whole family change?
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tessesimpkins8
Posts: 1 Member
As i am typing this i am trying to figure out how to help my whole family make healthier choices. I have 5 kids, all but 1 are considered Obese.
anyone do a family make over? the kids are 3 teens, and 2 children. Plus Dad and I.
I need to figure out how much food im suppose to be feeding them, i know im giving to much. and best ways to get them exercising.
help please!
anyone do a family make over? the kids are 3 teens, and 2 children. Plus Dad and I.
I need to figure out how much food im suppose to be feeding them, i know im giving to much. and best ways to get them exercising.
help please!
5
Replies
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Once I changed my habits and started going to the gym, it inspired my kids to start healthier habits. My second oldest son now lifts weights regularly and wants to get into sports medicine. My daughters (including the 4 year old) are all active in some capacity. The baby likes imitating me or her brother when we do home workouts. My youngest son plays sports (pre covid), now does running.
As far as food goes, no food is off limits in our house. Portion control is what my kids learned and we all have a healthy relationship with food.
So in short, start making changes for yourself and see how that goes for the household, instead of making sweeping changes that might come with resistance and resentment.13 -
Well, my family is just me and my husband, but he was also inspired to get healthier when I did it myself. He ended up losing 30 lbs without ever “dieting,” just by making healthier choices and being more active to keep me company.
One of the ways to regulate calorie intake in children is to feed them fewer processed foods, more fruits and more vegetables. Not too many kids get obese by overeating broccoli and strawberries, while it’s very easy to pack on the pounds with chips, cokes or juice, and waffles. Junk food is generally easier to grab and go, too. Have healthy food in the house ready to go, and avoid having junk food around. Sit down for healthy meals together. When they do eat calorie dense or junk food, emphasize portion control. Can you maybe talk to your pediatrician or find a guideline online for how much food is about right? I feel like telling hungry kids they can’t eat is setting them up for problems, but it’s hard if you are used to eating enough to support an obese body to learn to eat a normal amount of food.
This is a tricky time of year to become more active, since you can’t just kick ‘em outside in the cold and make them play out there instead of on devices, but being more active as a family is always good.4 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Well, my family is just me and my husband, but he was also inspired to get healthier when I did it myself. He ended up losing 30 lbs without ever “dieting,” just by making healthier choices and being more active to keep me company.
One of the ways to regulate calorie intake in children is to feed them fewer processed foods, more fruits and more vegetables. Not too many kids get obese by overeating broccoli and strawberries, while it’s very easy to pack on the pounds with chips, cokes or juice, and waffles. Junk food is generally easier to grab and go, too. Have healthy food in the house ready to go, and avoid having junk food around. Sit down for healthy meals together. When they do eat calorie dense or junk food, emphasize portion control. Can you maybe talk to your pediatrician or find a guideline online for how much food is about right? I feel like telling hungry kids they can’t eat is setting them up for problems, but it’s hard if you are used to eating enough to support an obese body to learn to eat a normal amount of food.
This is a tricky time of year to become more active, since you can’t just kick ‘em outside in the cold and make them play out there instead of on devices, but being more active as a family is always good.
Sure you can kick them outside - just bundle them up
I'll have to digitize a picture of me at about age 5, all bundled up and with red cheeks. Somewhat older, I loved to go sledding. Early teens, I went cross country skiing.
Here's my family outside yesterday (snow shoe tracks are me. These are old wooden shoes acquired for $5 at a yard sale.)
The first snow of the year is always fun to check out tracks and see who is sharing the woods with us.
No snow? I bundle up and walk in the woods.9 -
kshama2001 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Well, my family is just me and my husband, but he was also inspired to get healthier when I did it myself. He ended up losing 30 lbs without ever “dieting,” just by making healthier choices and being more active to keep me company.
One of the ways to regulate calorie intake in children is to feed them fewer processed foods, more fruits and more vegetables. Not too many kids get obese by overeating broccoli and strawberries, while it’s very easy to pack on the pounds with chips, cokes or juice, and waffles. Junk food is generally easier to grab and go, too. Have healthy food in the house ready to go, and avoid having junk food around. Sit down for healthy meals together. When they do eat calorie dense or junk food, emphasize portion control. Can you maybe talk to your pediatrician or find a guideline online for how much food is about right? I feel like telling hungry kids they can’t eat is setting them up for problems, but it’s hard if you are used to eating enough to support an obese body to learn to eat a normal amount of food.
