William Penn Life, 2007 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-09-01 / 9. szám
Make the new health behavior easy for them. Put a bowl of washed fruit, such as grapes or apples, on the table. It's easy if they can just grab the fruit for a snack without thinking! Cut up broccoli, carrots and celery, and have a low fat dip available. Limit foods high in fat and sugar in the house. Use the Nutrition Facts label to find foods lower in calories, fat, and sugar. This will help everyone in the house eat fewer of these foods. Make available plenty of healthy foods for them to choose, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk products. Emphasize the benefits. The apparent benefits of making nutritious food choices and increasing physical activity will be different for you and your children. Children probably won't care that a nutritious diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables can help prevent certain diseases, or that being physically fit can reduce the risk of heart disease later in life. However, they are likely to care about growing tall and strong, being attractive or being good at sports. Helping them make connections between their lifestyle choices and benefits that are meaningful to them may help them try new things. Create opportunities for active family time together. Plan fun things for your family to do together, such as play in the park, walk through the zoo, tour some local sites, hike, swim, or ride bikes. Healthy Weight for Life Maintaining a healthy weight for life is a great goal to set. Keep these simple tips in mind to help you and your family achieve this goal. You will also feel great about making positive changes to your eating, physical activity and television time habits. Make a commitment. You need to make a commitment to yourself and your family to eat nutritious foods, get regular physical activity, and reduce recreational television time. Create a support network. It helps to have a network of family, friends and colleagues who will support you in your new lifestyle habits. Families HealthPage can serve healthy meals for gatherings and your friends can limit drinks with added sugar. You can also limit TV watching time when your children are playing together. At work, go on short power walks with colleagues and talk to co-workers about making healthier choices at the cafeteria or vending machine. Let as many people as possible know what your goals are and, hopefully, they will not only support you, but join you! Set realistic goals. The best goals are specific, attainable, and forgiving (not perfect). "Eat three servings of fruit a day" is a better goal than "eat more fruit." Track progress. Tracking progress can help you and your family feel good about your successes and can show you where you may need to make some changes if everyone is not meeting their goals. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) offers several useful tracking tools on its website which you can download for your own use. See the "Health Links" box on where to find these. Be ready. Having a list of ideas for eating well and moving more will help your family stay in energy balance. The NHLBI's website also offers a list of "Everyday Tips" for great ideas for you and your family, some of which appear on this page. Learn how to handle setbacks. Expect them. Setbacks usually happen to those who are overconfident and say, "It won't happen to me!" Being committed, setting realistic goals, and being prepared with alternative ideas will help you handle "slacker moments" with good cheer and a "let's keep going" attitude. Reward yourself. One way to help you and your family stay motivated is to regularly reward yourselves. Choose non-food rewards as much as possible. A day at the local lake or beach, or a trip to the park to ride bicycles, roller blade, or fly a kite are family friendly rewards. You also can buy the family gifts to help them stay physically active, such as new workout shoes or clothes, a ball, racket, or other piece of sports or active play equipment. Tips for Energy Balance Everyday Eating Well (Energy IN) • Drink water before a meal. • Share dessert, or choose fruit instead. • Serve food portions no larger than your fist • Eat off smaller plates. • Don’t eat late at night • Skip buffets. • Grill, steam, or bake instead of frying. • Share an entree with a family member or friend. • Eat before grocery shopping. • Choose a checkout line without a candy display. • Make a grocery list before you shop. • Serve water or low-fat milk at meals instead of soda or sugary drinks. • Flavor foods with herbs, spices, low-fat seasonings. • Keep to a regular eating schedule. Eat together as a family most days of the week. Moving More (Energy OUT) • Walk your children to school. • Do sit-ups in front of the TV. • Challenge your children to see who can do the most sit-ups in one minute. • Walk instead of drive whenever you can. • Take a family walk after dinner. • Join an exercise group and enroll your children in community sports teams or lessons. • Replace Sunday drive with Sunday walk. • Do yard work. • Get your children to help rake, weed, plant, etc. • Get off the bus a stop early and walk. • Work around the house. • Ask your children for help doing active chores. • Take the dog to the park. For more tips, visit the website of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. William Penn Life, September 2007 7
