How to Win at Losing (Part II)

Mother/Daughter 5K

On Sunday my daughter and I took a long walk in a local park.  It was refreshing to see many other families also enjoying the opportunity to be outside.  Making fitness fun is important. Signing your child up for a gym membership doesn’t work any better than putting them on a diet.  The mindset of lifestyle change clearly applies to physical activity.  I am writing this blog in Oklahoma, where 34% of children under the age of eighteen are overweight or obese.  There is a reason why we have to be intentional about targeting “move more” in the formula of healthy weight loss.  Many kids are hardly moving.

 

When I was growing up- we played outside.  I remember being called in for a dinner break and then the thrill of getting to rejoin my friends for more play time afterwards in the summer evenings because it was still light outside. It was a different time.  Our parents weren’t afraid we would be abducted, and we weren’t afraid we were “missing out” on electronics.  Actually there were no captivating electronics. In 2012 a healthy lifestyle is almost counter-cultural.

 The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has very specific recommendations about developing a healthy weight for children.  Unfortunately, many parents don’t have access to this information because they don’t ask about their child’s BMI at doctor visits.  Seventy percent of parents of severely overweight children do not recognize that their child is overweight.  If parents don’t ask, physicians don’t tell.  Consider this a public health announcement- AAP encourages parents to:

1.      Limit screen time (Electronics) to 2 hours or less per day.

2.      Encourage one hour or more of daily physical activity.  This does not have to be consecutive.

3.      Develop a habit for children of eating breakfast.

4.      Regularly eat meals together as a family.

5.      Prepare meals mostly at home.  Limit take- out and fast food.

6.      Encourage children to eat 5 fruits and vegetables daily.

7.      Switch to low fat dairy products.

8.      Limit sugar sweetened drinks.

 Think variety when incorporating fitness into your healthy lifestyle with your child. Take a walk as a family, ride bikes. Go to the park and play, the bowling alley and bowl. Take a nature inspired vacation. Once you start thinking healthy movement you can be far more creative than anything a gym membership can provide for your family- and you will get better buy in!

Inspire others!  Please share your family's fun fitness ideas by commenting.

How to Win at Losing (Part 1)

In 2013 "The Biggest Loser" television show has committed to raise awareness about childhood obesity.  According to the Center for Disease Control more than one third of all adults 17% (12.5 million!) children aged 2-19 are obese in the United States. This statistic does not include overweight children and teens. In fact, physicians are raising the concern that this generation of young people may be outlived by their parents.  If you have never watched "The Biggest Loser" in the past, consider watching at least one episode this season. In addition to the typical antics of making adult contestants do unusual challenges to win a grand prize, they have included three overweight children and their families participating from home to become healthier.

So what does it take to "win" at losing weight?
If you've ever tried to lose weight you know the answer is complicatedly simple: eat less, move more.

Part One:  Changing your food lifestyle

According to 30 years of research, psychologist Dr. Leonard Epstein has concluded "it all starts with the family." Rather than focusing on what NOT to eat, the best interventions are educational and involve life style change.  In other words.  Kids don't do diets.  If you look closely at the research on adult obesity.  Parents don't do diets well either.

Lifestyle change involves an important shift away from "diet" mentality and embracing the concept of thinking "healthy."  Some healthy habits to start (or continue):

1. Parents need to educate themselves on good nutrition. Do a thorough google search to find a website where the information is delivered in a way that you can digest (ha!). Consider joining weight watchers or seeing a nutritionist if you or your family have special needs or if you prefer face to face information. 
2. It takes time to create a good refrigerator stocked with easy access to cut vegetables and fresh fruits.  But when it comes to kids: if you prepare it they will eat!  Okay, maybe not the first time . . .  or so.  Just don't give up!
3. Clear the clutter: Remove the alternative high sugar, high calorie foods.  Will your child be eager to eat over at their friends house for awhile?  Absolutely.  But ultimately your household will have more influence on your child's eating habits over the long term.
4. Remember you can't call something a "treat" if you eat it every day.  Reverse the pattern of what is eaten as a habit, and "treat" your family once in awhile with a special dessert.

The challenge in my weight watcher 360 meeting last week was to do a refrigerator make-over. We took before pictures to increase our awareness of what we were facing each time we opened the door.  Then we were encouraged to invest in some clear containers and "have fun" preparing fresh fruits and vegetables that would be easy access and pleasing to view when it was time to search for a snack.  Here is my before and after:

The carrots were always there- who knew?

Do you want to start winning at losing?
Commit to one small shift in your food lifestyle, either in thoughts or deeds, and share in the comments!