We’ve been in our new house a few months now, but I’m still feeling the effects of the move. Between packing up at our old house, living out of boxes while we waited on word that the sale was going to close and unearthing everything to regain a functional kitchen we ate out a lot.

Unsurprisingly, I packed on a few extra pounds beyond the many I needed to get rid of in the first place. Over the last month or so we started making smarter decisions in terms of what we eat. I’ve been cooking more seafood lately because we enjoy it and because it is better for us. The only downside to that is some of the fish we enjoy can be rather pricey. As a result, I’ve been working on incorporating things like canned tuna fish into the lunch rotation to provide us better options.

Another thing that I’ve been trying to do to improve my health and overall well being has been getting out for walks. The toughest thing about that is staying motivated or working to find the time to do it. Between shuttling the kids to school, to the park, running errands, or making meals for my family it is pretty easy for me to put off my daily walk because I just have too much to do.

Like last year I am part of Bumble Bee Food’s Bee Squad and through that we have been learning about their BeeWell for Life program. Through this program Bumble Bee is giving people like me an incentive to make the necessary changes in our lives and by doing so enables us to turn our actions into points that can become donations to one of three worthy causes. After signing up for BeeWell for Life you can earn points by logging your mileage walking, running, jogging or biking; recording your calorie intake; or completing other wellness challenges such as adding another serving of vegetables to your dinner.

Each day you can earn three points for each mile you walk, run or bike, four points for entering in your caloric intake and three points for each wellness challenge you complete. If, for instance, you walk 10 miles, enter your daily intake and complete one wellness challenge in a day will accumulate 37 points for the day, which equates to roughly $3.70 that you’ve raised for the charity of your choice. Through the BeeWell for Life program Bumble Bee has already donated $150,000 to the three charities that are part of the program and the participants have the ability to raise $12,500 per month with a maximum of $300,000 committed through 2012.

For me my biggest challenge is getting motivated to exercise, so I’m hoping that by participating in the BeeWell for Life program that I can earn enough points to help increase the donation to my chosen charity. If you’re looking for another way to stay motivated while getting healthy and would like to do some good in the process, then check out the BeeWell for Life site to learn more about the program and sign up.

Disclosure: As part of the Bee Squad I receive product information and samples and Bumble Bee is sponsoring my trip to Type A Parent. I was not compensated in any other way, nor was I offered or promised anything else in exchange or my review of their products, recipes or BeeWell For Life program. All opinions contained herein are my own.

Photo credit: Lee J Haywood

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