Day Three Hundred and Ten - Instilling Lifelong Habits

One of the most important reasons to practice self-control and discipline is to set a good example for your children.  What our children see us doing is a major part of how they learn what is "normal."  We control so much of their future perspective simply by what they see us doing.  Obviously we want to model good behavior such as how we use our words, how to manage money, and how we treat others.  We also can help them develop good habits by conveying what is normal through our habits.  

I read once that when we exercise daily, "it sets an expectation for how your day looks, that you not only take care of the matters of your mind, but also you do maintenance for your body.  If we can help our kids feel that it's abnormal or weird to not exercise, to not keep the body moving, then we at least nudge them in the direction of making that a lifelong habit."  I want my children to have healthy lifelong habits.  I know that in order for this to happen, I have to be practicing these things myself.  This is a huge reason I started to lose weight and enter this fight to get healthy.  Tonight it's for my kids that I'm losing my butter half.

My calories today were excellent.  Bekah grilled some chicken thighs, bell peppers, onions, and corn for dinner.  It was a delicious meal.  My exercise this morning went really well.  While it's not my favorite thing to do, working out and running give me the push to keep going.  I am learning to enjoy the discipline of working out, and I'm glad to have it as a habit in my life.