If your child is overweight and you are asking yourself-How can I help my obese child to lose weight and live a healthy life? You are not alone.
Millions of children today are grossly overweight or obese.
Bad eating habits start early and can last a lifetime.
Is it always wise to insist that your child clean their plate every time they sit down to eat? Will cleaning the plate lead to overeating and contribute to your child being overweight? Children are born with the natural ability to self regulate the amount of food they eat.
Ever notice a baby turning away from their mother's breast or bottle.
Overeating is a learned habit.
We have all seen this or experienced it ourselves.
It can take many forms.
•Clean your plate, there are starving children in the world.
•Clean your plate, I worked hard to make this food for you.
•Clean your plate or you will not get any dessert.
So the lesson is learned.
Eat to please your mother or father.
Eat because you will be responsible for the misfortune of others.
Eat to soothe your guilty conscience.
Eat and you will be rewarded with what, even more food.
Eating should be an enjoyable social activity.
Turn off the TV and talk, laugh a little and enjoy yourselves.
Mealtimes can be important in building strong bonds within your family.
It is a time you can learn more about your child and they can learn about you.
Eating should not be about guilt or discipline.
It is not harmless to eat too much healthy food and it is even worse to eat too much junk food.
Often kids will snack before a meal, ruining their appetites.
The answer to this is not to force them to then overeat at mealtime, but to either limit the snacks, or make the snacks part of their nutritious diet.
There is no problem with eating small quantities of food multiple times throughout the day.
Many believe this will keep your stomach size down, allowing you to feel full with less food.
Also, eating small amounts throughout the day can help keep your metabolic rate elevated to help burn more calories throughout the day.
Don't be in a hurry when you eat.
Slow down and enjoy the food and the good company.
If you eat too fast, you can pile in more food than you need before your body turns off its hungry sensors.