Moms Talk about Healthy Eating, Exercise

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with a question:  How do I teach my child healthy exercising and eating habits?

Jan Katz-Kellogg: I am lucky. As an athlete, my teenage son exercises just about everyday and is serious about keeping his body in shape. Healthy eating however, is a challenge. I f I don’t take the time to really look at the week’s schedule, I find myself relying on fast foods, frozen foods or convenience foods to get through the week. Eating on the fly is more expensive, less healthy and puts on pounds. We have been eating on the fly for the last month. This is how I plan to change things as we move into summer break:

1)  Always make-and eat -breakfast. Since my son was tiny, he could eat enormous breakfasts. Even at three, he would eat three eggs, three strips of bacon, three cinnamon rolls and juice. Then he would get to preschool and eat those breakfasts provided for kids who didn’t get breakfast at home! I have always felt and taught him that breakfast is just brain fuel: You wake up on empty and need a fill up to be able to learn.

2)  Use the grill as much as possible– grilling out always feels more festive and promotes the idea of “seasoning” over frying. We grill it all- beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, vegetables. My son will even eat veggies he would normally wouldn’t if they weren’t grilled–a medley of green pepper, onion and mushroom grilled in garlic and butter come to mind – and are a perfect side or topper to grilled beef, chicken or fish.

3)  Keep fresh fruits available and in sight at all times. If it’s food and it’s on display, my son will usually eat it.

4)  Make sure the refrigerator is stocked with easily accessible, healthy and attractive choices, such as fresh deli meats, cheeses, flavored yogurts, etc. A bowl of cold, crisp veggies like baby carrots with ranch dressing or celery strips filled with peanut butter get eaten if they are prepared to look like a “party tray.”  Presentation is everything when you are teaching/tricking your child into preferring healthy choices! For example, large, red freshly sliced strawberries arranged just right on angel food cake with a whipped cream topping really can compete with a regular old chocolate cake loaded with sugar and a zillion calories- if it’s pretty enough.

5) Limit the caffeine and sugary drinks. Thankfully, my son loves and prefers water most of the time, so this is really a lesson I need to teach myself. I am trying to limit sodas to one per day.  Keeping cold bottled water or pitchers of low-cal lemonade available have been helping!

I think the key to teaching our kids healthy eating and exercise habits is to live it. It’s not a conscious decision to eat right-if the right foods are what surround you. If we expect our kids to eat healthy, the buck stops with us!

Kim Koch: Even though my son was 7 pounds at birth, I knew he came from the blood of giants. His dad is 6’4”, and now my son is as well. His grandmother is 6’1” and obesity runs in the family. His uncle died at 45, weighing at 535 pounds and was ingesting 25 pounds of sugar a week.

Keeping unhealthy food around here is like keeping a loaded gun in plain view. I always have fruits and vegetables here for the quick grab. For when time is limited, I keep readily available a quick protein, like almonds, and veggies in a can, such as a low sodium V-8.

Into his early teens, he stayed on the fields with me kicking around the soccer ball and him playing on both baseball and basketball teams. We rode our bikes and enjoyed roller skating together many days a week on the Silver Comet Trail. Then a disabling sports injury took me by surprise eight years ago. He continued with basketball up until a few years ago.

I am the Food Nazi. I can preach it, but living it is hard for me at times. My dad lived with us for a year after his stroke. I read book after book and made sure he had his blood sugar within normal ranges, even if it meant handing him the snack myself.  We all learned portion control and the importance of timing your eating  through all of this.

I am from the fast food generation, and it is hard to not hit the drive-thru with my hectic schedule.  This last year had both of us gaining weight,  I am the largest I have ever been. After decades of good genes, this is a real kick in the butt.

I can’t play in team sports, and I haven’t found the type of exercise that inspires me that won’t cause me setbacks and reinjure me. My son gained a bit of weight since he started dating this young lady and eating at her house as well as ours and grabbing that quick burger out too much. He has pulled most of it off and is enjoying swimming as his way to make it go away.

I do believe part of it was he always bulked up before his large skeleton's growth plates decide to stretch once again. He has grown three inches in height this year as well. He also was skipping the most important meal of the day, breakfast.