Improving Your Child’s Self Esteem Through Exercise

By Lynn Bode

Raising a pre-teen or teenage daughter (or son) is not easy and can cause any parent a lot of stress.  There’s so much to worry about – dating, drugs, alcohol, sex, school grades, just to name a few.  But one crucial element often gets overlooked until it manifests itself in extreme ways (like through an eating disorder). I’m talking about self-image. It’s extremely important that parents ensure that their children have a positive self-image, especially in relation to their body.

The key to ensuring strong self-esteem and a positive body image starts with the parent. If you don’t feel positive about your self-image, then how can you expect your children to? While this is important for both genders, it is especially critical for raising a healthy daughter. And beginning the lessons when a girl is young is imperative, so don’t wait until it’s too late – teaching your daughter to feel good about her body needs to start at a very young age.

Eating disorder experts say girls are developing eating disorders as young as 5 and 6 years old. And a recent study indicated that 70% of the sixth-grade girls they surveyed said they began worrying about their weight between ages 9 and 11. Why are so many young girls thinking that they are fat? Many are obsessing about their weight because they have parents who are preoccupied with their own poor body images.

While the statistics are disheartening, the good news is that there’s a lot that can be done to help our children have positive self-images. And, even small changes that parents make can help. Here are few tips to help your children avoid warped and negative body images:

Establish a “no diet talk” rule. When your children are nearby, DON’T talk about dieting or how fat you feel! This is extremely important. Remember, kids are listening all the time (even when you think that they aren’t – especially then). So, even though asking your spouse or friend “do I look fat in this?” may seem innocent, it can have a life-altering effect on your kids when they repeatedly hear it.

Parents aren’t the only adults that influence their children. Set the “no diet talk” rule mentioned above for all adults that are around your children. This means you shouldn’t allow your friends, parents, siblings, neighbors, or anyone else to talk about being fat or being on a diet when they are around your children.

Set a good example. If your children never see you engage in fitness or if they hear you complain about working out, then they are going to have a negative image of exercise. Let them know that you workout to stay healthy, to be strong and to have more energy and stamina (so you can keep up with them)!

Get your kids involved in sports. Experts say that playing sports really helps build confidence and improves self-esteem (especially for girls).

Teach your children to include physical activity as part of their daily routine. But don’t force them to exercise. Make sure that the physical activity is seen as something fun to do rather than teaching them to think of exercise as a necessary evil. Good activities include taking a nightly family walk, turning off the t.v. and instead turning music on that you all can dance to, or taking a weekend family bike ride.

Try to prepare (or if you are short of time purchase) healthy meals. And teach them the importance of good nutrition. Don’t let them have the misconception that there are “good” and “bad” foods. If a kid thinks that candy is a “bad” food, then naturally they will just want it more. Just try to encourage your kids to eat a balanced diet each day and to eat sugary and/or fatty foods in moderation.

Remember that something as small as talking about losing weight in front of your kids can have very detrimental effects on their self-image as they age. Damaging behavior learned from a parent at a young age can take years for a child to overcome. So, the sooner you start incorporating the tips above into your life, the better for you child. But don’t forget that it has to start with you – make sure that you are incorporating healthy fitness and eating rituals into your daily routine and that you have a positive body image (no matter what your size or shape is)!

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To learn more about workouts for children and teens or to have a personalize fitness program created for your child’s fitness goals browse through our fitness page by clicking here

Good Food Sources of Vitamins

By Jane Thurnell-Read

Some people are reluctant to take nutritional supplements and, even those who aren’t, need to get as many of their nutrients as they can from food. So here is a list of good dietary food sources of the different vitamins, but do remember that food storage and other factors will affect how much of a nutrient is in any particular food that you eat.

Vitamin A/ Retinol
Eggs, milk & dairy products, fish liver oil, carrots, parsley, spinach, broccoli.

Vitamin B1/ Thiamin
Wheat germ, yeast, liver, whole grains, brazil nuts, peanuts, soya flour, oatmeal, lentils, fish, poultry, beans, pork.

Vitamin B2 / Riboflavin
Fortified breakfast cereals, meat, eggs, almonds, blue cheese, mushrooms, green leafy vegetables, offal, nuts.

