5 Tips for a Healthy Family, Happy Life

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend, let me start by saying how lucky I am to have the absolute best role models as I enter into this new chapter of my life. If you read my post, The Original Beach Babes, you know about the two most amazing women in my life, my mother and my grandmother. We truly are three of a kind... if only I had the blonde hair and blue eyes!

I'm especially proud of my Mother as she launches her new book titled Healthy Family, Happy Life. It's all about what healthy families learn from healthy moms. It's funny how much of what she talks about overlaps with what I post here time and time again. But I guess it should be no surprise... I got it from my mama!

My children will inherit my daily habits (whether good or bad ) as I have inherited them from my mother and she did from my grandmother. As women, we truly set the standard for the rest of the family. What kind of a lifestyle are you instilling in your family?

In Healthy Family, Happy Life, my mom, Donna outlines easy ways to incorporate healthy living into your daily lifestyle. Taken straight from it's pages, here are my top favorite tips that my mom shares in the first three chapters of her book on food, exercise and sleep:

• Teach portion control and a taste for various foods. If you "serve" the meal, versus letting everyone simply help themselves, others will develop a taste for various foods you are serving, and you will be indirectly teaching portion control -- which can go a long way to better ensure that family members don't overeat and develop weight problems. 
• Serve something raw at each meal. Sliced carrots, celery, apples and so on, will provide the enzymes that are needed to help digest food.
• Do something physical every single day. I believe that we should exercise five days a week and on the off days, take a long walk. If you aim for five days, you will sometimes end up with four or three days, and that is so important. 
• Model an active lifestyle. Children best learn by what they see. as the saying goes, your children will mostly do what you do -- and not always what you say, so be sure you model an active lifestyle. 
• Unplug from your work two hours before attempting to go to sleep. This includes returning emails, texts or phone calls. Your brain needs time to disconnect from the stress of the day, and from the many complex ways your brain engages in to solve your problems throughout the day. The goal at bed-time is to plan to relax and prepare for sleep. 

Healthy Family, Happy Life also talks about supplements, goal setting, body image, and how to "train" your body to be healthy from the inside out. Your lifestyle will affect your offspring. Only 60 pages long, it's the perfect short read if you're looking to make some lasting lifestyle changes. You can read the introduction here or purchase your copy here.

As an only parent, my grandma did an amazing job raising my mom and my uncle. I am so grateful that my mom continued to pass on her healthy lifestyle to me and my siblings. I can't wait to continue this amazing legacy with my own. 

Love you, mama (and G-ma)! Thank you for teaching me how to have a healthy family and a happy life. Happy Mother's Day!