Perfect Diet Book

Childhood Obesity

2007-01-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

Childhood Obesity

More and more children are now suffering from childhood obesity. This is now one of the main threats to children’s health.

In the United States around 16% of children and young adults are obese and in the United Kingdom it is rising by approximately 30% in recent years.

As children eat more and more junk food and get less and less exercise then childhood obesity will rise and rise until the majority of children and then adults are obese.

These children are becoming vulnerable to more and more diseases which children in the past didn’t have at the numbers that are being seen today. Heart disease and high blood pressure as well as stress and depression have become more and more of a problem as well as Type II diabetes.

The other thing that is shocking the world is that malnutrition is again becoming a problem in the West where it used to be a case in Third World Countries. As less and less children are eating a healthy diet, they become obese but also many of them suffer from malnutrition.

The only way out of this spiral of eating and disease is to stop today and take a stand to make childhood obesity a thing of the past. It is our responsibility to make sure our children are healthy and if we don’t know how then we need to educate ourselves. It is a gift we need to pass onto our children that they have the best start in life and continue that through their lives and pass onto the next generation.

You might think your obesity and your child’s obesity is a result of genetics. That might be true on one hand but think about it logically. If you are not eating a balanced diet and getting no exercise you will gain weight. Too many calories and too little exercise equals overweight. Now if your child eats the same foods and follows the same amount of exercise then don’t be surprised if they are also overweight. Yes genetics might be a problem but also if the same foods are being eaten then you need to make sure you change the whole families eating and exercise habits.

As a parent you are responsible for your children and not giving them a healthy diet and encouraging them to exercise is something you have to do. You will need to take the responsibility if your child has a heart attack by the age of 20 because of their diet and lack of exercise.

Be a responsible parent and take control of your families eating habits and exercise. Make changes today and see childhood obesity a thing of the past. Start with your family and it is time to start today.
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2006-11-11T22:22:00.000-08:00

Safeguarding Your Food

Every year, an estimated 7 million Americans suffer from cases
of foodborne illness. Some cases are violent and even result
in death. Of course this is commonly known as "food poisoning."
The culprit is food that has dangerously high levels of bacteria
due to improper cooking or handling.

Food safety is usually taken for granted by the buying public but
everyone's attention was recently directed to food poisoning
involving some meat that was undercooked. It was determined that
the problem never would have happened if the meat had been cooked
properly. E.Coli 0157.H7 is a potent virus, but it can be
completely destroyed when the meat is fully cooked.

It is important for consumers to take an all-around safety approach
to purchasing, storing and preparing both traditional and new meat
and poultry products. Ultimately, consumers and food handlers bear
the responsibility for keeping food safe once it leaves the store.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 85 percent
of foodborne illness cases could be avoided each year if consumers
would handle food properly. The most common foodborne illnesses
are caused by a combination of bacteria, naturally present in the
environment, and food handling mistakes. Ironically, these are
also the easiest types of foodborne illnesses to prevent. Proper
cooking or processing of raw meat and poultry kills bacteria that
can cause foodborne illness.

When you're out, grocery shop last, take food straight home to the
refrigerator. And never leave food in a hot car! Don't buy anything
you won't use before the use-by date. Don't buy food in poor
condition. Make sure refrigerated food is cold to the touch. Frozen
food should be rock-solid. Canned goods should be free of dents,
cracks or bulging lids which can indicate a serious food poisoning
threat.

The performance and maintenance of your refrigerator is of the
utmost importance. Check the temperature of your refrigerator with
an appliance thermometer. To keep bacteria in check, the refrigerator
should run at 40 degrees F; the freezer unit at 0 degrees F.
Generally, keep your refrigerator as cold as possible without
freezing your milk or lettuce.

When you prepare food, keep everything clean and thaw out any frozen
food you plan to prepare in your refrigerator. Take it out of the
freezer in advance and place it in the refrigerated section of your
refrigerator. Always wash your hands in hot soapy water before
preparing and handling any food as well as after you use the
bathroom, change diapers, handle pets, etc. Remember, too, that
bacteria can live in your kitchen towels, sponges and dish cloths.
Wash them often and replace the dish cloths and sponges you use
regularly every few weeks.

