The article "Activity + Poor Food Choices = Non Healthy Lifestyle" is about fitness, it was created by Sue DeFiore.
One of the biggest misconceptions persons have today is what
constitutes a healthy lifestyle. Just cause you exercise does
not mean you are healthy.
I hear much too often, oh, I can eat
this cause then I will work 30 or 40 minuets on the treadmill,
jogging, walking, (fill in the blank with the exercise of
choice). NO, NO, NO! Once in a while transgressions are one
things, however, if you want to be healhty you need to eat
healthy and exercise, the two go hand in hand.
Now, guess about this, if you guess that way as an adult, what
are you teaching your babies. Yep, that's it OK to eat junk
food as long as you are active. Not only that, so many parents,
say well my kids eat all that stuff but don’t gain any weight,
so it is OK.
NO IT IS NOT!
While on the surface, you guess it
is, it is doing major damage to both yorus and your child’s
body. Think high blood pressure, cardiovsacular disease and
diabetes.
Remember folks the old adage “you are what you eat” applies
here. We all carry over what we learn in our childhood into our
lives as adults.
You are setting the foundation here for a
lifetime of bad eaitng for your child.
Do you really want to do
that? No, I don’t geuss so.
So you need to set an example and
start eating healthier and continue to be active. Right now the
majority of babies that are active are diong so through after
school or organized sports activities that interest them.
However, what happens when they get older, when these activities
are no longer a part of his/her life. You got it, sedentary
behavior cuase you didn’t provide the role model they needed
for a healthy lifestyle. You need to provide them with other
choices besides just sporting activities: walking, jogging,
riding, jumping rope, aerobics to name a couple of.
It is one of your responsibilities as a parent to teach your
children about healthy eating and the importance of activity not
only as a child but as they grow into adulthood. So you need to
be a good role model. We have discussed in other articles,
taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and walking from the
far end of the parking lot. Joining a gym or haivng exercise
equipment (bikes, trampolines, DVDs) in your home. One of the
cutest things is for a yonug child to watch their mom or dad
watching a video or working out on a piece of exercise equipment
and trying to emulate them.
What a extraordinary opportunity for you
to show them how to dance, jog, jump rope so they can do
something right along with you.
Next be sure you let them be active in the planning and
preparation of meals.
Let them give their input.
Take the time
to talk to them about the foods you are making and they are
eating. And please don’t tell me you don’t have the time, make
the time or in all honesty why did you have babies!
Yes, we want our babies to be active and involved. However,
one spuer caveat here is to limit the number of activities your
children get involved with.
Too many babies toady join
everything to please their parents and they are exhausted!
So be
realistic with their time just as you would be with yours. Be
sure to emphasize to your child that they don’t have to be
involved in everything.
Emphasis that if they do too much they
are going to make comrpomises in one or more activities and that
isn’t fair to that particular group. Talk to them about down
time. Be sure they know it is OK to rleax. We need balance in
our life and the only way to be sure we do is to do everything
in moderation and get that down time for ousrelves.
Relaxing
restores our balance which is so really important for healthy
living.
So let’s strat today to show our babies that Healthy Eating +
Activity = Healthy Lifestyle!
Copyright 2005, DeFiore Enterprises
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