Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Lose weight and prevent childhood obesity without ever mentioning diet or weight loss



Hi guys! In today's episode of how I lost 100 pounds, we're going to look at surprise ways to lose weight and prevent or heal childhood obesity. 

1) Step outside your eating zone. The western diet (high carbs and sugar, low protein, little fresh produce, lots of junk food and fast food) is a one-way ticket to obesity. The gastric bypass reality TV show "My 600-lb Life" proves that. "My 600-lb Life" also demonstrates the systemic nature of family obesity. Nutritionally deprived diets almost weight problems and even struggles with adult diseases of diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension. "My 600-lb Life" Dr. Now has gastric bypass patients start changing up meals from fast food to homecooked, packaged to fresh and non-nutritional junk to 1200 calorie diet food swaps. And that brings me to my next weight loss tip. 

2) Re-place food. That's not a typo. "My 600-lb Life" patients (and a lot of us) fail the 1200 calorie diet because they misunderstand eating and misplace food. We make it the center of our world, a friend and ally. We comfort eat. We confuse junk with comfort food. We misunderstand rewards as food and treats as junk vs. food that treats our bodies well). We obsess on cravings. And our children see this. Yes, we need to eat to live. But we need to eat mindfully. 

3) Food shop, meal plan and cook with kids to prevent childhood obesity (diabetes, etc.) Engage children in planning and preparing healthy meals. Teach children the benefits of healthy eating. Read nutrition data. Encourage kids to explore ways to add vegetables and fruit, whole grains, lean meat and alternative protein and subtract added sugar, HFCS, transfat and empty carbs. Make it a game! Even young kids can create recipes with healthier food swaps. And that brings me to the next weight loss tip. 

4) Explore "diet food" swaps. Don't ban food. (One problem I have with keto). Challenge kids to discover the healthiest varieties of their favorite foods: hot dogs, lunchmeat, sweets, candy, chips, etc. Let them have fun making high protein pancakes, cookies and baked goods. Make homemade high protein muffins (with eggs, Greek yogurt, oats, nuts and seeds and bananas) instead of breakfast cereal and Pop-Tarts. Make cut veggie trays and enjoy in place of chips. Check this blog for keto and 1200 calorie diet food swaps that helped me lose weight. But having said that...

4) Avoid words like "diet food", overweight and weight loss. Never call a child "obese","overweight" or God forbid, fat. Don't put kids on ultra calorie restricting weight loss diets. Many kids go through a chubby phase that they outgrow in puberty and calorie restricting too young can be downright dangerous. When I was young, I was put on a 1,000 calorie diet to lose weight. Calorie restricting caused major shame, stress, pressure, physical exhaustion, metabolism issues, body image dysmorphia. Instead...

5) Have FUN with it! You can lose weight and your kids can stay at healthy weight or lose weight, if, after puberty, that becomes an issue, without ever mentioning diet! Make good nutrition, cooking and meal planning family hobbies! Celebrate healthy living! 

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