Getting Off to a Good Start
Just recently I have start being a little more conscious about myself as far as health and well-being. I started a fitness and meal program back in March to kick-start my butt into taking care of myself. To date I have lost about 25 pounds total, which shrunk my waist by two pant sizes. So to say the least I was pretty exited and motivated to continue on with another reachable goal for this Summer. Along the way of my journey my wife and younger children pitched in and did the exercises and started eating healthier. One of my younger daughters asked “Why are you doing this, all the working out and eating yogurt and steak”. I explained that I was weighing about 265 pounds before and that it was not a health weight to be at. All explained that I wanted to be able to see all my children grow up and do great things. I let her know I couldn’t just keep drinking cokes and eating donuts all the time.
Get to Know the Facts
- 17 Percent of children (12.5 million) are obese
- Almost 3 times as many children are obese today as in 1980
- These children are at high risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some cancers, and other health problems.
Provide Your Child with Healthy Habits
Since then all of us try some form of working out, exercising, or walking routine. We all figure it wouldn’t hurt to get up for at least an hour sometime throughout the day. As a father it is important to be able to help your family move in the right direction it needs to move. So recently I started making a conscious effort to create a healthy path for my child.
- Exercise – Experts say that modeling exercise is the best thing you can do at home. Try to involve your child when you exercise, like when you go for a walk or jog; it not only shows them joy of exercise but you get to spend time together.
- Sports – Get you child into a sport program that they can embrace and call their own. Just a small warning, be aware of the commitment before you sign up.
- Food and Diet – Model a health diet and buy healthy foods when available. This is a tough on at my house, espeslly after we have eaten what ever we wanted over the past several years. It gets a little tricky to reboot the brain to understand it doesn’t that fries and shake, twice a day. If you eat healthy then they will follow in suite over time, show your kids you are willing to make a change for the better.
- Eat Meals Together – Pick at least one meal to eat together as a family. Most families eat dinner together, it is a great time to share what happened during the day or talk about what they would like to do afterwards. I know my kids normally it me up to play a game of some sort, or go for a walk around the block.
- Sodas and Fruit Juices – Watch what your children are drinking, because one study obese teens found that 50 percent of their calories came from sodas. Fruit juices are okay in small amounts, just avoid drinking 5-6 juices a day. Milk and water can be your best freind when it comes to hydration.
- Activites – Get up and get out, this is another tuff thing to do, I like to watch TV. But, get up and get outside is what I say now, do something, we either play teather ball, jump on the trampoline, ride a bike, play freeze tag, or just go for a walk. Just Do It
- Special Family Activities – Active familes often take active trips. Water and snow skiing binking and camping make great acvtive family trips.
As a Family we have chosen to make the lifstyle change to eat healthier and get fit. I know that our bodies will be happy, but we will be to.
