Paula Hible

These simple tips and smart finds make shopping a joy, not a chore. View the slideshow.

Lynda Churilla

It’s that time of year to make your list, check it twice—and hit the stores. Happily, some retailers today are realizing that shoppers want a healthy experience as well as bargains.

But which stores are doing a great job? We asked retail experts to help us review the top U.S. discount and department stores on “healthy” criteria, including comfort, cleanliness, customer service, and eco-friendliness.

There were some disappointments (health isn’t a subject some stores wish to discuss or care much about), but we were pleased to find 10 that are doing some smart things.

In fact, our winners are making shopping better for you in ways you can see (recyclable bags, healthful products, hand sanitizer) and ways you may not even notice (greener lighting and building materials, solar heating).

Before you visit our winners, check out our shopping kit to make sure you’re well-armed (comfy shoes! germ-fighting lotion!). Here’s to the stores that make your blood pressure go down.

Next: Discount stores

Istockphoto

Learn more about our expert shopping panelists:

J. Nick Baird, MD, is the chief executive officer of the Alliance to Make US Healthiest, a nonpartisan organization of national and grassroots efforts focusing on healthy initiatives for individuals, communities, industries, and on the government level. He is also a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director’s Advisory Council.<

Elaine Buxton is the president of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), the largest professional trade association using anonymous resources to improve retail services. She is also president of Confero Inc., a national firm that measures customer experience.

Marianne Wilson is the editor in chief of Chain Store Age magazine, a monthly publication that analyzes trends, news, and strategies in the retail industry.

 
Related Links:

Istockphoto

Presenting the people, products, and trends that make healthy living easier, faster, and a whole lot more fun. View the slideshow.

 

Jack Guy

When California-raised Jillian was 12, she weighed 175 pounds. After engaging in martial arts and working her way into a career as a personal trainer, the 5-foot-2 3/4-inch star got her weight down to around 117 with just 13% body fat.

She also started her own organic garden, greened up her house, and switched to clean foods. For her, the goal is a healthy body and mind. “Fitness for me is a tool that I use to build a life,” Jillian says. “It’s never about a crunch for me. I couldn’t care less.”

And, as she resumes her role on The Biggest Loser, now in its eighth season, she has plenty more to celebrate: a new Wii game, Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010; two spring 2010 follow-up books to her best-selling Master Your Metabolism—The Master Calorie Counter and The Master Cookbook; and an expansion of her QuickStart Rapid Weight Loss System supplements line at GNC.

With the same addictive intensity she uses to motivate her clients, Jillian tells Health what she thinks we all should change in our diets, why she’s not a fan of “walking,” and which celebrity she wishes she could take under her wing.

Q: How do you feel about being named America’s Healthiest Body?

A: I’m totally flattered. But I just think, God, if people had any idea of the stuff that goes on behind closed doors: the struggles in the middle of the night in front of the refrigerator, the weeks on end I can’t get my ass to the gym! But, in reality, there’s a part of me where it makes perfect sense.

Next page: So, what’s your definition of a healthy body?

Jack Guy

Celebrity fitness guru Jillian Michaels says yoga is great for flexibility and kettlebells are great fat burners. Here are two of her top workout suggestions:

Cobra Pose
Lie on your belly with your hands under your shoulders, fingers pointing forward. Hug your elbows in tightly to your sides as you draw your shoulders together behind you. Stabilize your lower back by firming the abdominal muscles and drawing the tailbone down toward the floor.

Begin to lift the chest up to the ceiling, taking care to keep your neck long. This action is supported by the arms, but the majority of the work should be done by the paraspinal muscles in the back. Only go up to your comfort level—you don’t get more points for “going higher” in the pose. Hold for 5 to 15 breaths, then gently lower your body to the ground. Repeat 3 times.

Like yoga? Here’s how it can make you look 10 years younger.

Jack Guy

Kettlebell swing:
Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your arms by your sides in front of a kettlebell. (Your spine should be straight.)

