Since the kids are on Spring Break this week, they have gone to spend their time off with their grandparents. That leaves me with not a lot to talk about. But fear not, I have a guest post from Carolyn at
Full on Fit. She's going to talk to us a little bit about diabetes prevention for our kids.
Take it away Carolyn:
Encourage
Type II Diabetes Prevention All Year Long
Only a few short months ago, one of my youngest cousins was diagnosed with Type
2 Diabetes. We were shocked and scared when
we found out, but this quickly turned into a great desire for our family to
start working together to become healthier in order to beat diabetes, and
prevent anyone else in our family from developing it.
Talking to different doctors, I found out that Type 2 has many
serious consequences. Information from Syracuse’s St. Joseph’s Cardiac Hospital points out that one type of serious
consequence is heart disease. As February was National Heart Month, and we are
now getting closer to nice summer weather, what better
time is there than now to start working with your family to develop healthy habits for life? Here are some
things to consider:
Nutrition
Tips
1.
Make Smoothies to Get Recommended Daily Allowance of Fruits and Vegetables
Smoothies are a great way to get kids to eat enough fruits and
veggies. They can be used for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert! Furthermore,
if your kids are resistant to eating fruits and vegetables, make them smoothie
that combines both, but tastes delicious!
2. Avoid Eating Refined Sugars
Refined sugars are empty calories and lack any natural minerals
that actually come from the cane. While many recipes call for sugar, you can
use substitute products such as honey, or use a substitute sugar product.
Here’s a great banana bread recipe we like to use that uses sugar
substitute:
- Combine 2 cups of whole wheat, oat, rice, or chick pea flour, ½ teaspoon of
baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl
- In another bowl, mix 1 cup of Splenda or Stevia and ¼ cup of
margarine with a mixer
- Add 2 eggs, one at a time and blend with a mixer
- Add 3 ripe bananas, 1/3 cup of non-fat plain yogurt, and
1teaspoon of vanilla
- Add the flour mixture and blend until moist. Spoon the mixture
into a loaf pan and bake for 1 hour in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees
Fahrenheit.
- Let it cool. Enjoy!
3. Incorporate Lean Proteins
Lean meat or vegetable-based proteins are recommended to prevent
obesity, which is known to lead to diabetes. Examples of
lean protein include quinoa, oatmeal, and white mean
chicken, among others.
4. Avoid Junk Food
Junk food is really just that… junk. It’s not natural and
therefore has no nutritional value. The more you can avoid it the better.
Although it might be hard to quit it altogether, let alone the time it can
save, if you plan ahead for meals and snacks with healthy foods you will soon
find that the craving you once had for the bad stuff slowly fades away. Not only will your health be better, you will
have more energy and feel better too!
Exercise
Tips
1.
Exercise for 30 Minutes Daily
A great goal would be to push to exercise for 30 minutes per day.
Of course, there may be days where this just doesn’t happen, but the most
important thing is to at least get 4 days
in of this kind of exercise. Whether it’s a full-out run during the day, to
walking on the treadmill while dinner is in the oven – whatever it is, push for
regular exercise as much as possible.
2.
Get Active as a Family
The more you exercise as a family, the healthier you all will be and the more you will be sending the
message to your kids that exercise is an important part of daily life. If you
push them to exercise but don’t do it yourself, they are going to view exercise
as a punishment. If you do it together, and make it fun, you are able to
instill healthy habits in them they can use their whole lives.
3. Mix Up Your Activities
To keep motivated and interested in exercising, make sure to mix
up the kinds of activities that you do. Take turns letting each family member
pick the activity of the day. Some great activities my family likes include:
- hiking in the
woods on different trails
- biking to and
in the park
- rollerblading
around the neighborhood
- skiing and ice
skating during the winter months
- yoga and
Pilates in the basement
- swimming at the
local pool or lake
4. Get Kids Involved in Organized Sports
If your kids are interested in playing sports, joining an
organized team can be a great way to get them to exercise regularly. In
addition, other important life skills can be learned while playing organized
sports, such as teamwork, how to lose gracefully, persistence, etc.
Carolyn is a 20-something year old with a passion for
life, fitness and overall well-being. She is an avid cycler, golfer and
has been known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. Check out
Carolyn’s blog at http://fullonfit.blogspot.com/!
Thanks so much to Carolyn, and y'all be sure to head over to her blog and check it out for more great information on being fit and a whole lot of other great things.....and tell her I sent you.
