Making Healthy Family Choices

By Randi Morse

It is said that people who form healthy habits when they're young tend to be more apt to keep those healthy habits up as they get older. The best way to get healthy habits when you're young is if your entire family lives a healthy lifestyle. If your family isn't living as healthy of a lifestyle as you'd like, here are a few small changes you can make to get big health results.

Healthy Snacks

Have you ever gotten so hungry that you tear around your house looking for food only to choose the least healthy option in your house? It's important to not allow your body to get so hungry that you are more prone to make bad choices, that's why you should always have healthy snacks around the house. Nuts, fruit, granola are often great, filling snacks that you can keep around your home. 

Exercise Time

I know it can be difficult to find time in your busy schedule to exercise, but if you plan it out as a family it may be easier, and it can definitely be more fun. Try keeping your workout to 20 minutes and keeping it at home. If you have to travel for a workout you're going to be much less likely to get the exercise done. There are a ton of different exercises you can do in 20 minutes, like walking around your neighborhood, following an exercise video, dancing around the house, or you can simply start up a game of soccer or basketball. Anything that you can do as a family that gets the heart pumping for 20 minutes is a great, healthy change.

Eat Dinner Together

Children mimic what they see, and if they can't see you making healthy eating choices, they're not likely to be doing so either. You should pledge to sit down and have dinner together as often as you possibly can during the week. Five days out of the week would be ideal, or even seven if you can, but that can be difficult to do with busy schedules. Make sure you set aside at least a handful of days every week to sit down and enjoy dinner together as a family. You will be showing your children how you make healthy choices while also engaging in some family bonding time.

When you make healthy changes as a family you're much more likely to stick with the changes simply because you're doing it all together! 

To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Derby, Kans.