known to be one of the most fitness-oriented places in the United States.  In fact, New Orleans is one of the unhealthiest places.  NOLA is a spectacular destination spot because of its diverse culture, profound history and legendary foods.  Having said that, NOLA is also branded for being unhealthy and catering to alcoholics through publicizing Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras.  This selective branding, which neglects portraying the health & fitness community, often deters people from wanting to visit or move to the Big Easy.  If you dig a little bit, you’ll find there is a large health & fitness community and you’ll find virtually every sport in an organization of some sort.

The health & fitness aspect of New Orleans isn’t talked about or publicized because there’s a lack of education covering this topic.  Until now, there has been no “central place” for people to go to that will show them what sports organizations are available, where the healthy places to eat are, where the gyms & fitness centers are located, what hotels have fitness facilities, etc…  This has caused health and fitness to continue to hover under the radar; no one knows where to look and everyone prefers convenience.  Be Fit NOLA offers this convenience in what we’ll call a “central fitness bank” concept that is accessible 24/7 and will allow anyone at anytime the ability to research the latest and greatest on everything health & fitness related to the area.

NOLA can rebrand itself in a more positive light quite easily with the right tools and appropriate education.  In turn, this will attract a more diverse and energetic crowd to the area.  As a local or a tourist, you’ll find there are many restaurants that serve healthy meals, plenty of places to enjoy the outdoors and an abundance of tours where you can enjoy seeing New Orleans while burning calories at the same time.  Several gyms are located throughout the Greater New Orleans area; some are your typical gyms, some are geared for specific one-on-one personal training and some are unique in that they are original buildings that have been transformed into social health clubs.

The bottomline is, people can come to visit NOLA, or live here, while enjoying all the great things NOLA has to offer but can also to maintain a healthy lifestyle.