IT'S MORE THAN THE SCALE
Over the course of the "9 Kids Challenge," we've helped our team of children to modify behaviors surrounding food and exercise and made changes that were necessary in the households of the families involved. But one thing was apparent as the group showed up for weigh-ins two Saturdays ago; they had a strong emotional attachment to “The Scale.” As the kids stepped up to be weighed, some were disappointed in themselves for not reaching their weight-loss goal. I stress weight-loss because it's simply the expected side effect to living a healthy, active lifestyle. We decided to bring everyone together at the NewsChannel 9 studios to let them know that weight-loss and healthy living are "more than just The Scale." Training Champions Institute's Ron Patulski & I set out to show that if our 9KC kids (and their families) live the type of lifestyle we are continuously teaching them about, they will have energy, they will have confidence, their clothes will fit differently, and overall they will feel good about themselves. We also wanted to stress that the scale alone cannot and should not be the only measure of positive health and weight-loss.
We started by reviewing some very simple rules to follow for healthy weight-loss (fat-loss).
- Start the day with a healthy breakfast
- Eat small amounts of food regularly with 3 main meals
- Give your body the proper mixture of carbs, fats & proteins
- Eat whole fruits & vegetables regularly (as opposed to juices)
- Convert breads & pastas to whole grains
- Drink water throughout the entire day
The trick to healthy weight-loss is to maintain a small daily energy deficit. This means that the energy you burn off during daily activities (housework, exercise, playing, etc.) must be higher than the amount of calories you take in from a balanced diet. That will cause the body to burn fat and maintain an efficient metabolism.
We stressed to the group that weight-loss experienced by skipping meals, holding back the proper foods, and being dehydrated is NOT the type of weight-loss we are interested in. We let everyone know that rapid weight-loss is not an indicator of positive lifestyle changes and the pounds lost that way would be difficult to keep off.
The key when dealing with the epidemic of overweight children is constant and repetitive education. There is no “quick fix.” It takes diligence, patience, and repetition. Lifestyle behavioral patterns are not easy to change, even if we admit that there are better choices to make.
- Joel Brown
Training Champions Institute