This is a tricky time of year to become more active, since you can’t just kick ‘em outside in the cold and make them play out there instead of on devices, but being more active as a family is always good.
Sure you can kick them outside - just bundle them up
I'll have to digitize a picture of me at about age 5, all bundled up and with red cheeks. Somewhat older, I loved to go sledding. Early teens, I went cross country skiing.
Here's my family outside yesterday (snow shoe tracks are me. These are old wooden shoes acquired for $5 at a yard sale.)
The first snow of the year is always fun to check out tracks and see who is sharing the woods with us.
No snow? I bundle up and walk in the woods.
I'm impressed that you get your cat to walk on a leash that way, especially in the snow. I'm pretty sure my two little beasts would go nuts lol7 -
tessesimpkins8 wrote: »As i am typing this i am trying to figure out how to help my whole family make healthier choices. I have 5 kids, all but 1 are considered Obese.
anyone do a family make over? the kids are 3 teens, and 2 children. Plus Dad and I.
I need to figure out how much food im suppose to be feeding them, i know im giving to much. and best ways to get them exercising.
help please!
You might find the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate visual helpful.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/
My mother and brother essentially eat like this, although with more vegetables at dinner and fruit more as a snack or with breakfast. They do not struggle with their weight, and do not count calories.
They are also very active.
This will not work for everyone, but my mom is terribly inefficient. For example:
1. She heats with wood, which is quite a lot of work.
2. She does not have a clothes dryer so uses a clothes line and this time of year has to rotate clothes from the outdoor lines to the indoor lines or the rack that goes in front of the wood stove.
3. She does not have a dishwasher.
4. She cooks a lot of food from scratch.
5. She lives in a big old house that requires a lot of upkeep, and maintains extensive vegetable and flower gardens.
All this necessitates a lot of movement.
Now, I have no interest in heating with wood and have the option of a dishwasher and clothes dryer (I do use a clothes line in warmer weather because I like the way it makes the clothes smell.) So I do more intentional exercise: walking, snow shoeing, gardening, swimming, exercise DVDs, yoga, and if I were to do all my PT exercises plus my yoga warmups every day, that would be 75 minutes right there.3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Well, my family is just me and my husband, but he was also inspired to get healthier when I did it myself. He ended up losing 30 lbs without ever “dieting,” just by making healthier choices and being more active to keep me company.
One of the ways to regulate calorie intake in children is to feed them fewer processed foods, more fruits and more vegetables. Not too many kids get obese by overeating broccoli and strawberries, while it’s very easy to pack on the pounds with chips, cokes or juice, and waffles. Junk food is generally easier to grab and go, too. Have healthy food in the house ready to go, and avoid having junk food around. Sit down for healthy meals together. When they do eat calorie dense or junk food, emphasize portion control. Can you maybe talk to your pediatrician or find a guideline online for how much food is about right? I feel like telling hungry kids they can’t eat is setting them up for problems, but it’s hard if you are used to eating enough to support an obese body to learn to eat a normal amount of food.
This is a tricky time of year to become more active, since you can’t just kick ‘em outside in the cold and make them play out there instead of on devices, but being more active as a family is always good.
Sure you can kick them outside - just bundle them up
I'll have to digitize a picture of me at about age 5, all bundled up and with red cheeks. Somewhat older, I loved to go sledding. Early teens, I went cross country skiing.
Here's my family outside yesterday (snow shoe tracks are me. These are old wooden shoes acquired for $5 at a yard sale.)
The first snow of the year is always fun to check out tracks and see who is sharing the woods with us.
No snow? I bundle up and walk in the woods.
I tried that once with my cat because I thought he might be curious about snow. Who knew cats could fly?10 -
rheddmobile wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Well, my family is just me and my husband, but he was also inspired to get healthier when I did it myself. He ended up losing 30 lbs without ever “dieting,” just by making healthier choices and being more active to keep me company.
