Embracing healthy lifestyle for the whole family

Embracing healthy lifestyle for the whole family is the best thing you can do to your family. As for drugs, it all leads to destruction
Embracing healthy lifestyle for the whole family: Being a good role model
The best gift as a parent you can ever give to your children both socially and health wise is being focused in embracing healthy lifestyle for the whole family. More so to the children this is very important and doctor Dalal Akoury is advising on the adoption of the following points as guidelines in embracing healthy lifestyle for the whole family:
- Ensure your child’s diet is balanced and contains a variety of foods from all the five food groups.
- Encourage your children to eat a nutritious breakfast every day using foods allowable as healthy for consumption.
- Water is life and many children often shy away from drinking water. Doctor Akoury recommends that drinking plenty of water in place of processed soft drinks and other drinks rich in sugars.
- Be very mindful about what you say before children and especially comments touching on food. That is to say refrain from using negative language around less healthy foods such as bad or fattening. It’s not the type of food that’s bad because it’s the amount and how often the food is eaten that can be problematic. In place of such negative comments make reference to such foods as occasional or extra foods and keep portion sizes small.
- Have measures to control the quantities of such occasional or ‘extra’ foods consumed weakly and ensure that the whole family sticks to this rule and introduce more nutritious snacks where applicable.
- Your stock of food at home should be rich in a variety of healthy foods which are easily available from the market like whole fruit, whole grain crackers with slices of reduced-fat cheese, reduced-fat yoghurt or pre-sliced veggie sticks with hummus or reduced fat cream cheese.
- Discourage eating in front of the TV or computer as this is often done mindlessly without paying attention to hunger cues and can result in the consumption of unnecessary kilojoules (energy).
- As often as possible, eat together at the dinner table and turn off the TV, even if the whole family isn’t present.
- Be mindful and listen to hunger cues. Most children are great at eating to their hunger so let your child stop eating when they don’t want anymore. Kids will eat when they’re hungry regardless of the food on offer, so always have healthy options available.
- Children start to form food likes and dislikes from an early age, so always offer variety. This will not be very easy but with determination you will be able to get a break through on what your child likes the most, remember that giving up is not an option in this case. Never forget to present all foods in smaller portions but in a friendly and engaging way.
- Avoid using food as a reward or bribe, or holding back on foods as punishment. Use activities or trips to the park as alternatives.
Being physically active is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and must never be forgotten. Create time for your kids to play outside with them for at least an hour daily. Be a role model and make physical activity a family event by playing in the park or kicking a ball around.
Finally embracing healthy lifestyle will entail all that we have discussed and many more that you can get up on scheduling for an appointment with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of Doctor Akoury’s care.
Embracing healthy lifestyle for the whole family: Being a good role model
http://www.awaremednetwork.com/



