http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fULtU2NfPQA
I love the message this sends...I'm going to share it with my girls :) Enjoy.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Eat as I eat
So lots of friends keep remarking how great Dean and I look...thanks for noticing :) It all started when Dean and I decided we needed to do more than "talk the talk" we needed to "walk the walk" if we ever expected the girls to be healthy. And that is exactly what we call it. We do not use words describing a person's size...we are taking the emphasis off of the number on the scale, because a number does not equal health. At 2 and 4 they are too young to be hearing messages that they need to be skinny. And I don't want them to pass judgements on children or adults because of their size...so we stick to what is truly at the heart of the matter and that's being healthy!
The obesity epidemic is frightening and escalating! We defiantly didn't want our girls to deal with the pain (emotional and physical), frustration, and limitations that being overweight causes. I do not want that for me nor for my family. So we are on a mission to show our girls what a healthy lifestyle entails. Young kids learn so much from their parents and their environment from the earliest age so we needed to start now. Below I will sum up some of the key changes we made.......
1. Eating better foods.....well of course this includes organic (because that is the first thought that comes to mind) but also unprocessed foods (as much as possible, but convenience still plays a role). Foods with natural ingredients (really natural and not "marketing" natural)...foods with a few ingredients or ingredients I recognize is important because before the obsesity epidemic packaged and processed foods didn't exist. Hhhmm coincidence? I think not! Eating more fruits and veggies (we joined a CSA-Community Supported Agriculture www.shawfarmscsa.com)
2. Eating healthy snacks (think mini-meals)....I really try hard with this one but am not always successful. Nuts, fruits, yogurt, PB&honey/bananas, fruit and protein shakes, and if nothing else a bar (Dean loves bars but I am not as much a fan, though Caramel Brownie Luna bar is growing on me).
3. Portion control...Let's Dish (a meal assembly prep place) has made a huge impact!! They even give you nutritional info or weight watchers points for each meal you make. At Let's Dish, each "meal" serves 5-6 people so I split the meal into two containers so then each "meal" feeds 2-3. Two dinners for the price of one, which also saves us money on eating out (but don't fret we still eat out just not nearly as much). When we go out, Dean and I split meals now...go ahead be amazed I am too looking at it in print.
4. Listen to our satiation cues...we stop eating when we are full even if it tastes really good...we never used to do this and always left restaurants feeling sick :( We also never force the girls to eat everything of their plate.
5. No diets....yeah the old mantra its a life change is how we are living it these days!!
6. Support....With both Dean and I on board it makes a huge difference. We both started out doing this for the girls but now do it for ourselves...which is the better reason of course but whatever gets you started.
7. EXERCISE!!! I run to eat...I will admit it. I can be more lenient with indulgences if I am exercising than if I wasn't. Dean and I are both on training programs for running (mine is through www.RunnersWorld.com) and it keeps us on track. We also signed up for races of various lengths as another way to keep on track. As a SAHM, I find it difficult not to have benchmarks to compare my performance to (I know type A), so the training program gives me that feedback I need to know I am doing a good job and am successful. I am really enjoying running, but choose something that you like not what I like :) Obviously if you like it you will keep going back...and that's the key. I will also admit that the childcare at my gym (Lifetime Fitness) is amazing and enables me to exercise (and even shower and gussy up alone...aahhhhhh) possible! Varying the exercise is also important to avoid a plateau when your body becomes to used to whatever challenge you are throwing its way.
8. Being active as a family...this is still a work in progress but we recognize this as an important goal.
Some books that I have been reading along the way:
How to Get Your Kid to Eat but Not Too Much by: Ellyn Satter http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Your-Kid-Eat/dp/0915950839
Food Matters by: Mark Bittman http://www.amazon.com/Food-Matters-Conscious-Eating-Recipes/dp/1416575642
Fit Kids by: Eileen Behan http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC0OK4/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=304485901&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0830745343&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0B9H6Q5TPDNYBN5789HY
The obesity epidemic is frightening and escalating! We defiantly didn't want our girls to deal with the pain (emotional and physical), frustration, and limitations that being overweight causes. I do not want that for me nor for my family. So we are on a mission to show our girls what a healthy lifestyle entails. Young kids learn so much from their parents and their environment from the earliest age so we needed to start now. Below I will sum up some of the key changes we made.......
1. Eating better foods.....well of course this includes organic (because that is the first thought that comes to mind) but also unprocessed foods (as much as possible, but convenience still plays a role). Foods with natural ingredients (really natural and not "marketing" natural)...foods with a few ingredients or ingredients I recognize is important because before the obsesity epidemic packaged and processed foods didn't exist. Hhhmm coincidence? I think not! Eating more fruits and veggies (we joined a CSA-Community Supported Agriculture www.shawfarmscsa.com)
2. Eating healthy snacks (think mini-meals)....I really try hard with this one but am not always successful. Nuts, fruits, yogurt, PB&honey/bananas, fruit and protein shakes, and if nothing else a bar (Dean loves bars but I am not as much a fan, though Caramel Brownie Luna bar is growing on me).
3. Portion control...Let's Dish (a meal assembly prep place) has made a huge impact!! They even give you nutritional info or weight watchers points for each meal you make. At Let's Dish, each "meal" serves 5-6 people so I split the meal into two containers so then each "meal" feeds 2-3. Two dinners for the price of one, which also saves us money on eating out (but don't fret we still eat out just not nearly as much). When we go out, Dean and I split meals now...go ahead be amazed I am too looking at it in print.
4. Listen to our satiation cues...we stop eating when we are full even if it tastes really good...we never used to do this and always left restaurants feeling sick :( We also never force the girls to eat everything of their plate.
5. No diets....yeah the old mantra its a life change is how we are living it these days!!
6. Support....With both Dean and I on board it makes a huge difference. We both started out doing this for the girls but now do it for ourselves...which is the better reason of course but whatever gets you started.
7. EXERCISE!!! I run to eat...I will admit it. I can be more lenient with indulgences if I am exercising than if I wasn't. Dean and I are both on training programs for running (mine is through www.RunnersWorld.com) and it keeps us on track. We also signed up for races of various lengths as another way to keep on track. As a SAHM, I find it difficult not to have benchmarks to compare my performance to (I know type A), so the training program gives me that feedback I need to know I am doing a good job and am successful. I am really enjoying running, but choose something that you like not what I like :) Obviously if you like it you will keep going back...and that's the key. I will also admit that the childcare at my gym (Lifetime Fitness) is amazing and enables me to exercise (and even shower and gussy up alone...aahhhhhh) possible! Varying the exercise is also important to avoid a plateau when your body becomes to used to whatever challenge you are throwing its way.
8. Being active as a family...this is still a work in progress but we recognize this as an important goal.
Some books that I have been reading along the way:
How to Get Your Kid to Eat but Not Too Much by: Ellyn Satter http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Your-Kid-Eat/dp/0915950839
Food Matters by: Mark Bittman http://www.amazon.com/Food-Matters-Conscious-Eating-Recipes/dp/1416575642
Fit Kids by: Eileen Behan http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC0OK4/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=304485901&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0830745343&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0B9H6Q5TPDNYBN5789HY
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