Vitamin B3 / Niacin/ Nicotinic Acid / Nicotinamide
Poultry, fish, peanuts, almonds, potatoes, yeast extract, hard cheese, haricot beans.

Vitamin B5 / Pantothenic Acid
Meat, whole grains, legumes, yeast.

Vitamin B6 / Pyridoxine
Fish, poultry, lean meat, whole grain cereals, walnuts, butterbeans, bananas, peanuts.

Vitamin B12 / Cyanoco-Balamin / Cobalamin
Eggs, oily fish, cheese, alfalfa sprouts.

Biotin (Classified as both Vitamin H/ and B Vitamin)
Yeast, eggs, milk, cheese, soya beans, peanuts, walnuts, beans, cauliflower.

Choline
Widely available in food.

Inositol
Widely available.

Folic Acid / Folate / Folacin
Green leafy vegetables, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, melons, pumpkins, peanuts, butter beans, carrots, egg yolk, apricots, avocado, tomatoes.

Vitamin C / Ascorbic Acid
Citrus fruit, nectarines, strawberries, melons, vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes. Most other fruits and vegetables contain some vitamin C.

Vitamin D / Calciferol
Oily fish, oysters, egg yolks, blue cheese, cream.

Vitamin E / Tocopherols
Vegetable oils, margarine, green vegetables, wheat germ, eggs, corn, nuts, seeds, olives.

Vitamin K
Green leafy vegetables, fruits, cereals, meat, soybeans.

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For more healthy food ideas, recipes and information please visit our Health Tips Page – http://www.celestialhealing.net/healthintro..htm

What Kind of Eater Are You?

by Alice Greene

There are so many different reasons why we struggle with food, and it isn’t black or white. Many of the reasons stem from what we’ve been told, the way we’ve been raised and the way we feel on a given day. It is liberating to know that the struggle isn’t just because we are bad when it comes to eating well.

In the book on Intuitive Eating, written by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, they recognized that there are many types of eaters, and most of us are dealing with a combination of these types. I have found this to be true in my own work, and I’ll start with the most common ones that I see with people. They are the chaotic eater, unconscious eater and emotional eater.

A chaotic eater

has no routine to their eating and has a tendency to skip meals, over schedule themselves and eat on the run. They really have no idea what they have just eaten or how much they’ve eaten. They just eat what is available and deal with food the next time it is available. They are completely out of touch with their eating habits and choices. Is this you? How can you be less chaotic this week?

An unconscious eater

is similar to a chaotic eater. They are not tuned into what or how much they are eating, because they eat while doing other things – like working, reading, talking, driving, watching TV or cooking. They will eat whatever is available and have no idea when they are hungry or if they have exceeded their fullness level. Are you conscious of your hunger or fullness levels? Try paying attention to them this week.

An emotional eater

uses food to cope with their feelings and they may not even realize they are doing this. What they do know is that they eat too much, often eating an entire package of something before they realize it. They are numb when they eat and feel powerless around food. Emotional eaters use food to avoid facing their feelings – even though they do not seem to feel anything. When was the last time you think you did this? Watch for emotional eating and see what you are feeling. The next two types are often linked to how we were raised. These are the waste-not and refuse-not eaters.

The waste-not eater

is someone who hates to see food go to waste and believes that it’s a deal to get lots of food for their money. They will overeat when food is in abundance because they hate to see it wasted. What they don’t realize is that by overeating it IS being wasted – literally. And it is going to cost them more money than they think they saved when their health is affected by overeating, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure and coronary artery disease. How often do you eat things for fear they will go to waste? The next time you feel this urge, consider the real cost.

The refuse-not eater

is a person that can’t refuse food. They can’t say no when someone invites them to have food or encourages them to have more food than they need or want. They feel they have to eat for fear of disappointing or hurting the other person. As a result, they give that person power over how much food they eat. Did you eat something you didn’t want over the holidays because you felt you needed to make someone else feel good? It is ok to say I’ve had enough, no thanks, or thank you but I’m full.

Then there are the restrictive eaters.

