It’s no secret that lots of parents and their children are overweight. These 10 simple ‘secrets’ can aid you change your family’s lifestyle so that you can all become fit and healthy.
1) Eat Whole Grain Foods
Processed and refined grains, for example white bread, white rice, cereal, pasta, and other foods made with white flour have a high glycemic index, low amounts of fiber, and less vitamins and minerals as foods made with whole grains. Making the switch to whole grain foods, including whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, and cereals made with whole grains, are the easy and healthy method to make your family’s diet more nutritious.
2) Limit Soda and Fruit Drinks
Soda and fruit drinks have low nutritional value and many calories. At about 150 calories per 12 ounce serving, your children will get an additional pound about every 3 weeks if they drink just one can of soda each day.
Cutting back or eliminating soda, fruit drinks, and even fruit juice, can be a good method to get rid of a lot of additional calories and leave room for your children to eat more nutritious foods.
3) Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
The majority of children don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables and that usually means that they are eating other less nutritious foods. With a high fiber content and lots of vitamins and minerals, fruits and vegetables are the crucial part of a healthy diet. And as they have lots of water in them, eating fruits and vegetables can aid you to feel full and satisfied so that you don’t overeat.
4) Have More Foods with Calcium
A general mistake individuals make when trying to lose weight is that they stop drinking milk, eating cheese and yogurt. Calcium is critical to build healthy bones and to aid you lose weight. You should encourage your kids to drink low-fat milk, eat portioned amounts of cheese and yogurt to aid lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.
5) Be More Active
Each person knows that part of the cause of the current obesity epidemic is that individuals are much less active then they used to be. Getting kids involved in organized activities, which can be either team or individual sports, and cutting back on the amount of time in front of the TV, PC and playing video games will burn calories and improve fitness levels.
Family activities are also a good way to be more physically active. Even simple things, like walking across a parking lot, using stairs, and going for short family walks or bike rides, can make a big difference.
6) Know Where Calories Come From
While you don’t essentially need to do daily calorie counts, keep a diary of what your family eats for a few days can help you see where additional calories are coming from. Are your kids overweight due to the calories they get from a bedtime snack or those two glasses of Kool Aid or soda he drinks? Or possibly as his portion sizes are too large?
If you know where your kids’ calories are coming from, you will know where to make changes and how you can cut back, specially on foods that have a lot of empty calories.
7) Learn About Carbs
Carbs get a bad wrap, in particular with all of the proponents of high protein diets, like the Atkins and South Beach Diet. Not all carbs are created equal. While it is a good idea to stay away from foods that have refined for instance white bread, foods made with white flour, and foods and beverages sweetened with sugar, other carbs should be part of a balanced diet.
Instead of avoiding all carbs, just learn about how to pick foods with ‘good’ carbohydrates, which includes fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grain foods.
Learn About Fats
Like carbs, there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fats. Instead of making the mistake of trying to stick to a low fat diet, and simply substituting other foods that are often just as high in calories, you should eat foods that have ‘good’ fat in them. This includes foods with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Alternatively, you should stay away from saturated fats and trans fats.
9) Select Healthy Meals when Eating Out
Even if your family eats healthy at home, if you eat super-sized fast food meals a few times a week, they are in all probability still at risk for becoming overweight. If you eat out a lot, review the nutritional facts of the restaurant’s menu and watch your portion sizes. Calories and fat rapidly adds up when eating out!
10) Stay Motivated!
The majority of individuals know what they need to do to be healthier however, eating healthy and exercising is not simple. Education about the specifics of a healthy diet, getting the whole family involved, and setting goals, can aid your family stay healthy and fit. Hire a personal trainer or seek the counsel of a dietitian to keep you on the healthy track.
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