Puberty Belly Fat. Healthy Food Swaps to Burn Tummy Bulge

I've lost 97 pounds and dropped from size 20 to size 3/ 4. (Left photo is then, right photo is now). Belly fat has always been my nemesis--being apple-shaped.

Parents, is your once-slim tot sprouting a belly in puberty? Don't worry too much, if he's active and mostly eating right, it'll trim down in adolescence. But if you have family history of obesity, or if that belly is staying past 15-16, it's time to tone it. Here are healthy food swaps to help everyone from a menopausal 50-year old like me to a preteen, burn belly fat. These are healthy diet tweaks, not crash dieting. Don't, for heaven's sake, put your child on a too-restrictive diet. He needs to eat a lot while growing. The trick? Avoid saturated fat, highly-inflammatory food, sugary, salty and bloating foods. Then boost MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids), metabolism-boosters, omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, fermented foods, vitamin C. Here's an A-Z guide of foods that add and subtract to tummy bulge.  Belly Fat or Flat, Foods That Boost and Burn Stomach Bulge

Dinner Tweaks to Help Overweight Kids

The holiday season is notoriously the most difficult time to be on a diet. I can follow my weight loss plan just fine until mid-November. When the stores start touting Thanksgiving and Christmas treats, my resolution dims. For overweight kids, the holidays are especially difficult to navigate. Here are dinner tweaks to help your child stay the course and still enjoy the feasting. Use these food swaps for any dinner time meal preparation. Kids won't even notice the difference! Food Swaps to Help Fat Kids Diet

How to Choose Clothes for Overweight Girls

When I was eight years old, back in 1972, I was put on a diet by a doctor. I weighed 100 pounds. I heard all the fat girl names from' schoolmates, 'tubby' 'whale-o' 'blubber' , plus even some that were probably original. I will say this for 70's kids, they took some pains to be creative in their name -calling: 'lardo': pretty inventive for the oleo-margarine generation. From those early experiences, I developed a nasty case of low self-esteem. I decided that my kids were going to have it better, whether they were thin or fat. I can't fix kids' behavior, but I can do everything possible to reduce stress. One way is by choosing clothes that make kids feel good about themselves. Here's a guide I put together for parents to do that   How to Choose Clothes for Overweight Girls

Parenting Overweight Kids and Maintaining Healthy Weight-- Don't Let Them Get Too Hungry

This article gives tips for parenting kids with eating disorders, obesity or weight problems. It also helps moms and dads maintain good nutrition habits. One of the biggest mistakes dieters (and parents) make is to lets themselves (or their kids) get too hungry. Either by intentional fasting or simply by not taking time to eat, being over hungry is a diet and weight loss disaster. Eat small meals regularly. When the body is not given enough fuel to sustain activity, the blood sugar level drops. Tiredness, lethargy, confusion and extreme hunger take over.  Diet and Weight Loss Tips: Don't Let Yourself Get Too Hungry

Exergaming, Yoga Good Fitness, Exercise for Obese Teen Girls

A new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics finds that obese teen girls respond positively to medical weight loss interventions and health education from their doctors and in clinical settings. Here is information for parents about study findings. I'm loving the emphasis on interactiver exergaming. Instead of fighting with kids to exercise and not play video games, this presents the perfect compromise. Read more at Obese Teen Girls Respond Well to Diet, Exercise Intervention

American Heart Association Tips for Parents to Combat Childhood Obesity

Parents Are Key in Helping Obese Kids Lose Weight, AHA Says The key to combating juvenile obesity lies with parents, the American Heart Association says. Amid concerns about school nutrition, junk food in school vending machines and other external sources of obesity, the AHA says parents are the primary gatekeeper for weight loss and kids. The AHA released a scientific statement in its most recent issue of "Circulation" journal. Here are tips for parents to curb weight problems in kids, based on that report. Read on...

How to Parent an Obese Child

How This Mom Would Help an Obese Child Lose Weight and Be Healthy In Cleveland Heights, Ohio, an 8-year-old child was taken from his mother's home and placed in foster care. Why? He weighs over 200 pounds. Mom is being charged with medical neglect, for not making him diet. Despite having access to more community support networks than his mother, the foster family isn't finding it so easy to get his weight down either.

Obesity isn't a simple matter, as they are finding. It's not just nutrition and exercise that determine a child's weight. Some kids can live on junk food and never gain weight. Other children, no matter how well they are fed, will go through a pudgy stage. Genetic makeup, breastfed or bottle, family poverty, intellectual stimulation, puberty, depression and emotional issues, thyroid problems, Prader-Willi Syndrome all these factors and more can affect a child's weight. If I was a parent, these are the steps I would take to care for this obese child. I know what it's like to be the overweight kid. I also know what it's like to parent a child who struggles with weight problems and a child with an eating disorder. So many factors enter into the equation. The important thing is to address the emotional health issues, provide good nutrition and fitness opportunities and let puberty take its course. Read on...

No More Free Toys for Happy Meals Without Healthy Choices

Free McDonald's Happy Meal Toys Illegal in California; New Measure to Make Kids Eat Healthy
McDonald's has been including free toys in Happy Meals for several decades, but now according to California law McDonald's can only give free toys with healthy choice meals. The measure in intended to encourage healthy eating and reduce childhood obesity.
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