As my children get older I’m getting more aware of them watching me and learning from my actions rather than just what I try to teach them directly.
I want them to grow up healthy and strong, and so as a family we’ve been looking at what we can do and what changes we can make to have a generally healthier family life.
Focus on food
A few months ago Steve and I started a bad habit of having pudding every night after dinner. It would’ve been fine if we were having something like yoghurt and fruit, but instead we were having cornettos or magnums. Really tasty, but really not necessary and not great to add a good few hundred calories to our daily intake.
So recently we’ve put a bit of a restriction in place, and are now, for the most part, saving those treats for the weekend. So we still get to indulge now and then, and it actually does feel more of a treat because it’s not an everyday thing.
As for the children, we do let them have something sweet after their dinner, but if they still pester for more food before bed we’ve been making it a piece of fruit and a glass of milk rather than more indulgent snacks.
Talking positively
I’ve recently started exercising regularly again, mainly doing workout dvds in our lounge.
Sometimes I get up early in the morning to do it in peace, other times I do it in the daytime and let the children watch or join in if they’d like to. I’ve realised that it’s good for them to see me doing it, and to talk positively about why I’m doing it.
I want them to see that I find it hard at times, that I struggle but I keep trying. I talk to them about how I will stick with it and after some practice my body will get stronger and it will feel easier.
Mostly, I talk to them about the fact that I’m doing it to be stronger and healthier, not thinner.
Sorting out smoking
I’ve never smoked at all. Several of my friends at school did, and there were a few times that they jokingly tried to get me to join in but honestly I never really felt any pressure to do it and never really saw the appeal.
My husband, on the other hand, has been a smoker for years. He has seriously cut back though, from the amount he used to smoke when we first met. And he’s been making a real effort over the last few months to cut back even more, and he’s doing really well with the help of vaping.
There’s still a lot of research to be done into the long term effects of vaping, but the NHS is currently supporting it as a way of quitting smoking. I would like it if my husband could just stop smoking altogether but I think this gradual approach of vaping instead of smoking cigarettes is working for him better than suddenly quitting.
With his e-cigarette he can gradually reduce the amount of nicotine, so hopefully he’ll stop craving it so much and in the end stop completely. There are various shops on the high street now where you can discuss the best e-cigarette and liquid for your needs, or you can visit a vape shop online to see what options there are.
Getting active outside
There are so many benefits to spending time outside as a family, and we’ve been making the most of the nice weather lately and getting out for walks together.
Nerys has always loved heading outside to the beach or the park, but these days Rhys would quite often prefer to stay in and play on the computer. We’ve found though that once we get him out the front door he absolutely loves it, and is really happy to run and jump and expend some of his large amounts of energy.
Now the children are a bit older we’ve found that we can go for longer walks with them without too many complaints which is great for all of us, and for me especially trying to get my 10,000 steps in every day!
How do you stay healthy as a family? Have you made any changes recently towards a healthier lifestyle?
Disclosure: this is a collaborative post