Better Habits for the Family-8/5

Better Habits for the Family-8/5

Hey {{contact.first_name}}!

FIT LV back with another #feelgoodfriday. Today I want to elaborate on an Instagram post I put up yesterday which briefly touched on the importance of a unified "lifestyle" in your family. Whether "family" means you and your kiddos, you and a spouse or partner, you with a partner and kids, or maybe just you and your closest group of friends. I am sure there is some dynamic you can reflect on when reading this. 

After living and breathing a healthy and fit life for over 12 years now, one thing I know for sure is, the people you surround yourself with have a huge influence on your lifestyle. This can be directly or indirectly. Now when you add in a roof and four walls, you really share a lifestyle with the people you live with. 

This is why I believe it is extremely important to be on the same page as your PEOPLE with your lifestyle, for it to be LIFE lasting. 

👩‍❤️‍👨I work with a lot of different family dynamics. From married to single to men and women in the midst of a divorce. The commonality being- LIFESTYLE matters. It can bring people together and it can break people apart. Being the only person in a household on a path of self improvement can feel lonely. I love helping families figure out how to do it TOGETHER. 

HABITS TO CONSIDER

*Below are the main habits I feel should be addressed first when making some tweaks to a household dynamic.


✅Exercise habits

✅Nutritional habits 

✅Sleep habits 

✅Alcohol/tobacco use

All of these things attribute to a healthy connection and family unit.  Of course, after consulting with hundreds of husbands, wives, parents, and roommates, some of the hesitations I hear are:

"But I don't want to have to cook separate meals for my husband and kids."

💡You won't have to if the entire family can start exploring healthy alternatives together.

"My roomates are always used to going out for drinks and out to eat all weekend, every weekend.."

💡Have you ever suggested alternative activities or is this just "what you've been doing?

"My kids expect donuts, cereal, poptarts, or mcdonalds every morning for breakfast. It's just what they know."

💡You are the parent, you get to guide your children through life now. You can make slow changes NOW so they don't have the same struggles with nutrition later on in life.  

Shifting habits for the whole household!

I understand it can feel overwhelming to start a new fitness and nutrition routine, but it can feel LESS overwhelming if your team is doing it with you. Now I KNOW you may get some initial woes and ughhhhhs and resistance. That's okay, none of this is meant to be forced. Look at these ideas as little opportunities to sprinkle into your family/friend/relationship dynamic. 

WHERE TO START ⬇️

🍽SIMPLE NUTRITION SWAPS: what subtle changes can you make with the foods you eat with your family? 

🥗Adding more fresh produce with each meal. If you have kids, have them help you wash, chop, and prepare the produce. You can talk about the color, texture, and how it grows! Great opportunity to try new things and learn!   

🥩Swapping to leaner protein %. Try 90/10  or 93/7 instead of 80/20 next time! Most of the time, it is an unnoticeable change but macro wise makes a world of difference. 

🍔 Cooking family dinner 1-2x per week instead of going out to eat. *I have found my kids enjoy it just as much because they truly just want the undivided togetherness, they could care less about the actual food. 

💧 Having water with each meal instead of soda.

🍗 Adding in a source of protein with EVERY snack. Think turkey stick with crackers. Sliced deli meat with goldfish or chips. Greek fogurt with fruit. 

💪🏽FAMILY MOVEMENT: how can you move more as a family?

👟Go for a walk after dinner around the neighborhood or explore a park on the weekend. 

🏋🏼‍♀️Invite your partner, spouse, or kids to the gym with you, even if you’re doing different things- you’re still together. 

🚶‍♀️Park further away from the store and take the stairs over the elevator. 

🏈 Explore some different parks in the area and take some balls or outdoor games you used to enjoy. Be a kid again! 

💤SLEEP HABITS:  do you have a bedtime routine for the kids and adults?

😴Set a predictable bedtime routine for everyone. This makes for calmer nights and restful sleep. 

📺Agree on a set TV OFF time with your spouse, partner, or SELF!

⏰Set a wake up time for yourself M-S, and stick with it. Get on board with a productive morning routine and let it rub off on those around you. 

📚SELF DEVELOPMENT: Do you and your people grow together? 

📝 Discussing short and long term goals and creating a vision board with your family, friends, or spouse can be a really productive and connecting activity. It's pretty cool when the entire household is working towards a collective goal or if you can just support your friends and loved ones in tandem.

🧘🏼‍♂️ Meditation, breathwork, cold plunges. All of these things can bring you together with your team. I will never forget the time my husband and I watched each other do an ice plunge after an hour of breath work. Do hard things with people you love! 

📚Book club! Whether you are reading at the same time but different books, reading the same book and discussing it, reading to your kiddos, or podcast sharing. I have found growing your mind through reading and discussing them is a really positive habit for families to do together. 

I know I just listed a TON of different idea for many of the components of a lifestyle. I wouldn't suggest attempting to overall the whole ship in one shot, but maybe just pic a few small ones to implement. I can speak from experience it can take time for your people to get on board. I have been waking at 4:30am for the last 6 months to read and write. It took 5 months of me doing the thing before Steve got on board and joined me.

My advice: No matter what, DO THE THING and your peeps will follow once they see how positive it is to your life. 😃

P.S in case you missed the original post that inspired this weeks #FGF you can watch it below. Steve is such a good sport! ⬇️

As always, thanks for being here. Now go WIN the day. Happy Friday Team

Peace, Love, and Burpees.

-Coach K

 📲If you’re struggling to implement positive habits for you and your family, DM me. I know I can help with habit swaps and implementation 🥗💪🏽😴✅


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