7 Tips for a Healthier, Fitter (More Fit?) Family

The alternate title to this post should be, "Just don't do what my family and I did this summer."  

The end.

Oh - need more details?  Ok, I'll give you the "skinny" on what not to do in order to be a healthier, fitter (more fit?  Someone PLEASE tell me what the right word choice is!) family.

#1 Finishing your kid's food.  Just don't.  

#2 Eat fried foods.  Just don't.  

Note:  #1 and #2 might go hand in hand, when the kids order grilled cheese with curly fries and chicken nuggets with french fries, eat 5 bites each, declare they're stuffed, then run off to play, leaving perfectly delicious food whispering, "Eat me, eat meeeeeee."  

What is a mother supposed to do?  There are kids starving in our own country.  I had to eat it, right?  All 55 meals of it, right?

#3 Have a daily drink.  Or 2.  While sociable and a great way to relax after a day of "hey mom?" "Moooom, she's looking at me."  "Mom, I'm hungry because I didn't eat my fried foods before you ate them," let's face it.  The calories are unwanted and the lower inhibition creates an "I can eat ANYTHING and it won't hurt me!  Yay!" mentality.  Refer, again, to #1 and #2.

#4 Take the entire summer off from group fitness classes (if you have access to those).  Regardless if you complete Couch to 5K, trust me on this one.  If you take 3.5 months off from your Spin and Sculpt class, you'll be walking out of the first couple of classes shakier than the final leaf on an Oak tree in December.  In other words, the one minute plank?  Shaking as mentioned from 10 seconds on.  Whee.

#5 Take your kids for an "ice cream treat" 3 or so times per week.  And have one yourself.  At 4pm, 2 hours before dinner.  This teaches your kids great lessons about bingeing.  Sadly, you'll have to teach them similar lessons about purging come Fall.

#6 Go out to eat 7-10 times per week, including lunch and dinner.  Even if you get the salad every time (and trust me on this one, you won't because after awhile the salad just stops looking awesome and the loaded nachos start whispering "eat me, eat meeeeeee"), you are unquestionably getting extra junk in your system - processed foods, too much bad fat and more calories than you want. 

#7 Get less than 7-8 hours of sleep a night.  My husband and I have this conversation all the time.  The human body, contrary to current, popular belief is NOT meant to exist on less than 7 hours of sleep a night.  So when you stay out til 3am on a weekend and the kids are up at 7am jumping on the bed asking for a popscicle for breakfast, you are NOT going to be operating at maximum efficiency that day.  Or for the next week, for that matter.  

So there you have it.   A quick, dirty, possibly confessional, possibly hypothetical list of what NOT to do when you want to have a healthier, fitter family.  

And while my current "back to school" lifestyle may be a bit vanilla in comparison to the above, at least my body's feeling better, my brain is clearing and my kids are getting back to healthier, non-fried, non-butter slathered foods.

At least until we go visit my parents in a week or so.  Right, Mom?  ;)

Comments

[Tempate Design]

Thank you very much for the great insight and we really appreciate the time you took to write this post.

[Jennifer]

Sounds like the perfect storm of how not to be more fit. :) But yummy. And fun.

[Venassa]

We are a very unhealthy couple, me and my boyfriend but luckily our kids are babies and are still eating healthy. Still, we follow quite a bit of those rules already. Except #2. We're horrible at #2.

[Jester Queen]

I yearn for the time when my youngest sleeps enough that I get a regular 7. Hell, a regular SIX would make me a lot more sane than I am right now. This morning, he was up, DRESSED, and demanding breakfast in a not-to-be-denied-plaintive-wail at 4:53. Not that I checked the clock or anything.

[Laura @ Pruning Princesses]

Funny how when my little one had 5 years of avoiding gluten, soy and dairy we all ate healthier. Freedom brings junk food...maybe you need some food allergies in your family!

[Kathy at kissing the frog]

Pretty much #s 1-5 and 7 are the reasons I gained weight this summer. :( And now it's almost the beginning of the Fat Five Holidays. Sigh. Don't think I can win.

[Jackie]

I'm pretty sure that #1 is what gets all of us parents! If we quit finishing our kids meals can we at least have that glass of wine in the evening?

[Jess]

Hahaha this made me laugh! So much truth in this post. I am so guilty of finishing my kids food... Calories don't count if I'm eating them from their plate?!? And I totally hear you on the lack of sleep. It is 5 am here and I went to bed at midnight. I was not so happy when my kids woke me this morning.

[Single Mom in the South]

LOL! YOu sound like me, although I did actually start a Couch to 5k this summer...must go run shortly! And I always eat like crap at my parents'.

[Jody Brettkelly]

Yes the fitness thing. I haven't done anything during the summer since our cycling trip. Except open the fridge. I've got to make it the first thing I do in the day.

[Mary @ A Teachable Mom]

Yep, guilty as charged on nearly all of the above! Those damn curly fries and nachos call my name too ... does it count if I eat them with a salad? Fun post!

[Christine @ Love, Life, Surf]

I tried really hard to disagree with one of your reasons and find one that didn't apply to me this summer and well, I couldn't. Especially the ice cream treats! And my boys would insist on having cones and they would melt so quickly so I had to help my youngest with his and "clean up" the dripping mess. What's a mother supposed to do??

PS I think that it's "more fit". My husband and I were just having the same discussion - do you say funner or more fun?

[Helene]

I was so lax with my kids, too, this summer. I was so relieved when they went back to school so we can all get back into a normal routine again (with healthy meals!!)

[Adrienne]

Well no wonder I'm feeling awful! I do all of the above. I did run today. That's a start! It usually takes me about 9 weeks to get my metabolism to speed up and weight to drop, but that puts me in November! Geesh.

[Paula @ Simply Sandwich]

Love it Missy! What's with summer that it causes us to completely forget the no-nos? I am right there with ya sister.

BTW - I think (and could be way wrong on this) "more fit" is the right one. Since I am not sure, let's just eat fries! :)

[Lori @ Good Food Good Friends]

Love this post! All the things we should know, just sometimes need a little reminder!