MAGAZINES 
Winning tips from working parents
By Julie Kailus
If you’re a parent with kids at home, you probably look back wistfully to the days when you worked out or went for a run whenever you liked, and ate well on your own schedule. A healthy balance is something every family strives for, but maintaining it is a challenge. Parents juggling children and jobs often find it hard to exercise, eat right and spend quality time with loved ones—especially in a state where living the active life is the norm. If you’re struggling to get the hang of it, try starting right where you are. There are plenty of small steps your family can take toward a more healthy, happy lifestyle.
take your time
Every family has a different composition; what we have in common is the goal of meeting everyone’s needs. “We are parents, homeowners, wage earners, child advocates, drivers to ballet and baseball, and we can lose contact with ourselves and our significant other,” says Boulder-based Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Neil Rosenthal, who writes a syndicated column on relationships.
Carving out couple and “me” time is just as important as spending time as a family. “To protect yourself and your relationships, you have to build that space into each day or week,” Rosenthal suggests, pointing out that kids need alone time too. Start by finding something that helps you connect meaningfully with yourself so you can connect with others in a sustainable way. It might be gardening, music or reading, volunteering, working in the shop, a meditation practice or just a long soak in the tub.
don’t give up your workouts
With a healthy amount of space in your relationships, you can incorporate the time-
management tricks that make strong families tick. In addition to mental health, we know physical fitness and diet are crucial to well-being. There’s always give and take, but these are clear priorities among healthy families.
With four kids aged 5 to 13, Stacy and Josh McClellan of Niwot intentionally build exercise time into each day. The couple, originally from Ohio, are recreational athletes, awed by all Colorado has to offer. Josh, who is training for his first half-Ironman, rises early for a run, bike or swim, and may sneak in a second workout at lunchtime. Stacy schedules a late-morning gym class, bike ride or weight-training session around her busy day shuttling kids to activities and making healthy meals. She spends hours every week volunteering with Phoenix Multisport, Attention Homes and A Precious Child, and the kids contribute too.
“If I do not get to exercise, my day goes off balance quickly,” she says. “Sometimes if I hear myself yelling or becoming easily upset at little things, I will tell the kids I am going on the StairMaster for 30 minutes. After that all the problems are smaller and I am a way nicer mom.”
The McClellans also plan active dates. “We usually hike, swim or bike for our dates, or get a massage and dinner,” Stacy says. “We are simple—home by 8 p.m.”
Eleanor and Harvey Williamson of Lafayette, who have a baby and toddler and both work full time, use similar strategies. Harvey, who participates in a couple of half-marathons a year, fits in a short run during his lunch hour. Eleanor walks for an hour at her lunch break, and employed a trainer to teach her daily workouts she can complete in as little as 10 minutes. The Williamsons also view weekend days in segments (morning, afternoon and evening), making a commitment to leave at least one open. Underscheduling is a key part of their family health.
set the example
When kids see parents prioritize health, it trickles down. Corina and Steve Pacheco of Lafayette, who both work full time and have four children aged 6 to 10, know the importance of this all too well. Their Latino family has a history of obesity, and helping their oldest daughter fight the predisposition is crucial.
“We strive to provide her with the skills and support to not only reach a healthy weight, but also to truly acknowledge her success in healthy weight loss,” Corina says. “We try to give her confidence that she has the tools to move forward in her life to maintain a healthy lifestyle by choice.” Her parents set good examples. Steve Pacheco ran his first 10k this year, and both he and
Corina work out at least three days a week. “Six hours between us out of a 168-hour week is really not asking that much,” she says.
Setting a healthy example can inspire creative family exercise. The McClellan clan sometimes pedals the 10-mile path to Boulder (and back), spending quality time over a tasty meal in town. They’ve also been known to stage backyard Olympics, complete with handmade medals, and compete in family wall-squat contests during The Biggest Loser commercial breaks.
Don’t keep so much time for yourself that you undervalue active family time, says Rosenthal, who has fond memories of playing tennis with his father. “It’s not enough to tuck them in at night,” he says. And remember: “Sooner or later they don’t want anything to do with you—staying home and playing ping-pong is no longer cool.”
stay one step ahead in the kitchen
The third piece of a balanced family life is healthy foods, yet buying, preparing and serving a meal is no simple task for a busy family. Here are some shortcuts that our families shared:
1. Involve everyone. To the Pachecos, involving their children in food choice and preparation counts as quality individual time. The McClellans have found that their kids try more foods if they help make them, like “Farm Stand Granola” or “stoplights” (a graham cracker with three dots of nut butter, topped with a green grape, a chunk of pineapple and a strawberry).
2. Rethink your schedule. The McClellan family shares a hot breakfast as the main meal of the day—before life gets busy. Stacy also makes a super-early dinner around 4 p.m. so her kids are full before they head to after-school activities.
3. Plan ahead. All of these families spend extra time preparing food in advance. Some make the next day’s healthy bagged lunches after dinner. One preplans meals up to two weeks in advance for accurate and cost-efficient shopping. They cut and store fresh veggies in snack-size servings, and bake a big batch of protein-packed quinoa to hold the family through the week. When going to a potluck, they make a salad or fruit dish for the family to eat at the event.
The reality of raising a healthy family is that it’s hard work. But for those who are willing to put in the time, the payoff is precious. As the McClellans put it: “We feel great and are happy, and that translates to happy kids who are ready to race us around the block.” u
Freelance writer Julie Kailus, a former Boulder Magazine editor, lives in Evergreen with her husband and their two sons.
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