The following are some quick healthy-eating guidelines for your family. If you would like more information, there are many great websites available to the general public with comprehensive nutrition information, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dietetic Association, and MyPyramid.
Parental Responsibility
Your job as the parent is to set a good example for your children by serving nutritious meals and eating the same healthy food that you would like your child to eat. If your child sees you eating an apple, broccoli, or cup of yogurt, she will be more likely to do the same. Do not get into power struggles over food with your child. It is your responsibility to decide what food to eat and when to eat it, and it is up to your child to decide if she wants to eat it and how much.
Change Should Happen as a Family, not as an Individual
Healthy eating should be a way of life for the whole family. If one person is overweight, you should not single out that person and put him or her on a diet alone because not only will that have a detrimental effect on his self-esteem, it is also extremely difficult for anyone (child or adult) to stick to a healthy eating plan when he is faced with temptation not only at school or work but every single day in his own home. You cannot expect a child to have more willpower than an adult, so even if you are a healthy weight and buy chips or cookies for your own consumption, it is not fair to your child to keep that food within his reach with the expectation that he understands that he should not eat it even if you do.
Many people also often think that they are "punishing" others in the household by not buying soda or ice cream, but in reality, even if other family members do not need to lose weight, eating nutritious food will still give them health benefits that may not be visible from the outside. The only thing you are "depriving" them of is increased risk for a variety of conditions including obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
Eat Regular Meals Together as a Family
Try to eat at least one meal a day together as a family, and schedule meals to be at around the same time every day.
Breakfast is Important
No matter how rushed your family is in the morning, eating breakfast is something that you should make time for. It does not have to be a large, sit-down meal, and there are plenty of options for portable breakfast foods including drinkable yogurt, a plastic bag with cereal and dried fruit, or a piece of whole wheat bread with peanut butter.
People think not eating breakfast will help them lose weight but the opposite is actually true - when someone does not eat breakfast it slows down her metabolism and makes her more likely to increase snacking and make less healthy food choices in the afternoon. In addition, someone who did not eat breakfast will lack sufficient energy to get through the morning and therefore school or work performance suffers. People are often surprised by how they wind up losing weight and feeling better with a simple intervention like eating breakfast!
Watch Your Plate
The same exact amount of food looks like more when served on a smaller plate than on a bigger one. Try switching to salad plates instead of large dinner plates and you will probably find that you eat less. In addition, you should try to serve food in the following proportions (imagine the portions like pieces of a pie): 1/4 of the plate should be protein, 1/4 should be carbohydrates, and 1/2 should be vegetables and fruits.
Eat Five Fruits and Vegetables a Day
Your goal should be for you and your children to have 5 servings of a combination of fruits and vegetables every day. Aiming for a wide range of colors will ensure that you are serving and eating a variety of vitamins and minerals and will also make the plate more visually appealing and the food more appetizing. Juice (see below) should only count for one serving of fruit a day.
Eat Three Servings of Calcium a Day
Encourage your child to drink or eat three servings of calcium-rich foods (milk, cheese, and yogurt) every day. Teenagers should have four servings a day. In general, unless your child is underweight or has other health problems, all adults and children over the age of 2 should drink skim milk and eat fat-free or low-fat yogurt. If you have any questions about whether skim milk is the right choice for your child, you should talk to your pediatrician.
Eat More Fiber and Whole Grains
Try to eat more whole grain products such as brown rice, whole grain pasta, and whole wheat bread. Eat fruits and vegetables with the skin when appropriate.
A Common Myth: "It's 100% Juice so it Must be Healthy!"
Juice should be limited to no more than 4-6 ounces a day for children 6 and under and no more than 8-12 ounces a day for everybody else. Even if it is 100% juice, it has a surprising amount of sugar and calories. Did you know one cup of orange juice is equivalent to eating 5 oranges? Try comparing labels - a cup of orange juice has just as much sugar and as many calories as the same amount of regular soda. In addition, when fruit is made into juice, the fiber contents of the original fruit is taken away, which not only diminishes the health benefits that whole fruits have on digestion, but juice is less filling than the equivalent amount of whole fruit and therefore you are likely to drink more of it. Another important point is that when you drink juice instead of eating fruit, the sugar without the fiber is absorbed much more quickly and requires your body to produce more insulin to keep your blood sugar in check.
Soda Should be a Special Treat
No matter what your age, soda should not be consumed on a daily basis as it has no health benefits. In addition, it may contribute to calcium loss from the bones and is a risk factor for obesity.
Fast Food
Fast food should be eaten no more than once a week (this includes not only fast food at lunch or dinner, but also stopping for a "snack" while running errands!). In addition, if you do go to a fast food restaurant, choose the small size over the large size (for the main dish, fries, and drink), get the grilled version instead of the fried version, and drink water rather than soda!
If you have any questions or would like more information, please look at one of the recommended websites or call your pediatrician.
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