5 Reasons for Obesity in Kids

There is a growing problem in our society today that is affecting a whole generation of people and that is obesity in children. You see more children overweight than ever before. This is becoming a national disaster in US and many countries in the West. There are several reasons for this. Here are 5.

Our lifestyle: One of the biggest factors is our actual lifestyle. In many families both parents are working and they simply do not have the time or make time to make sure that their kids are eating right. The average family relies on fast food
Not eating in a healthy manner. Many families are not very knowledgeable on what a healthy diet should be.
Snacks usually consist of junk food: kids are growing and active and require snacks that will give them energy. Many times they will rely on junk food and sodas for giving them an energy boost.
Lack of supervision: Parents are not always home to supervise the kids so they eat what they find in the home.
Children are less active: in today’s computer age kids are less active than they used to be. In the old days they used to go outside to play and run around with friends, but now they are more interested in playing video games and playing on their computers.

So what can we do about it?

If you need to eat fast food you do have choices. You do not have to settle for a burger fries and a soda. There are fast foods like “Subway” that have more nutritious sandwiches with fewer calories. Instead of fries you can choose a side like fruit or yogurt. Instead of soda you can have milk, diet soda or just plain water. These are just a few alternatives that you can offer your kids when you order fast food.

Eating a healthy diet is not hard. You just need to make a few adjustments. Here are 3 ways you can use today.
Serve up whole grain foods like brown rice and brown bread instead of the usual white rice and refined foods. This will add fiber to your child’s diet and make them eat less because they will remain full longer.
Check the calories on packet foods and try to go for the ones with less fat and carbohydrates.
Add more fruits and vegetables to your family diet. This adds fiber, fills up your child and provides essential vitamins and minerals.

Junk food snacks can be replaced with protein bars, fruits and vegetables. Sweetened juice and soda can be replaced with water or “lite” juice drinks. Sugar free drinks are becoming more popular and are readily available in the stores.

The simplest way to cut down your child’s consumption of junk food is not to have it in the house. Provide alternatives as seen above and you will be able to train your child to change their diet.

Activity is a tough problem. You can get the family involved in hiking, bicycling or extra curricular sports. Encourage your kids to go out and play, get them interested in nature by starting a garden. You can even organize some country walks for the family where your child can get out and enjoy a complete change of scene. Do you want to know how to lose 10 lbs a month or more? Visit http://lose10lbamonth.com

3 Bad Diet Mistakes to Avoid At All Cost

It is surprising, with all the information at our fingertips, that we still make the same common mistakes when it comes to losing weight. These are not small blunders that disrupt your diet like sneaking a piece of pie that was not part of your plan. They are large mistakes that can result in the collapse of your weight reduction plan. If you can understand and catch these mistakes you will have better results when you try to lose weight.

Perfection is everything:

People who are very serious about losing weight will often try to maintain a complicated diet which is very challenging to them. Before they even start on the diet they will scour the kitchen for any foods that are not part of the diet and throw them away. They have a big plan to be a perfect dieter. Well this can work for one day, or even 7 days but then the inevitable mistake will happen. They mess up and spoil their diet. This is a monumental disaster for them and they feel that they cannot continue. They simply give up and just go to the store and buy all that junk food again.

Now if you are a perfectionist when it comes to dieting you should really give yourself a reality check. Face up to the fact that everyone is human and we will all slip up and eat the wrong thing occasionally. This is not a reason to throw your hands in the air and give up on your dieting. A better idea is not to start on complicated diets but just make small adjustments to your diet, so that you can experience a slow but steady loss of weight.

Dieting is a sacrifice:

Another mistake that many people fall prey to is the idea that dieting means sacrificing. While you are on your diet you do not allow yourself the luxury of eating any of your favorite foods. Your diet may be extremely effective and you reach your weight goal fast but then…. When you reach your goal you start to eat your favorite fattening foods again and once again you will put on weight.

The problem is that you have not trained yourself to eat these foods in moderation and so you lose control when you start to eat them again. A better idea is to include small quantities of these foods in your diet, so that you will train yourself to eat them in moderation. This eliminates the risk of binging and putting on weight again.

Failing to achieve goals:

Many of us make this mistake, setting goals that are above our capabilities. This results in obvious failure. Set small achievable goals and put a time frame on them. You can also set long term goals based on your progress.

For example lose 5 pounds in a week. Now that is not so hard and can easily be done. You can make a graph to be updated weekly and track your progress. Now you will experience ups and downs, but do not get discouraged and continue moving on to your long term goals.

By avoiding these mistakes you can help yourself progress in your goal to lose weight. Do you want to know how to lose 10 lbs a month or more?
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