Taking a Family Approach to Health and Weight Loss
5 mins read

Taking a Family Approach to Health and Weight Loss

As a Mom if you put an emphasis on health it will motivate your children to eat better and be more active. Your involvement is crucial, and even better, get the entire family on board, engaged and focused on health. It changes the focus from losing weight to choosing the right foods and being active to stay healthy. When everyone in the family gets involved, it demonstrates that eating the right foods isn’t just “a diet for losing weight”, but that it’s a way of being strong, committed to health and that it’s good for the entire family!

This approach also teaches a positive life lesson and shows our children that it’s not about short-term changes or quick solutions. It’s about the family being committed to making lifelong behavior changes. What a terrific way to highlight the positive while moving toward the goal of having a happier and healthier family.

Why is this so important right now? Look at these top reasons why you might want to consider a healthy eating program for you and your family:

  • One in three Americans now have prediabetes. More than 84% don’t even know they have it.
  • More than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese.
  • About 1 in 6 children and youth ages 2 to 19 are considered obese.
  • Covid 15 weight gain is very real. Many youth and adults are turning to carb-heavy foods for comfort.

Look at these real-life examples to get inspired and start making changes in your family:

A Mom and her teenage daughter chose the Keto lifestyle and it united them behind a GOAL and allowed them to cook and eat together, coach together and celebrate their victories together. This journey ultimately brought them closer, (Dad jumped in too) and the family is forever changed.

Mom (Gloria) was looking to lose weight and get healthy. Her daughter (Sophia 19) had gained 40 pounds while away at college. Sophia’s doctor had given her a stern warning about her weight and gave her a diagnosis of prediabetes. The topic of “weight” and “prediabetes” was something she refused to talk about.

She was reluctant but agreed to give Keto a try after meeting me knowing I’d coach them. She knew I’d be there every step of the way to guide her, support her and be a buffer if needed. Both Mom and daughter jumped in and flourished! A grand total of 75 pounds is gone between the two of them. Sophia is no longer prediabetic with a clean bill of health (she has a happy doctor too).
The heartfelt part of the story is way beyond Keto. It started with a focus on their diet, then a goal to get healthy but it ended up very different than anyone anticipated. It opened their communication and what was formerly a “forbidden subject” was now an easy and fun topic to talk about. They are happy, healthy and still very committed to maintaining their newfound lifestyle.

Educate and Empower Your Kids

Or, take Avi with two younger children Mayan (7) and Eitan (6). She started talking to them about sugar when they were very young. She made it a priority because their Father has Type 2 diabetes and her Father died from complications of diabetes.

This is a very serious subject for her, and she was motivated to educate her children. She explained to them that their Dad is sick from a disease caused by “too much sugar” and that the body is not meant to have lots of sugar. They learned at a young age about healthy eating and that candy or sugary treats are only for special occasions. Avi is now in the process of reading all labels looking for hidden sugars and processed ingredients and continuously making changes to their food choices so the entire family has a healthy eating approach. Her journey continues beyond her household as she is reaching out to Mom’s to help educate them on healthy food choices for their kids.

Food Matters

Think about ways to make changes in your home that will benefit your whole family. What we feed our children throughout their growing years has a huge impact on their health. What we parents eat matters as well.

A great place to start is with real food, whole ingredients, fewer processed items, less/no sugar, lots of water, lots of veg, and regular mealtimes.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey to better eating and a healthy family lifestyle! Let’s chat in the comments.

Sources

  • https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity
  • https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/prediabetes
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