One common complaint for people who work at home is that it’s really easy to get out of shape. You have your refrigerator right there, and it’s way too easy to sit at your desk or on the couch working on your computer for too many hours each day. You have less excuse to leave the house, and too often that leads to not exercising enough.

Obviously, this weight gain can happen as a result of any sedentary job, whether you work at home or away from it. But if you’re at home, you might just have the flexibility to do something about it.

Take a Walk

Taking a daily walk is a simple way to get some basic exercise in. No special equipment needed, and you can work it into your day relatively easily.

I take a walk when my kids are at school, for example. I often help in my son’s class, but take the long way home. It’s a little over a mile is all, but the steep hill on one side makes it a pretty good workout, especially when pushing a stroller.

The trick with taking a walk is minimizing how you let the weather stop you. What are your limits? Will you walk on rainy days, cold days, hot days, snowy days? It’s all too easy to let seasonal weather stop you for a time, and then fail to pick the habit back up later.

Get Basic Home Workout Equipment

Unless you know you’re going to be serious about using it, I don’t suggest spending thousands of dollars on home fitness equipment. I’ll admit that a treadmill desk sounds really appealing, but that’s more than I’m ready to spend right now.

My husband and I did, however, buy a Total Gym 1100. It provides a nice range of workouts.

Find the equipment that you like to use. If you have or have had in the past a gym membership, you probably know what kind of exercises you like to do. Get any equipment you need to make that possible.

Consider Workout Videos

If it makes it more interesting for you, a workout video is a good choice as well. Sometimes that bit of direction helps you to push through.

Consider a Gym Membership

You don’t have to buy equipment for your home if you’d rather get a gym membership. It’s a great excuse to get out of your house; just make sure you’re actually going to use it. Some of us are more likely to use the gym membership while others are more likely to workout at home. Pick the one that will work for you.

Use Workouts as a Break From Working

A workout is a great break from your work day. You don’t have to do a huge workout each time; even 10 minutes will get you going, especially if you do that a few times a day. Multiple fitness breaks are usually easiest with home fitness equipment, of course.

A workout is a nice way to refresh your mind as well as your body. You aren’t so focused on whatever you’ve been working on, and that can be a very good thing. Many people find their focus improves after a break. You may end up more productive. It’s a nice bonus to feeling more fit.

There’s one very common goal for moms with toddlers in the house – finding time to exercise. That toddler might just be the key to getting your workout done. Who needs a gym membership with a toddler around?

1. The toddler chase.

Take toddler outside. Let him or her get a few steps ahead, then try to catch up.

This works particularly well with really adventurous toddlers. My youngest would gladly get 2-3 houses away from me, in the middle of the street, if I let her.

If your toddler isn’t a runner, it can at least be a nice walk.

2. Sit-ups.

Go ahead. Try to do a sit-up with a toddler around. You’ll probably get a toddler on your tummy. Too bad sit-ups don’t work too well that way.

But you can change up the exercise. Stay in the sit-up position, get that toddler on your shins and start lifting your legs. You will get a workout.

3. What’s in his/her mouth?

Be preoccupied for roughly 0.05 seconds. Realize toddler has put something in his or her mouth and is gagging on it. Remove it from toddlers tightly closed mouth.

4. Kitchen cabinet clear out.

Let toddler into your kitchen. Let him or her clear out the plastic container cabinet and any other cabinet that they can safely play in.

Put everything back as toddler clears out each cabinet over again when you walk off. Repeat.

5. Computer keyboard rescue.

Realize toddler has started pounding on your keyboard, starting random programs and doing things you didn’t realize were possible with just the keyboard.

Whisk toddler away. Spin toddler around in your arms to stop the tears.

6. Crayon on the walls scrub.

Leave just one crayon in reach. When you’re expecting company, discover that toddler has drawn all over the walls with the crayon. Start scrubbing, hoping that this was one of the washable crayons, not the regular sort.

Check to see if toddler also chewed the crayon up. You might be scrubbing the carpet too.

7. Toddler catch.

Discover just barely in time that your toddler can climb the furniture or stairs… sort of. Catch toddler before he or she hits the ground and really starts screaming. Repeat anywhere from daily to several times an hour until toddler gets bored with climbing, gets good at it or is finally ready for a nap.

8. Liquid soap slip-up.

Find out that toddler has used new climbing skills to reach liquid soap dispenser and has now fingerpainted the entire bathroom floor, walls, cabinet and counter. Please note that this exercise is best not done in the middle of the night.

As your toddler keeps you running, just remember that these times go by really fast. Don’t think of all the trouble as trouble. See it as one more way you’re being active.

And don’t worry. Not all of these have happened to me… yet. Selene, don’t get any ideas. Please?

