Health Challenge Tip #7

Post #200!

#7: Exercise.

Oh please. Like you didn't know this was coming. It's practically a given.

I'll be honest. Since I stopped teaching fitness classes, my exercise level had dropped to an extreme low. As embarrassing at that might be, it means I see eye to eye with those who find it hard to carve out time to workout. We no longer have a gym membership so finding time (and means) to workout can be a challenge.

That said, thank goodness for the invention of a stroller. Take your kiddo(s) for a stroll for an arm and cardio workout. And if you have a jogging stroller, you can attempt to run with your child. Let me share a little secret with you, though, about running with a stroller. Hills? Not the same while pushing a stroller. Pretty sure I was running in place trying to get up the hills near our house. I wiped my brow in relief that no one saw me looking like a hamster in a wheel, trying to get up some of those hills. Keep an eye on your kiddo though, mine threw a hat I loved to the wind while I was running and I didn't find it on my back track.

Kids too old to sit in a stroller? Have them ride a bike along with you as you walk/jog/run or pull them behind in a wagon.

Don't like walking alone? Enlist a friend to walk with you. Sweet P and I walked almost 4 miles! around a lake yesterday with our friends K and L. It was sort of on accident, since L lost her hat (do you see a theme here?) and a shoe! and we had to make another lap to find them. But once I got home, I was glad we went around again. Gotta love accidental exercise!

And if all else fails, turn on some music and dance the day away. Your kids will love it (and so will you). Plus, you'll get an ab workout from all the laughter that comes with watching each other dance around.

Seriously, though. Get some exercise. If possible, do it with your kids. Seeing you physically active (and liking it), tells them it's important to get moving (and that it can be fun). Our kids aren't active enough these days (and neither are we). The benefits of physical activity are endless and include having more energy, sleeping better at night, keep sickness at bay and improving your mood! So get your rump moving. Your body, your mind and your well-being (and even your family) will most definitely thank you.

Challenge: I'm aiming for at least 30 minutes a day (which is what is recommended, how many of us really get that?). What are you aiming for?

Munchin' Munchkin

Health Challenge Tip #6

#6: Eat at home.

This is a tough one for me. I was raised in a family who ate out at least once a week (twice or three times most weeks). Between brunch after church, Peter Piper Pizza Wednesdays and Pizza Hut Fridays, we ate out a lot. The Farmer's family? Did not.

When we moved to Des Moines (only one month after our wedding), eating out seemed like the thing to do. 1) We wanted to explore our new city! Trying new restaurants seemed like a fabulous idea. and 2) We didn't know anyone. Going out to eat gave us the opportunity to be around other people! Even if we didn't know them. But we quickly realized that with neither of us having a job (we didn't get them until after we moved), eating out was not a good idea. So we curbed the habit. Sort of.

I like to eat out (ask Gammie, Auntie Rosita and Auntie Kannon, they do too). I can't help it. If I had it my way, we'd order pizza every night. Just kidding. But it's what's always in the back of my head on Friday nights (so I usually end up making my own). I suppose it's from eating out on the weekends during childhood, but I know it's neither healthy nor good for the wallet.

So want to save money and your health? Stop eating out. This goes along with the fast food post, but eating at home lets you see what's going in your meals (eating at home doesn't mean ordering take out!) and you spend a lot less than you would at a restaurant. I figured out that I can make two large calzones and a small pizza (from one recipe of dough) for less than $5. If we ordered pizza it'd be close to $20 and there's just the two of us! I can't imagine what large families are spending on eating out.

Restaurants usually use way more sodium than you would at home and many meals are full of fat and lacking good foods like whole grains and veggies!

Eat at home and eat together. Your kids will thank you for it (maybe not today, but they will). So my challenge for you is to keep eating out for special occasions or social outing with friends. In a perfect world, I'd like to eat out once a month. So I hope you'll strive with me, to eat out less and eat at home as a family more. It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it.