Fit With Family

Sometimes it can be hard to stick to a new way of eating or keeping regular exercise habits if no one else in your family is doing them with you.  And it could just be that everyone in the family could benefit from some new habits as well – not just you!  So we’ve checked out some ideas for getting more people in your family involved, and checking up on each other to make sure that you reach your goals and help each other to live longer healthier lives.

Set limits on couch time.

Keep TV watching and video game play to less than two hours a day.  Even that sounds like a lot, when you realize that you only have so many hours in a day, most of which are taken up by sleeping and going to school.  Medical research has proven that calorie burning while watching TV is actually lower than just sitting there resting without the TV on!  Add a bag of chips to that, and you’re just asking for trouble.

Ask for ‘fitness’ presents for birthdays and holidays.

You could ask for sporting equipment, dance lessons, kick-boxing classes, sessions at an indoor rock-climbing gym, ice-skating or roller-skating parties or spending time at the bowling alley.  Sports are cool, and even the ones that don’t burn many calories, like golf or pool, and better than sitting around any day!

Get ‘green’ and walk.

There are so many places we go in our everyday lives that we could walk or ride a bike to.  These are great habits to get into now, because once you have that driver’s license, it gets harder and harder to leave the car in the garage.  But driving everywhere takes its toll!  Americans are on average twice as overweight as Europeans who live in a society with less driving and more use of mass transit.  Just walking to the station can make a big difference! 

Go on active family outings and vacations.

It doesn’t take a genius to see the difference between a bus tour of where ever and the healthy effects of a biking tour of just about any where!  If there’s a sport or outdoor activity that you and you family enjoy, be sure to go somewhere where you can do it everyday!  Sailing, tennis, kayaking, horseback riding, hiking – the list is endless!

And on a more official note, the American Heart Association suggests that teens raise their heart rates for 20 minutes without stopping, three or more times a week.  That’s the minimum people!  Shoot for more, and you’re sure to be in even better health than the bare minimum by summers end!  Choose a sport you enjoy, and you won’t even notice how healthy you are getting!