Five Tips for Getting Fit as a Family

posted by Stacie on March 12, 2012 // 590 Comments »

I had the opportunity to chat with Bob Greene last week and our conversation really centered around fitness as a family. He gave me some great tips which I shared with you below and even added a few of my own:

1. Create a family fitness plan. Make it simple and the goals achievable. It can be something as simple as walking together three days per week and drinking water at every meal. Put it down on paper and post it where everyone can see it.

2. Don't even offer the bad foods. Bob Greene said getting kids to eat healthy is a matter of training them to eat what is good for them. If your child is choosing chicken fingers and macaroni & cheese all of the time, it is because they have been offered these options. Take those away and offer things that are good for them.

3. Find fun things to do that fit your child's age. My youngest has a hard time with geting moving and it is because her older siblings are just much better than she is at certain activities. I find things that she can excel at and when she feels good about herself, she wants to move more.

4. Never force exercise. The quickest way to get your family off track is to force exercise on everyone. We search for fun activities that we can do together and frankly, they don't feel like exercise. We take walks around our neighborhood searching for the hawks, geese, owls and turtles that live there. Our youngest doesn't care that much so she pushes one of her dollies in a stroller. Everyone is involved in one way or another.

5. Teach the Why. This was a big thing with my two older kids buying into our family fitness activities. They know how eating right fuels their bodies and they know how exercise makes them stronger.

Canyon Ranch Sweepstakes

Check out the OmronFitness Facebook page between 3/05/12-4/01/12 to enter for your chance to win gift cards, a variety of Omron products, Bob Greene autographed books or the grand price to win a four (4) day, three (3) night stay for two at Canyon Ranch Spa in Tucson, AZ! You can enter once a week, so return weekly to enter!

So now you definitely want to make every step count, right? Make it count as a family, like we do in my house!

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