I LOVE FALL!  The weather is crisp and cool with gorgeous foliage all around.  Now is the time to seize the joys of the season and get outdoors and enjoy all that autumn has to bring.  Our lifestyles are all becoming more and more sedentary and so its extremely important to incorporate fun fall activities in our daily schedule.

Need some inspiration to get out and get active?  Then keep reading to find several ideas for fun fall activities which will have your family burning those calories with a smile!

Enjoy These Fun Fall Activities and Practice Energy Balance

Autumn will be gone before you know it, so be sure to seize the beauty and wonder of the season with these fun fall activities:

• Go an a trip to your local orchard for some apple picking
• Walk around your neighborhood or park for a leaf-picking excursion
• Take a bike ride through the trails or other bike-friendly landscape
• Climb trees or build a tree fort
• Play a game of two-hand touch football in the backyard or local park
• Play a rousing game of kick ball with a larger group of friends
• Plant bulbs in your garden for a beautiful spring bounty
• Rake leaves into large piles and then jump in them...over and over again!
• Build a bonfire and then watch the geese flying south for the winter

Now that you're in the mindset for getting active this fall, I want to tell you all about a unique nationwide program committed to helping families live healthier lives: Together Counts.  Together Counts has four fundamental goals to strengthen families and improve our overall Energy Balance (balancing the calories we consume with the calories we burn).

• Families should eat their meals around the dinner table
• Communities should get energized to be active together
• Teachers and school nurses should be provided the resources they need to teach students the importance of an active lifestyle
• People should be given the tools they need to track and monitor their progress

Make sure to follow Together Counts, a first-of-its kind coalition that brings together more than 195 retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, restaurants, sporting goods and insurance companies, trade associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and professional sports organizations.  They will help you find new and creative ways to get your family eating and being active together, with a message of moderation, not "good food vs. bad."

Also, don't miss out on the upcoming Twitter party with Together Counts on 10/17 from 8-9 PM EST ~ Just look for the hashtag #TogetherCounts