Learning Healthy Habits From Our Children
Michelle May M.D.

There are many important things that we need to teach children as they growbut they have many natural behaviors that we shouldnt try to change. In fact, we could learn a few things from kids! Here are some important lessons:

Eat when you are hungry. From the time they are born, babies know when and how much they need to eatand they cry to let us know too! As they grow, this important instinct can be un-learned. By the time they are adults, they may have learned to eat for many other reasons besides hungermealtimes, tempting food, stress, anger, boredom, and countless other triggers. By recognizing the difference between needing to eat and wanting to eat, adults can re-learn when and how much to eat too.

Stop eating when you are full. An infant will turn their head away when they have had enough to eat, and a toddler will throw a plate of food on the floor when they are done. But as adults, we clean our plates because there are starving children somewhereor just because something tastes good. I am not suggesting that we start throwing our plates on the floor again, but we need to remember that food is abundant in our society so there is no need to eat it all now.

Being hungry makes you grouchy. Being hungry, tired, or frustrated make childrenand adultscrabby! Starving yourself because you are too busy to eat or because you are trying to lose weight usually backfires.

Snacks are good. Kids naturally prefer to eat smaller meals with snacks in between whenever they get hungry. That pattern of eating keeps their energy level and metabolism stoked all day. Adults who need to fire up their metabolism should try this too.

Play with your food. Most kids love to examine, smell, and touch their food. Since eating is a total sensory experience, they get the most from every morsel. This childlike approach will help you eat less food while enjoying it more. Youll appreciate the aroma, appearance, and flavors more if you arent driving, watching T.V., or standing in the kitchen!

All foods fit. Children are born with a natural preference for sweet and higher fat flavors. Though parents sometimes worry, these fun foods can be part of a healthy diet. In fact, overly restrictive food rules usually lead to rebellious eating anywayjust think about the last time you werent allowed to eat something on a diet! Children and adults both eat healthier when they learn to enjoy these less nutritious foods in moderation.

Be a picky eater. Kids wont easily eat something they dont like. Think of how much less food you would eat if you didnt settle for food that tasted so-so.

You can learn to like new foods. Healthy eating is an acquired taste. Good nutrition is essential, so providing a variety of appealing, healthful foods will benefit the whole family. In our house, we have a two-bite rule. Everyone tastes two bites of everything; if they still dont like it, they dont have to eat itbut they have to try it again the next time we have it. Since that is The Rule, there are no battles at the table and the kids often surprise themselves by liking something they thought they wouldnt. (And we never say I told you so!)

Follow the leader. Face it, kids watch, and often imitate, everything we do. If they observe us eating a variety of healthful foods and exercising regularly, then they will learn to take good care of their bodies. Likewise, if they dont hear us making comments like I am so fat and she looks fat then they are less likely to suffer from poor self-esteem and a judgmental attitude.

There is more to a party than cake and ice cream! Invite a child to a party and theyll want to know what they are going to get to do. Invite an adult and theyll wonder what food will be served. You dont have to avoid parties to keep your weight down; just focus on the real purpose of social eventsto be social!

Eating with your family is fun. Since babies and toddlers must be fed by their parents, they naturally love eating with other people. Family mealtime is your opportunity to model good habits and connect with each other. Now that our kids are older, we sometimes play High-Low at dinner. Each member of the family takes a turn telling the others about the best and worst parts of their day. What a door opener!

Its boring to just sit around! Toddlers seem to be in perpetual motion as they explore their world. Young kids love to run in the grass, play on the playground, and challenge themselves and each other to increasingly more difficult activities. Of course, as they get older, television, computers, and electronic games compete for their attention. In our family, to encourage other activities, we use screen time which limits how much time our children are allowed to spend on anything with a screen. Sometimes adults would benefit by limiting their screen time and exploring their world a little more!

Sleep is good. After a full day, children need a good nights sleep to prepare for all of the adventures that tomorrow will hold. Wouldnt we all benefit from a consistent bedtime to make sure we get our rest too?

Live in the moment. Kids are masters at living in the present. They dont waste a lot of energy worrying about what has already happened or what might happen tomorrow. They are fully engaged in small pursuits like discovering where the ants are going, chasing the dog, or seeing how deep they can dig with a plastic shovel. We, on the other hand, continue to scurry around, chasing after our dreams, and all the while, digging ourselves deeper and deeper. We could learn a lot from children!

