Movement And Fitness

Diet And Fitness Trends – Part 2

Fitness and Movement

Following on from the previous post about Diet and Nutrition, let’s have a look at the fitness, exercise, and movement part of this series.

Stepping Up the Home Workouts

It should come as no surprise that home workouts were the star of 2021 and even 2020. More people than ever before have been skipping the gym and instead staying home to do their workouts. And this seemed to remain the trend well into the 2022 New Year, but with even more options.

What is Changing?

More people are building their own home gyms! They are converting garages, basements, and guest rooms into entire gyms right in the comfort of their own home. Some people keep it simple with a bike or treadmill, weights, and resistance bands, while others go all out with gym flooring, wall-to-wall mirrors, weight benches, and multiple machines.

This depends on your budget and how much space you have, but any type of space in your home should be able to accommodate some gym equipment.

Fitness Apps

Mobile fitness apps have certainly taken off and become ever so popular since the start of the pandemic. They are portable and offer at-home exercise options that you can do any time of the day, and it doesn’t matter where you are.

There are so many different apps to choose from, with an endless list of options, like Yoga, HIIT, strength training, bodyweight exercises, cycling, running, rowing…and so much more!

Virtual Trainers and Coaches

Another big trend that started booming during lockdown, and appears to be continuing, is to get virtual trainers or coaches for those home workouts. Not everyone knows what exercises to do, even with all the fancy equipment. Many people are going to hire personal trainers virtually that will show them what to do and might even be there on Zoom during their workouts.

Did you know that virtual trainers can also be used if you like to go to the gym but can’t find a local trainer able to help on-site? I had no idea that this was even possible until just recently.

Apps have become super popular among those who prefer working out from the comfort of their home, so expect those to continue as well.

You can also include equipment like Peloton in this category since it’s not just any ordinary exercise bike. They contain a lot of different workouts from experienced trainers. You pay a monthly fee to gain access to their membership and pick the workouts you want to do. I personally haven’t got one YET, but I have my heart set on purchasing a Peloton very soon.

Smart Home Gyms

This is a good combination of home gyms and virtual trainers, all tied into one. It is on the pricey side but a great option for people looking to upgrade their home workouts. There are smart home gyms like Tonal that include one machine with everything you need, including a large screen with trainer-led workouts.

Intuitive Movement

Just like with intuitive eating, more people are also jumping on the intuitive movement bandwagon. It is not less exercise, but fewer rules about working out. This could mean something as simple as not having a set schedule or a workout split but instead listening to your body and what you feel like doing each day.

For others, it is about the type of workouts they choose to do. You might discover that you were running on the treadmill not because you enjoyed it but because you thought that cardio was essential for your goals. Now, you listen more to your body and your mind and participate in movement that you truly enjoy. For me personally, these include walking, swimming, and then, of course, cardio and HIIT programs (because I teach these daily).

Diet And Fitness Trend Summary

Now, more than ever before, people are concerned about their physical and mental health. This is why diet and fitness are so important, and technology is helping to revolutionize the way it is done.

To summarise, all the diet and fitness trends we are seeing now, will continue to be popular through the New Year, with a few differences here and there. And as for fitness, home workouts will continue to gain popularity, and more of us will start using the services of virtual trainers and coaches, and we will see a lot more undertaking intuitive movement workouts.

Let’s CONNECT!

What forms of exercise do you do, and what areas are you struggling with?

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Healthy Food Choices

How To Teach A Child Healthy Eating Habits

Healthy eating habits may be a trendy issue, but the emphasis is on young adults and the older generation. Meanwhile, an unhealthy eating lifestyle mostly starts at an early age. So, it is important that we teach healthy eating habits to the younger generation.

Poor health caused by unhealthy eating habits in childhood can continue into adulthood and put your child at risk for several chronic health conditions. For example, children with unhealthy weight gain can become depressed and have a poor self-image and low self-esteem.

Check Out These Healthy Eating Habits That Can Benefit Your Kids

 1.  Help Our Kids Make Healthy Food Choices Instead of Commanding Them

  • Make it your goal to have a variety of nutritious foods available at home. This practice will help our little humans learn how to make healthy food choices.
  • For instance, instead of serving meals with soda, try serving meals with water or fresh homemade juice

2.  Avoid Eating Out Too Often

  • With a busy work schedule, taking care of kids, and a home, it seems almost impossible to find the time to cook often.
  • But make it a priority to cook at home as much as possible, so you don’t have to worry about what goes into the food.
  • It also helps to build a good habit of cooking at home for the kids, so they don’t grow up with the habit of picking up fast food or always eating out.

