Fitness Calendar
Today's Snack: Have a power-packed bowl of beautiful, bodacious
broccoli. Cut yourself some nice, big broccoli spears and soak them in an
icewater bath for a few minutes for maximum crunch. Serve with low-fat ranch
dressing. The more enjoyable the eating experience is and the longer you linger
over your healthy snack, the less you'll miss high-fat, high-sugar treats that
don't take as long to eat, but aren't as good for you, stay in your body longer,
and keep you from feeling fit.
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Supplies:
Any kind of calendar, whether it's a big wall calendar, a small desk flip
calendar, or a dinky one that'll fit in your purse or a drawer
You
know you're trying to do your best in school so that you can continue your
education, get a good job, and have a successful life many years from now, when
you're a grownup.
If
you're an artist or a musician, you know that your long hours of practice as a
kid are going to pay off, bigtime, years from now, if you're still doing that
art or tooting that horn.
It's
the same thing with job training: anybody who starts a new job has to be in
training first, and sometimes, it can take a long time before you get really
"good" at it. Developing habits, knowing what to do, and practicing over the
course of many years, are all part of any developmental process.
But
have you ever thought about fitness in the same way?
The
physical habits that you're forming as a child or teenager are going to wind up
forming YOU, as you will be, many years from now. Literally! The shape and
condition of your body will be directly connected to the food that you put into
your body over the years, and how you decided to use - or not use - your body,
to exercise it and develop it.
So
what are you "in training" to be?
A "fitty"?
Or
a "fatty"?
The
best way to make sure you are not overweight and unhealthy in your 20s and
beyond is to do the things it takes to NOT be overweight in your childhood and
teens, research is showing.
If
you're an overweight child or teen, you're much more likely to become an
overweight adult. Even if you're a teenager and your weight is in the normal
range, if you don't exercise, you're much more likely to have weight problems
as an adult, the research is showing.
Doing
sports and exercising, in and out of school, two or three times a week protects
adolescents from becoming overweight young adults, according to a study
published in the Archives of Pediatrics
and Adolescent Medicine in January 2008.
That
means if you're smart and want to wind up as a fit and healthy adult, you ought
to be riding your bike, roller-blading, skateboarding, playing basketball, or
otherwise getting out there and getting physical, as much as you can, while
you're still a kid.
You
can be a leader in your family and invite your siblings and parents to come
with you! It will help them choose to be a "fitty," too. Besides, it's fun.
Here's
a simple way to keep yourself on course:
Every
time you do something for your fitness, mark it down with how much time you put
into it on a special "fitness calendar." You can use a calendar you're already
using, of course, or keep a special one just for this purpose.
You
can color-code your fitness activities, or draw a little picture to illustrate
each one. For example, every time you rollerblade, you could draw a little
green skate with "30 min." next to it. You could choose a brown marker and a
little football to show time you put into football practice, or draw a little
orange basketball for time you spent at that sport.
At
the end of the year, add up how much time you spent doing all these good
fitness activities. And then promise to beat your records NEXT year!
Keep
your fitness calendars, and someday, when you're old and gray - and in really
good physical shape - you can look back on them, and smile.
© 2008
