Safety 101: Dieting and Children Don't Mix

Even with a growing obesity problem among our youth, I strongly urge you not to put your child on a diet.  Dieticians and Medical Doctors all over the world are advising against putting children on a diet even if they fall into the obese category.  The reasons are clear.  Dieting and growing children are a very bad mix.  A growing body needs a rich and well balanced diet to maintain proper growth.  In addition, diets just don't work.  Think back on all the diets that you have been on in your life, or if you are lucky enough not to struggle with a weight issue look to your friends and their fad dieting.  Dieting usually equates to initial weight loss but I venture to bet that most of that weight goes right back on after the dieting stops.  Check that. people usually gain back more than they lost to begin with.

Having a child with Crohn's Disease has got our whole faamily to rethink the way we eat.  The recent catch phrase when it comes to dietary health has become "Living a Healthy Lifestyle".  No dieting involved in changing to a healthy lifestyle.  The weight may come off much slower but it stays off as long as the lifestyle is something you can live with.  Some of the things my family has done to change to a healthier diet are: eating whole grains instead of things made with white flour. cutting way back on the amount of sugar that we eat and using fresh rather than processed foods.  Some of these changes take some time to get use to but it has been well worth it with regard to my son's health and my health as well.  My asthma attacks have decreased significantly since starting this lifestyle change (note that I didn't use the word diet here),  A fifteen pound weight loss over three years is not incredible but I have managed to keep it off and am continuing to lose weight.

Do I miss hot from the deli french bread, most definitely yes!  I do allow myself to have this guilty pleasure along with ice cream every so often.  Denying yourself something is not the way to go.  Start slow. Replacing a few things at a time is the best way to make a lifestyle change.  When people come to our house for dinner, no one even notices that 100% whole wheat pasta is under that delicious sauce or that I used greek yogurt in the dip instead of sour cream..  Another little tip is that wild fish is much better than the farm raised version.  Most of the fish that you get at the fish counter is farmed raised, whereas most of the frozen fish is wild.  Read the labels before you buy it to make sure you are getting the best healthwise for your family because fish tastes pretty much the same whether it was farm raised or wild.

First Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week Begins Today

The week of December 1-7 has been designated as the very first Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week. The Senate passed Resolution 199 in order to encourage all Americans to join in the effort to find cures for Crohn's and colitis, help raise awareness, and support research.  This a big deal at my house, as my son was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease over 12 years ago.  Crohn's and Colitis are autoimmune diseases that effect the bowel.  Twelve years ago, few people knew anything about these diseases, but now practically everyone knows someone who suffers from these diseases.  The increase in the number of people with these diseases has been immense.  It use to be a disease that the primary age at onset was between 18 and 21.  Recently there has been a spike in the number of young children being diagnosed with this life changing disease.  Many people believe that the increase in incidents of these diseases may be related to how we process our food and dairy products.  The low number of cases in underdeveloped countries supports this theory.  If your child or someone you know suffers from either of these two diseases direct them toward a couple of groups that have been life savers for my family:  the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation whose primary functions are to educate people on how to manage this disease and to raise funds for research, and Get Your Guts in Gear (GYGIG) which is an inspiring non profit organization thats primary goal is to raise awareness and build a community of people helping each other deal with the day to day living with these diseases.  GYGIG holds multi day bike rides each year in order build that community, and a large number of the riders have these diseases. The message that they are sending is that this disease is not going to beat them down. If you are more like me in thinking that people who choose to ride a 160 miles on a bike over two days have a screw or two loose, there are always crewing positions available. Crewing, camping, building community and making lifelong friends in just two days time...amazing.