3.  Make Time To Shop And Cook With Them

  • Take your kids along when shopping for groceries. I know the thought of this gives some parents heart palpitations, but make it fun. They will love spending time with you when you include them in the decision-making. Teach them the benefits of having healthy food options. These actions give them a perfect opportunity to learn about healthy nutrition.
  • Not only will this give them a sense of achievement but also, they are generally more willing to eat foods that they help prepare.

4.  Have Meals Together As A Family Regularly

  • Always make it a point to eat with your kids at least once a day. Use that time to have friendly conversations. In our house, we sit together at dinner time. It’s the only time of the day we’re all home together and awake!

5.  Try Not To Use Food As A Punishment

  • Avoid punishing your children by denying them food. This can lead to fear that they will not get sufficient food.
  • In effect, you then cause them to worry, and your children may try to eat whenever they get an opportunity — leading to unhealthy relationships with food.

6.  Plan For Balanced Food Outside Of The Home

  • Know the meal plan at school. Find out if they can have a healthy option or pack their lunch and include a variety of foods. Also, select more healthy items when you do eat out.

7.  Avoid Eating While Watching TV

This is a tricky one, and I’m sure many of us are guilty of it.

  • Watching TV while eating slows the metabolic rate, causing the food to digest slowly and fat to burn slowly. Eating while watching TV makes it difficult to pay attention to feelings of fullness and may lead to overeating.
  • If you or your kids eat while watching the Telly, it can cause low metabolism. Try to make it a habit to eat only in the dining room or kitchen.

These healthy eating habits will positively affect your children’s health and lifestyle throughout their adult life.

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5 Essential Life Skills

5 Essential Life Skills To Teach Your Kids

As a parent, you want to do everything to help your child succeed in life. One of the best things you can teach them is important life skills. These skills will help them handle difficult situations and make excellent decisions throughout their lives.

Here Are Five Essential Life Skills That Every Child Should Know:

1. How To Handle Money

This includes budgeting, saving, and spending. You need to manage your money wisely in order to succeed in life. Consider these tips for teaching your kids how to handle money:

  • Encourage them to save up for things they want. You can also give them an allowance and teach them to spend and budget wisely.
  • Help them understand the value of money by showing them how much many things cost. Also, encourage them to think about creative and honest ways to earn extra money for themselves.

2. How To Be Responsible For Their Actions And Decisions

This is an important skill for dealing with difficult situations. It’s also essential for making excellent decisions throughout their lives. Some practical ways to teach them about accountability include:

  • Help them understand that there are consequences for their actions.
  • Encourage them to take responsibility for their own decisions. Also, teach them to think about how their actions will affect others.
  • Lead by example and take responsibility for choices and actions.

3. How To Deal With Difficult Situations And Emotions

This is an important skill for dealing with stress, anxiety, and other challenges in life. It’s also essential for maintaining healthy relationships.

  • Help them understand their feelings by labeling emotions. Encourage them to express their feelings in healthy ways.
  • Teach them how to problem-solve and find positive solutions. Also, provide support and understanding when they’re going through tough times.
  • Encourage them to talk to you or another trusted adult about their problems.
  • Model healthy coping mechanisms such as deep breathing and positive self-talk.

4. How To Get Along With Others And Work Together

This is an important skill for dealing with conflict, building relationships, and working effectively in a team. Some tips for teaching your kids to get along with others include:

  • Encourage them to listen to others and share their ideas.
  • Teach them how to compromise and resolve conflicts.
  • Encourage them to cooperate with others and work together towards a common goal.
  • Also, praise them when they display positive social behaviors.
  • They can practice these skills through group activities and sports.

5. How To Stay Mentally And Physically Healthy

This is an essential skill for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing illness. It’s also necessary for managing stress and emotions.

  • Encourage your kids to eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. Help them understand the importance of getting enough sleep.
  • Teach them how to deal with stress in healthy ways.
  • Also, encourage them to talk to you or another trusted adult about their feelings.
  • Teach your kids how to practice good hygiene by demonstrating how to shower properly and clean up their surroundings to maintain a clean and sanitary environment.
  • Allow them to take part in sports and group activities.

Just Before We End Off…

These are five of the most important life skills that every child should know. By teaching your kids these skills, you’ll help them handle difficult situations and make excellent decisions throughout their lives. Also, you’ll set them up for success in their future endeavors.