Be absolutely sure that you keep all raw meats, poultry and fish
and their juices away from other food. For instance, wash your
hands, your cutting board and knife in hot soapy water after
cutting up the chicken and before dicing salad ingredients. It is
best to use plastic cutting boards rather than wooden ones where
bacteria can hide in grooves. Don't take your food out of the
freezer and leave it on the kitchen counter to thaw. This is
extremely dangerous since the bacteria can grow in the outer layers
of the food before the inside thaws. It is wise to do your
marinating in the refrigerator too.
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6 everyday skills to help you lose weight

2006-07-31T20:59:00.000-07:00

1. RESEARCH - When you are looking for a new doctor, you gather information to help you find the best option. Use these research skills to learn more about healthy eating.
2.PREPARATION - When you have a deadline at work you plan ahead, so employ these organisational abilities to make sure you always have healthy food in the house and to juggle activites so you still have time to exercise.
3. DEALING WITH CHANGE - you've probably already coped with lots of different changes in your life, such as leaving home, getting married, having a baby. Even positive changes like these can feel scary and challenging, but what keeps us going is being committed to making these changes work. It is the same when it comes to losing weight. There might be times when you feel disheartened or veer off track, but if you're willing to make the necessary adjustments you'll pull through.
4. DELIGATION - at work you might have to train staff and this requires tact, patience and the ability to stand firm. Use this approach to delegate housework or shopping tasks to your children or partner so that you have more free time to exercise.
5. EMOTIONAL UNDERSTANDING AND STRENGTH - If your partner or friend is going through a difficult patch you do your best to give them advice and support they need. But it is also important to make time to understand yourself. Often we overeat because we're not in touch with our emotional needs. To identify problem times, keep a food and mood diary so you can identify situations that prompt you to overindulge and then learn which steps to take to avoid them.
6. MOTIVATION - sometimes it can even be difficult to find time for the things you want to do. For example if you are planning a holiday the chore of booking flights, organising passports and visas, vaccinations, and packing can be an effort. But you keep yourself motivated by thinking how great you'll feel when you get there. Use this tactic when it comes to losing weight. If you dread exercise, remind yourself how great you'll feel to be slim and healthy. And give yourself a pat on the back.
© Bev Clement - http://www.theperfectdietbook.com

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Cookies giving the wrong messages

2006-07-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

"I was at a friend's birthday party. There were dozens of people there: grandparents, friends, parents, children, teens, toddlers, babies, even a couple of dogs. My friend had her first child six months earlier. The baby was just learning to stand up. There she was, in the living room, surrounded by adults sitting on couches and chairs, all of them eating (of course), drinking, and laughing. She got up on her tiny legs....and immediately fell down, more frightened than hurt.

Understandably the little girl cried. And cried. Within twenty seconds her father ran over to her, and with the finesse of a tennis pro lobbing a brilliant serve, he lifted her up in one hand while simultaneously reaching for a cookie with the other.
The girl stopped crying. In this brief period she learned four things about life:-

* It's not okay to cry. Emotions are scary and best over with quickly.
* Any emotion, from pain to bliss, however short or however real, is something you should avoid.
* You should hide your powerful feelings in food rather than learn the appropriate - and healthier - response, which is to allow yourself to feel.
* In short, rather than feel your feelings , eat them.

Have a cookie and everything will be all right, was the message this little girl's father gave his daughter. But instead of giving her food he could have hugged her and smoothed her hair. Eventually the pain would have eased and she would have stopped crying. Instead, at six months old she had already learned to eat her feelings instead of feeling them. And just as swiftly the chemical hook was in place, those sparks of physiological cravings created by the blast of sugar - staying ignited long after this particular incident was over."

The question that come to mind is what were we taught about food as children, and what messages are we passing on to the next generation. Maybe we need to evaluate what we do and how we do it. We teach what we have been taught, but sometime we need to learn new things to teach others. You are here not only to lose weight but to learn about food and then in turn to teach your children, grandchildren. Someone has to break the cycle, and guess what that person is you.

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Food was the thing to love me back

2006-07-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

I have just read this, and I wonder how many of you can relate to this statement. Stop and think about it, you might be surprised at your reaction.

"FOOD WAS THE FIRST THING THAT LOVED ME BACK."

How easy it is to eat our feelings, well it is easier than having to deal with them. Food is love. Below the surface it is also hate - the self-loathing that enables us to focus on how "fat, ugly, disgusting and depressed" we feel so that we don't have to look at our own behaviours. What part we have played in being rejected, being a failure or not achieving our dreams. read more

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2006-07-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Here are three blogs that I have recently found and you should go and check them out.