About the Author

Michelle May, M.D. is a practicing Board Certified Family Physician with expertise in the cognitive-behavioral aspects of weight management. She is the author of Am I Hungry? What To Do When Diets Dont Work in collaboration with a Registered Dietitian and Psychologist. Visit her website http://www.AmIHungry.com for more ideas on managing weight without dieting.

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Get Your Baby Off to a Healthy Start–Begin Before It’s Born!
Larry Denton

Did you know that every year nearly one million American women deliver babies without receiving adequate medical attention? Or that babies born to mothers who received no prenatal care are three times more likely to be born at low birth weight, and five times more likely to die, than those whose mothers received prenatal care?

If you are pregnant, there are programs in your state, that can help you deliver a healthy baby. These programs offer medical care, support and advice for pregnant women, and information about health insurance and other services you and your baby may need. For information about prenatal services in your community call (toll free) 1-800-311-BABY (1-800-311-2229). For information in Spanish, call 1-800-504-7081. Or to gain the information you need to have a healthy baby contact your state or local health department.

There are five vitally important things you can do to have a healthy pregnancy and deliver a healthy child. First, see a doctor or other health care provider from the start of your pregnancy. Prenatal care is medical attention given to the expectant mother and her developing baby. It also involves the mother’s caring for herself by following the health care provider’s advice, eating nutritious meals, getting plenty of rest, exercising sensibly, and avoiding things that could harm her or her baby.

Secondly, don’t drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or take drugs during your pregnancy. There is simply NO safe level of alcohol consumption if you are pregnant. One drink may be too many, since any alcohol you drink enters both your and your baby’s bloodstream. Alcohol usage during pregnancy may cause fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), in which babies suffer from physical, behavioral, and mental problems.

As for drugs, even some legal, over-the-counter medications–antihistamines or pain medications that contain ibuprofen–can be harmful to a developing fetus. Don’t take ANY medication without first consulting with your health care provider. Be careful of vitamins, as well. Although you may need more iron, calcium, or folic acid, too much of other nutrients can harm your baby. Again, consult your doctor.

A pregnant smoker is at higher risk for problems during her pregnancy. Babies born to mothers who smoke have a lower average birthrate, an increased rate of premature birth, and are at greater risk of death from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), than babies born to non-smokers.

Studies have shown that women who quit smoking early in their pregnancies can reduce the risk of damage to their baby. Even quitting in the last month of pregnancy can help your baby by increasing the amount of oxygen available to him/her at the time of delivery.

The third crucial thing you can do to have a healthy baby is to eat healthy foods–particularly fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk, eggs, cheese and whole grains. A healthy baby really starts with healthy foods. When you are pregnant, everything you eat or drink nourishes your baby as well. That is why it is so very important to eat a healthy diet. A pregnant woman only needs about 300 extra calories a day to meet her needs and provide her baby the necessary nutrients. Therefore, your goal should be to highly nutritious foods while avoiding excessive calories, fat, sugar, and sodium.

A fourth way to help have a healthy baby is to take care of YOUR health and exercise sensibly and regularly. Exercise promotes muscle tone, strength and endurance–three qualities that can help you better carry the weight you gain during pregnancy,
prepare you for the stress of labor, and make it easier to get back in shape after your delivery. You can’t beat walking or swimming or overall fitness during pregnancy. Again, as with most pregnancy related topics, check with your doctor before starting any exercise routine.

Finally, have your baby checked by a doctor or health care provider right after birth and throughout childhood. It is important to keep your health care appointments for both you and your baby, to get the proper medical attention you may both require.

Best wishes for an uneventful, healthy pregnancy and a happy, healthy new “bundle of joy” in the near future.

About the Author

Larry Denton is a retired history teacher having taught 33 years at Hobson High in Hobson, Montana. He is currently V.P. of Elfin Enterprises, Inc., an Internet business providing valuable information on a variety of timely topics. For a ob/gyn office full of advice, resources and suggestions about delivering a healthy baby, visit http://www.PregnancySense.com

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Most of us have had to wage our own little battle of the bulge at one point or another in our lives. To increase your odds of success the next time, here are some tips on the fast ways to lose weight.

Now, be aware, that these tips are going to be the best options you will have for fast ways to lose weight, the healthy ways only. Some of the tips I will give you may actually be a little borderline but they should be ok if you only use them for a short time to jump start to your weight loss.

