SEEK ADVICE, BUT USE YOUR OWN COMMON SENSE

It is human nature to seek advice or direction from friends, peers, loved ones, and professionals. In fact, I sought out advice when my husband and I were considering launching Healthy Living five years ago.

At that time, it seemed like a very risky, possibly even crazy, idea to launch a new company and product in the midst of the largest economic crash in our generation’s history. But we had an idea, and we wanted to receive feedback from people we trusted and respected.

For the most part, mainly everyone advised against it. It was simply too much of a gamble, especially since we would have to use every bit of our savings to launch the magazine.

Fortunately, Doug and I believed in our idea and pushed forward. And the more we believed in it, the more people around us believed in it. It was our passion for the magazine and our love for the concept that started to spread, making others see its potential.

Since then, Healthy Living has been recognized as one of Florida’s best overall magazines for four years in a row. It has also motivated other publishers to launch the Healthy Living concept in Citrus, Hernando, Seminole, Pasco, and Marion counties, inspiring countless readers by being a positive voice in the communities they serve.

Looking back, I learned a very valuable lesson. That lesson is it can be a good idea to seek advice and invite discussion on decisions that you make in life, but ultimately the decisions need to be your own. Trust your instincts and move forward with what you believe is right. Don’t let fear prevent you from following your dreams. If your intentions are to succeed, then you will succeed.

With that said, we here at Healthy Living wanted to offer you, our readers, some advice that we have collected over these past five years. We also invited feedback from our very own advisory board. We hope that you find something within these pages that speaks to you and encourages you to begin living your best life. If you believe in yourself and focus on your dreams, nothing can prevent you from achieving them.

As always, we invite your feedback on this month’s issue.

JAMIE EZRA MARK chief creative officer jamie@akersmediagroup.com

EDITORIAL // DESIGN

TINA MORRISON editorial/community relations director tina@akersmediagroup.com

MARY ANN D ESANTIS editor-at-large maryann@akersmediagroup.com

SHEMIR WILES copy editor/writer shemir@akersmediagroup.com

JAMES COMBS staff writer james@akersmediagroup.com

HEATHER TOOTLE office manager heather@akersmediagroup.com contributing writers

RICK BOSSHARDT, M.D., FACS RICHARD BURGUET

JENNY COTÉ

TRACY DRAPER

LORI ESAREY

ROBERT FROSS

THOMAS FROSS

FRED HILTON

THOMAS H. RUGGIE, CHFC, CFP

STEVEN J. CODRARO associate creative director steve@akersmediagroup.com

CIERRA CHAPPELL production manager/designer cierra@akersmediagroup.com

JOSH CLARK senior designer/advertising josh@akersmediagroup.com

ANTHONY CASTO senior designer/editorial anthony@akersmediagroup.com

FRED LOPEZ chief photographer fred@akersmediagroup.com

AUBREY AKERS receptionist contributing photographer SHAENA CHASTAIN

SALES // MARKETING

TIM MCRAE vice president of sales and marketing tim@akersmediagroup.com

MIKE STEGALL senior marketing representative mike@akersmediagroup.com

LORI STRONG marketing representative lori@akersmediagroup.com

HEIDI RESSLER marketing representative heidi@akersmediagroup.com

JIM LAW marketing representative jim.law@akersmediagroup.com

MICHAEL GAULIN production director michael@akersmediagroup.com

DISTRIBUTION

SCOTT HEGG distribution manager scott.hegg@akersmediagroup.com

Until next month,

Until next

Kendra Akers publisher

Time to downsize

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of children ages 6–11 in the United States who were obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to 20 percent in 2008. One of the culprits is a downplay on healthy eating.

HELP YOUR CHILDREN ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN HEALTHY EATING HABITS WITH THESE TIPS FROM THE CDC:

• Provide lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products.

• Include low-fat or non-fat milk or dairy products.

• Serve reasonably sized portions.

• Eliminate sodas and replace with lots of water.

• Limit all sugar-sweetened beverages.

• Avoid saturated fats.

• Choose lean meats, poultry, fish, lentils, and beans for protein.

DID YOU KNOW?

The American Heart Association recommends that children ages 2 and older “should participate in at least 60 minutes daily of enjoyable, moderateintensity physical activities that are developmentally appropriate and varied.”

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