{"id":31579,"date":"2017-12-06T16:16:15","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T21:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=31579"},"modified":"2017-12-15T15:02:15","modified_gmt":"2017-12-15T20:02:15","slug":"taylors-heroes-provides-fitness-opportunities-kids-well-guidance-healthy-eating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2017\/12\/taylors-heroes-provides-fitness-opportunities-kids-well-guidance-healthy-eating\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor\u2019s Heroes Provides Fitness Opportunities For Kids, As Well As Guidance For Healthy Eating"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Leslie Miller, president of Taylor\u2019s Heroes, a fitness and nutrition program for people ages 8 to 18, founded the group in honor of her son, right, a U.S. Army Pfc. killed in Afghanistan.
\u00a92017 Saratoga Photographer.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Jill Nagy<\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s Heroes, a fitness and nutrition program for young people ages 8 to 18, has openings for new members when its next session begins Jan. 11. The program, which includes exercise classes, sports participation, and nutrition advice over 14 weeks, is free.<\/p>\n

The current group will have a graduate celebration\u2014a healthy dinner at the Hampton Inn in Saratoga\u2014on Dec. 14.<\/p>\n

The program is named in honor of David Taylor Miller, a U.S. Army Pfc. and Saratoga Hills High School graduate who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010, at the age of 19. Miller, formerly an obese child, whipped himself into shape with a program of diet and exercise before joining the Army.<\/p>\n

The organization was founded by his mother and aunt and is run entirely by volunteers.<\/p>\n

The two main aspects of the program are group exercise and instruction on nutrition, including tips on shopping for and preparing healthy foods. A nutrition expert is available to work with individual parents, helping them plan menus and prepare alternative snacks. The children also do some cooking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying to work more with parents,\u201d said organization president Leslie Miller. \u201cIt is hard for kids to choose healthy snacks when they don\u2019t find them in the refrigerator.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Meeting with family members, Miller finds, is \u201chit or miss. Life is busy and change is hard for everybody.\u201d Still, the program asks for a commitment from both children and parents. That is the only entrance requirement.<\/p>\n

The children are encouraged to get involved in sports. Organized team sports are difficult because these are kids who were always chosen last and never really had a chance to develop the necessary skills, Miller said. However, Taylor\u2019s Heroes can provide a coach for a child who wants to play basketball. Others may chose to join a karate school.<\/p>\n

Miller encourages them to try tennis, a gateway to lifetime exercise. Generally, she finds, individual sports work better than team sports.<\/p>\n

The participants \u201call start with the same look\u2014looking at their shoes,\u201d Miller said. But, over the course of the program, they overcome their shyness, make friends and encourage one another. One year, a group of high school juniors in the program went to the prom together.<\/p>\n

Children can go through the program twice, and many of them do repeat.<\/p>\n

The program aims to help participants develop lifelong skills, not just lose weight. Miller said there is some thinking that if obese children merely maintain their weight, they will grow into it as they get taller and build muscle.<\/p>\n

For weight loss, emphasis is placed on portion control (\u201cIt\u2019s okay to have a piece of pie but don\u2019t go back for seconds\u201d) as well as substituting chips and soda with more nutritious, low-calorie foods.<\/p>\n

There is not a lot of follow-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is one of the ways we could be more effective,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe could work on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s Heroes is a very small organization and everyone is a volunteer, including the fitness and nutrition coaches and the executive director, Susanne D\u2019ilorio, Taylor\u2019s mother. Many of the activities take place at the Saratoga Springs YMCA.<\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s Heroes\u2019 website is www.taylorsheroes.org. Its telephone number is 518-894-1658.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jill Nagy Taylor\u2019s Heroes, a fitness and nutrition program for young people ages 8 to 18, has openings for new members when its next session begins Jan. 11. The program, which includes exercise classes, sports participation, and nutrition advice over 14 weeks, is free. The current group will have a graduate celebration\u2014a healthy dinner […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-profit"],"yoast_head":"\r\nTaylor\u2019s Heroes Provides Fitness Opportunities For Kids, As Well As Guidance For Healthy Eating - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2017\/12\/taylors-heroes-provides-fitness-opportunities-kids-well-guidance-healthy-eating\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taylor\u2019s Heroes Provides Fitness Opportunities For Kids, As Well As Guidance For Healthy Eating - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jill Nagy Taylor\u2019s Heroes, a fitness and nutrition program for young people ages 8 to 18, has openings for new members when its next session begins Jan. 11. 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