Life is often hectic. Busyness is the climate of our culture.

It doesn?t take long to see a list of why our goals for a healthy lifestyle looks impossible … drop the kids at school, work, go to a meeting, pick up groceries, take kids to 4-H or scouts, grab dinner, pick up kids from sports practice, do laundry, clean house ? phew!

Many of the activities our families are involved in are wonderful experiences, but our schedules can also be barriers to getting healthy.

Instead of looking at these activities as barriers, try to make them opportunities for healthy change and modeling healthy behavior for the entire family.

Don?t let your family be your setback. Create opportunities for yourself and your family to be healthier.

Some ideas to begin include:

  • Plan regular family fun, such as weekend outings or fun family vacations. Allow the family to vote on the options, and the majority rules. This will reinforce the ?life lesson? that ?You don?t always get what you want, but sometimes you do!?
  • Take a family hike every month.
  • Lead your child?s scout troop.
  • Create and maintain a family garden.
  • Plan a spring camping trip.
  • Get your family to take a weekly class on fitness or nutrition.
  • Coach your child?s sports team, and exercise with them.
  • Get exercise when watching your children?s games by walking around the field.
  • Sign up and train as a family for a fun run, bicycling, or walking event.
  • Schedule a family meal time. Be realistic, but get everyone together several nights a week (put it on the calendar!). A study published in Archives of Family Medicine showed that ?kids eating with their parents were eating less fast food, less soda, and consuming more fruits and vegetables. … Those kids, therefore, had a lower intake of saturated fats and carbohydrates that raised blood sugar, linked with diabetes and hardening of the arteries.? (Davis, J.L.)
  • Get the family involved in community volunteer work, like community clean-up events or preparing and serving healthy food at a community or church event.

Remember to take small steps. Don?t overwhelm yourself or your family with too many goals. Select one or two to pursue in the beginning. Otherwise your schedule will be even busier! Start small; get reacquainted with your family, and make times together fun for everyone.

The Ellis County ?Walk Across Texas,? a fun family event, begins March 19 with the kick-off event at 6:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Center at Waxahachie High School. This would create a great family memory, while emphasizing the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Rita M. Hodges is the Ellis County Extension Agent-Family & Consumer Sciences. For more information, contact Rita at (972)825-5175 or email: rmhodges@ag.tamu.edu

Source: The Daily Light

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