Things That Make Me Sad...

• A caregiver who comes in with her child for a follow up appointment* and says that they are making changes – they don’t salt the bacon any more.  
•  A parent who comes in with child for a follow-up. Child has been doing amazingly well several months post program, but suddenly his BMI increases by several percentage points. Child says there are too many redlight foods in the house so it is really hard for him to make healthy choices. Parent  says that it is too hard to keep the house free of red lights because of sibling(s) who don’t [currently] have a weight issue. What is a child supposed to do when they can't shop or cook????
• A child that has to switch houses every week and one parent is compliant and the other parent does not want anything to do with the program so sabotages by taking the child out to eat every night and buys their favorite red light foods – just to prove a point.
•  When one parent is fully engaged and supporting the child but the other parent refuses to make changes and continues to eat Redlight foods in front of the child who is trying to make changes.
• When a parent and child come to see me and I ask the child how they are doing with exercise. Then the parent responds to me (even though I asked the child) that they just did not have time these past couple of weeks.
• When a parent and child come to see me and have to bring a brother or sister. The sibling is eating a bag of candy as they walk in to my office….

I have 3 children (who have VERY different body types) so I know parenting is hard. Scheduling is very hard. Each child is different etc., but if a child needs extra tutoring for math because they are failing, don't you do everything you can to make that happen? This is your child or grandchild’s health…what is more important than that? Who cares how you do in school if you can’t participate in PE or a school sport? Who cares how you do in school if you are sick, tired, sleep deprived and depressed? Who cares how you do in school if you are teased and feel badly about yourself?

Please tell me, what is more important than your child’s health?

*follow-up means they have completed a 6 month behavior change program

Tips for Parents to Help Their Overweight Child

*John was 10 and he came to class with his mom, Joan. Joan was slender and fit and was one of the many parents who did not understand how their child became overweight. The two other siblings did not have a weight problem and Dad was also active and fit.

*Jessica was 12 and came to class with her mom. Her mom, Lisa, was overweight and always struggled with her weight. She was hoping her daughter would get some tools to make healthy choices so she would not end up an overweight adult. She had a younger brother who was too young for the program, but it seemed that he was on a similar weight track as his mom and sister. The whole family would benefit from some education and coaching.

These are two very different but fairly typical family situations that often come up in the same class. So what advice do I give these parents?

Regardless of the reasons why they enrolled, the advice remains quite similar for both situations. The top 5 tips and advice I give parents who are trying to support their overweight child:

1) Have parents understand and accept that, they play a very large role in their child's success because they buy and cook the food, enroll them in activities and drive them to restaurants and fast food.

2) Children need to be in a supportive home environment to be successful.

What does this mean?

• Remove all tempting red lights from the house (even if all other family members are not overweight)
• Eat out less often (it is too hard to make healthy choices when eating out!) and learn how to make healthy versions restaurant favorites at home.
• Stock up on favorite healthy fruits and vegetables that are cut and ready to eat.
• Plan fun, ACTIVE family time. 
• Explain to the entire family that these changes are healthy for everyone in the family.
• Create shopping lists and plan meals together.

3) Be a good role model! Despite what we wish, children do as we do, not as we say. Even if you struggle with your own food and exercise choices, this is a perfect time to support your child and make changes together. How?

• Keep track of your own red-light foods (then try to eat fewer each week)
• Increase the amount you exercise (if you only exercise 1x a week, try for 3x a week)
• It is OK to admit to your child that you are struggling - it can be bonding!
• Don't complain! Be positive and non-judgmental.

4) Do not treat your child differently from other children in the family. I can't tell you how many times I have had a family come in for a meeting with me and the younger sibling was eating a bag of candy or chips. The parents would look at me sheepishly, then defensively state that they knew this was bad but actually it is ok becuase that child was underweight.

• OK - really? You are coming in to see me!! Couldn't the sibling at least keep it in the car?
• I don't care how underweight your young child is, no one needs a bag of candy or chips for snack
• Most importantly, you are singling out the child who is struggling with their weight. Imagine how they must feel making all of these changes while a sibling or other parent is eating treats (and unhealthy foods) in front of them. After you try to imagine how that feels - then think about the  message you are sending to both children..

Please do not allow others (spouse, siblings etc.) to eat red-light foods in front of your child that is trying to make healthy changes and control their weight. If necessary, have them lock their treats in the trunk of a car!

5) Remember -  you can only control what happens in your own house. Use that opportunity and let go of what happens outside of the house (this does not include the times you don't feel like cooking dinner an decide to eat out)

• Don't be afraid to set limits around food and TV
• For Example: kitchen closes at 7 pm for everyone! Allow only 1 hour of TV per day and max of 1 hour of computer time. 
• You may get some gruff at first, but after a couple of days when your kids figure out you are serious, they will accept these rules. Stay Strong!

http://www.nourishinteractive.com

*names and genders may be changed to protect identities

Vacation: How to make healthy choices AND enjoy your vacation!

Going on vacation and trying to make healthy choices is difficult. Although we want to enjoy our vacation and relax some of our normal rules and restrictions, it does not have to be license to go crazy and eat everything. There are ways to enjoy your vacation AND make healthy choices.

Here are some of my standard vacation tips:

1) Try to stay in a condo or home where you can prepare your own meals. 
If you are in a hotel, use your hotel refrigerator to store healthy snacks like yogurt, string cheese, carrots and milk for cereal so you can enjoy simple, healthy breakfasts instead of hitting the hotel restaurant or the nearby bakery! Also, try to keep some fruit and plenty of water in your room.

2) Walk!
Whenever you can, be active. Walk the city, take a hike, go on a bike ride, and go to museums. Not only is it a great way to see a new place, you can get your exercise without even noticing.

3) Plan meals ahead of time.
When you travel, you will eat out and eating out makes it more challenging to make healthy choices. If you plan ahead and look at restaurant menus before you eat, you are more likely to make better choices. Look at menus online or before you enter the restaurant and talk to your child about healthy choices. The key is to have this conversation BEFORE you sit down to eat.


4) Don't wait until you are starving to eat.
I learned this first hand this summer. We would often wait just a little to long to eat lunch, then we would all be starving, eat too much at lunch then not be hungry at the normal dinner hour and have to eat dinner late. You can see the pattern. Try to stick to a schedule as much as possible. Eat before you are starving or you and the kids will be too hungry to make healthy choices (and you will all be less grumpy).

5) Treats are OK!
You are on vacation so treats are inevitable. BUT, it does not have to be a free for all. You can still have a good time, eat healthy AND limit treats. Try to set a limit at 1 - 2 treats (Red Lights) a day. For instance, if my daughter chose to have soda at lunch (which we don't have at home) then that counted as a treat and she could have one more treat after dinner. This is when breakfast is tricky! On vacation, it is easy for those red lights to be readily available at breakfast. Watch out and see how you can budget - perhaps you allow one red light per meal.

Key messages:

• Enjoy your vacation and try new, delicious food but do not use it as an excuse to eat whatever you want, whenever you want.

• Most importantly, remind yourself that when you get home, you will get back on track. Then, when you get home, make sure you get back on track!