I just started coaching a high school soccer team. One kid in particular asked me how he could get better. He is overweight and we started talking about his diet habits. He said he cut soda out of his diet last year and I told him no sugar all month and see how much better he feels. Next is speaking to his mom about eating habits, any suggestions?
>>>Next is speaking to his mom about eating habits, any suggestions?<<<
I'm not sure who it is that will be speaking to his mom but I'll give some suggestions anyway:
Breakfast: No sugary or salty cerials. No pop-tarts. No pancakes or waffles with butter and surup. No white bread and no whole wheat bread with high fructose corn syrup. In other words, no highly processed foods. Perhaps he could have an egg or two with some oatmeal and fruit mixed in. And perhaps some unsweetened soymilk added to the oatmeal.
Lunch: Will it be a bag lunch that he brings to school or will he be buying lunch in school?
Evening meal: No white bread, no white potatoes, no white rice and no white pasta. Everything should be whole grain and sweet potatoes in place of white potatoes. No fried foods, especially breaded & fried. Meats should be lean (low fat) and measured. A cut of meat should be no bigger than the palm of his hand. If he fills up on meat, he won't have room for vegetables and plenty vegetables are extremely important for good nutrition. Dressings, like olive oil and vinegar should be limited. (Stay away from store-bought dressings that have added sweeteners.)
Desserts: All deserts should be limited to fresh fruit.
Snacks: No candy, potato chips, corn chips, or buttered popcorn. Snacks should be like mini-meals. Snacks should consist of real food with a little protein, good fat like nuts and some good carbohydrate like a small piece of fruit.
Cutting out ALL sugar may be very tough for him! I know if I go to any extremes and cut out anything completely, I crave it and may end up eating it at some point and would eat more than I normally would have. I'd suggest that he try eating more fresh foods, like fruits and veggies. The sugar in fruit is perfectly fine, but I agree that cutting out sugars in candies and things like that is a good idea. There are so many healthier alternatives to sweets... like frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, only buying miniature sized chocolates or treats, etc. What really made the biggest difference for myself was to stop eating too many processed foods. I eat a lot of fresh salads with baked or grilled chicken and feel great. I used to eat Lean Cuisines and lean pockets very often. I will eat something like that on occasion, but MUCH less than before. I also like to get lean sirloin meat and make my own healthy hamburgers at home. I always stick to whole wheat breads and low glycemic carbs and limit them. Having less carbs can help, and you can still enjoy a little bit of them. Lots of lean protein, fruits, and veggies is a great way to trim down.
Simply tell him to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and to eat as little processed food as possible. Things like sandwiches with wholemeal bread instead of white, replacing full cream dairy products with the 'lite' version, substituting crisps for a few pieces of fruit or some nuts and one thing that's just as important as what you eat, how much you eat, are all good things not only to lose weight, but to keep it off. 6 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones will help keep his metabolism at an even rate throughout the day and burn more calories.
He can still have foods with sugar and fat, but within a healthy range. Balance is the key and it doesn't take any strict diets to be a healthy weight, just common sense.
Maybe print some healthy recipes off the computer for him. Something easy that a teen could make for dinner and even better, something healthy the whole family would like so the boy doesn't think he's being punished for his weight. Studies show that when teens eat with their families, they eat better food.
It's quite hard for children to stick to a plan when they are at school or college, so I find food combining works very well as most of what they might eat is carbs.
My son is at college and even though he doesn't have a weight issue, he normally starts his morning with a piece of toast running out the door. So I have been educating him on food combining. Because he normally starts with toast(brown or white), he normally has some kind of carbs from the canteen at college.
What I have found and what I do at home also is I dont mix the carbs and protein together as the body has a lot harder time processing it, i.e. Burger and chips makes the children feel full and heavy and tired for their afternoon lessons, but having carbs and vegetable or protein and vegetable, keeps them fuller without feeling heavy and tired, which in turn gives them energy.
When he comes home I follow the same regime and what I have found is because he doesn't 'feel' hungry, he doesnt eat a lot of sugary things.
If food combining is very new to you and your family, start small. for e.g. Have the main meal of the day with the right combination, i.e. protein and vegetables and salad, or carbs with vegetables and salad. You might find that this is very filling and your body processes the food faster so that it is not turning into fat.
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