It’s the new year and with my braces I’m actually feeling motivated to get healthier. It’s like it’s been the perfect inspiration to getting me healthier and getting the entire family healthier so I’ve come up with five steps for our entire family to have a healthier/better new year.
One: Eating smaller healthier snacks.
The kids love eating snacks and I love making them healthy ones. Quaker Popped Rice Snacks are always a winner in our house. We even like to take them on road trips because they are low in calories, high in flavor and high in flavor options. Other snack ideas we use are lots of fruits and veggies. My kids aren’t as into the veggies so I like to offer them low fat or high protein dipping options like hummus, mustard and yogurt. We’ve also realized that we need to make snack time a snack so we’ve downsized a bit.
Two: Exercise
I’ve got these fabulous workout clothes from Jockey that I plan on actually using this year. As a family we have a membership at the YMCA and I have the kids enrolled in a few different classes and during their classes I plan on getting a little exercise of my own. Zoe is taking Gymnastics and Miles gets to play in the gym while she has her class. They both are taking swim lessons and if I can use that time wisely I should be able to get 15 minutes of exercise in twice a week. It’s a good start for all of us at least.
Three: Less time on TV and Electronics
Do I really need to go into this one. First rule in our house you can’t watch TV or play on electronics until you practice the piano. But I’m not good at always saying, ok, time’s up. As I’m writing this, I see yes there is a reason I need to go into this, I need to go into it for myself. We’re going to be cutting the time down and moving more.
Four: Reading every night
You might find it funny that I put reading on this list. Reading is one of my secret pleasures. I love reading a good book, when I get really into a good book I have a hard time putting it down and that’s not always a plus but when I get a little reading time then I get more ideas for writing so reading increases my creativity. I also want to pass on the love of reading to my kids and reading as a family helps encourage them to love to read. Reading is good for the soul too, you can find inspiration and words to live by in the Bible.
Five: Having a quiet time:
Not only is it important to exercise and to eat healthy but it’s also important to relax and rest. For me, having quite time allows me the time I need to recharge. I need a little time alone every day or I go a little crazy and it’s not work time that doesn’t count. This quiet time is important for me because it’s a way that I can actually do something for myself. I think it’s also important for the kids because they need some time to themselves too. A good night’s sleep is also included in quiet time.
Getting healthy is body, heart, mind and soul you should find a way to rest relax enjoy and exercise while eating well.
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we grew a garden last year so we’re definitely going to do that again and try to eat a lot more fresh veggies and fruits as well as daily walks and swimming in the summer.
Love the reading idea – that’s my relaxation and escape as well as traveling.
I am trying to drink more water daily, I am now taking a fruit and veggie vitamin along with increasing my intake of fruits and veggies. We started making green shakes and our kids are doing very well with that. I also am committing to 3 days a week of going to the gym and getting more sleep. I know my energy level suffers when I am not getting enough sleep. I really hope to be consistent with all of these because I should be doing them anyway. Thanks.