Spring is a great time of year to think about your family’s habits and what you can do to keep your kids healthy. The weather is getting better in most areas, and even when it’s bad you can think about what you would like to do as a family to build better habits.

Gardening

Whether you’re in a home or an apartment, gardening can be a fun, healthy habit. If you aren’t into digging in the yard or don’t have one, you can plant herbs and maybe some tomatoes in containers.

Growing your own herbs or other foods can encourage a lot of healthy habits. My kids love to nibble on freshly picked basil leaves and mint leaves, for example. They also add a great flavor to your cooking.

Get Outdoors

Turn off the TV and the computer and play or exercise as a family outdoors. A walk around the block is a wonderful family activity you can do in most areas. Alternatively you can go to a park or play in your own yard together.

Play Indoors

No, not on the computer. Not video games. Well, maybe some of the more active video games; the Wii Fit; does have some good points when you’re trying to be healthy and active.

Then again, you can make room for the kids to dance. Younger kids in particular will love this. A bit of music and some encouragement and they’re off.

Creative play is fun too, especially for the younger children. Help them build a fort. Put on a puppet show. Encourage silliness.

Don’t Forget the Chores

Yeah, no fun and sometimes hard to enforce, but chores are good for the entire family. It helps to keep your home functioning and clean. Even very young children can help. The sooner you get started the more of a habit it will become for everyone.

If you’re having trouble getting anyone to do chores, consider a chore chart or other motivation. My kids love their magnetic chore charts, and we set rewards for accomplishing their chores on a weekly basis. It’s still possible to slip up and start ignoring the charts, but once you have the habit they’re quite helpful. Or you can consider alternatives that work better for your family.

Walk to School

At least where possible. I live within blocks of my daughter’s school, and due to the traffic involved, walking can actually be faster than driving there. It’s just about a 7 minute walk by myself, 10 with kids.

If it’s too far to walk, it may not be too far for riding bicycles with kids who are old enough. Schools in my area only allow that for grade 3 and up. You’ll save gas and get a nice bit of exercise.

Walking to school can also be a great time to have a conversation with your kids. They don’t have to be on any big topics, just whatever comes to mind.

Keeping your family active and cutting back on the TV and computer habits can help you to enjoy your time together more. Certainly there will be times that you need a break from doing things together, but overall it’s a good way to make special time together on a regular basis.

When you’re home with the kids all day, they get to know all your habits, good and bad. Children are very observant and even if you think you’re pretty sneaky about some of your bad habits, they probably know about them.

Sure, you try some of those foods that you really don’t like but want your children to experience. I do that when it’s something my husband likes but I don’t. It can be challenging at times, and some of my food preferences my kids do know about, but I do the best I can.

And while there are ways you can sneak vegetables into your children’s food, better yet is to teach them how to enjoy them. You may find only a few at first that the kids like to eat, but it’s a start. It doesn’t matter if they only want to eat frozen corn or peas, they’re vegetables and a much better part of a snack or meal than many other foods. If you’re dealing with a picky eater you take what you can get and set the example for something better.

Some of what you can do may be very subtle. Things like using olive oil instead of vegetable oil in cooking so that you’re using a healthier kind of oil when you need it. Young children won’t get it. But as they learn to cook it will be something to talk about.

Being healthy is about more than teaching good eating habits, of course. Healthy eating matters quite a bit, but so does exercise and making other good choices.

In our family, formal exercise isn’t really a priority. However, we’re currently taking daily walks. We found some hiking trails just a couple blocks from our house. The kids enjoy them even more than the local playgrounds. We all come home dusty and a bit tired from these hikes, but we’re all getting exercise just as a matter of routine and the kids are learning about nature.

Now if I could just convince my son that they are “ladybugs” and not “potato bugs!”

The idea is to just make physical activity routine. We set the expectation and try to live up to it ourselves. We don’t do everything we expect of the kids; they’re often sent out to play in the back yard while I work on my computer. They learn to spend time away from any electronic entertainment and I get peace and quiet to work.

Your own bad habits can be a bit of a challenge. I can explain away my computer time because it’s necessary to how I earn a living. But actual bad habits can be more problematic.

Think about any parents you know who smoke. It’s much less common than it used to be; I don’t think any of my close mom friends smoke at all. But if you have a bad habit such as smoking or even biting your nails, children do notice and it’s harder to explain why they shouldn’t.

While it may not stop your child from picking up the habit in question, simply admitting that yes, you have a bad habit can be helpful. You’re being honest and it gives you a chance to explain why it’s a bad habit in an age-appropriate way. Sometimes kids will cheerfully try to get you to stop.

No one is a perfect parent, and I wouldn’t suggest trying to be one. But you can work out ways to set the examples you want to, and try to break out of the old routines that aren’t teaching your kids what you really want them to learn.