This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Heart Association. All opinions are 100% mine.
Moms are a powerful force for change within their families. WE are the center of the family (sorry, dads. You’re important too, but mom’s role in the home is undeniably powerful and important). Not only are we often the ones preparing the meals and shopping for food (literally controlling the majority of what our family eats!) but our habits shape the habits of the entire family.
When mom leads, the family follows
When moms decide to lead the family in living a healthier life, guess what? The family follows. Change may not happen right away, and there may be some resistance, but moms, YOU are at the heart of that change and your example can be a powerful force in motivating the rest of the family to follow suit.
5 Simple Steps to a Healthier Lifestyle for Your Family
Making healthier, more heart-friendly decisions starts with simple steps. You can start by encouraging everyone in the family to:
- Eat more fruits and vegetables – the trick to eating more fruits and veggies is to have plenty of them available! When the family has access to plenty of GOOD things to eat, then those are the things that they’ll reach for when they want a snack. Experiment until you find the things that your family enjoys (and if they don’t enjoy them yet, keep trying!).
- Eat less sodium – the trick to eating LESS sodium for our family is to cook our own meals from scratch. Processed foods have a much higher sodium content than the foods I cook for my family, and when I cook the foods we eat, I know exactly what has gone into them.
- Drink fewer sugary beverages – we drink a lot of water! One of the things that has helped our family drink more water and less sodas and juices was to put a large water filter on the kitchen counter. The water tastes better than water from the tap, and it’s so convenient!
- Exercise more – this is something we hear all the time, and I fear that the rest of my family is setting the example for ME! Exercise doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, and can be as simple as taking an afternoon walk together or running up and down the stairs a few times.
- Check and then control blood pressure – keeping an eye on your blood pressure may require a regular visit with your doctor…which is really another thing that you should be doing regularly for your health. Learn from your doctor and other medical resources what you can about keeping your blood pressure at a safe level, and then be sure to check back regularly.
Everyone has a reason to live a healthier, longer life. What’s yours?
My reasons to want to live a long, healthy life are many. But right at the center are my kids. They are everything to me. And I know that YOU moms feel the same way about your kids. The more moms that join together to be a force of change – to motivate each of our children to live healthier lifestyles – the bigger that change is going to be.
Can you picture it in your minds? My 5 kids go to school and set a good example and 3 of their friends take notice. That’s 15 people. Each of those 15 head home and set the example within their own families and motivate their parents and siblings to lead a healthier life. It each of those kids had a mom, a dad, and 1 sibling, that’s already 45 people that MY example has influenced for good.
Did you know that the AHA (American Heart Association) has resources for healthy living? They’ve got things like recipes, healthy tips and tricks for moms, and information and resources on heart and brain health. February is American Heart Month, so there’s no better time than NOW to make the commitment to making a few small changes to lead a healthier life.
Check out Life Is Why for ideas and inspiration. And be sure to follow the AHA on Pinterest!
© 2016, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.
We’ve been visiting our local farmer’s market to buy more fruits and veggies for our family to eat. When you eat better, you feel better!
Great tips! I know we can always exercise more and I can make more meals from scratch.