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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Healthy Dieting Tips
Elizabeth Harfleet

Effective dieting is all about changing long term eating habits
rather than cutting down excessively on food in intermittent
bursts. As well as eating a healthy and balanced diet that is
low in fat and refined sugar, there are a number of other things
that you can do to help you shift those extra pounds and ensure
that they stay gone for good.

Here are some top tips to help you do just that:

1.Avoid going shopping when you are hungry. 2.When you go
shopping write a list in advance and stick to it so that you do
not buy calorific treats.

3.Always eat breakfast containing complex carbohydrates to help
fight mid morning sugar lows

4.When you feel peckish drink a glass of water instead of
reaching for a snack; you may find that it stops you feeling
hungry.

5.Avoid going shopping when you are hungry

6.Watch fat content in prepared foods. Try not to eat food with
more than 4% fat.

7.Take some form of exercise every day. It is very easy to fit
this into your daily routine by looking for opportunities to
walk rather than drive.

8.For the best results, exercise early in the morning (ideally
before lunch). Aim to exercise for twenty to thirty minutes at
least three times a week.

9.Ask friends to give chocolates a miss on your birthday or at
Christmas. 10.Alcohol is full of calories. You can try and limit
your alcohol intake by interspersing alcoholic drinks with soft
ones on nights out.

11.Weigh yourself no more than once a week in the morning before
eating or drinking.

12.Avoid going shopping when you are hungry

13.Take a Vitamin B complex as B vitamins are used for efficient
fat metabolism.

14.Don’t set yourself unrealistic targets, they will only make
you feel depressed. Stick to the weight height guidelines set
out by the NHS.

15.Watch out for food claiming to be fat free or virtually fat
free. Although they might not contain much fat they are often
loaded with sugar.

About the author:

Elizabeth Harfleet is a nutritional therapist based in Manchester
UK

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Are you a bit of a risk taker when you want to lose weight? If you are the 500 calorie diet may be just what youre looking for. The truth about this diet is it is considered an extreme form of dieting; but is highly popular. Low calorie diets are common and 500 calories is at the lower end of the scale.

A diet is considered low calorie if it involves ingesting no more than 1200 calories per day. The idea of a low calorie diet is to lose weight quickly. If not administered correctly they can be dangerous and as such it is important to plan your 500 calorie diet with a professional dietician or nutritionist before starting. This article will help you to decide if the 500 calorie diet is right for you.

It is well known that the way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in. However a very low calorie diet can actually do more harm than good. When your body is craving more calories (energy) it can affect your metabolic rate. This means your body actually starts to eat away at your muscle mass.

It is doing this for the purpose of converting the muscle mass to energy, since there are no food reserves to take from. Because gaining muscle is the path to losing fat, this can have a highly detrimental effect on your body.

500 calories per day may be sufficient for some people depending on their:
– Gender
– Activity level
– Height
– Body type
– Overall health and well being

For other people though, particularly overweight people, consuming only 500 calories a day is almost like starving yourself. Your body is more than likely used to taking in over 2000 calories per day and up to 5000 or more. If you all of a sudden drop to 500 calories or less your body moves into starvation mode. Your metabolism then slows down to conserve energy.

While you are on the 500 calorie diet your body will learn to live with fewer calories. That means if you go back to your old high calorie habits (as all too many people do) you will have a sudden gain in weight, which is more than what would have occurred, had you not gone on your low cal diet.

The only real way to determine your ideal daily calorie intake is by using a bmr/amr calculator. You will then know how many calories you need to be healthy and to support your lifestyle. If you take 500 calories away from this, then you have the ideal number of calories, to take in per day to help you get your weight down.

As men and women are obviously different their ideal calorie intake is also different. This of course means while the average woman may need only 1200 to 1300 calories a day to survive, her male counterpart may need from 1500 to 1600. Again this is why it is so important for you to consult with your physician before starting any diet.

In conclusion a 500 calorie diet can be dangerous. However, if proper precautions are taken, such as a physical, to determine your overall health fitness, you can lose weight quickly.

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Are you desperately looking for the fastest way you can find to knock off a quick 10 to 15 pounds or more? You have that fancy dance just around the corner and you just have to fit into that slinky size 6 black dress; you just bought. You have heard about the 3 day tuna diet and believe its just what youre looking for. Hold on there are some things you need to know before jumping on that diet.

Its very true the three day tuna diet has fast become one of todays favorite crash diets. Many people think that because the time frame of the diet is short there is no health risk. The truth is that when people use this type of low calorie diets they are adversely affecting their metabolism. Essentially this means that by using this diet you are setting yourself up for later weight gain and very possibly more weight than you lost.

One of the primary reasons that this diet isnt healthy is because it is essentially a starvation diet. If you add up all the calories allotted for a days meal you only get 978. Eating this few calories will put you in starvation mood within the first day.

You will know when your body begins starvation mood soon after beginning the three day tuna diet. You will begin to feel sluggish and not want to do activities you normally would. You will begin to feel cold no matter how many blankets you use. In some cases people have reported dreaming about food and having food dancing in front of them when awake. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms your body is probably in starvation mood.

In addition the 3 day tuna diet has such a low calorie count that it is close to being a VLCD, or very low calorie diet. This diet gives the illusion of lasting for three days. The truth is you are on and off the diet for a full month.
For the most part the foods that you eat on the three day tuna diet arent balanced and therefore will most likely not help you lose any permanent weight. You are allowed some small amounts of fish and chicken, some peanut butter, a few vegetables and an apple for dinner. If you consider that, you then end your day with ice-cream; you can clearly see this is not a healthy diet choice.

You need to be aware the refined carbohydrates, which make up a large portion of the three day tuna diet have very little if any nutritional value. Food cravings are increased when you have so few calories but have breads and sugars. The reason for this is that there is a hike in the production of insulin when we eat these carbs.

When you decide to use low calorie diets like this diet you are setting yourself up for food cravings. Even if you do make it through the three days every week, you are likely to consume unhealthy foods during the four day period, in which you are free to eat what you want. Studies done as far back as the 1970s, show that the average dieter will ultimately gain up to eight pounds in the weeks after the diet.

There are various diets that are geared towards weight loss. Some of these diets can be good ways to lose weight while others focus on eliminating healthy foods and calories. The 3 day tuna diet may drop pounds in the beginning but in the end you will most likely gain the weight back you lost and more.

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