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Archive for Health and Fitness

It’s a New Year! Why Not Just Eat Healthy Instead of Diet?!?

Why not try eating healthy foods, instead of dieting? There are a lot of diets out there but some of them simply do not work. Dieting just doesn’t work for everyone, especially children. To prevent childhood obesity, we simply cannot depend on dieting. It is much easier and way more effective to teach kids to eat healthy foods than compute their daily calorie intakes and such. Some adults can handle dieting, but children are still growing. They need all the nutrients and vitamins that they can get.

To prevent childhood obesity, instead of putting them on a diet, we can point them to the right direction by teaching them to eat healthy. Eating healthy foods will not only help prevent obesity, it can also help reduce the risk of diseases that go with eating junk or unhealthy foods. There are a number of diets that work well with adults, but that doesn’t mean that it will work on children. You can’t expect kids to know stuff like protein, or carbohydrates, or calories. If it is edible and tastes good, they eat it. That is why training a kid to eat healthy foods while he’s still young is essential in preventing childhood obesity.

Before worrying about what kind of diet you want to follow, think about your children’s health and the lifestyle that you wish for them to follow. You can begin by finding out which foods are good for you and your kids, and which are not. One thing you need to remember is that the closer a food is to its natural condition; the better it is for your health. Foods such as fresh fruits and berries are awesome as they will satisfy your craving for sweets.

Steaming green, orange, and yellow veggies will help retain its nutritional value as these types of vegetables are packed with vitamins and minerals. However, you need to be careful with the sauces that go with salads, because they may be high in calories and fats that are bad for you. We all know that some kids hate to eat foods such as green veggies; the key is to feed it to them at a young age as some vegetables will take some getting used to.

When it comes to pasta or any baked goods, you should go for whole grains. Kids love sugary snacks, but you shouldn’t spoil them with it. As much as possible, you must teach your kids to avoid eating too many sweets. Healthy foods can include lean meats and, of course, fish. Ocean fish are packed with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that are often lacking in our daily consumption. So try serving it to your children two to three times a week. Finally, keep in mind that steaming or baking is way healthier than frying.

The Effects Of Childhood Obesity

In today’s population, child obesity is fast becoming a serious problem, and the same goes for childhood obesity effects. The fact is that one in five children and teenagers are obese. That is a staggering statistic. Unfortunately, the number keeps on growing. Many health experts, as well as scientists, believe that this generation may have shorter life expectancy compared to the previous generations.

As the number of obese children keeps on growing, many scientists are now looking at the two aspects of childhood obesity effects, namely the physical and the mental aspects. Children who suffer from obesity may encounter the same physical effects as obese adults. Like any overweight adult, obese kids may also be at risk of heart diseases, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, sleep apnea, and certain types of cancer. Take note that diseases such as these have no prejudices.

The childhood obesity effects previously mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot that could go wrong in an obese kid’s body. One condition that overweight children are at risk of is coronary heart disease. Keep in mind that heart diseases have no discriminations. It does not matter if you’re black, white, or brown, young or old, male or female. The fact is obesity is a serious risk factor for heart diseases.

The mental aspect of childhood obesity effects can be as serious as the physical aspect of it. An obese kid can suffer from serious psychological problems. A study has shown that some obese children think very little with regards to their quality of life. They presented scores as low as kids suffering from cancer. Obese kids are showing signs of low self-esteem. We all know that some serious mental illnesses are rooted in low self-esteem. This is one of the serious childhood obesity effects.

It is believed that the quality of life is composed of physical well-being, mental well-being, and social well-being. Our quality of life is measured by those three aspects. When you do something to tip the scales and disturb the balance of those three aspects, your quality of life could significantly decrease.

Social biases and low self-esteem are the two main aspects that may have the most effect, psychologically, on obese children as well as adults. Social indifference could result in less or no friends at all. This results in loneliness, which can be a huge factor in having low self-esteem. The isolation and the discrimination that an obese kid endures in school or at home will have great effects on his mental health as he grows up.

These kinds of childhood obesity effects pose a great threat on the next generation of children, if we do not do something about the problem of childhood obesity.

Do You Lead by Example?

So many times these days we see an overweight adult walking around with an overweight child.  Very seldom do we see a thin or athletic parent holding the hand of an overweight youngster.  Why is that?

Well the plain, simple, and easy truth is that children, or any species for that matter, don’t learn through directing.  True, we can learn certain tasks by being told how to accomplish them, such as reading, but even then there is a certain amount of leading occurring.  As humans, we learn more through watching and imitating than any other way.  If you asked the professional sports players how they got so great, their responses would be 99.9% the same: emulating their idols.

