Most of us create resolutions at the beginning of a new year. After all, it’s a great time to make behavior changes and start off the year with healthier habits than you left behind the year before. Many resolutions are unkept because they are too ambitious and cannot be adhered to after the first week.
Here are 5 simple ways to a healthier 2016:
Eat breakfast – This seems simple, right? Many people think skipping this all-important meal will help in weight loss goals, however, getting your day started with a healthy breakfast is the best thing for you.
Ease into exercise – Start out with smaller goals such as taking a walk after dinner, or a quick run with the dog before or after work and then work up to more intense exercise sessions.
Find a workout partner – It is easier to stay committed when you have someone keeping you accountable. If you know your best friend is going to be waiting for you at the gym, you are more likely to go!
Cook with simple swaps – Try healthier versions of your favorite dishes by substituting lower-fat alternatives! Turkey sausage, low-fat cheese, and greek yogurt are a few examples of some tasty swaps! Check out some of our favorite healthy ingredient substitutions.
Engage with family – There is nothing better than spending quality time with family except for fitting in physical activity while bonding! Take a family walk or weekend hike and you will see how good it feels for the entire family to be healthy!
While we’re talking about simple ways to a healthier 2016, if you haven’t come up with your new year’s resolutions yet, download this resolutions worksheet for you and your kids. Make it fun, and make sure to be creative, yet realistic.
Remember, slow and steady wins the race! It’s the small things that can make a big difference, so commit to a healthy 2016 now!
What resolutions do you hope to accomplish this year?
We all know how easy it is to overindulge during the holiday season. There are plenty of office parties and family gatherings to attend and so it’s important to make sure you are making the most healthy decisions that you can in order to make sure you don’t get to January and wonder what happened. To help out, we are sharing a few simple portion control tips to make it easier during these fun events.
First, here are portion control tips for a healthier holiday:
Tip 1: Eat Breakfast
It sounds simple, but eating a healthy breakfast is a great way to start off your day before heading to a holiday party or eating a holiday meal. You won’t be starving by the time the party starts. “Saving up” for a big meal usually leads to overeating!
Tip 2: Savor the Meal
Eat slowly! Holiday meals are times when we tend to indulge in more than one helping. Rather than going for seconds or thirds, eat slowly and leave the table feeling comfortable.
Tip 3: Check the label
Portion size differs from serving size. For example, a snack size bag of pretzels may contain up to 4 servings, so you’d need to quadruple the nutrition information on the label to see how much you are eating! Especially around the holidays when travel is more frequent, be sure to check the labels on prepackaged snack foods to avoid overeating.
Next, watch as the Pirates of the Carrot and Bean teach kids about healthy portions:
Now, make sure and download this fun activity sheet kids:
Here’s to keeping the portions small over the holidays!
Practice portion control all month long as we round out our series tracking healthy behaviors for an entire month (and hopefully beyond). With all of the holiday parties and gatherings that will take place this month, you and the kids will be tempted by lots of tasty foods. Try taking just a little sample of the not-so-healthy items so you will be less likely to overindulge. Sometimes all we need is a little taste! As another little tip, try loading up on some fruits and veggies before you head out to a holiday party so you aren’t as hungry going in. You can help teach kids about the importance of portion control with the help of this free calendar. So make sure to download and print your December Behavior Tracking Sheet and use in your home or other setting to encourage and track behavior change.
Watch as The Pirates of the Carrot and Bean practice portion control … Argh!
Here’s to eating healthy portions all month long and beyond!
Two weeks ago, my in-laws visited for the weekend. It was a fun weekend full of activities, good food, and lots of giggles from my kids who absolutely love anytime they can get with their grandparents. But between those giggles were a lot of questions from my 4 year-old and 7 year-old, asking about the medicine Grandma and Grandpa had to take with each meal (both of them are insulin dependent Type-2 diabetics).
It can be difficult to explain diabetes to young children because they tend to focus on what’s wrong, not on how much we have in common. What seemed to help my kids, as they desperately wanted to know what was going on with Grandma and Grandpa, was a simple explanation about how they need help (insulin) for their body to use energy (food). Oversimplified, yes. Did it do the job? I think so.
With obesity still on the rise, more children, and therefore, more of their friends, are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. As a result, for the first time as a family, we are observing American Diabetes Month and International Diabetes Day. It gives us the opportunity to talk openly about diabetes, what it means for their friends and family, and how they might be able to help. It’s also a really great opportunity to explain that we have more in common than not with those with diabetes. We all need to focus on how we can eat better, move more, and in general, take better care of our bodies.
