Parents naturally want the best for their kids. Parents want their kids to have the best chance at success from a financial and educational standpoint, but also from a healthy diet standpoint!
 

However, despite our best intentions, data would suggest we have fallen short of that last goal. Current research suggests this generation might actually have a shorter life span than its parents.
Generations have consistently seen longer life spans than the previous generation for centuries, so how could this have happened? The answer is found in the toxic things we are putting in our bodies!
Simply put, our kids are eating too much junk food.
It’s hard to blame the kids. After all, junk food tastes good!
What many people don’t realize is that healthy food can also taste great! Here at Fit Fx we offer a built-in meal plan to your membership. However, below are a number of tips we’d like to offer to anyone looking to improve your child’s diet, or even your own!
1) Make it Colorful
Kids love colors! Fruits and veggies have so many colors to them and can add a fun look to your child’s plate. More than color, though, these foods are full of fiber, vitamins and minerals that are important to good health.
Kids can still be resistant to change or something new, so make it fun! Arrange the colors in a way that looks like a design or pattern, or add some dipping sauces to add to the flavor!
2) Introduce Whole Foods
One of the main issues with our diets these days is the popularity of processed foods. These foods can lead to quick weight gain through their empty calories. Sadly, processed foods are a large portion of the diet for many children.
Try and get your kids to choose and want whole foods over processed foods. These foods are foods in their natural state that have not been devitalized. An apple. A piece of sprouted grain bread spread with natural peanut butter. A piece of hormone-free chicken. A bowl of beans. You get the idea.
3) Add Wholesome Sweeteners
A staple of junk food is refined sugar and corn syrup. However, those aren’t the only sweeteners available. In fact, there are sweeteners that add vitamins and minerals rather than empty calories. Here are some alternative options:
 

• Sucanat: This pure, dried sugar can juice retains its molasses content. Use it to replace white sugar in baking.
• Pure Maple Syrup: Forget the “fake” syrups containing corn syrup. Pure maple syrup contains potassium, calcium and some amino acids.
• Brown Rice Syrup: Use this dark syrupy sweetener instead of corn syrup. It takes longer to digest and won’t spike your blood sugar like refined sugar.
• Dates: Throw a few seeded dates into your blender to sweeten your smoothie rather than adding white sugar.

 
4) Smarter Substitutions
Rather than trying to completely alter your child’s taste buds and fight the inevitable, try and make substitutions that will allow them to still enjoy their food while eating healthier.
 

• Pizza: Up the nutritional content of your pizza by opting for wheat crust over white, adding veggies to the toppings and sticking with lean meat toppings.
• Pasta: Use sprouted grain or whole grain pasta rather than traditional white pasta. Add veggies to your pasta sauce. Stick with red sauce, since white sauce is so high in fat.
• PB&J: A PB&J, made with white bread using sugar-filled peanut butter and corn syrup-filled jelly, is fairly void of any real nutritional value. Make it healthier by using sprouted grain bread, natural peanut butter and fruit-only jam or sliced berries.

 
5) No More Sugary Drinks
Getting a child to prefer water over sugary drinks will do them a world of good into their adult years. Sugary drinks encourage weight gain through their empty calories and do nothing to quench our thirst, which only adds to the problem as we drink more and more.
This can be best achieved by simply making water more available and the sugary drinks less available. Stock the house with water and when your child wants a drink, that’s what they will turn to. Eventually the desire for water will take over!
All 5 of the tips above are imperative to not only your child’s health, but yours as well! Try these 5 tips for the next 30 days and we guarantee you will see monumental changes in not only how you look, but how you feel!
Don’t forget that you are your child’s biggest role model. They will mimic the things you do, so start the process by making a change in your own diet and your own lifestyle.
To get started on a better path for not only yourself, but your entire family, come down to the studio for an assessment and a chance for us to talk about your future! In the meantime, check out the success our other members have seen at www.teamafterburn.com/testimonials and on facebook at www.facebook.com/testimonials.