Challenge #2

Good morning! Yesterday was such a busy day that as I fell asleep last night I realized that I hadn't blogged at all.... *sigh*... something was sure to get missed in my busy day and I apologize to you, the unknown masses, that you were the thing that got put on the back burner. With that said, it is Friday (YAY) and I have another Challenge for you.

Skinny kids fat world challenge #2

Park your car already!

Here's the challenge... next time you go to the grocery store, mall, hardware store, or wherever it is that you go... just park your car. Don't drive around for 10 minutes waiting for a spot right next to the door. Park in the back of the lot. Yes, this means you will have to walk. No, it won't take longer because now you are not circling the parking lot like a vulture stocking a dying rabbit.

Do I honestly think that walking an extra 50 feet is going to make your family healthy? Well, it might. How does that saying go? "A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step" or something like that? Well, getting a healthier family starts the same way... with a single carrot stick or a single extra walk each day. If you sit down and tell your kids that you are going to make them walk a mile every day they are going to slump down, cross their arms, and tell you (again) how you are ruining their life. However, if every day you park the car at the end of the parking lot and walk into the store, eventually you will walk an extra mile. Then two miles. Then five.

They say you should exercise for 30 minutes a day. Some of us just can't find an extra half hour. Let's face it, we are busy. It's not just as extra 30 minutes. It's 5 minutes to get changed into workout clothes, 20 minutes to drive to the gym, 10 minutes to decide what we are going to do, 30 minutes of working out, and then 20 minutes home. The next thing you know, that 30 minute work out is pushing an hour and a half of your precious time out the door. Sometimes, the extra time just isn't there. What we do have is an extra five minutes before we stop at the store to circle the lot and find a parking spot. OR.... We can use that 5 minutes to walk. It's only 50 feet more. Now, if you do this at the store, then at soccer practice, then at the doctors office, and at school... Well, now you've added a small workout into your day.

This is not going to save the world from the clutches of obesity, but it might help. If your kids start building healthy habits now, it will carry them into adulthood. If you find ways to work a little extra movement into your day, so will they.

Now, I know the excuses... "I have a baby and don't want to carry the car seat all the way into the store..." Yes. So do I. So, I park next to a wayward shopping cart or the far off cart corral. I pop the car seat out of my car and into the cart. I then can push her into the store without having to carry the awkward car seat. This also works for toddlers who just can't quite keep up yet. "My 4 year old hates to walk that far..." Well, they also hate bedtime and sharing toys. Sometimes the best things for your kids are the things they resist. After a couple weeks of this, they will realize that arguing is silly and they will get used to walking. That's really what we want, isn't it? We want our kids to get used to a healthy way of life. It starts right here.... a 30 minute workout starts with a single extra walk. You can do this.

There it is. Our Friday challenge....

Park your car already and WALK!