Enough is Enough! Time to make changes to our family's habits! As you know, I love charts! I love tracking progress and having a visual for responsibilities, tasks, to-do's, and such. So, I created a chart. It's our Family Fitness Plan. Right now, four of us are actively involved in the plan, but we're making changes that the whole family will benefit from.
Here's a copy of our plan:
This is a point based chart that rewards you for doing GOOD things. For every glass of water, mark a box and that's one point. For no seconds, that day, one point. You'll see two boxes for exercise - at least 20 minutes per box for two possible points. Sweets has been our family's down fall so if you have a "no sweet" day, five points are awarded if your box is checked. Three boxes for vitamins/herbs/health drink. Two boxes for choosing GOOD snacks, rather than junky snacks. Total up your points for the day and at the end of the week. Whoever has the most points is the winner...they get a special outing with a small treat that doesn't go against their points for that day. Having a winner is a fun thing, but the biggest reason I put this together is to have a system that we're all working towards, to help encourage each other, and to work as a whole for a common goal.
This has been very beneficial for me. I love seeing it right in front of me - all the good choices I've made. It encourages me to continue to make good choices and WANT to strive for health and fitness. I'm also amazed at how well my children have taken to this plan. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of encouragement and push, to get on our way, whatever it may be. For example, it's all good and fine to tell you son, "Drink more water and cut down on your treats", but without a plan to do it and others encouraging and doing it with him, it's about impossible.
I noticed this with my oldest daughter who is trying to graduate in three years, not four. She had to take an extra PE class via independent study to make the requirements. She chose a jogging class. She had to jog 140 miles to get an A for that portion of the course. She dragged her feet all through the summer, not taking advantage of the nice, warm weather. We knew she was getting close to her deadline so I decided to encourage and do it with her. I got her up one morning and said, "We're going to the gym." For weeks I went with her every day to get her miles in. I ended up hurting my foot so I quit going but she kept it up. She has 25 miles to go and she's now working on it herself. It took that extra encouragement from Mom to get her going. How beneficial it is to work towards a goal with someone else to push and keep you going!
Thoughts on the plan: Don't buy and bring home any sweets...it's too tempting!! Cut down on portion size! Get your water points because that alone will help tremendously. Maybe consider more points for exercise? I'm not very motivated by two exercise points when I can get two points drinking more water. Have LOTS of good snacks in the house so there's a wide variety of choices. Now the key is to Stick-to-it! Wish us luck!!
No comments:
Post a Comment