Losing Weight as a Family

Losing weight as a family provides many benefits, not only to do the adults, but to the children as well. Children are not able to lose weight by exercising and eating right by themselves – they must have the guidance and support of their family members. Preventing short-term as well as life-long weight gain starts at the home.

The reason everyone in the family gains weight remains the same, regardless of age. Gaining weight is caused by exercising too little and eating too much. By creating new healthy habits as a family that focus around smart food choices and physical activity, not only are you losing weight, but you’re encouraging and enabling your children to lose weight as well.

To approach losing weight as a family, think about what your meals normally consist of. Do you eat greasy fast food more than one or two times a week? Do you have a lot of starches at home or are a lot of your meals “ready to go” in a box? Once you recognize your unhealthy eating habits, then begin to change your activities. Is every night spent in front of a television? After school, are your kids always found in front of the television?

Those are habits that can change as well. And when you’re making your transition to start losing weight as a family, consider these helpful tips:

Start small – The smaller the changes you make, the easier they will be to follow. People find it hard to stick to drastic changes, so make any lifestyle changes gradual ones.

Set goals – Everyone needs something to aim for. Maybe you want to lose 20 pounds, maybe your husband wants to lose 10. Keep track of your weight loss as a family to not only encourage people, but to reward others as well.

Rewards – With goals follow the rewards. In addition to losing weight, you should congratulate yourself (especially your kids) for losing X amount of weight. That makes losing more weight not only more of a motivation, but it makes it fun.

June 16th, 2008