These are people that are always going on the next diet or that follow a restricted eating plan with vigilance. The chronic dieter is constantly trying the latest diet, striving to lose a specific amount of weight, and creating new good and bad food lists they try to adhere to, but in the end they vacillate between under eating, over eating and bingeing. The careful eater scrutinizes labels and foods, weighs and measures all their food, writes every morsel down and tracks every gram against their narrow and very specific daily goals. For them there is little pleasure in eating. This was me for many years. Are you restrictive and struggling to enjoy your food? To gain a healthy view of food you may want to try intuitive eating.

An intuitive eater

is conscious of their body’s hunger signals. They eat to feel satisfied. They don’t fear overeating – instead they trust themselves to eat exactly what they need and have no guilt about eating foods they enjoy. This type of eater is conscious of their food choices and tends to want foods that honor their health and are balanced to meet their physical requirements. How does this sound to you? People who try it say it is a way to achieve freedom with food while achieving healthy eating habits.

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To read more about healthy eating methods please visit Our Website – www.HealingPowerHour.com

10 Ways to Raise Food-Smart Kids

Want your children to eat healthy foods? Create a nutritional home. Begin here.
By Jennifer Warner

Creating a nutritional home is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure the health of your child. To start, make smart food choices, and help your child develop a positive relationship with healthy food. Your children will learn their food smarts from your example.

Here are the top 10 tips for getting children to eat healthy food, offered by Melinda Sothern, PhD, co-author of Trim Kids and director of the childhood obesity prevention laboratory at Louisiana State University:

1. Do not restrict food. Restricting food increases the risk your child may develop eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia later in life. It can also have a negative effect on growth and development.

2. Keep healthy food at hand. Children will eat what’s readily available. Keep fruit in a bowl on the counter, not buried in the crisper section of your fridge. And have an apple for your own snack. “Your actions scream louder than anything you will ever tell them,” says Sothern. Remember, your child can only choose foods that you stock in the house.

3. Don’t label foods as “good” or “bad.” Instead, tie foods to the things your child cares about, such as sports or appearance. Let your child know that lean protein such as turkey and calcium in dairy products give strength to their sports performance. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables add luster to skin and hair.

4. Praise healthy choices. Give your children a proud smile and tell them how smart they are when they choose healthy foods.

5. Don’t nag about unhealthy choices. When children choose unhealthy food, ignore it. Or if your child always wants fatty, fried food, redirect the choice. You might try roasting potato sticks in the oven (tossed in just a bit of oil) instead of buying french fries. Or, if your child wants candy, you might make fresh strawberries dipped in a little chocolate sauce. Too busy? Then keep naturally sweet dried fruit at home for quick snacks.

6. Never use food as a reward. This could create weight problems in later life. Instead, reward your children with something physical and fun — perhaps a trip to the park or a quick game of catch.

7. Sit down to family dinners at night. If this isn’t a tradition in your home, it should be. Research shows that children who eat dinners at the table with their parents have better nutrition and are less likely to get in serious trouble as teenagers. Start with one night a week, and then work up to three or four, to gradually build the habit.

8. Prepare plates in the kitchen. There you can put healthy portions of each item on everyone’s dinner plate. Your children will learn to recognize correct portion sizes. And you may find your slacks fit better as well!

9. Give the kids some control. Ask your children to take three bites of all the foods on their plate and give it a grade, such as A, B, C, D, or F. When healthy foods – especially certain vegetables — get high marks, serve them more often. Offer the items your children don’t like less frequently. This lets your children participate in decision making. After all, dining is a family affair.

10. Consult your health care provider. Always talk with your child’s doctor or nutritionist before putting your child on a diet, trying to help your child gain weight, or making any significant changes in the type of foods your child eats. Never diagnose your child as too heavy, or too thin, by yourself.

“It’s all about gradual changes, it’s not overnight, and it’s an uphill battle for parents,” says Sothern “Everything outside of the home is trying to make kids overweight. The minute they walk out of the home, there are people trying to make them eat too much and serving them too much.”

But the food smarts your children will learn from you can protect them for a lifetime.

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www.healingpowerhour.com

Food Arts – For Kids

Due to the popularity of last week’s Food Art blog entry,I decided to post some pictures of Food Art that consist of sandwiches for kids. ENJOY!

 

Sponge Bob Square Pants

 

Hungry Crocodile

 

Happy Caterpillar

 

Piano

 

Sad Sandwich

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