Bend your knees to lower your body into a half-squat and grasp the kettlebell with both hands. (The hips and your behind stick out behind you as you lower your body.) Come up out of squat, letting kettlebell swing out in front of you to chest height, then bend at hips and knees to squat back down as it swings back between legs. (Maintain good posture throughout, bend the knees slightly, and plant your feet firmly to maintain balance).

Do 3 sets of 15 reps each.

Trainer tip: Instead of thinking about raising your arms, let your hips power the move by thrusting them upward as the kettlebell lifts. 

Like kettlebells? Try these moves.

Teresa Hogan

Pull out a stopwatch and try your hand (or feet!) at these fun, family-friendly obstacle course ideas from Krystin Swift, fitness manager at Ethos Fitness and Spa for Women in Midland Park, NJ.

Combine any of these station ideas for a one-of-a-kind family obstacle course. Encourage each other to finish the whole course, or make it a race and time everyone to see who’s the fastest.

For walking or crawling stations, 25 yards is a good distance to start. Be sure to measure it out before the race begins and mark it with clear signals; a cone or sidewalk chalk is best. As your family masters the course, change the stations around or increase times and distances at each station for a challenge.

*Ok for kids under five

Bear crawl*
Forget banged up knees. Instead crawl across the yard with your hands and feet like a bear.

Crab walk*
Instead of your belly facing the ground (like in the bear crawl), flip over and face the sky. Use your hands and feet to scurry across the yard like a crab.

High knees marching*
March like a marching band’s leader, pulling the knee up and parallel with the ground as you walk forward.

Frog jump*
Channel your inner frog and squat low to the ground, jump forward into the air, and squat back to a hovering position. Do it again and again until you’ve crossed the finish line for that station.

Box hop*
Using sidewalk chalk, draw boxes at an angle, two feet apart from one another. To start, stand in the first box and jump sideways to the next box and then sideways again to the next. Think of it as skiing across the driveway. For an added challenge, vary the distance between boxes. If you don’t land with both feet in the box, you have to go back to the last box and try again.

Weighted-ball toss
Using a medicine ball (or a small ball no heavier than four pounds), partner up and toss the ball back and forth. After each toss, take a step back until you reach markers without dropping the ball. If you drop the ball, start over. (Good distance between markers: 30 yards.)

Hula-hoops
For a good cardio station, keep a hula-hoop going for 20 seconds. If you drop it, start over. For an added challenge: try keeping a hula hoop going for 20 seconds in one direction and then for 20 more seconds going the other direction.

Jump ropes
If you have a few jump ropes, you have a ready-made station. Each person has to jump 15 times before going to the next station.

Soccer practice
Set up cones and dribble a soccer ball through the cones and back. Use however many cones you have. It’s best to start with three cones and increase as it gets easier for everyone to complete. This exercise works on agility as well as side-to-side motion.

Monkey bars
If you have a jungle gym in your backyard, use the monkey bars as a stop in the race. Every one must cross the bars before continuing to the next station. If someone falls off, she must start again before continuing on.

Basketball toss
If you have a basketball goal in the driveway, mark three spots (or more for an extra challenge) from which everyone must shoot and make a basket. It’s best to number the spots so everyone starts in the same place. Move spots back or at angles from the goal. When a basket has been made from every spot, you can go to the next station.

Dash*
A great way to round out the whole obstacle course is to end with a 50-yard dash (or smaller distance if you don’t have the space). Mark off the dash starting with the end of the previous station and let everyone run to the finish line. It could come down to the wire!

Teresa Hogan

After 5 years as the health expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz kicks off a daily show Sept. 14. Watch the show at Doctoroz.com (or find listings for the syndicated program in local TV market). Here’s what he wants you to know about the show:

Go to his show…
And you may end up on stage. “It feels like a big party with experts teaching people dancing, yoga, pull-ups, all on stage. We also have a segment called ‘Ask Dr. Oz,’ where you can ask me a question on anything—nutrition, fitness, staying young, relationships, stress, money, parenting.”

