Making Your Family Health Conscious

Making your family healthier and more health conscious in general is one of the most challenging things we'll ever try to accomplish, but I've found that leading by my example has been an avenue in which my influence speaks louder than anything I could dialogue with my family about. That probably goes without saying. However, you can do some practical things in your daily routine to coax a more health conscious family and here's a few I've thought of and implemented.

Start Slow and Simple

If you initiate a shock and awe type of approach, you'll soon see the about face that your family will take. Instead, try doing something simple like a meat substitute for dinner one night. Rather than using meat, try some tempeh or tofu, both soy products that are meaty in nature and tend to take on the flavor of whatever foods you add them to. Many a mom I know that's trying to convert her family, has found this strategy a success.Ground turkey works too!

Get Them Moving

As a runner, I've often taken a few of my kids on a run with me. I guess it did the trick because my first 3 kids are all cross country runners. I'm of the opinion that it helped immensely to get them moving with me, rather than telling them to get up and do something on their own. It's the whole leading by example that makes it all much more effective for the long term.

A Holistic Approach

Giving your family a bit of education about how the food we make choices to eat daily directly impacts our living experience, cannot hurt them a bit. For example, letting them know that white flours are simple sugars, and as such quickly absorb into the bloodstream to cause sugar spikes that leave you feeling awful later. As a result of that, our energy level becomes compromised and therefore our performance as well. Helping your family see the the whole picture will help them make sense of it all. They'll better be able to grasp the value of what they're doing.

Making your family health conscious is one of the most important things parents can do. Only in this way will our children learn healthy habits that will permeate their living experiences for a lifetime.