empowerme

Choose your favorite shows and games and make a plan to only watch them – keeping it all to 1-2 hours a day.

Save a half: When you get your meal at a restaurant, visually cut the plate down the middle. Eat one half, and then ask for the rest to go. You'll control your portion and have a ready to-go lunch for the next day!

Try Smoothies. Smoothies are a great way to increase the amount of fruit you eat and are really easy to make. A basic smoothie is just frozen fruit, some low-fat or fat-free milk and/or yogurt, and 100% fruit juice all processed together in a blender until smooth. Experiment with different fruits to find out what you really like.

For a delicious after dinner treat, bake apples or pears.

Recharge! Crazy holiday activities can wear you out! Sleep to give yourself an extra boost of energy and to keep you from overstuffing yourself! Your appetite, amount of energy, and ability to maintain a healthy weight are directly affected by getting enough sleep!

At home? Set up Dance Dance Revolution and play by yourself or with friends or simply dance around the house to music.

How can you tell if you drink enough water? The color of your pee! If it’s clear or light yellow you’re fine, but darker yellow means trouble. Time for some water.

Add it On. Add fruits and vegetables to foods you already love. Try adding frozen peas to mac'n'cheese, veggies on top of pizza, and slices of fruit on top of breakfast cereals or low-fat ice-cream.

Shoot it. Put up an indoor basketball hoop or create one out of a trash can. Challenge a friend or sibling to a game of one-on-one.

Dance...Dance. Put on your favorite song and dance to it from the start of the song until it ends.

Try eating sweet potato instead of plain white potato. You can also add cinnamon to sweet potato to spice it up and make it yummy.

Want to make your legs stronger? Try Wall Sits. Stand with your back against a wall, keeping your back to the wall, bend down into the sitting position with knees at a 90 degree angle, hold for 60 seconds.

Oatmeal in an Instant. Instant oatmeal is great on a cold morning and contains fiber and vitamins. Choose oatmeal that isn't already pre-sweetened. Sweeten it with raisins or fresh fruit.

Create a cookbook with all of your favorite healthy recipes and make copies for your family and friends. Then make a potluck dinner and have everyone bring the recipe they gave for the cookbook.

When watching TV, try and do as many jumping jacks, sit-ups, or push-ups as you can during commercial breaks.

Try something new. Eat more beans and tofu in place of meat at lunch and dinner.

Toaster Treats. Frozen whole-grain waffles take almost no time to make. Top them with berries, low-sugar apple sauce or sliced bananas instead of syrup.

Need inspiration? Rent a workout video from a local library to learn some moves you can do on your own later.

Get plenty of ZZZs: While you're sleeping, your body grows and recovers from your days activities. If you don't give your body enough time to recover, it can catch up with you over time. Kids should get at least 9 hours of sleep every night.

Carrying extra pounds on your body over time can lead to spending more for medical costs - that can equate to $4 a day or $125 a month that you could spend on something else.