One of the ways to regulate calorie intake in children is to feed them fewer processed foods, more fruits and more vegetables. Not too many kids get obese by overeating broccoli and strawberries, while it’s very easy to pack on the pounds with chips, cokes or juice, and waffles. Junk food is generally easier to grab and go, too. Have healthy food in the house ready to go, and avoid having junk food around. Sit down for healthy meals together. When they do eat calorie dense or junk food, emphasize portion control. Can you maybe talk to your pediatrician or find a guideline online for how much food is about right? I feel like telling hungry kids they can’t eat is setting them up for problems, but it’s hard if you are used to eating enough to support an obese body to learn to eat a normal amount of food.
This is a tricky time of year to become more active, since you can’t just kick ‘em outside in the cold and make them play out there instead of on devices, but being more active as a family is always good.
Sure you can kick them outside - just bundle them up
I'll have to digitize a picture of me at about age 5, all bundled up and with red cheeks. Somewhat older, I loved to go sledding. Early teens, I went cross country skiing.
Here's my family outside yesterday (snow shoe tracks are me. These are old wooden shoes acquired for $5 at a yard sale.)
The first snow of the year is always fun to check out tracks and see who is sharing the woods with us.
No snow? I bundle up and walk in the woods.
I tried that once with my cat because I thought he might be curious about snow. Who knew cats could fly?
My cat is so funny. He does ask to go out when there's snow on the ground. Except he walks around the edge of the deck where there's no snow. If he does get his paws wet, he shakes them as he walks.
He would never walk on a leash though.1 -
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This is good on portion sizes. Everyone in our family eats the same, tiny to old. All meals fresh cooked, no package d sauces (but I also work ft so they have be quick) on weekends we eat like takeaway but home cooked. Like last night sweet and sour chicken and rice.0
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rheddmobile wrote: »Well, my family is just me and my husband, but he was also inspired to get healthier when I did it myself. He ended up losing 30 lbs without ever “dieting,” just by making healthier choices and being more active to keep me company.
One of the ways to regulate calorie intake in children is to feed them fewer processed foods, more fruits and more vegetables. Not too many kids get obese by overeating broccoli and strawberries, while it’s very easy to pack on the pounds with chips, cokes or juice, and waffles. Junk food is generally easier to grab and go, too. Have healthy food in the house ready to go, and avoid having junk food around. Sit down for healthy meals together. When they do eat calorie dense or junk food, emphasize portion control. Can you maybe talk to your pediatrician or find a guideline online for how much food is about right? I feel like telling hungry kids they can’t eat is setting them up for problems, but it’s hard if you are used to eating enough to support an obese body to learn to eat a normal amount of food.
This is a tricky time of year to become more active, since you can’t just kick ‘em outside in the cold and make them play out there instead of on devices, but being more active as a family is always good.
Why can't you? Build snow men, go sledging, skiing maybe? Snow ball fight? go into the woods and see the snow over vegetation? I was kicked out summer and winter. Ok, I did get a trauma from that because I had raynaud as a child already, and I preferred to read books and build stuff. But that's a different story. I did build a snow skateboard as a kid as my parents never allowed me to have a skateboard. Didn't know snowboards existed then, but anyway. That thing was cool!4 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Well, my family is just me and my husband, but he was also inspired to get healthier when I did it myself. He ended up losing 30 lbs without ever “dieting,” just by making healthier choices and being more active to keep me company.
One of the ways to regulate calorie intake in children is to feed them fewer processed foods, more fruits and more vegetables. Not too many kids get obese by overeating broccoli and strawberries, while it’s very easy to pack on the pounds with chips, cokes or juice, and waffles. Junk food is generally easier to grab and go, too. Have healthy food in the house ready to go, and avoid having junk food around. Sit down for healthy meals together. When they do eat calorie dense or junk food, emphasize portion control. Can you maybe talk to your pediatrician or find a guideline online for how much food is about right? I feel like telling hungry kids they can’t eat is setting them up for problems, but it’s hard if you are used to eating enough to support an obese body to learn to eat a normal amount of food.
This is a tricky time of year to become more active, since you can’t just kick ‘em outside in the cold and make them play out there instead of on devices, but being more active as a family is always good.
Why can't you? Build snow men, go sledging, skiing maybe? Snow ball fight? go into the woods and see the snow over vegetation? I was kicked out summer and winter. Ok, I did get a trauma from that because I had raynaud as a child already, and I preferred to read books and build stuff. But that's a different story. I did build a snow skateboard as a kid as my parents never allowed me to have a skateboard. Didn't know snowboards existed then, but anyway. That thing was cool!