Dr. Oz may knock on your door
“We have lots of segments where we go into people’s homes and get involved in their lives and find out how we can help.”

You get more than facts
“Just knowing that smoking can cause lung cancer is never enough to make a smoker quit,” Dr. Oz says. “You have to reach people emotionally, too, which is what Oprah does so well. I’m excited to connect with audience members. I want to inspire them to make life-changing behaviors.”

More from America’s Healthiest Families:

iStockphoto

This quick morning workout by Dr. Oz is all you need to get your body going.

Start with a a sun salutation:

1. Stand on a mat in Mountain pose (face forward, feet together, arms down at your sides, weight evenly distributed) with feet hip-width apart, hands in prayer position.

2. Inhale as you sweep your arms up and gently arch back (only go as far as feels comfortable).

3. Exhale as you bend forward at the waist (Forward Bend pose), reaching your hands toward the floor and your face toward your knees (it’s okay to bend your knees a little).

4. Inhale as you step your right foot back into lunge position.

5. Exhale as you step your left foot back and come into plank position (think push-up position with your arms straight, but not locked). Hold for a moment while you inhale.

6. Exhale and bend your elbows to lower your body to the mat.

7. Keeping your hands in place beneath your shoulders, press your hands into the floor and inhale as you straighten your arms, allowing your back to curve into a gentle backbend as you lift your chest (Upward-Facing Dog pose). Tuck your tailbone, and only go as far as is comfortable.

8. Exhale as you push up with your arms while lifting your hips toward the ceiling, pushing up and back into Downward-Facing Dog pose (legs and arms straight but not locked, so your body forms an inverted “V”).

9. Inhale while stepping your right foot forward into lunge position.

10. Exhale while stepping your left foot forward and straightening your knees to return to Forward Bend pose.

11. Inhale while slowly coming up out of the bend. Finish with your arms reaching overhead, arching gently back from the waist.

12. Exhale and slowly return to Mountain pose by bringing your hands together and lowering them to prayer position.

Teresa Hogan

“I’ve gained weight, and the pounds won’t budge.” “My kids are picky—they complain about most vegetables and reach for cookies.” “I try to make it to the gym but rarely do.”

Sound familiar? Meet the Carroll family, whose challenges were like most of ours. They aimed to eat healthier and exercise regularly, but wondered if it was even possible with their crazy-busy lifestyle. Kathleen, 46, often travels for work (she owns a consulting company), so she rarely sees the inside of her gym. Meanwhile, her husband, Randy, 50, works in retail, with shifts that can begin at 4:30 a.m. or end at midnight, which meant he often turned to carb-heavy snacks left in the break room.

Teresa Hogan

Healthying up their diet was a key goal. Kathleen wanted to drop the stubborn 10 pounds she’d gained last winter. Randy—who takes medication for high cholesterol—hoped to eat smarter to ward off the heart disease that plagues his family. And the couple wanted to break kids, Dillon, 11, and Peyton, 5, of habits like reaching for cookies and eating around most veggies on their plates. In fact, Dillon had recently started carrying a few extra pounds, which they knew upset him.

“We needed better exercise and eating strategies that worked for the whole family,” Kathleen says. “What we were doing wasn’t working.”

We asked Oprah’s go-to doctor, Mehmet C. Oz, MD—who gets his own show this month—to give Kathleen and her family a custom health makeover. Here’s how he’s changed their diet and lives—and may just change yours.

A Special Thank You, Asics!
To help the Carroll family get moving, ASICS treated each family member to a new pair of walking shoes. Randy received ASICS GEL-Motion, Kathleen now sports a pair of GEL-4-To-8s, and kids Dillon and Peyton were both given ASICS GT-2140s.

Thanks, Asics!