From Couch Potatoes to Active Family!
I’m a crazy running mom with five kids—yep, you heard me correctly! I’ve been married 22 years, and many of my friends would probably say I have six kids including my husband. A few years and a LONG winter ago, I realized that my kids were vegging out on the couch or playing video games, and honestly I am not sure I could even get them off the couch to let the dogs in. That is when I knew I had to make a change. Believe it or not, one in three kids is obese or overweight. If you think I’m kidding, drive by your local middle or high school and you will see what I am talking about. Here are some steps I took to get my kids (and my husband) to become active again.
Limit TV, video, and computer games. At first I let them have an hour a night other than homework, but the kids outsmarted me and before I knew it they had downloaded videos to their iPads, and were playing games on their kindles. So, I had to get tough and I made a table where the kids left every electronic device they had by 9 pm unless they had not finished their homework. Quickly the kids were getting more quality sleep and I was not having trouble getting them to wake up in the morning.
Find an activity that you can enjoy as a family. Winter was easy—snowboarding and skiing. No problems getting everyone to the slopes, but summer is not so easy! Not everyone enjoys running like I do. I had to get creative - like betting on the golf course, and the new favorite - wake boarding. I also found hiking was one that even if they didn’t love it, they could handle it for a little while.
Change their diet. This has been the #1 way I made a difference in my kids. Simple swaps like water for soda, fruit for chips, cheese sticks and apple dip! Food is energy—so you can fill them up naturally or fill them up with sugar and watch them crash on the couch.
Plan an active vacation or staycation. I got smart this year and planned a vacation that had the kids moving and walking. To make sure they were prepared, we went hiking and walking and biking together so that they knew they would be prepared!
Simple changes and a little creativity will help get those kids (and husbands) off the couch and out having fun!
About Becky Reese:
Armed with a mission to empower moms across the country to feel beautiful no matter what their size, mother-of-five Becky Reece founded Sexy Mom's Running Club (www.sexymomsrunningclub.com) to help busy women make themselves a priority again, while still balancing career and family.
And Becky has generously offered up a lovely giveaway for my readers!!! One of my readers will take this prize package home!
- any item from Becky Reese’s apparel line
- The Fresh 20 Cookbook by Melissa Lanz
- and a $50 gift card good for any paid content on SexyMomsRunningClub.com (paid content will be available after Phase 2 launch in the fall)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Prize has been provided by the Sexy Mom's Running Club at no cost to myself. I was not compensated financially for hosting this post, but I did receive a selection of gifts for participating in the Mommy Blogger Tour.
