Five days a week, millions of Americans turn on Dr. Oz, the TV doctor who gives timely advice on almost any medical topic one can imagine.  On March 1^st his guest was Colleen Williams, a 31 year-old woman who weighs more than 700 lbs.  She shed tears as she told her story about growing up as an overweight child who became morbidly obese and graduated high school weighing more than 500 lbs.  Since high school she continued eating to reach her current weight.

Dr. Oz spoke to her mother, whose comments were so similar to those I hear all the time. She said, “Being overweight runs in our family; I feel responsible and guilty about Colleen.” At this point Colleen’s health is severely threatened by her obesity. Her mother also said, “I should have said no!”

The question that begs to be answered by Colleen’s Mom and other parents of overweight children is: why don’t they say no?  Why do they continue to bring the unhealthy high caloric foods into the house?  Why do they pack lunches with snacks full of empty calories and juice drinks full of sugar?  Why don’t they provide their children with healthy meals?

These are complex questions with complex answers. However, the power to say no to things that are unhealthy for your children is strong and simple.  The next time your kids ask to eat or drink something that is not healthy for them, just say no.

It is 8 PM and time to make the kids’ lunches for tomorrow. It is so tempting to tell them to buy their lunch at school, but that is a tough decision. There are some healthy choices in the school cafeterias, but will your child make one? If you pack their lunches, they probably will eat them and then you know exactly what was in them.

So here are some hints for making school lunch chores easier.

1.       Make a master menu for 4 weeks,  and rotate the weeks.

2.       Buy what you need in bulk; save money and time.

3.       Decide what each lunch will contain. For instance:

a. a drink such as water, Crystal Lite, Jammers

b. a sandwich made with regular or thin bread, fat-free turkey or another healthy meat

and/or low-fat cheese  of    choice

or

a. a container of low-fat yogurt

b.low-fat cheese and crackers,

c. if the school has a micro-wave oven, a container of soup

and

d. a piece of fruit

4.        If children are staying for an extended day,  then include a healthy snack such as low-fat yogurt, another fruit, pretzels, graham crackers, or cut-up vegetables.

Egg and tuna salad made with low-fat mayonnaise are also good lunch choices — but watch portion sizes. These can be sent for lunch with crackers or bread. Peanut butter with no sugar added jelly is still a healthy choice for a sandwich or snack when it is limited to the correct portion size.

Do you really have to include cookies and chips?

At That-A-Weigh Kids, our nutrition plans for kids give you the best food combinations and serving sizes to keep your children fit and trim for healthier lifestyles.

If You Don’t – Who Will?

Can you do it? Yes you can. If your child is overweight, you can make changes so he or she will be a healthy teen and adult. The odds are that overweight kids won’t be healthy adults. See  http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/071205/overweight-kids-often-become-obese-unhealthy-adults.htm

If they do not lose weight, they are at increased risk of certain medical and psychological conditions. Some of these conditions include: asthma, sleep apnea, diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart problems.  Dr. Wendy Sapolsky, medical director of That-a-Weigh Kids® said, “Obese children deal with self esteem issues as well as an increased incidence of depression. This affects their school performance and their interaction with their peers.” It is heartbreaking to watch a kid wait and be one of the last chosen to be on a team. It is harder still to watch an overweight youngster struggle to catch his breath doing a required run around his school track during P.E.

The good news for parents is that overweight kids can lose weight. Parents are the ones who can help them do it. Once everyone learns how to eat right, the whole family will be healthier and happier.

If you do not know what to do, please visit our website at That-a-Weigh Kids® and we will be glad to assist you.

I spoke to a courageous Mom a couple of days ago. Her beautiful autistic 6 year old daughter Savannah* weighs 88 lbs. She has been to doctors, and they cannot find a medical explanation for her weight. Her Mom Sherrie* wants her to be healthy and eat right, but it is a daily battle. Sherrie did not know how to start to help Savannah lose the weight and begin to live a healthier lifestyle. She found That-a-Weigh Kids® on the Internet and now feels that she has the tools to help her daughter. Our on-line program fits Sherrie’s schedule. Within a couple of days of registering , she contacted us via email for support, which we will continue to provide whenever she needs it.

Sherrie will have to work extra hard to help Savannah lose weight and not suffer the medical consequences of childhood obesity. But she is trying to do something about it. Today, she is my hero!

*Names changed to protect privacy.

Holidays are a wonderful opportunity to teach your children how to enjoy special treats and to make good choices.

Okay Mom and Dads, the holidays are upon us. The kids want to eat everything in sight. You know they shouldn’t do it; but it’s the holidays. What are you going to do? You can say we’ll start being “good” on January 1^st.

I have another suggestion.  Send your kids the right message. Don’t wait until January 1^st to start making some healthy changes in your holiday celebrations.  I am NOT suggesting any major changes, but I am saying doing something is better than doing nothing.  If your kids are 5 years old or older, discuss what you as a family can choose to do over the holidays to eat healthier.

All kids can learn to make choices about what they eat each day so they can plan for special events like parties and holidays. It is wonderful to see them learn how to make good choices. For many overweight children, when they are taught how to make good food choices, it is the first time they don’t feel guilty eating a cookie.  That-A-Weigh Kids is an online resources which helps teach children and teens how to make those choices.

I wish all of you a Happy Healthy Holiday.