Teaching them how to handle money, be responsible for their actions, deal with difficult emotions, get along with others, and stay physically and mentally healthy are essential life skills that will benefit them in the long run. So start teaching them today!

 

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Simple Ways To Keep Kids Active

Simple Ways To Keep Kids Active

Children of all ages are more sedentary now than ever before; watching TV and playing video games instead of biking to the playground or playing kickball in the backyard with their pals is a major cause for concern.

And even schools have stopped emphasizing fitness! In some school districts, physical education has vanished completely because of under-funding.

Kids need regular exercise to build strong bones and muscles. Exercise also helps children sleep well at night and stay alert during the day. All these healthy habits established in childhood help adolescents maintain a healthy weight despite their hormonal changes, rapid growth, and social influences that often lead to overeating. And active children are more likely to become fit adults.

As childhood has become more sedentary, and a lot more fast food is being eaten, children are gaining weight. In the past 30 years, the rate of childhood obesity has more than tripled, leading to a dramatic increase in the number of children with type 2 diabetes, a disease once limited to sedentary, overweight adults.

You do have the power to give your children a lifelong appreciation for activities that strengthen their bodies and their minds.

Follow These Tips To Keep Your Kids Active:

1.  Set Good Examples

If you want an active child, be active yourself. Take the stairs instead of the elevator and park the car further away from stores. Never make exercise seem like a punishment or a chore.

Find fun activities that the whole family can do together, such as:

  • Swimming
  • Surfing
  • Nature hikes
  • Bike riding
  • Canoeing
  • Walks with the family dog
  • Playing Tag
  • Dancing
  • Hopscotch
  • Jump-rope
  • Hide & Seek

If mom and dad exercise, it’s a very powerful message for a child to exercise. In addition to getting active, exercising together gives you good family time. The goal is to get kids moving, whatever the activity.

2.  Limit Screen Time

There are a lot of reasons why children are less active today, but the biggest culprit is TV, followed closely by video games and computers. These activities encourage a sedentary lifestyle by limiting movement for long periods of time.

Watching television is directly related to childhood obesity. Children who watch more than five hours of television a day are eight times more likely to be obese than children who watch less than two hours of television a day.

A surefire way to increase your children’s activity levels is to limit the number of hours they’re allowed screen time each day. When children are bored, they find things to do. This is the perfect time for them to get their thinking caps on and get creative.

3.  Promote Activity, Not Exercise

Of course, sports and other organised activities are a great way to keep your kids moving, however, kids don’t have to be in sports or take dance classes to be active. Every kid is wired differently. We all have certain strengths and characteristics that permit us to do certain things better than others. Many non-competitive activities are available for a child who isn’t interested in organised athletics.

The key is to find things that your child likes to do. For instance, if your child is artistically inclined, go on a nature hike to collect leaves and rocks that your child can use to make a collage. If your child likes to climb, head for the nearest jungle gym or climbing wall. If your child likes to read, walk or bike to the local library for a book.

4.  Start Them Young

Remember your energetic toddler? Direct that energy into a lifelong love of physical activity. By incorporating physical activity into our children’s lives at an early age, you are setting the foundation for good fitness habits in the years to come. So, have your little one show you how bunnies hop, eagles fly, or dogs wag their tails.

Here Are Some Other Ideas To Help Keep Kids Interested:

Play games your primary school kid loves, like tag, cops and robbers, Simon says, and red light, green light. If you don’t remember the rules for these games, make up your own or walk to your local library and check out a book on games.

“The idea here is to avoid staying home and researching online, but rather encourage muscle movement.”

  • Let your toddlers and preschoolers see how much fun you can have while being active. Don’t just run with them. Run like a gorilla. Walk like a spider. Hop like a bunny. Stretch like a cat.
  • Plan your family vacations around physical activities by doing fun things like hiking, biking, skiing, snorkeling, swimming, or camping. Take along a ball or Frisbee to sneak in some activity at rest stops.
  • Make chores a family affair. Who can pull the most weeds out of the vegetable garden? Who can collect the most litter in the neighbourhood? If you are lucky enough to have snowy Winters where you are, have your kids help shovel the snow off the driveway and use that excess snow to build a huge snow fort.
  • Vary the activities. Let each child take a turn choosing the activity of the day or week. Batting cages, bowling, and restaurant play areas are all great. What counts is that you’re doing something active as a family.

Hopefully, these ideas will help with keeping your little ones active. If there are any ideas you’d like to add that I might have missed, please do feel free the share in the comments, and I will gladly add them to the list.

 

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