Halloween is next week and if you’re like many of us you haven’t gotten your costume yet. Fear not, we’ve got some great ideas for you. The world of fitness and health serves as creative inspiration for some of the most relevant and unique costumes. Check out some of our best ideas for “healthy” costumes this year.  We fully expect you to take home the costume prize with these ideas!

Weight Loss Before and After

We’ve all seen the pictures of a former overweight person standing in their old pants, pulling out the gaps in amazement at their former size. If that’s your reality too, flaunt it this year.  Show the world what you accomplished and have some fun with it. Stick some advertising bursts on your clothes stating your weight loss or even a before picture. You did the hard work, get some extra credit at your party this year. Need some inspiration to achieve your own real-life before and after? Check out our True Weight Loss Stories.

Extreme Marathoner

2012 saw a continual growth in marathoning, and the sport got some political notice as well. Dressing as a marathoner could be really fun when you go over the top with sweatbands, water bottles, a lap watch, and of course the big finishers medal. You could also take a poke at vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan in your marathoner costume. Runners may never forgive him for saying he ran a sub-3 marathon, when in fact is was over 4 hours. Maybe throw on some Romney/Ryan campaign flare in the midst of the running garb and add a bib with Ryan’s name on it. But it seems like having a clock an hour or so off might really be the clincher.
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By Chrissa Hardy for HelloGiggles.com

Dana Vollmer spent her summer training for London Olympic Games, competing in London and celebrating her gold-medal-winning, record-breaking time in London. Would any of these things have happened, had she not discovered her gluten allergy in the spring of 2011? She’s not so sure. After years of daily stomach aches brought on by her food choices, Dana feels better than ever before and could not imagine returning to a life with gluten.

Gluten-free has become a trend, a buzz word that has taken up prime real estate on food labels everywhere. What does it mean exactly? Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Those who are intolerant of it, allergic or sensitive to it, need to adopt a lifestyle of paying close attention to food labels. I sat down with Dana at the Gluten-Free Pizza Event, put on by The Venice Bakery in Los Angeles, CA, to discuss her new life and how going gluten-free changed everything.

Chrissa Hardy: First of all, congrats on your gold medal win! Has your life returned to normal or is it still pretty hectic?

Dana Vollmer: It’s still pretty hectic. I’m enjoying it a lot. Initially, I was planning to go back to my hometown in Texas to visit with my family and sort of relax, but I’ve just been traveling non stop and I love it. It’s been really great. It’s one thing to have the excitement of the Olympics but, now it’s so great to see the kids and how their faces light up when they get to wear the gold medal. I remember when I was 12 and I saw my first gold medal, that’s when I decided that I wanted to become an Olympian.
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By Rachel Larkey from AroundthePlate.org

Believe it or not, it is recommended that a healthy adult get 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity. This can range from household chores to hitting that cycling class you’ve always wondered about. For your children, at least 60 minutes of activity a day is needed. Luckily for all of the busy moms and dads out there, exercising with your kids can be a fun way to share family time while getting fit! Working out with your kids can also be a fun way to teach them the value of physical activity and to lead by example. Here are four ways to be physically active with your kids:

Dance!

Small children LOVE to dance, regardless of the music choice. Take this opportunity to dance with them! It doesn’t matter if you look silly because you will both be having fun, and dancing is a great way to burn calories. Make sure that while you bust a move you keep your core braced by pulling the belly button in towards the spine. For toning, try to incorporate moves which twist the midsection back and forth. For cardio, try keeping the arms above the head to get the heart pumping.  
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On the first show of Ellen Degeneres’ new season, the talk star meets with the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.

She speaks with Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, and Kyla Ross about what it was like to win big at the Summer Olympics. The team swept the scoreboards, winning by the largest margin in 52 years at the Games, which helped them take home the team gold medal. Douglas also took home an all-around gold medal and Maroney got a silver in vault.
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The Olympic torch is still warm as many of us are still caught up in the spirit of the Games. The proof can be seen in retail, where swim, athletic shoe, and sport stores are seeing increased sales. We all have been inspired and want to let our competitive hearts seek greatness, too. But some aspire to greatness in a completely non-athletic, gut-busting way.

One event we didn’t see in London that will doubtfully ever grace an Olympic stage is gaining popularity at high rates in the U.S. That event is the “sport” of competitive eating. The roots of these types of events are nearly as ancient as the original Grecian games. A legend of a 13th century slave defeating the Norse god Loki by eating his plate is the earliest noted eating competition. However, in the U.S., these battles have only grown popular in the last 100 years or so.

NPR reported on their food blog, “The Salt,” that the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest on Coney Island was watched by 40,000 spectators this year. That’s up from about 1,000 viewers 15 years ago. Clearly, we’re intrigued by this gluttonous event many call “sport.” There are TV shows devoted to various food challenges, and many restaurants are creating their own variations to live up to the demand.
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