#LetsMove Isn’t Just for Kids

I am a big fan of Michelle Obama’s. From my point of view, she is a strong, educated, outspoken, funny and caring woman. I also love that she has taken on health and childhood obesity as her main cause as First Lady. It’s an incredibly important issue that touches more than just children, but in reality, everyone in this country.

The “Let’s Move” campaign has been actively working to actively engage children, parents, teachers and communities so that our future will not reflect our recent past. So that children in our country will grow up to have lower obesity rates than their parents. It’s a tough task, but someone has to do it. Really. They do!

If you’ve watched Jimmy Fallon’s first week as host of The Tonight Show, you probably saw the genius “History of Rap 5” performance he did with Justin Timberlake (if not, watch it HERE – it’s worth 5 minutes of your time), but hopefully you also saw Michelle Obama’s appearance earlier in the week. During the, let’s face it, odd sketch she did with Jimmy and Will Ferrell, and her couch interview, she talked about the need to move, be active and eat well. All to reinforce the “Let’s Move” campaign and its importance in our society. (You can also watch this here & here) As is typical, the focus was on children, their parents and their schools – that the tagline is: America’s Move to Raise a Healthier Generation of Kids. In celebration of the campaign’s anniversary, Mrs. Obama kicked-off a week long campaign, asking people to “show her how they move” through fitness, food or helping the community, by using the hashtag #letsmove on social media.

As you know, I don’t have children, but I’m invested in this cause as well. I hope that by being active, working out, eating well and talking about it (a lot), my choices might have an effect on someone else and help them realize that living healthfully is the best way to spend their years. For me, it’s not just about kids, it’s about everyone. I don’t have to have children to make a difference. When you live in a country with places like this, why stay inside all day, every day?

It’s never to late for people of any age to lose weight or just adopt a healthy lifestyle. It drives me nuts when someone comments in that condescending and judgmental tone when I mention I’ve gone for a run or taken a bootcamp class or while I’ve ordered a healthy meal at a restaurant. What’s wrong with that? I’m not ashamed of it, I’m proud of it! It shouldn’t be cool anymore not to take care of ourselves and live healthfully. It’s been proven time and time again that what we eat and how we live has a huge effect on how long we live.

Back to the campaign’s anniversary: if enough people – the number of which has not been revealed – use #letsmove in their posts within the week, the President and Vice President will show us how they move. Well, I’m not all that excited to see how they move, we’ve seen the President on the basketball court enough times we’ve got it. (Has he finally quit smoking yet though? That, I’m interested in). But I do like the idea of using #letsmove on social media.

But I don’t think they should limit this to just one week or to just people who want to see the President and Vice President move! I’m going to start using #letsmove with my #runchat #runner #instarun #fitness, #runlove and #oiselleteam hashtags not just this week but for as long as I’m hashtagging. In reality, fitness is moving!

One of the main reasons for blogs and social media is to influence others. To make an impact, share our stories and get people to listen to us and to see what we’re doing. All of us reading this blog know that living healthfully is a lifestyle and a commitment, but one that is worth it. Hopefully we’re all making an impact on others, so we’re part of a ripple effect that will create a healthier country – from toddlers to great grandparents.

How do you encourage others to live healthfully? * If you’re on Instagram, leave your link in the comments & follow someone who left theirs (you can find me here) * What activity or recipe is on your “must try” list? * What’s your favorite part of the “History of Rap 5”?

Have an awesome week! Big changes for us coming this week, stay tuned.