Living a healthy lifestyle might seem like a challenge, especially when you’re a busy parent, but it doesn’t have to be! If you make small changes to your daily routine, it will make a big impact on yours and your family’s health in the long run. You don’t need to give up sweets, carbs, eating out, or any of your favourite foods in order to see results! In fact, its probably good to include all of these in order to be truly successful, especially with young children.
Below are some top tips that can help you reach your goals to live a healthier lifestyle as a family and as an individual. With a few simple changes to your daily routine, you will see how easy it can be to reach your goals.
1. Put out a fruit bowl
You know the phrase “out of sight, out of mind”? Not what you want when it comes to eating more fruits and vegetables. They deliver lots of nutrients but not a lot of calories, plus, most fruit is packed with fiber, which helps fill you up. Don’t shove your beautiful apples to the back of the fridge drawer, or bury your carrots under your other groceries. Instead, bring the fruits and vegetables front and center in your refrigerator, or even better, out into a bowl on your kitchen table. This way they’ll be in plain sight.
2. Follow the MyPlate Method
This method is a great tool to use at family meal-time that will help you and your children eat a more balanced diet. Cover half of the plate in vegetables, a quarter of it in protein, and a quarter of it in carbs. This is a great starting point for many who are trying to be healthier!
Portions vary from person to person because everyone’s body is different, everyone’s goals are different, and everyone’s starting point is different! However, practicing this method at meals is a great kick start to helping you reach your goals!
3. Eating Out the Right Way
Eating out is fun and you don’t need to sacrifice that in order to be healthy. You can eat out as a family or on your own, order your favorite foods, and still be on track with your goals.
You can share your plate with a family member while eating out, which will decrease your portion size, which will in turn, decrease your calorie intake. Also limit eating out to once a week, if possible. While we are able to eat out and lose weight, home-cooked meals are always healthier because you can control what goes into it. Check out the Famli app for great healthy recipe ideas. Eat out and enjoy your favourite foods, just not everyday.
Make one SMALL change today and see how easy it can be to get BIG results!
We can all make 100 changes to our lifestyle or our diets, but if you focus on too many at the same time, it will be challenging to keep up with them all, especially when you are already so busy with family life. We recommend focusing on one small change you want to make, master that by making it into a new habit. Then, pick your next small change, master that and so on.
That is the secret to getting long-term results. So let’s start today.
Thank you for reading! Hopefully this provided some value for you.
Benjamin Draper, Famli Co-Founder