How Can I Get My Family to Live Healthier?

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So you’ve tried to let things work themselves out, at least as far as your family’s health and lifestyle choices
are concerned. But you’ve come to realize that it’s not going to change on its own, and those small fears
are starting to become big time worries. Whether its cancer or heart disease, childhood obesity or early
onset diabetes, our modern medical understand has made a ton of progress. But many of the warning
signs of these troubling conditions point to lifestyle, and whether a person consistently makes a healthy
choice. And it’s never too early to start. How can you get your family to adopt a healthy lifestyle?

There’s nothing wrong with trickery. You’ve tried everything, and the kids just will not eat the asparagus
you cook. The idea of salmon or tofu revolts them, and if it’s not in nugget form, it just can’t be on the
plate. If health and wellness are your end goals, there’s no harm in trying to sneak some vegetables or
fruits into their favorite foods. There are ways to subtly sneak these underrepresented food groups in
breakfast, lunch and dinner. You’ll even find amazing dessert recipes that involve veggies. Or ‘disguise’
that fruit by cooking it in a way your kids haven’t seen before.

Use your influence. You know your family. You know what makes them tick, how to press their buttons
and what makes them happy. So play to their strengths. If your children won’t eat the healthiest range
of fruits, vegetables and grains, maybe they love sports. Encourage that, but not just from the sidelines.
Find opportunities to play along. Get involved in adult leagues. Most towns have club leagues for soccer,
softball, and basketball, or find friends to play tennis, golf, or attend martial arts classes together. Be able
to tell your kids about your games after they tell you about theirs, and there’s a good chance what you
serve for dinner and how healthy it is won’t be the center of attention.

Get away from the box. Maybe it’s not sports, maybe it’s cooking. If you and your partner have spent one
too many nights eating prepackaged foods, it’s time to get outside the box. Not only are prepackaged
foods generally packed with chemicals and additives in order to stay fresh, they’re also stuffed with extra
calories. Make homemade versions of the exact same meals, and you’ll automatically be on the road to less
calories, a slimmer waist, and less long term health concerns. And keep dessert on the table if you like.
But instead of the packaged treat every night, try making one or two amazing desserts a week. Put time
and energy into them, and make them together. Once you see what’s possible when you get away from the
box and put your creativity to work, you’ll never regret the changes.

There’s no easy way to make lifestyle changes. You get into a routine, and the longer you follow it, the
harder it is to change. But give yourself three weeks. Just three weeks to break that routine and try on a
healthier lifestyle. Get your kids involved with the timeline of the goal, with daily and weekly prizes. In
the end, your family will adopt the healthy lifestyle not because it was a big, difficult change, but because
it was a simple one. And you don’t need to spend nights studying for a masters in health administrationonline. Just start simple, and come together around a three week game.