Set the stage for your kids. Your health and weight directly effect your child’s health and weight. If a child has only one overweight parent, they are still 25% at risk of being overweight or obese as adults. The child’s risk of becoming an overweight adults doubles to 50% if both parents are overweight.
Stay optimistic. No one enjoys getting only negative criticism. Speak to your child with kind and encouraging words. You should never say ‘You need to lose weight,” rather, you should encourage them by saying ‘We all have to be healthy and keep our bodies healthy. Keep your attention to the foods that you should be eating, and not the ones that you shouldn’t. Instead of telling your child ‘You aren’t allowed to eat that,’ tell them ‘We need some fruit for our salad at dinner tonight, will you help me pick some out?’
Healthy eating should be a family wide standard. As recently released in a study by the journal Archives of Family Medicine, families that eat together will eat better as well. Children who report frequent family dinners have healthier diets than their peers who don’t, the study showed. Also fill your refrigerator and cabinets with fresh fruits, nuts, low-fat cheese, and things for everyone to snack on.
Eat breakfast. To maximize the alertness of your children while they are at school, be sure to start their day with a breakfast including protein, starch, and fat. Weight loss is more difficult for people who skip breakfast than those who do not, studies have shown.
Always save time in your week for physical activity. Physical activity should be enjoyed by everyone in the family together. During the summer months, go for a quick walk with your kids after dinner and make it something that they look forward to. If your family can afford it, enroll your children in a sport or dance activity that they enjoy, for they will have to enjoy the activities to keep doing them. Or just turn on some dance music and have a dance party around the house.
Don’t say diet. If you put your child on a diet you could be setting them up to have an eating disorder – which could be binge or closet eating, or another disorder Simple changes in your lifestyle can help you lost weight and keep it off effectively.
Avoid portion distortion. When serving the food try to portion out meal on dishes and avoid buffet-type or family-style eating. It is far too easy for your eyes to be larger than your stomach when you are offered too much food. Resist the first temptation to have seconds then check in with yourself to see if you are really hungry.
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