Author Sherry Perez is a personal trainer/fitness instructor/fitness program developer at the YMCA of Greater Toronto.
Dedicate your summer to creating healthy habits that will last all year long! Here are my top tips for getting fit and eating healthy this season:
FITNESS TIPS
Be a healthy role model – Pick one day of the week to commit to exercising as a family and name a personal trainer who gets to choose the exercise that the whole family partakes in.
Try out new activities together – Ask each family member put their favorite physical activity on a plastic spoon – put them in a jar, then each weekend choose one that the whole family participates in.
Explore your city – Each month pick a new trail or path in your community that you’ve never been to, pack a healthy picnic lunch and spend the day walking, biking, rollerblading or just playing your favorite sports while experiencing some of the most beautiful weather of the season.
Track and reward - Track your physical activity and reward your kids for staying active. This will teach you where you need to improve.
HEALTHY EATING TIPS
Involve kids in the meal planning process - Let them help choose your meals, then come up with creative ways to make them a little healthier. Example: swap lasagna noodles for eggplant to make an eggplant lasagna.
Leave a 2-hour window between snacks and meals -- This way come meal time your kids are ready to eat whatever is put in front of them. Bonus points if they take part in outdoor activity before meals, so they arrive at the kitchen table eager for some healthy food!
Choose water over fruit juice -- Fruit juice is often high both in calories and in sugar. Send kids to summer camp/child care with a reusable water bottle instead of juice boxes, and mix juice with water when you do serve them sweet drinks.
Teach portion control -- Teach your kids how to measure appropriate portions by letting them decorate their own "snack bags" (essentially re-usable bags or Tupperware that have been decorate and labelled especially for your kids). These bags should prevent mindless snacking.
