Exercise and Eat Together as a Family! (Giveaway)



Contest Closed Giveaway winner: Catherine of Evolving Mommy! 

My  four year old son Mekhi has watched my transformation from a couch potato to an athlete. I started working out on a consistent basis when he was just 2 years old and from the beginning he has been an active participant in my workouts. If I am at home using my Wii or XBoX Kinect to exercise he is right beside me doing Zumba, the Michael Jackson Dance experience and even EA SPORTS Active. Although we don’t use it very often, he also enjoys playing with the Wii Fit Plus – exercise is disguised as games so he really has a ball.

My weight loss journey has enabled him to gain the understanding that exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle. He models my behavior and even when I’m not working out he will take the initiative play his exercise DVD. I encourage active movement with him by reading books that highlight the importance of exercising. As a family, we are committed to exercising together. He knows that when I run a race I am likely to receive a medal and he is always on the lookout for my race “bling”. On Thanksgiving I ran a Turkey Trot 10k and he ran his first “baby” trot and won a medal! He still talks about the day that we ran “together”!

In addition to exercise, I am working on developing healthy eating habits with my son. I admit that it is challenging, my son is an extremely picky eater and there are very few things that we can eat in common as a sit down meal. However, I can get him to eat breakfast (usually waffles or cereal) and we sit down together and talk about how good our food is!

He is a grazer so during the day when he enjoys a snack I usually join him. Carrots, grapes and watermelon are fruits he really enjoys. Sometimes he will eat a banana and on special occasions he will drink the shakes that I make. It is my hope that as he gets older his palate will develop and we can have more frequent sit down meals together. Studies have shown that families that eat together are overall healthier and more active than families that eat in silos.

I know that I have laid the foundation for my son and I to be healthy together as a family.  As he gets older I intend to reinforce the messages about diet and exercise that I am giving him now. I predict that in a few years we will actually be running races together and it will all be because we made healthy choices at an early age.

The Together Counts campaign is designed to encourage families to eat right and exercise together.  Families across the country are taking to the PLEDGE to balance eating together with physical activity. This is a simple process, to take the pledge click HERE. 

GIVEAWAY
The good people at Together Counts want to help put one lucky reader on this path (or continue) by providing a $100 giftcard to Sports Authority. I’m going to make this giveaway really simple – just tell me what you are doing to ensure that your family is getting “healthy together”. This contest will be open until June 5, 2011 at 11:00PM EST Good luck!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post but as usual all opinions are 100% my own



Comments

Mami2jcn said…
We ride bikes together in the evenings.

mami2jcn at gmail dot com
Lesley Mitchell said…
We love to hike together as a family!
lesleymitchell52@yahoo.com
Jackie said…
I've been buying more fresh veggies and putting them on the table for everyone to enjoy during dinner (the kids like snacking on them during the day too!). Thanks!
jackievillano at gmail dot com
*Tanyetta* said…
We go for a walk after dinner!

tanyetta at hotmail
We bike, dance, walk, hike, and swim together!!
Oh, my email is secretagentmama at gmail dot com!
Kathy Sykes said…
We do a little bit of dancing, running, and eating light and healthy to keep fit as a family. We encourage each other to keep up the great work. Words and encouragement can make a difference in the whole dynamic of the family.
Tarrant said…
We talk about food sources and the various yay and nays to every food. We encourage activity as part of any of the minimal screen time. (Gazelle during a show, Wii, pace between movie marathons.)
Candice said…
We talk about eating nourishing food that will build strong muscles and a smart brain. We take walks, chase our Yorkie around the garden (never can catch her though) and let our girl watch us working out so that she will learn it is an important part of being healthy at all ages.
Christy M. said…
Like you, I've worked hard to lay a good foundation for my kids! I take my daughter to bootcamp (when we miss it, she makes sure to remind me!), and my son runs with me. I think it's a great way to spend time together as a family!!

Thanks for the giveaway :) My son needs a new pair of running shoes, so I'd love to win!

xoxo
Christy
VD said…
I'm making sure I'm preparing meals using the freshest ingredients and finding active activities that we all enjoy like basketball and swimming.
C said…
I make sure that my daughter eats plenty of fruits and veggies and we often go for walks around the neighborhood.
New York Chica said…
I quit buying chips and junk food and have incorporated more fruit and veggies into our diets. I also started buying organic fruits and veggies and I feel especially good about that bc I am not giving my family foods with pesticides.
keyalus said…
My son is a bit young to be meaningfully active with me but I make an effort to play very actively with him. We run, we jump and we dance all around the house.
Eileen said…
Our family supports the youngest in all his sports activities. We "practice" every weekend on the baseball field. I walk the track while he's at football practice. I must make healthy meals to fit into his schedule and we all help him count carbs so he does not lose weight with all the activity.
Meghan said…
We take family walks together a few times a week & I am changing our diet slowly but surely.
I focus on making healthy balanced meals for my family and we love to go on hikes and walks together.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Krystal Grant said…
It's not easy to be a lazy bum with 3 small kids. So I've had to channel my inner child and get moving. My kids and I love to play Michael Jackson experience on Wii. And we play tennis on Wii sport. Both of those games are huge workouts. After playing, I am dripping with sweat. We also go outside and play badminton and kick ball. I think this will turn out to be a busy summer for me!
susitravl said…
We eat healthy meals together at the table every night and then we walk our dogs around the neighborhood or at the park.
susitravl(at)gmail(dot)com
Jennifer said…
We are eating healthier and we walk at the park and play baseball in the backyard!
Jacquie said…
I take my kids on walks to the park to play, we go to the gym and workout and we play the xbox kinect adventure games, along with zumba for the Wii and we run around and play outside. We try to stay away from junk food and eat veggies and fruit!
Christy said…
We are gonna do yard work and bike riding this summer
Bicultural Mama said…
We go to Open Swim at the local YMCA to get exercise while having fun bonding time!
Kris said…
My husband and I run our long training runs together as we are both marathoners and love to hike through the state parks during the summer :)
Anonymous said…
me and my husband walk on the trail by my house and my babies ride in the wagon
tcogbill at live dot com
Nessastamps said…
I am letting my boys enroll in soccer this fall. We are going to start practicing together over the summer to get them prepared for the season.
Kfloveinme said…
My fiance & I been taking outdoor bootcamp classes 4 times a week for the last 2 months & its great! It's an awesome way to get "healthy together".

kfloveinme(at)gmail(dot)com
Helen F said…
We have stopped drinking soda and walking more.
hflow said…
We have stopped drinking soda and walking more. I may have posted 2 times Im not sure how to work this yet.
@lovinmomma8 said…
Hi, we stay healthy by eating healthy and playing in the park..bike rides, running around, and roller blading.. :)

@lovinmomma8 on twitter

Lovi Nmomma on fb

Thanks so much for the chance :)
Melissa Doyle said…
We have started walking together at night and plan to swim together late mornings or afternoons as soon as school gets out for the summer. We are also drinking a lot more water and choosing much healthier food. We are hoping to get some dog walking jobs together too so we can get more exercise that way. :)

cryena@aol.com

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