Some suggestions:

A fresh fruit or veggie platter with a low fat or salsa dip

A box of sugar free popsicles for the kids

A trifle made with low fat brownies, non fat sugar free chocolate pudding, low fat cool whip, and strawberries

On July 12th the University of West Virginia announced  a new study of over 20,000 fifth graders that showed that 30% of them had high cholesterol http://http://www.health.wvu.edu/newsreleases/news-details.aspx?ID=1524. Under present guidelines, only 70% of these children would have been tested and thus many with high cholesterol would have been missed. The doctors who did the study, and others, are now calling for universal cholesterol testing for children. Currently it is only done on kids considered at risk for high cholesterol. Untreated high cholesterol can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, and diabetes. The question is: what will be done with the information the test provides?

Parents of children  with elevated cholesterol levels will be told to put them on a low fat diet and to have their kids exercise for 30 – 60 minutes a day. But, parents have been hearing this message  for the past 10 years. If that advice was taken, America would not be in the midst of a childhood obesity epidemic. Our experience at That-a-Weigh Kids tells us that many parents know that being overweight is unhealthy for their kids. Many of the parents that call us already know that their kids have high cholesterol. They still buy the chips, soda, and cookies, however, and feed their children foods that are high in fat. They know their kids are at risk for a shortened life span.  Dr. David S. Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston, said in a report in 2005 that,  "Obesity is such that this generation of children could be the first basically in the history of the United States to live less healthful and shorter lives than their parents."

Parents must be ready to choose a healthy lifestyle for their children, or else giving them  their children’s cholesterol numbers is a waste of time and money.

Parents  know if their children need a healthier  lifestyle. They and their kids must accept  the challenge to eat healthier.  That-a-Weigh Kids is ready to help  all along the way. Call us at (904)887-0393 or visit our website at www.thataweighkids.com.

Summertime comes and schedules changes. For many kids and teens that means lots of time to play, cook and eat healthy. For others it means more time in front of the TV, computer, snacking and not being very active. For almost all kids now is a time to make some healthy choices. For parents, it is an opportunity to help your kids and teens see the options available to them.

For the kids and teens that are fortunate enough to go to camps during the day, they will have many opportunities to exercise and eat right. It is up to the parents to check with the camp counselors to make certain that the kids are engaged in the activities at camp. Playing video games and just hanging out is not why you send them there.

During the summer there are some basics to remember. In addition to drinking 6-8 glasses of water every day, you need extra water if you are going to be outside playing in the heat. Drink a glass of water for every 15 minutes you are outside in the summer running around. This is the time to double up on activity. Kids don’t have homework and they have the time to ride their bikes, take a walk, run around the block, play in the hose and sprinklers, or navigate the obstacle course you made in your house or the backyard. They have time to jump rope for 20 minutes outside or inside depending on the weather. This is also a good time to teach them to make low calorie snacks like Yogurt Pops,™ or Fruit Smoothies™.

Hope you got it! To have a successful summer with your kids and teens you need to make sure they, “Eat Right, Play Hard, and Are Happy.”

We wish you a very Happy Summer.

The calendar says it is spring although in some parts of the country it still feels pretty cold. Regardless of the temperature however, at this time of the year we usually think about spring cleaning. Let me suggest that this year’s spring cleaning include eliminating any unhealthy foods in your homes. It is also a good time to try and change unhealthy family food behaviors. Send the food toxins in your environment running for cover!

If there are foods and snacks hidden in drawers and under beds, emancipate them. Give them to the food bank if they are unopened. If there are overweight kids or adults in your family who are limiting their food intake, help them by not having hidden foods for certain family members. Everyone in the family should be eating the same healthy food (except infants and toddlers). Prepackage healthy snacks in individual portions in your pantry or your refrigerator that everyone can eat.

Eat together when possible. Do not allow eating or snacking in your childrens’ rooms. Healthy eating is a family affair. Talk about it and do something about it. Spring into action today. You can help your overweight kids lose weight and learn a healthy lifestyle – now.

When you shop for your children’s clothes, you go to
the children’s department. When your child is sick, you
take them to a pediatrician, and if they need a plan to
lose weight, it needs to be one specifically for children.

Recently, I received a call from a Mom who told me how
great our program (That-a-Weigh Kids®) was. Her
teenager had been losing weight steadily and was learning
to make good choices for a healthy lifestyle now and in the
future. The Mom then went on to apologize that her
daughter wouldn’t be returning to That-a-Weigh Kids®
because she took her to another program that was geared
for adults but accepted kids. After all, school was starting
and Mom really wanted her daughter to lose 10 pounds in
4 weeks. The goal was pure weight loss, not having her child
learn how to make good food choices and how to lose
weight properly.

The truth is, what this child learned is that in the end
you do whatever you have to do to lose weight. How sad,
because she had lost weight by eating right, playing
hard (exercising) and was well on her way to being very
happy with herself without having to resort to shakes
and supplement bars.

You can give your child a wonderful gift by teaching
them the right way to manage their weight when they
are young. Supplements, shakes, vitamin shots and
fad diets send them the wrong message.

Michelle Obama was on Good Morning America today talking about the
importance of combating childhood obesity. For more than five years
this has been our mission at That-a-Weigh Kids®. Mrs. Obama talked
about the importance of parents having a conversation with their kids
about healthy eating and making small changes in their eating habits.

With a proven kid friendly meal plan, personalized goal weight plans,
and ongoing phone and email support, That-a-Weigh Kids®Kids Online
is a weight management program that provides parents with the tools
they need to have that conversation. As Mrs. Obama said, “Kids like
ice cream cake, burgers and fries.” However, they can be taught to
make healthy choices and to eat healthy snacks too. Mrs. Obama has
joined the fight on childhood obesity. Now is the time for all of
us to spread the word that there are resources to turn to such as
That-a-Weigh Kids®to help kids become healthy adults.