I called up a friend this morning. Both of us are doing okay, health-wise, but could be doing better. We’re carrying more weight than is good for us, we’re not as active as we should be, etc. and so on. Our families too, which is even more worrying. We spent an hour on the phone, and at the end of it, we’d made a plan.
I’m going to quit my gym (which has been irritating me politically anyway) and switch to the Y; she’s going to join it too. We’re going to commit this semester to meeting two mornings a week for cardio — I can’t always do that, but for the next four months at least, it fits my schedule. I cleared out my kitchen last night of holiday sweets — they were all frozen, given away, or tossed.
She’s going to look into getting a Fitbit and Aria bluetooth scale (both of which I already have, and swear by, for making sure my activity levels are where I want them, and for making it easier to track weight without stress). I’m going to meal plan with Kevin and the kids weekly to make sure there are vegetables with every dinner, and we’re taking a break from desserts for at least a week, maybe longer. I’ve made myself a tracking sheet in Word for checking off a variety of health goals, including things like twice-daily brushing and flossing, taking meds, etc.
Mostly, I’m planning to approach this as a three-month project, like a semester. In three months, we’ll see where we all are. Healthier, hopefully. Instilling healthier habits in the kids too.
*****
My Health Plan:
Ongoing:
– switch to YMCA, investigate Livestrong (free personal training post cancer)
– meal plan for the week (limiting carbs, no desserts)
– stay on top of doctor and dentist appointments
– weekly weight check-in with friend
Daily:
– brush and floss twice a day
– take meds
– start day in exercise-friendly clothes
– daily yoga
– cardio exercise three times / week (with friend at least twice / week)
– lift weights 2-3 times / week
– track food for one month
teeth/meds/clothes/yoga/cardio/lift/track food/weight
Mon 1/2 x x x 147.2
Tues 1/3
Wed 1/4
Thurs 1/5
Fri 1/6
Sat 1/7
Sun 1/8
Dinner meal plan for this week:
chicken, asparagus and penne
steak, broccoli, roast potatoes
ginger-garlic chicken, cauliflower, and rice
meat lasagne & caesar salad:
(cook with kids): pancakes with eggs, sausages, and fruit
for lunches: sauté tilapia, leftovers, spicy fish curry for me
for breakfasts: more lox, more eggs
I suspect you’re a more lenient parent than I am :). Veggies just aren’t optional for my kids.
Something that has worked for us is a weekly health chart (a whiteboard in the kitchen) where all of us have to
(1) do and note some kind of 30 min+ exercise every day (gym days at school count)
and
(2) get to put in a check mark when they’ve eaten all five colors of fruit and veg. (I decided we’d focus on having everyone eating the healthy stuff instead of curtailing the ‘bad’ stuff. If my kids have room for a cookie after eating two servings of fruit, they can go for it. I eat chocolate after every meal, myself.)
The weekly winner gets a small prize or additional screen time; after two days of no exercise phones get docked.
I’m the primary cook and at the end of a long work day, frozen veg mixes (2 bags for the four of us) can get us at least halfway to our daily five-color goal. And I tend to do more eggs and beans for protein, cooking fish once a week and chicken once a month. We eat out/order takeout at least once a week though, so people craving meat or whatever else can get their fill that way.
They always have to have a veg at dinner, but I would really like to expand the RANGE of veg….
And I’d really like to expand the range of fruit we eat :). Dragon fruit, lychees, persimmons… none of them get love from my fam.