See, you live in a place with nice winter weather! We don’t get snow here, just wet sleet, ice, wind and rain. You can’t really even walk comfortably in 34 degrees and raining with a 10 mph wind! Although I suck it up and run anyway, it’s no fun for anyone and I think would have the exact opposite effect of teaching a child to love outdoor activity.3 -
rheddmobile wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Well, my family is just me and my husband, but he was also inspired to get healthier when I did it myself. He ended up losing 30 lbs without ever “dieting,” just by making healthier choices and being more active to keep me company.
One of the ways to regulate calorie intake in children is to feed them fewer processed foods, more fruits and more vegetables. Not too many kids get obese by overeating broccoli and strawberries, while it’s very easy to pack on the pounds with chips, cokes or juice, and waffles. Junk food is generally easier to grab and go, too. Have healthy food in the house ready to go, and avoid having junk food around. Sit down for healthy meals together. When they do eat calorie dense or junk food, emphasize portion control. Can you maybe talk to your pediatrician or find a guideline online for how much food is about right? I feel like telling hungry kids they can’t eat is setting them up for problems, but it’s hard if you are used to eating enough to support an obese body to learn to eat a normal amount of food.
This is a tricky time of year to become more active, since you can’t just kick ‘em outside in the cold and make them play out there instead of on devices, but being more active as a family is always good.
Why can't you? Build snow men, go sledging, skiing maybe? Snow ball fight? go into the woods and see the snow over vegetation? I was kicked out summer and winter. Ok, I did get a trauma from that because I had raynaud as a child already, and I preferred to read books and build stuff. But that's a different story. I did build a snow skateboard as a kid as my parents never allowed me to have a skateboard. Didn't know snowboards existed then, but anyway. That thing was cool!
See, you live in a place with nice winter weather! We don’t get snow here, just wet sleet, ice, wind and rain. You can’t really even walk comfortably in 34 degrees and raining with a 10 mph wind! Although I suck it up and run anyway, it’s no fun for anyone and I think would have the exact opposite effect of teaching a child to love outdoor activity.
Looks like you describe the country I'm in now. Temperatures just above freezing at max, there might be rain, wind pretty much every day, the occasional nice day (like today). Kids still go outside to play. Well, would if we weren't in lockdown.3 -
I just thought I would give you some ideas that have worked for me. Maybe start with a meal you can control for some it may be breakfast, others dinner, then focus on making that your healthy meal, and then build from there.
Wow 5 kids, is lot of cooking. I had a breakfast schedule when my kids were in school, it was easier for me to know and make sure I had all ingredients. One recipe was cottage cheese pancakes-I would grind my oats, back then in my food processor, now use my blender.
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
100 g rolled oats
228 g cottage cheese
8 ounces eggs (4-5 eggs depending on egg size)
2 scoops protein powder
Blend oats until they are a meal/flour as fine as you can get. Add protein powder, cottage cheese and eggs, mix to well blended. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray, spread batter, 350 degree oven 10-15 minutes. Cut up to equal sizes. These freeze great and are good snacks.
My kids would have a fried egg with pancakes. The next day was a veggies and diced ham scramble. We had a smoothie day, oatmeal day. My son is convinced if he has a test, he needs to have salmon the night before and a healthy breakfast in the morning, I am happy to oblige.
If its dinner dinner, roasted veggies are my friend, and my son (known as the picky one), now loves roasted broccoli, asparagus, kale. I have a veggie chopper, which helps with cooking evenly, I mix all sorts of veggies chopped the same size all colors, back on the cookie sheet and roast at 350 again for 15-20 minutes. Fennel, turnips, beets, onions, cauliflower etc.(purple and sweet potato these take a little longer so put on separate sheets and start cooking first). You can sever roasted veggies with anything, great side dish, I just spray with olive oil and salt and pepper. Sometimes I will add a packet of stevia sprinkled on top adds a little sweet as you start to change there pallets. Williams Sonoma has an excellent ratatouille recipe on there website, wonderful side dish, I can also have for breakfast with egg and sausage.
.... Good Luck
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tessesimpkins8 wrote: »As i am typing this i am trying to figure out how to help my whole family make healthier choices. I have 5 kids, all but 1 are considered Obese.
anyone do a family make over? the kids are 3 teens, and 2 children. Plus Dad and I.