If it is true that a professional athlete can learn most of their skill through emulating others, than doesn’t it stand to reason that your child will learn other skills in life the same way?  Of course it does.  That is why it is so important to lead by example rather than tell them how to live and hope for the best.  This means you can’t just tell your child to eat their veggies.  You have to eat them yourself first, and let them see you enjoy them.  This is key!  If you try to swallow some broccoli by forcing yourself to hold back the urge to regurgitate it, do you think that your toddler is going to think it is a fun food to eat?  Probably not.

So what happens if you don’t like eating healthy?  Well, then you are going to have a heck of a time teaching your children to eat healthy.  If you have no desire to change your own thought processes, then you will never be able to encourage your child to think positively about living a healthy lifestyle.  In other words “Good Luck Chuck!”  If however you have realized the importance of your child’s health and future,  you will be willing to change your way of thinking, and thus change both you and your child’s lives for the better.

If you want to change but don’t know how, then you can check out my companion website, Stop Childhood Obesity, or speak to your primary care physician.  Other sources for help are BeverlyMonical.com, or the Mayo Clinic.  Whichever choice you make, be sure it is not a selfish one, but rather a choice dedicated to improving your child’s overall health and well being.

Best of Luck!

Finding Time for Wellness and Fitness

I think everyone will agree that time is a precious commodity. Everyone will also most probably agree that wellness and fitness is an essential aspect of a healthy and well-rounded lifestyle. Therefore, finding time, which is important to many of us, to take care of our health and fitness is quite imperative.

With the fast-paced lifestyle that many of us experience, finding time for wellness and fitness seem to be an impossible task, especially for the urban community, where time could mean money. Many of these people work two jobs just to keep up with the bills and so on. These individuals almost have no time to take care of themselves; however, you need to realize that spending time for wellness and fitness can be a good investment.

Though some people may find it difficult to set aside some time for exercise, there are ways to successfully incorporate wellness and fitness into your daily lives. Making an appointment or scheduling an activity a month ahead may help you begin a daily exercise routine. You need to stick with this appointment just as you would any business meeting. Remember that wellness and fitness is as important as any other appointments.

By planning ahead, you can budget your time efficiently. For example, you can cook meals for the whole week to save time. This way, you will have more time for wellness and fitness. Home cooked healthy meals are readily available when you arrive home. A 15-minute workout after lunch can also help to recharge your body and prepare it for the second half of the day. Always make it a point to keep your body physically active during the day, even if you work at an office. Just because you work inside an office doesn’t mean you have to sit around all day.

Support from the people around you is also important. Wellness and fitness can be difficult to achieve without the support from family and friends, and even from your employer. Although some companies are now providing fitness programs for their employees, not all businesses have this. Sometimes, you need to let your employer know what you are trying to achieve and hope that the employer will allow you to have some flexibility in your work schedule.

Always stick to your schedule. Keeping appointments is an essential trait for any businessman. There is no reason why this shouldn’t be applied in your wellness and fitness program. Most of all, never put off a chance to workout. If you’re a busy individual, always remember that a 10 to 15-minute exercise is as important as any task of the day.

If you are still having a hard time in managing your time and wellness, you can always enlighten yourself and read articles about wellness and fitness here.

Does Exercise Really Help?

What we really see.

Believe it or not, exercise has actually been called into question recently due to some studies that have been published around the world.  In fact, what experts are saying is that exercise may actually encourage weight gain!  Can you believe that?  Doing something that has been touted for so long as a healthy and necessary part of our lives is being chastised and said to have negative consequences!

In all honesty, these studies are complete bull.  You see, what every study fails to mention is not whether or not a person will actually lose weight, children included, if they exercise or not.  We know for a fact that exercise will definitely have positive effects for anyone who actually does exercise on a frequent basis.  Where the studies are misleading people is in the nutritional area that is supposed to accompany exercise.

What the doctors are saying is that exercise, by its very nature, causes us to need more energy (food).  That of course triggers an emotional response that makes us have cravings, thus causing us to seek out any type of food to fill these cravings.  The problem lies in what type of food we are eating.  If exercise forces us to need about 100-500 more calories per day that we really work out, then of course we need to eat a little more.  However, filling up on junk food, including soda pop, candy, popcorn, cookies, etc. isn’t doing the job. You need to eat high quality proteins, fats, and carbohydrates to ensure the cravings you feel are actually being filled with proper nutrition.

I will state that again: eating the right types of food in conjunction with exercise will inevitably lead to weight loss.  No binging on ice cream, donuts, cookies, cake, muffins, bagels or any other form of sugar-laden treat!  Instead, go for some high fiber, 100% whole grains, mixed with carbs from fruits and veggies, along with good quality sources of protein in order to combat these cravings.

Eating is a necessary complement to exercise, but it is up to you to ensure that your family eats the right foods to help spur on weight loss!

What we really see.