A family weight loss program can help an entire family get in better shape and improve its health. It is also a wonderful bonding experience. Encourage your entire family to join you in a weight loss journey so you can enjoy each other in good health for many years to come. Beginning a family weight loss program is like having a loving support group. It entails communicating about goals, cooking healthy meals to eat together and exercising together.
Step 1
Schedule a weekly family meeting to plan activities and meals. Set up and record your individual or group goals and discuss if you met last week's goals. Encourage other family members and be supportive. Weekly meetings allow you to be accountable for meeting your goals so you continue with the program and do not give up.
Step 2
Set up a reward system. At the family meeting, discuss ways to celebrate or reward goals that have been met. One example would be to vote for the person who did the best job during the week. The reward can be that they do not have to do any dishes the next week. When the family has collectively lost a certain amount of weight, you can all go to a special event together.
Step 3
Eat family meals together. When families eat healthy meals together, children are more likely to grow up with healthy eating habits and avoid excess weight gain, according to the American Dietetic Association. Put each family member in charge of choosing and cooking a healthy meal (younger kids can choose the meal and help make it) and then enjoy it together. Make rules such as: no fast food, mandatory vegetable component to the meal and no soda as a beverage.
Step 4
Exercise as a family. Countless group activities will help your family get your family in shape and burn excess calories. You can find different and fun activities depending on the season and the weather. Try ice skating or skiing in the winter. Play soccer or softball in the spring. Go swimming and hiking in the summer. Rake leaves and play football in the fall. Turn an activity, such as shopping, into exercise by parking as far away from the mall as possible or spending a Saturday walking around outside an outlet mall or window shopping in a historic town. Trips to museums and zoos require a lot of walking so you can get some exercise without knowing it.
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