I need to figure out how much food im suppose to be feeding them, i know im giving to much. and best ways to get them exercising.
help please!
Food wise, you might want to just start with My Plate...basically the newish take on the food pyramid. I think if people actually followed it more closely, we'd be a lot better off.
In terms of exercise...family walks, family hikes, family bike rides, etc. Pre-COVID, my kids were pretty active...recess, PE, and both played competitive soccer and my oldest also did archery. With COVID, all of that has been shelved for the time being, so we've had to make efforts as a family to get out and be active. Left to their own devices...they would be on their devices all dang day. Summer was a lot easier because we could just kick them outside to go play in the pool or jump on the trampoline or I would take them down to the soccer fields and we'd just kick the ball around or throw the football around and run some plays. Winter has been a bit of a struggle...no pool and they've apparently become bored with the trampoline. The soccer fields have been taped off and closed since late October, so that's a no go too...basically we're down to going for walks and they ride their bikes while my wife and I walk...a far cry from their previous activity levels. I am really hoping their soccer league is a go this spring...they need that so bad, and both of them were about to level up to the premiere club for their respective age groups.3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »tessesimpkins8 wrote: »As i am typing this i am trying to figure out how to help my whole family make healthier choices. I have 5 kids, all but 1 are considered Obese.
anyone do a family make over? the kids are 3 teens, and 2 children. Plus Dad and I.
I need to figure out how much food im suppose to be feeding them, i know im giving to much. and best ways to get them exercising.
help please!
Food wise, you might want to just start with My Plate...basically the newish take on the food pyramid. I think if people actually followed it more closely, we'd be a lot better off.
Agree, on My Plate. Here is a sample intake for a 2400 calorie a day diet. This site gives similar information for various caloric need levels. Note My Plate does not include daily regular pop/energy drinks, cookies, candy, etc. If these are a part of the daily family diet it would be a quick win to severely limit them.
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/resources/MyPlatePlan
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I think the biggest problem with kids is snacking on high cal-low nutrition food. If you can replace those with healthier options, I think that's half the battle. Like someone else mentioned, kids don't usually get fat from eating too much broccoli.
When my three kids were young I worked full time but cooking and baking from scratch was just something that I felt was worthwhile. There are so many negative outside influences on your child's food choices (peers, media, school) and I just felt our home should be a place where they could get "real" food and so we rarely had meals that were takeout, processed, or drive-thru. Like most families who are paying a mortgage or rent, saving for their kids' education, trying to keep on top of the day to day expenses, etc, your money can only go so far. Are the areas where you spend your money encouraging your kids to have an active and healthy lifestyle? I know these COVID times have shut down a lot of activities, but as they say, there's no bad weather, just bad clothes. We spent a few years in a place with wet, dreary, winters, and several years in a place with snowy, crisp winters. My kids definitely spent more time outdoors in the colder place, sledding, building snow forts, and skating. Wet winters take more effort but our dog still needed to be walked and we'd always go for a family hike or walk on the weekends, even in the pouring rain.
As adults, two of my kids eat well and are very active, and one doesn't make the best food choices, but lifts weights. So I think, for the most part, it worked out okay for our family.2 -
Do the teenagers ever cook or meal plan? My brother and I were each responsible for planning and cooking one meal a week in our teen years. We could make anything we wanted provided it was "balanced" (e.g., followed 1970s/80s RDA guidelines for veggies, protein, and fats :-). It helped us learn to cook, a lot about nutrition and portion sizes, and also some real home economics because we had to put the ingredients on the shopping list and then figure out the cost per serving when mom brought home the grocery receipt.5
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The podcast Half Size Me discusses this in several episodes. You might check that out for ideas.0
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rosebarnalice wrote: »Do the teenagers ever cook or meal plan? My brother and I were each responsible for planning and cooking one meal a week in our teen years. We could make anything we wanted provided it was "balanced" (e.g., followed 1970s/80s RDA guidelines for veggies, protein, and fats :-). It helped us learn to cook, a lot about nutrition and portion sizes, and also some real home economics because we had to put the ingredients on the shopping list and then figure out the cost per serving when mom brought home the grocery receipt.
We did this too, and I think it was brilliant of my parents to do this. My brother and I left home knowing how to cook at least a few meals, which is such a valuable life skill!2
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