Tuesday, February 15

An Overview Of Weight Loss Tips For Kids

By Diana Lensbury


Some children need to lose pounds but the first goal should be to stop gaining. The most important weight loss tips for kids are to plan a healthy diet and lifestyle, not a diet. Growing children need a well balanced diet for growth, so don't remove whole food groups. Stopping weight gain may be as simple as changing to non-fat milk, eating healthy snacks or not super-sizing portions. Eating in front of the TV leads to overeating. Serve meals and snacks at the table.

Eliminate high fat, less nutritious foods like hamburger, sausage, bacon, french fries, chips, cookies. Avoid fast foods and sodas. Replace with turkey, chicken, fish, peanut butter, beans, soy. Serve fruits and vegetables at every meal. Eating fruits and vegetables is okay in any amount at any time.

Step two is portion control. Eat smaller meals with regular snacks to satisfy hunger. Serve breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and a snack. Snacks can be fruits, vegetables with hummus dip, yogurt, cheese, whole grain waffles or rice cakes with peanut butter, home made smoothies from nonfat yogurt, eggs in tortillas, whole grain cereal with low fat milk.

For young children, introduce new foods and snacks, slowly eliminating the not so healthy choices. Increase exercise by introducing new games. Go on family walks or bike rides, or play interactive Wii games. Other activities that may spark their interest are jump ropes, trampolines, rollerskating, more time spent at the park or swimming.

Older children may rebel against too much parental control. Give information and encouragement and role model healthy practices. Provide only healthy food choices. Older children may be too self-conscious to enjoy team sports or public activities like working out in a gym. Try family walks, bike rides, Wii games. Consider purchasing a treadmill for the home, a basketball hoop or trampoline for the backyard.

A nutritionist can help determine the correct target weight and help to set and reach goals. To determine bone structure have your child wrap his thumb and middle finger around the other wrist. If the fingertips touch, that's medium bone structure. If they overlap, your child has a small frame, and if they don't meet, your child is big boned.

Get professional help for an obese child. A nutritionist can provide the best weight loss tips for kids. Some local clinics offer healthy lifestyle programs for overweight children. Weight loss camps can be a surprisingly fun option. Most focus on fun activities; games, hiking and swimming. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, food needs to taste good and satisfy the appetite, and physical activity needs to be fun.




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