Here are some important things to keep in mind:

1. Many times you can jump start your diet with a cleanse and / or a fast. Of course, before you start any type of diet, cleanse or exercise program you absolutely should talk to your doctor first. There can be dangerous side effects and that can be compounded if you already have some health issues.

A cleanse will enable you to cleanse your body of a buildup of fecal matter and toxins. It may sound gross but it can be a good way to lose some weight right off the bat.

Be aware, though, that this type of weight loss is almost always water weight. As soon as you start eating solid food again, you will just gain it all back. It is more about cleansing your body that any real weight loss.

2. Many people can actually benefit from eating more. That may sound weird but few people eat enough good food throughout their day to keep their metabolism firing hot all day long.

When I started eating 6 small, nutritious meals a day I lost weight. I lost 6 pounds in one week. It was challenging at first but it did work.

The best part of it was that I was giving my body what it needed… in other words I was losing weight in a healthy way.

3. Drink more water. Few of us drink as much water as we should. It’s recommended that you drink half of your body weight in ounces of water everyday.

For example, if you weigh 200lbs. you should drink 100 ounces of water daily. It can’t hurt to discuss this with your doctor too. Believe it or not it can be dangerous to drink too much water too. Find out what the right amount is for you.

4. Exercise. If you hate the idea of going to the gym than you must rearrange your thinking. There are a lot of exercising options that don’t require a gym membership. Find one or more that you like and then do them on a daily basis.

In our society we tend to over think things. We seem to think if we can’t do a marathon we can’t workout at all. Not true. Even small changes can make a big difference over time. Start small if you have to, but start.

The most important tip I can give you is to have realistic expectations. Fast ways to lose weight may be possible depending on what you mean by fast and how much weight you have to lose. But in most cases slow and steady weight loss, in a healthy way, will get you where you want to be and will make it easier for you to keep the weight off.

Tags: Battle Of The Bulge, Dangerous Side Effects, Diet, Drink More Water, Eating Habits, Fast Ways To Lose Weight, Fecal Matter, Good Food, Health Issues, Healthy Diet, Important Things, Losing Weight, Metabolism, Nutritious Meals, Odds, Right Off The Bat, Short Time, Solid Food, Water Weight, Ways To Lose Weight, Weight Loss, Weight Lost —

One of the most important things to keep in mind when youre evaluating healthy eating plans is moderation. Its very unlikely that any eating plan thats truly healthy will go to any extremes. It should stress moderation in all things, not just in the balance of food eaten but in the amounts, too.

For instance, some diets that are marketed as healthy eating plans make claims that should alert you to their problems. A diet that says you can eat unlimited amounts of almost anything probably isnt really all that healthy. One extreme example is a low-carbohydrate diet. Many low-carb diets can be healthy for certain people. But a few of the low-carb diets entice people to try them by talking about how you can eat all your favorite foods.

These supposedly healthy eating plans claim you can eat cheeseburgers, steaks, cheesecakes and a variety of other foods. And often theyll say that you can eat all you want of these foods and still lose weight. Theyre operating on the assumption that youll eat one or two cheeseburgers (without bread, of course), be full and stop. But they do make the claim that you can eat all of them, essentially all the fat, you want and still lose weight.

That should be a signal to you that somethings wrong. No diet that allows all the fat you want to eat can be truly healthy. And if it allows unlimited amounts of saturated fat in particular, its probably unhealthy. Other healthy eating plans youll see advertised go the opposite direction and limit the amount of fat you can eat down to almost none, while allowing almost any kind of bread, pasta, and other foods like low-fat cookies and desserts that contain a lot of simple carbohydrates and sugar.

While low-fat cookies or cakes might be a nice treat on a low-fat diet now and then, they certainly cant be eaten all the time. That would make the sugar content of the diet decidedly unhealthy. But that ability to eat low-fat sweet treats is often whats used to convince people to follow the diet, because they can still have sugar and desserts.

When youre judging healthy eating plans, checking whats allowed on the diet is important. But checking what isnt allowed is important, too. Moderation works both ways. A diet that tells you that you must give up coffee completely or never again eat any kind of bread is taking that limitation to the extreme. And if you like coffee or bread and still intend to have them at least now and then, each time you do youll feel like youre cheating. No one wants to have bad feelings about what theyre eating or drinking.

Choosing from among the diets out there can be daunting. Choose a plan that doesnt necessarily forbid you from eating anything, and doesnt allow unlimited amounts of anything, either. Choose from among the more moderate healthy eating plans, and youre more likely to find the healthiest one for you.

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