If you are a mom at home on a diet, you will probably related to a frequent situation I encounter as a weight loss consultant. Many of my clients with children are able to keep to a healthy eating plan through most circumstances except two. It all starts to go astray when the kids come home from school, or when they are preparing school lunches.

As parents, I think we can agree that when it comes to encouraging kids to make healthy choices, it’s not an easy task. So what’s a parent to do?

The role of exercise and play in a young child’s life provides them with many benefits. Exercise of the body is an important part of keeping the young body fit as it grows into an adult body. When we reach adulthood, if we have had the benefit of exercise and play, we tend to continue that habit into our adult years.

It’s no secret that many parents and their children are overweight. These 10 simple ‘secrets’ can help you change your family’s lifestyle so that you can all become fit and healthy.
1) Eat Whole Grain Foods
Processed and refined grains, such as white bread, white rice, cereal, pasta, and other foods made with white flour have a high glycemic index, low amounts of fiber, and less vitamins and minerals as foods made with whole grains. Making the switch to whole grain foods, including whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, and …

Creating a Healthy Home can be easier than you think.
Creating a nutritionally healthy 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:
1. Do not restrict food. Restricting food increases the risk your child may develop eating disorders such as anorexia or …

Here is a sure-fire list of diet dos and don’ts to help your family triumph over obesity:
1. Be a ‘healthy’ role model. The number one thing that parents can do is to be a good role model for their children, Parents so often unknowingly set their kids up for failure. If there are chips, cookies and Twinkies and no fruit or vegetables when your kids look for snacks, how can they succeed? Line your refrigerator and cabinets with fresh fruits, nuts, low-fat cheese, easy things for kids to …

Here is a list of the top 7 healthiest foods to feed your kid and why it’s so healthy:
1. Oatmeal: A fabulous breakfast food, full of B vitamins, iron, zinc and calcium. Old-fashioned oatmeal offers plenty of carbohydrate for quick energy and high fiber. Add berries and honey to make it a delicious perfect food for those fast-paced school day mornings!
2. Yogurt: Kick your child’s dairy consumption up a notch and include yogurt on the menu. A great source of calcium, yogurt is easier to digest than …

Try these 7 tips to foster optimism and resilience in your overweight child:
1) Believe in your Children. Assure your children that you are on their side and that you expect then to be the best person that they can be, although you don’t expect them to be the best at anything. No one is perfect.
2) Find other adults who believe in your children. Teachers, aunts, uncles, neighbors and friends can help you make a positive difference for you overweight child. Other adults that can see beyond …

1 Role Model –Your heath and weight directly effect your child’s health and weight. Children with just one overweight parent have a 25% risk of becoming an overweight or obese adult. If both parents are overweight the risk of becoming an overweight adult jumps to 50%.
2 Be Positive- No one enjoys receiving negative feedback. Talk to your child with compassion and encouragement. Instead of saying, ‘Lose weight’, say, ‘Let’s be healthy and start taking care of our bodies’. Focus on the foods you can eat, not …

Is stress affecting your weight loss battle?
Stress brought on by dieting is added to the personal and work life stresses that we face every day, often resulting in a “vicious cycle” of increased stress and increased food intake. People under stress tend to engage in self-defeating and unhealthy behaviors such as binge eating and there is strong biologic evidence that stressed-out people may tend to put on the pounds faster. “I’m stressed, therefore I eat.” Many people complain that they overeat in response to workplace or personal stress. If this …