Tomorrow, while we’re enjoying our Saturday (which also happens to be International Diabetes Day), we’re going to build and then participate in a mini backyard Olympics and cook a healthy family dinner together. Yes, these are everyday healthy activities, but that’s what this day and month is all about. We need to help our children better understand that a healthy lifestyle, where they move more and eat better, can be the fun and easy choice. When it becomes a regular part of their lifestyle, their chance of developing Type 2 diabetes is decreased.
We’ll also talk more about Grandma and Grandpa, and how we might be able to help them as they try to be their healthiest while they are taking medicine (insulin) to keep them healthy. We’ll discuss how similar they are to us and how some of the things we like to do may be good activities to do with Grandma and Grandpa next time we see them.
I hope you take a few minutes out of your day tomorrow to help your family move more and eat better. Congratulations, you’re raising diabetes awareness and officially participating in International Diabetes Day and American Diabetes Month.
Today we feature OWG guest blogger and childhood obesity consultant, Melodie Griffin. Melodie’s passion lies in the prevention of childhood obesity through the school and early learning settings. All programs Melodie promotes are fully approved by her home based lab rats, five year old son, Howie, and two year old daughter, Hope. You can connect with Melodie on her Facebook page, WellConnect LLC.
When it comes to eating healthy meals, our first choice is to plan ahead and cook at home so you can ensure you’re cooking with healthy ingredients. However, we realize that families are constantly on the go, so we want to offer recommendations for healthier options at popular restaurants. Food selections for kids tend to be limited, so we’re focusing on the best choices that children are most likely to eat and enjoy.
Subway is a great choice for healthy options. It’s the first fast food restaurant to have meals certified by the American Heart Association! Look for the Heart-Check logo next to items on the menu that meet their health standards. It’s also the only fast food restaurant recognized by the Partnership for a Healthier America for the kid’s meals, which encourage kids to add lots of veggies to their subs. Today we are featuring these Fresh Fit for Kids Meals as smart choices for youngsters.
Here is the Subway Nutrition Guide: Best Choices for Kids:
Veggie Delite Kid’s Meal – If your child is a veggie lover, let them select their favorites and pile them up on freshly baked bread. Choosing the wheat bread over the white bread is a good decision. A bag of apples and some low-fat milk finish off this healthy offering.
Nutrition info:
Serving Size: Based on a regular 4″ sub
Calories: 150
Total Fat: 1.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Carbohydrates: 29 g
Protein: 6 g
Sodium: 190 mg
Black Forest Ham Kid’s Meal – Kids will enjoy this Black Forest ham sandwich loaded up with colorful veggies served on freshly baked bread. Choosing the wheat bread over the white bread makes it an even healthier choice. A bag of apples and some low-fat milk complete the delicous meal.
Nutrition info:
Serving Size: Based on a regular 4″ sub
Calories: 180
Total Fat: 2.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Carbohydrates: 30 g
Protein: 10 g
Sodium: 450 mg
Turkey Breast Kid’s Meal-Have your turkey-lover select their favorite veggies to top off their tasty sandwich on wheat instead of white bread. Complete the healthy meal with a bag of apples and some low-fat milk.
Nutrition info:
Serving Size: Based on a regular 4″ sub
Calories: 180
Total Fat: 2 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Carbohydrates: 30 g
Protein: 10 g
Sodium: 380 mg
Roast Beef Kid’s Meal – If your child has a taste for roast beef, encourage them to add lots of fresh veggies and to choose the wheat bread over the white bread. Again, add a bag of apples and some low-fat milk to complete the meal.
Nutrition info:
Serving Size: Based on a regular 4″ sub
Calories: 200
Total Fat: 3 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Carbohydrates: 30 g
Protein: 14 g
Sodium: 390 mg
In addition to the nutrition information shared above, the Subway website offers healthy ideas for the classroom and home. Also make sure to check out the complete Subway Menu and Nutrition Guide to see the healthy options that are available to you.
Looking for simple, healthy recipes to make at home? Check out our weekly recipes shared every Wednesday. Make sure to check back each week for more healthy ideas!
Today we feature OWG guest blogger and childhood obesity consultant, Melodie Griffin. Melodie’s passion lies in the prevention of childhood obesity through the school and early learning settings. All programs Melodie promotes are fully approved by her home based lab rats, five year old son, Howie, and two year old daughter, Hope. You can connect with Melodie on her Facebook page, 
