A healthier you is what you eat

Enough is enough. It’s time for a change in your lifestyle and to eat healthy.

Growing health problems and obesity are making many people think twice about how they live their lives.

However, there are ways to turn it around. Becoming more active and changing your diet are common sense ways to achieve this, but how and where to start are always key questions.

Everyone may dislike the label reader in the grocery store, but it may be time for everyone to start reading the side of the box as some food choices can be deceiving.

For instance, a spinach dip with tortilla chips may seem like the perfect healthy snack, but the regular brand tortilla chips contain a high amount of fat (usually around 11 percent) and calories (around 150) per serving. And the ready-made spinach dip contains a lot more cream cheese, sour cream and fat than actual spinach.

Setting rules about what everyone can eat is an important step in making sure the family eats right.
Children may not welcome the idea, but eating too much fast food has put them at greater risk for serious health problems.

“They are seeing signs of heart disease in children as young as three years old,” says nutritionist Anne Arsenault, author of Real Solution’s to Children’s Health. “And type-2 adult diabetes is growing at an alarming rate in children, so you want to take care of that before they get these diseases by eating properly.”

How do you get your family to participate if they are resistant?

“Even if the kids and husband don’t want to, and the mother does want to (eat healthy and exercise), leading by example would start to rub off on the rest of the family,” says Arsenault. “A mother should never give up on her quest to get her family healthy because when people are doing something together there is a positive energy, cheering each other on is very beneficial to good results.”

As important as eating properly is to any diet or weight-loss plan, so is exercise.

“People are not very good judges of how active they are,” says Sandra Martin, senior editor of Today’s Parent magazine.

Canada’s Physical Activity “Small changes that you can incorporate into your every day life, are what sticks,” she says. “Adding a walk together after dinner, to the park and playing with your kids for a half hour and then walking back home after dinner, helps get fit, you don’t have to run around the track.”

Guide recommends kids should aim for 16,500 steps per day and adults 10,000 steps per day, says Martin.

A fun way for children to become active is to join one of the many recreational sport leagues available, many at low cost. Aside from games, leagues organize practices to help players remain active and improve their skills. Parents can remain active while their children play. You can walk around the field or jog near by.

Other ways to keep your family active include: parking further away at the mall, taking the stairs over the elevator and waking up the family 20 minutes earlier and walking the kids to school.

What would a family have to gain from taking these steps?

“You would lose weight, feel better, sleep better, and be more energetic,” says Arsenault. “Mentally and emotionally when you are healthy, exercising, and eating properly, your brain function works at a higher level.”

With all the benefits, the change would definitely not hurt.