How to get my family motivated to get healthy?
I am married and have 2 children. I want to get us all healthier, but my older son and my husband REFUSE to eat vegtables unless they are slathered in butter and salt. Not of us get enough of exercise. We are not overweight, but just unhealthy in general. I am all for getting healthy, but anytime I put something remotely healthy on the table, they pass it up. As far as exercise, everyone always has something better to do. Does anyone have any ideas or tips on how to get my family motivated to get healthy?
June 26th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
The best thing you can do (and really the only thing) is to concentrate on yourself, not your whole family: eat healthy yourself, do exercise, etc. Don’t nag or pressure the rest of them. Once they see you getting healthy and happy they will probably want to join in 🙂
June 26th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
I agree with Ariel in that one thing you can do is to set a good example for your family. Next, I think you need to sit down with your husband and discuss a game plan. You are a team after all, and he needs to start acting like a responsible adult, not a finicky child. Your children’s health and well being should be a number one concern!
Next, I would suggest making the switch to Organic. A lot of people see the new Organic craze as something for hippie radicals or rich people when really it’s this ‘conventional’ way of farming that is so ridiculous. 100 years ago organic was all there was! Organic produce has less toxins and more nutrients. You should also consider buying locally, to support local commerce, as well as the natural needs of your body, which change seasonally, usually supported by what the earth produces. Organic, free range meat and dairy are free of the immune crippling antibiotics ( Over 70% of antibiotics in the US are used in factory farms, given to the Animals we eat, to keep them alive in conditions in which they would otherwise die), and the havoc wreaking hormones causing young girls to start menstrual cycles as early as EIGHT YEARS OLD. Snacks and packaged foods (which should all be cut out, eventually) should also be organic. This helps avoid the overwhelming amount of Genetically Modified “food” sold in our supermarkets, and companies that have an organic option are usually pretty health conscious overall, keeping sugars low and artifical flavorings and colorings out. This is not not a fact, just a generalization. READ THE PACKAGES OF WHAT YOUR CONSUMING. Think about where it came from. If you don’t know what something is, look it up. I’ve found that researching the junk we’re putting into our bodies is often the only motivation I need to keep it OUT of your family’s mouths.
Imagine what dinner would be like in the garden of Eden. There would be no Twinkies, chips, or ice Cream. Most of our food would be raw fruits and vegetables. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of RAW. Most enzymes which allow us to absorb vitamins and minerals die between 105 and 118 F. Water boils at 212 and the oven is always set higher than that.
As far as exercise goes, get your kids into sports at school. For you, start walking. If only for 10 minutes a day before you leave for work, it will jump start your metabolism and burns more calories than running. All you really need to do is start. Because once you feel and see the results, which you will immediately- not wanting to won’t be an issue anymore. I know it might be difficult with your kids ages, but try to make the walk a family thing after dinner possibly. Get a yoga video. Or an aerobic strip tease video. You could definetly hang that one over your husbands head. “Honey, if you don’t feel like going for a jog, I don’t feel like watching the lap dance video!”
The last two tips I have for overall health are
1)HYDRATION! The # 1 key to weight loss.
Get a water purifier and ditch the bottles
2)DEEP BREATHING
I feel like this is waay too long already so I won’t go on another tangent, but try to take 5 minutes out of everyday to breathe as deeply as you can and see how it makes you feel.
recommended reading:
skinny bitch
alkalize or die
June 26th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
If you wait to get motivated, you’ll be waiting for the rest of your life. You have to create motivation, the same way that a drug addict or alcoholic needs to create the motivation to kick the habit. If you do just keep waiting, just like an addict, you may wait until it’s too late, when you hit rock bottom, after you had your first heart attack, stroke, or diabetic complication (or your last if it’s fatal) or can’t walk anymore because your bones and muscles can’t support your own weight. Don’t wait. Don’t wait. Don’t wait. Make it happen.