Rainy Day Fun!

With the field closed yesterday, we used the opportunity to explore other ways to be active, without being outside in the rain! We started the session with a serious discussion on unhealthy eating habits that cause harm to our bodies, such as: extreme dieting, eating disorders, and emotional eating.  Starting with dieting basics, we discussed what diets are, good and bad reasons why a person would want to diet, and different diets that people use. Our girls showed some great ‘Out of the Girl Box’ skills by differentiating between dieting to look a certain way versus dieting to be healthy and make our bodies strong. We introduced the idea that emotional and restrictive eating can spawn from stress. Half of the group had heard these terms before and were comfortable with their meaning. It was so powerful to see those girls take a more active role in the discussion and really help the entire group understand the concepts.

                During the discussion, we asked the girls how they felt about eating disorders. They were all in agreement that restrictive eating is not an appropriate way to control a person’s weight or body shape. The girls brought up how unhealthy eating disorders are and the permanent damage they can have on a girl’s body. Talk to your daughter about what she knows about eating disorders. You may be surprised by how much or little she knows, and that some of the information she has gotten maybe incorrect or exaggerated! Knowledge is power.

                After the heavy discussion, we were ready to shake things up and try a new workout called Zumba! Zumba infuses heart-healthy aerobics with fun dance moves put to Latin style music. We learned some salsa, reaggaton, and samba moves! We all had fun being goofy and trying to keep up with our instructors. It was nice to switch things up from running all the time. Thankfully the rainy day gave us the perfect chance.  After Zumba we tried another type of indoor fitness called Yoga. Yoga uses the core muscles in our hips, stomach, and back to balance in different poses. Most of the girls were shocked by how hard it was to stay focused and balanced through a whole pose!

                The rainy day couldn’t slow us down! Even though we couldn’t be outside running, we used our energy in other fun ways! Ask your daughter what other activities she would like to try on a rainy day. Hopefully the sun will out tomorrow for our lesson on being ‘Full of Feeling.’