With Christmas decorations popping up in stores and all the fall color quickly coming off the trees, I’ve been making sure Nellie and I enjoy the last days of warm, beautiful weather. Our days have been full of walks and tennis ball time. The other reason why I’ve tried to get outside more is because my semester is starting to get crazy with finals and I need some mini mental break times. Hence the crickets chirping on my blog site. I’ve put together my graduate innovation poster presentation on prevention and treatment solutions for childhood obesity by using social networking as a motivational and educational tool. In a month I’ll be presenting it at a nursing conference which I’m rather excited about. Maybe someday I’ll get to put my treatment tool into practice! I had no idea when I went to the Fitness and Health Social Media Conference in Denver last year I would be creating this innovation! Excited to see how life works out sometimes 🙂
As the designated health guru of my family, I get lots of questions about diets, nutrition, exercise, joint pain, medications, and the latest “I heard this on the news the other day…..” My parents have always been open to leading a healthy lifestyle so getting them to change little habits usually isn’t hard. With the last round of cholesterol checks, both of them came back in the red. While they have a general idea of what needs to be done to change this problem, I decided to step in. Hello American Heart Association low cholesterol and low salt diet! I found some great cookbooks on Amazon and we’ve been talking about changes that could be made to their diets. Since I don’t have problems with high cholesterol, I’ve never really paid attention to it on nutrition labels. The American Heart Association recommends people with coronary artery disease to have less than 200 mg/cholesterol a day. When I started going through the fridge, I was surprised how fast that limit could be reached by lunchtime. However, I’ve already found some tasty looking recipes so I don’t think this transition will be hard. 
I know I’ve mentioned this before but I love how I’m surrounded by other healthy bloggers and social networking fanatics who are so knowledgeable and passionate about making others health and fit. We’re able to using social networking to reach thousands of people a day with our healthy messages. I’ll agree that I want to be one of those people someday who is able to motivate the thousands to live a healthy lifestyle but now, I want to make sure I’m investing in those who mean the most to me. How about you? Are you making sure those you love are healthy and happy? Our families all have different needs and we are huge influences in how they live their life. So much of my research on childhood obesity linked parental influences with a child’s weight. Since I don’t have kids, I try to make sure my parents are staying caught up with the latest preventative and wellness recommendations. As a nurse, it’s important to have conversations with your parents about their health. You need to know your family medical history and how your parents are aging so you can plan for your own health needs. There is no better time than Thanksgiving when everyone is one place to start having these conversations 🙂 And with New Year’s resolutions coming up, maybe you can be the motivator in helping your family make the change!
What healthy habits have you started in your family?
Take Flight and Live! 