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Are You Killing Your Children

2006-07-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

I expect many of you have already reacted with an Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I want to encourage you to read on and see what you do really affects your children and their children.

Are you obese or overweight? Do you know what that really means and how it will affect you? If you are obese you increase your rate of dying from an illness related to your weight goes from 7% to 75%. You are also teaching your children or grandchildren the same lessons you are following which led you to be obese or overweight.

Years ago I watched a programme on Oprah about anorexia in children. It was an amazing programme which really all adults who are on a diet should be made to watch. Why? Because it had many, many lessons to teach. One of the mother’s that was on the programme had asked if she could tell her story. Her 4 year old you read that correct, her 4 year old was already an anorexic. How did it happen? The simple answer was she copied her mother.

Her mother said she hadn’t realised how much notice her daughter had been taking of what she had been saying and doing with food. It is interesting to see that the mother was overweight not anorexic. The mother said she would say I can’t eat this or I have to avoid that food. She would say if I eat too much I will get fat. She went through the stages of anger when she jumped on the scale to find she had gained a pound. These are all the things a person dieting does and thinks.

But the little girl saw it differently, if mommy can’t eat that because it makes her fat then neither can I eat it. If mommy is sad because of her weight maybe she would be sad if I gained weight. If mommy thinks she is ugly because of her weight then I will be ugly if I gain weight. If people only love mommy when she is thin then they will only love me when I am thin.

Now on the other side we were watching a program from Australia which is trying to get people to lose weight. They have people who are obese and look at their current diet (eating habits) and fitness and then give them different tasks to do.

Recently they had a mother and son on the program. Both were obese, the son was 16. Both had to keep a food diary and it was interesting to see that both ended up with 90% of the diet coming from dairy. The father had no weight problem and didn’t eat dairy very much. He also exercised whereas mother and son didn’t. They didn’t even take the dog for a walk which is a great way to get exercise done. If you have a dog then you have zero excuse for not doing exercise. You dog needs exercise and so do you. Get out and walk with the dog.

A video diary was also made of both the mother and son and it was interesting to watch what they did. The son ate secretly and did some of the thing he had watched his mother do. Drinking the milk straight out of the container was one.

When the mother was shown the video she was shocked that her son was eating and doing what she had also been doing. She thought he only ate what she gave him to eat. She had no idea he had become a secret eater.

In tears the mother said she had taught her son really well. She had taught him all the bad habits she had with food. She had taught him how to eat in secret. She had taught him to eat mainly dairy and avoid fruit and vegetables. The only vegetables they ate were a lettuce a week between them and a couple of tomatoes were the only fruit. She said she had no idea he had been watching and had copied her. Indeed he had learnt his lessons well.

They might not have been good lessons but they were lessons all the same. Both had medical problems related to their diet. The son (remember he was 16) had high cholesterol and the doctor told him it was likely he would have a heart attack within 5 years as he was already showing signs of heart disease.

The lessons were literally killing her son. And the same is true for all overweight and obese people. Their children or grandchildren will watch and learn. You might think you are doing something in secret but the reality is that you have been found out. If you have medical problems then it is likely you will pass them onto your kids.

You might say your problems are genetic, I would say it is highly unlikely. Very few medical problems related to food are genetic. What is true is if your parents had heart problems, diabetes, high cholesterol, and certain cancers which were caused through eating the wrong diet then if you are following the same diet you will “of course” have the same medical issues. Then you kids if they follow will also have the same issues. It isn’t genetic but copying the same bad habits.

What happened to this mother and son? They changed their habits and were followed for 8 weeks. They were given an eating plan which meant they didn’t eat so much dairy, they ate smaller meals. They exercised. Both lost weight. The son ended with far lower cholesterol and the signs of heart disease were already reversed. He was no longer a candidate for a heart attack and that was in an 8 week period.

You see most of the medical conditions related to health are reversible. Give yourself and your child the gift of life by making good choices and see many of your medical problems starting to be reverse.

© Bev Clement – 2006 All Rights Reserved
http://www.theperfectdietbook.com

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Welcome

2006-07-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the perfect diet book. Here you can take the first steps into moving from obesity, overweight into the perfect weight.