movementHelping folks to create a sustainable healthy lifestyle was one of the motivating factors behind the making of Eating Enchanted. Along with delicious healthy food, physical movement is an important ingredient in building a lifestyle that is healthy, balanced and sustainable.

If you have found a workout program that you love, you will look forward to working out, but sometimes it can be challenging to fit those sessions in each day. During our busy and scheduled days, it may not always be easy to fit in long workouts and that can leave us feeling like we are straying from our goals. Perhaps we should look at exercise in a more practical way.

Lately, in the Groves Household, we have been getting creative by coming up with new ways to fit extra movement into our busy life. Here are some examples:

icon-bicycleMy youngest child has recently learned to ride her bike without training wheels. She is rather excited about getting on her bike any opportunity she gets. In an effort to satisfy her love of riding her bike and create a fun activity for my older child too, we have been doing a family workout. My son and I run while my daughter rides her bike. We all get out in the sunshine and get a bunch of exercise in the process.

Another fun way our family has been moving this summer, we’ve been doing family walks after dinner. This is a great way to take advantage of the extra daylight, add more movement into our day and wear the kids out before bed! Usually, the kids will ride their scooters and my husband and I will run or walk fast next to the kids.

icon-soccerFamily soccer or football games are another way we’ve been moving as a family. Even a little choice such as walking to an appointment instead of taking the car resulted in 40 minutes extra exercise one day last week.

My family is blessed to live in a community where we can walk to a lot of great places, but even if you must drive to most locations in your community, consider choosing a parking spot that is far away to gain extra steps throughout your day. Not only will you get extra exercise, you’ll likely save your car from door dings.

Please join the conversation on Facebook at Eating Enchanted with Marla Groves and share the creative ways you and your family bring extra exercise into your life. Whether it be family hikes or games of tag, I’d love to hear how you and your family are moving.

Whether you have achieved great success in a weight loss/exercise program and want to maintain your results, or if you are simply looking to improve your current self by adopting a few more healthy habits, Eating Enchanted is here for you. Please see my biography for details on my own journey to a healthier self.