Holding onto my wagon.. Nutrition

I suggest that you read my weight loss post
Holding Onto My Wagon 
before you read this one ... kind of a prelude to a lot of the things that I will be discussing here.


The road to a healthy lifestyle is a life long journey.. I hope that this sentence has stuck with you even a little after reading that post. I hold it close to all of my lifestyle choices that I make on a day to day basis. As I research more and more about health and nutrition for myself and my family, I realize that the emphasis on healthy eating just isn't encouraged as much as it should be. (I am not an expert in nutrition but it is a passion I have, and hope to pursue when my children are a bit older)  
Something that triggered my interest in this subject is that just recently, the recommended daily child activity was actually decreased! From a suggested 1 and a half hours of daily exercise (6 days a week) to just 60 minutes a day (also 6 days a week).. but added was a three day a week suggestion of muscle and bone strengthening activity .. for children this would include activities such as running, jumping rope, curl-ups, push-ups, climbing ..... This was not overly surprising news to me, since I actively research the amount of exercise and the recommended daily nutritional intake that my children should have each day. (I do this so that I can feel guilt free when they watch tv or movies on a daily basis .. knowing that tv "shuts their brains off" or as our neighbors little boy informs my daughter on a regular basis that it "sucks your smarts out") But, what did surprise me, is that if weight is such an issue with our youth, why would Canadian standards of recommended daily exercise drop??? Is it nutrition that is the major culprit? My answer would be YES.. 


Here are the changes made as of January 14 2011 for the new exercise standards suggested, I did the research so that you don't have to (unless you want to) :

Guidelines from Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology

For health benefits, children aged 5-11 years should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily. This should include: 

• Vigorous-intensity activities at least 3 days per week. 
• Activities that strengthen muscle and bone at least 3 days per week. 

More daily physical activity provides greater health benefits. 

Let’s Talk Intensity! 

Moderate-intensity physical activities will cause children to sweat a little and to breathe harder.   
  Activities like: 

• Bike riding 

• Playground activities 

Vigorous-intensity physical activities will cause children to sweat and be ‘out of breath’.  
Activities like: 

• Running 

• Swimming 

Being active for at least 60 minutes daily can help children: 

• Improve their health 

• Do better in school 

• Improve their fitness 

• Grow stronger 

• Have fun playing with friends 

• Feel happier 

• Maintain a healthy body weight 

• Improve their self-confidence 

• Learn new skills 

There, so with that being said, I am fairly confident that most (if not all) of you parents out there can pretty much guarantee that your children are reaching their recommended daily exercise .. I have a 5 year old, they run non-stop!! Most of them surpass the recommendations I'm sure!

But, the reason for this post is not to discuss exercise guidelines it's to share my views on Canada's nutritional guidelines. I think that this is a tough one that most of us parents struggle with .. and I found a really cool link that might help!! First and foremost : 

This is a link to Canada's Food Guide HERE on Health Canada's website that is sooooo cool! I started using it last year when my son started eating solid foods, I wanted to make sure that he was getting the daily recommended nutrition ... this sounds ridiculous as I'm typing the words, because I am a Mom, quite obviously I understand how difficult it can be to get our kids to eat healthy ALL the time ... but this is just a guideline .. and to be honest.. it helped me a lot! You can download your own version to your computer and enter your child's (or your own) age and gender and it gives you a list of healthy choices to choose from during the day! I also believe that it is a printable version, so you could put it up in your kitchen as a reference point. I only used it for a week or 2, because you can quickly remember the choices and options, but I still refer to it in my head as I plan out the meals I feed myself and most importantly my children everyday. I strive to be a parent that tries to feed my children as much whole food as I can, and I steer clear of as much processed food (food in packaging) as possible. I do however try to buy a healthier or organic choice whenever I am purchasing packaged food. (there is no 'healthy' version of a smarshmallow.. I have looked!!) Please just check out the link... it's worth it!

I also struggle now that I have a child in full time school .. packing lunches is stressful! I want her to have fun choices, that are healthy, and that is not an easy task! Here are a couple really cool ideas I found for making lunches more fun!

ifood.tv

• cut regular sandwiches with cookie cutters (stars, flowers, circles and dinosaurs are a couple ideas
• Send veggies with a sealed container of dip 
• Pre make a loaf of banana bread and cut into individual slices, wrap each slice with plastic wrap and freeze.. you can pull one slice out each morning, and it serves to keep the lunch cold, and is thawed by lunch! (I love this one and it could be applied to peanut butter squares or muffins, even healthy cookies)
• A friend also suggested to put fruit pieces on skewers, this may not be allowed at school, but it would be fun for at home!!
• Making a batch of pancakes and freezing them is also an easy thing to send.
• And hard boiled eggs are a big hit with my little girl.

Here is also a link to a blog that I LOVE about family nutrition: Nurish Interactive , It's an american based blog.. but filled with lots of fun worksheets and information to help busy parents!! Lots of printable lunch and snack ideas, and a VERY cool monthly calender with daily 'healthy eating' tips! 

When I told my trainer that I posted a blog about my weight loss, she gave me a very quick and stern 'talking to'... she pointed out that weight loss never just comes from 'exercise alone' and the reason that I have found 'success' is that I have a rounded lifestyle where health AND nutrition are a part of my life journey. She strongly suggested that I share the importance of healthy eating as well. I know that this post seems geared toward children's health and nutrition, but it's my daily motivation to stay healthy and make the right choices... and I hope that maybe it can be yours as well. Our children rely on us to teach them 'right' from 'wrong' .. and I don't want to lead them on an unhealthy path.

Quote of the year from my little 5 year old Matty

"There's no eraser for your tummy, right mom?? So, we always have to make the right choice." 

And gosh darn it ... she is right ... and I think if we only thought that simple little 5 year old thought before we ate each and every one of our meals... we may ALL be happier and healthier!!

Note: My husband, kids, and myself all have treats and junk (pizza is my favorite food on earth and my husband lives in camp where all sorts of goodies await him ) ... but it's not a daily occurrence and we do not hide the fact that we indulge (refer to 'I Pulled it Off' blog posted yesterday haha) we just make it a choice not our lifestyle. 


With much love...