Kids and nutrition

Today I feel like are kids have become targets for the media selling crap food at a high price. And I'm not talking strictly monetary, but their lives in the end. They are obese by the age of 13 and subject to humility, although the public in general is becoming obese which in the end will be the norm.
There are two major challenges. One, our school system is set up to operate self-supporting lunch programs, which means they must "sell" food to kids in order to supply lunches in the long term. Because kids aren't standing in line to buy nutrient dense salads, the schools are almost forced to sell the fast foods the kids have become conditioned to opt for. A single Burger King meal(double whopper w/cheese, large fries, chocolate shake) contains as many calories as most children will burn in a day! The schools actually contribute to the association between "meal" and "junk."

A study conducted by Agricultural Research Services and Harvard University scientists showed U.S. children who ate fast food, compared with those who did not, consumed more total calories, more calories per gram of food, more fat, more refined carbohydrates, and more sugar. They also ate less fiber, fewer antioxidants, and fewer valuable micro nutrients. Childhood intake of fast foods increased five fold since the 1970's.

The second challenge is the marketing of sugar and caffeine, both addictive. Mountain Dew sponsors "Extreme Sports" and skateboard competitions. They sell their new "Amp" product, which is sugar and caffeine, to kids creating an early addiction and a long term struggle with managing blood sugar. There's a new line of candy called "Wired Candy" geared toward children. The new sports drinks are loaded with sugar and caffeine.

I've conducted seminars where teachers and parents asked "is caffeine really bad?" "Bad" is a relative term, and because coffee is so prevalent in our society, people tend to believe caffeine is perfectly OK....even for kids. Here's a small dose of reality. Caffeine is Addictive. Caffeinated soft drink intake among teenage boys tripled between 1978 and 1994. Children and teens drink more than 64 million gallons of soda per year. Caffeine withdrawal interrupts cognition. Caffeine and phosphoric acid(provides carbonation in soda) hinder the absorption of calcium and can leach calcium from bone. Caffeine intake among teenage girls closely correlates with increases in bone density concerns among women under 30.

Of course, the fact that exercise and activity are minimized complicates the challenge. Another complication lies in the fact that their parents have been raised in a "diet" mentality, erroneously believing obesity is reversed through starvation. Children need protein for cell growth, minerals for bone health, essential fats for hormonal development, and complex carbs for fuel. A "diet" can do more harm than good.

The trick lies in educating children as to being at their "best." I've done many seminars at schools and early on I was amazed by how interested kids were in eating right...if they were taught it can lead to bigger muscles, bodies like their favorite movie stars(without an obsession toward perfection), and greater performance in everything they do. They may not welcome veggies with open arms, but teach them the virtues of making better choices and a little at a time they become empowered not only to improve their health, but also to educate their parents! A great book I think you would enjoy in helping with this matter is called: Weight Control for a Young America: Happy Healthy Kids Who Eat Right from Wrong by Keith Klein.

Not enough TIME to workout.

I was standing in the check out line yesterday at a local Wal-Mart when I overheard a lady say, "I wish I had time to workout" as she thumbed through a women's fitness magazine. Now mind you if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say that, I would be retired by now. I have a hard time buying into that statement, because its an excuse people use to talk themselves out of doing nothing at all. Let's face it, we all have the same amount of hours in a day. What we choose to do with those hours is up to us. Yes I understand that work, kids, ect. are hours that we have no control of. But the hours we do have control of, we choose what to put in those time slots. I find that people think that working out has to be an all or nothing approach. This simply is not true. If you only have 30 min. a day to workout, so be it. In the video I just posted called "Wilderness workout", I spent a total of maybe 10 min. doing that workout and that was going through it only once. If you had more time you could go through that workout 2 maybe 3 times and really get a great workout. My point is you don't have to join a gym and you don't need fancy equipment. You need the desire to feel better and want to make some small changes from your daily routine. That may mean cutting back on surfing the Internet, daily TV shows, or just doing nothing. Notice I said cut back, not stop. Just MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF(that statement alone should be taken seriously) to start a simple routine that last at the most 10-30min. That's it! Do this 3-4 times per week and your working out! Take a walk outside after your done at a faster than normal pace for cardio. Not only will this help with fat loss, but you will be amazed at how much this will clear your head and prepare you for the next day. So many people are looking for a drug to feel better,get rid of aches and pains,cope with life, and to just sleep at night. I'm offering you the solution to alot of those things. You just have to take that first step and start moving. That's it, just start moving outside of your normal routine for 10 min. a day. Then as you start feeling better and getting more energy take it up to 15, 20, and 30 at the most. Add in a cardio walk for 15-20min and you have a great workout at home. Just take baby steps and you will succeed. Look at it as an overwhelming, time consuming activity and more than likely you will never start. If working out at home is out of the question, then turn to your workplace or office. Instead of the wildness workout, call it the office workout. Now that's a good idea for a new DVD! Use your desk for push ups, chair for dips, ect. The possibilities are endless when you start thinking outside the box. If I can be of any help with your particular situation please respond on this blog. I would love to hear from you and give you some ideas based on your situation. For now, just commit to yourself by saying, "I'm going to make a change NOW!"

Getting women to EAT!

As I write this I still have problems getting some of my female clients to eat enough. In my profession of over 25 years its easy sometimes to just fall back on the nonsense that people believe than it is to commit to the truth. Thats why I will not allow any person I come into contact with, to just fall back on the nonsense and just pass them by. You see, I have chosen a path of truth, and in that, I will continue to do battle against media hype and diet nonsense.
Without stereotyping, there's no denying that there are different differences between the way men perceive "the true technology of change" and the way women perceive it. You tell guys who have been on diets that they can eat, you made a friend for life! Women might listen, might even hear you, but that gnawing fear inside them, the one that's been instilled by years and years of hearing "Eat less Weigh Less" always offers me an obstacle.
As far as getting women to EAT, I have found two avenues of influence to be quite beneficial. I teach them about the 'thermic effect" of food. I teach them that processing food, digesting nutrients, actually burns calories, and that supportive meals put into the body frequently can actually result in greater caloric burn throughout the day. Women have been taught that calories are bad. Without forcing massive meals upon them, I modify their thinking so they understand that "Good Calories are Good!"
The next influence tool I use.......little steps. I get them to shoot for a supportive breakfast. Nothing else. Just for them to set the goal of a supportive first meal of the day. Once that becomes habit, I get them to find a way to get supportive food into their body, even in small amounts, 3 hours later. As soon as each step is met with achievement, I get them to add another. It won't be long before they notice that their now eating MORE food than they were when they were dieting, and at the very least, if there following some sort of reasonable(not crazy) workout program, they haven't gained any fat! This indicates that their metabolism is speeding up! Once that "sinks in," supportive eating, even among women, becomes far less of an obstacle.