Keeping Your Kids Healthy

If you were looking for a reason to stay or get healthy, your children are a great reason to start. You are the role model for your young ones. They look up to you when it comes to almost everything. What you eat, if you exercise, what you wear, how you talk, EVERYTHING. So, if you are eating unhealthy and not living an active life what do you think your children will think it’s okay to do? Most likely the same.

Even if you wanted to tell your children to eat healthy and workout, it won’t be as effective unless you live the same type of lifestyle. Why would your child want to eat vegetables if you aren’t even eating yours? As a parent you are a leader regarding your children. You must show them the correct way to take care of their bodies.

How can you not only make being healthy easy for them, but first easy for you? Let’s talk about five simple steps you can take to help your kids live a healthy lifestyle!

Consistency.

If you want to do anything on an everyday basis, especially when making a change, you must be consistent. Start out just doing a few small things every day to kick start yourself into the lifestyle you want to live.

Habits.

Now that you know you need to be consistent, you must decide what you are going to consistently do. Everyone has habits. Things we do every day without even thinking about it. From the time you roll out of bed, until you go to sleep there are many things you will do habitually. If you are going to change your lifestyle, you need to change habits and replace them with new ones. Start with writing out what you want to accomplish and when you want to do it by. For example, *5am - wake up, *5:30am -6:30am - workout and so on.

Set times for when you are going to do things until it becomes natural and you don’t even need to think about going to the gym or eating eggs instead of going to McDonalds for breakfast.

Motivation.

Forming new habits and consistently following through with them sounds easy enough, but how can you stay motivated to do it long enough until it sticks and even after that? Write down your reason for doing this in the first place. If it’s for your children, for yourself or for someone else you love, everyone needs a little motivation. Look at this piece of paper or note card every day to remind yourself of why you are making these changes. You could even start your day off with a motivational video to get your mind in the right place right from the start of the day. Make your desktop backgrounds something inspiring or even hang pictures on the walls. There are loads of things you could do to stay motivated, but the main point is to KEEP MOTIVATED.

Nutrition.

Living a healthy lifestyle starts and ends with nutrition. If you aren’t fueling your body properly then you can’t expect it to function properly. Eating the right foods will not only make you feel better but make your entire body function how it is supposed to. Not to mention being a good example for your kids.

Exercise.

Exercise is the foundation for staying strong and has just as much of a positive impact on your body and mind as eating healthy does. You don’t need to look like a bodybuilder to exercise. You won’t gain 50 pounds of muscle if you start lifting weights. Doing a little bit of exercise every day or at least exercising every week has profound effects on your body. From strengthening muscles and bones to making your heart and lungs stronger. We could talk all day on the benefits of exercise. The point is, stay active and you will add years to your life that you can spend with your children, family and friends.

Easier said than done of course, but these five steps could drastically change your life. Not only for you, but for your children. A healthy life is a wealthy life and you being a parent, makes you a leader. Lead your children in the right direction and do it by example.

Mylai.