I absolutely love this fit mom featured blog post from Lina. She tells us how to be a positive role model for our children and help them maintain a healthy perspective on food and fitness. Learn more about Lina on her Facebook Page and subscribe for updates on her blog, Mom’s Butt is on Fire.

As a mom to 3 daughter’s who are 5, 3 and 1 month old, I can’t help but think about how much I could screw them up … I mean, I’m their most important female role-model and I can see in their eyes how much they look up to me. Sometimes it can be a fine line between being a healthy positive role-model and giving your little ones body and food complex … Let me explain what I mean … People who are passionate about fitness and health can sometimes go overboard just as much as the most unhealthy person. Just because you are fit doesn’t mean that you can’t give your little ones the wrong image about food and fitness. Think about how you are treating food in front of them, are you scared of fat, can’t eat carbs or always on some kind of diet? Maybe you are obsessed with muscles or talk bad of over weight people…? Being fit and healthy is not about our looks, a special number on the scale or a certain pant size; it’s about being the best we can be so we can be great role-models for our families.

Lina on a hike with her family.

I always talk about what a blessing it is to be a fit mama! But a fit mama doesn’t have to mean a skinny mama, we all come in different shapes and forms and it’s about embracing a healthy lifestyle. It start with us to set the bar high so we can raise happy, strong and healthy families. We need to show our little ones how to eat right, having fun while working out, be positive and living fired up each day! Easier said then done at times when we struggle with our own problems and trying to figure out what we are doing, but it’s not about being perfect but about doing our best! We live in a world where our children get so many impressions and might feel pressured into feeling like they need to look or be in a certain way and it’s so easy to try to protect them from everything around them. But, in reality they are probably watching every move that you make, how you treat yourself and others, how you handle struggles as well as how you celebrate our triumphs.

So here are some things we can think about doing and not doing around our kids.

• Avoid using words like skinny and fat.
• Avoid talking about that you are on a diet, need to go on one, or that you need to try a new one.
• Think about the way you talk about yourself, are you using nice positive words or are you talking negative about yourself.
• Talk about healthy and unhealthy food, educate about unhealthy foods like soda and fast food and teach them about veggies, lean meat and grains. Don’t “forbid” certain foods let them know that everything is OK in moderation.
• Give your little ones good habits from start. Give them veggies, fruit and real food.
• Be positive even when things go wrong!

I’m trying to help my daughters try new fun challenging things from an early age, to live an active family life, let them eat healthy food so their bodies get the nutrition and energy that they need and help me cook and teach them about food and what it can do for our bodies. Working out doesn’t have to be a boring task; be fun, silly, positive, dance, have races in the backyard. Help build your little ones self-esteem with positive achievements. So instead of worrying about “screwing them up” inspire them and become a role-model not a super-model! 😉

Would love to connect with y’all on my Facebook Page and my blog.

Have a happy fit day! – Lina