GLOBAL FAMILY DAY

Global Family Day, also known as a global day of peace and sharing is celebrated every year on January 1. This day signifies the concept of uniting and promoting peace so that earth would be a better place to live for everyone. Regardless of country, religion or race, all families should gather together on the first day of the year to spend this time in peace and share love with each other. Also, since this day also marks stepping into the New Year, the global family day can serve as a great opportunity towards moving to a healthier lifestyle as a family.

Here are few changes that you can start with to ensure a healthy start:

Stock up healthier alternatives

Before you go grocery shopping, plan ahead. Make sure to limit buying processed foods like cookies, namkeen, baked goods and switch to healthier alternatives like nuts, roasted chana, puffed rice, makhana (lotus seeds), dried fruits and mixed seeds. Never skip on stocking up a good amount of fresh vegetables and fruits weekly.

Set family goals:

Setting simple goals can make a huge impact on improving overall health of family. You can start with limiting outside eating or limit consumption of dessert to once a week only. This will implement a disciplined eating pattern and ensure consistency in terms of healthy eating.

Eat at least one meal together:

Pick a time like dinner or breakfast when you can all be together to spend quality time connecting. Try and eat at a designated place without any interference of electronics like T.V or mobile phones. A meal without any rush or stress will ensure mindful eating and therefore promote good digestion.

Try variety of new foods

Use family meal time as an opportunity to experiment with new healthy foods. Try incorporating healthy side dishes with pre-existing favorite food. It can be a great way to include variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes in the diet. Different variety of foods will also ensure a good supply of nutrients and will help in making meals more balanced.

Be active

Set up friendly competitions to see who can do the most pushups, hold a plank the longest or do the most jumping jacks. It may be easier to motivate each other to get moving with such measures. Try not to set very big goals in the beginning but rather start with small changes such as taking daily evening walks together or a badminton session every Sunday.

Over to you

Take this Global family day as opportunity to start with small healthy habits which can make a big difference in your health, if you are struggling to get yourself on board, remember that modeling healthy behaviors within the family is a good place to start. By making 4-5 small changes to the way you eat can form healthy sustainable habits which will help in moving towards a healthier lifestyle.