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Avoid junk food

How to End Your Child’s Obsession with Junk Food?

The brightly colored packet of chips, bottles of cola, instant noodles, chocolates are the first things children get attracted to whenever you step out of the house. Every mall, supermarket and even the smallest of shops in the remotest of places around us carry junk food in their stores.

To add to the package, TV commercials and peer pressure increase the attraction to junk food. As per the best nutritionist in Delhi, to ease our burden of having to handle cranky children or ease of availability, sometimes we too give in to buying them this unhealthy food. Slowly this becomes a habit and the children cannot do without junk food.

What is junk food by the way???

Junk food is what is described as deep-fried, processed or packaged food, loaded with additives and preservatives which have low nutritional value. These are not only addictive but also cause harm to our bodies. Not only chips and colas, but any kind of refined food which does not provide proper nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals are not healthy. Some food which we seem to buy fresh is also not as healthy, therefore food choices are important.

For example- Pizza, children love eating pizza, especially cheese pizza. It is majorly dough made of refined flour which is plain starch. It is layered with tomato sauce which if not prepared fresh may contain preservatives. Then it is loaded with cheese which is just a dollop of pure fat. With no vegetable added to it and just fat, the child is eating empty calories with nothing nutritious for the body to absorb.

How can we change the food preference?

Foods such as burgers, pizzas, chaat or bakery items, if not chosen wisely can fall in the junk food category. In a few words, choosing the right food wisely will make all the difference. Any junk food can be turned into healthy food with a little conscious effort and planning.

Firstly, initiating healthy eating from childhood creates a big impact on the child. If the child is fed on fresh food in early childhood, they develop a taste for these and don’t turn over to other fancy foods. Similarly, if we start giving them store brought foods from the start, they will not develop a liking to fresh foods and will depend mostly on store brought items to fend their hunger.

Young children mimic adults. This is another source where they learn to eat unhealthily. If we as adults eat unhealthily and expect our children to eat healthily, this will not happen. Children love to eat what they see on our plates, so it is a good decision to set the right examples for our child by filling our plates with the right kind of food.

Educating the child about the benefits of eating fresh if the child is a little grown-up also helps. We can list the benefits and show them why they should choose fresh food over junk food. We can also teach them to portion food in such a way that they can enjoy their favorite food but with healthier choices.

Another way children get junk food is a gift/bribe. In order to get them to finish their chores, we reward them with chocolates or chips which is not right. Rewarding them with extra playtime or their favorite hobby is a better option. Requesting family members to not give children any junk food as gifts will also make a big difference.

We usually tend to buy junk food when we are hungry. Our grocery list does not necessarily have any junk items present in it, but we tend to buy them if we are hungry. So, the trick to avoid this is to do grocery shopping after eating food. That way, there will be very little or no junk food present at home and children will start eating fruits or vegetables to curb their hunger.

How to substitute healthy food with unhealthy ones?

People have a very wrong perception of healthy food. For them, eating healthy simply means forgoing their favorite food and eating flavorless fruits and vegetables. Although this thought is slowly changing, it is important to educate them on why this change is necessary. Small changes in food choices today can make a healthy tomorrow.

Children are fussy eaters. They eat a very limited variety of food and there is very little scope to feed them the right food if they dislike it. Force-feeding is not helpful and an empty stomach is not what we would like to see. This is when we give in to what they want to eat.

Like mentioned earlier, introducing fresh foods is the initial approach. But, if the child is already used to eating a lot of unhealthy food, slow withdrawing and targeting towards eating healthy should be the main motto. Small changes can make a permanent effect. Some changes we can make are:

These are a few changes we can make to the junk food routine of children. Masking food to build their favorite food and substituting some foods can help feed them healthy without the hassle. Big and sudden changes are reversible but a small and slow approach will sustain this good habit for a long time. Remember, “A healthy mind stays in a Healthy Body”, therefore “Eat Healthy and Stay Healthy”!!!

Get a Healthy Diet Plan for Fast Weight Loss

This will give you the basics of a healthy diet plan for weight loss, for once you have a handle on those a healthy diet plan it is not that complicated.

What does complicate matters are the abundance of conflicting advice that we receive from all corners, and much of it, unfortunately, has no basis.

Provided you do not have any special dietary requirements or are under medical supervision, here is what everyone needs to know for a healthy diet plan for weight loss.

A Healthy Diet Plan Starts With Good Habits

When you start your trek for living a healthy diet plan, develop healthy habits such as always eating a nutritious breakfast every morning, eating more fruits and vegetables, and only have on hand nutritious foods for snacking, as everyone needs to snack occasionally.

Another good habit for a balanced diet is to eat smaller meals throughout the day to avoid overloading the system.

While you’re at it, break five unhealthy habits such as giving up sugar (you get enough through healthy foods), eating smaller portions, and don’t keep any junk foods on within reach.

Also, get into the habit of being more physically active. This can be done by walking the stairs instead of taking the elevator, taking walks regularly after dinner, and walking short trips instead of driving.

What Foods are Allowable for a Healthy Diet Plan

Calorie-Controlled Snacks – Snacks in smaller portions with at least some nutritional benefits, including some protein and fiber to give the snack substance.

Rotisserie Chicken – It can be used in many forms, including salads, casseroles, or pasta dishes, as well as a meal itself. Chicken is a healthy meat option, and the method of which is cooked renders much of the fat out during the cooking process.

Vinegar and Flavored Mustards  To add some pizzazz to your food that is few in calories, foods like garlic, ginger, honey, tarragon, balsamic, herbs, or apple vinegar can be used in the place of mayonnaise, oil or butter in many recipes.

Water – Still tops in healthy drinks, and there are many calorie-free options such as flavored waters. Green and herbal teas, as well as coffee, are virtually calorie-free options.

Healthy Fast Food – It is commonly thought, and this goes back to the conflicting advice, that anything fast foods are a diet-crusher. But it doesn’t have to be if you know what to buy, and there are options.

Quiznos’s Flatbread Sammies without cheese and dressing (less than 250) calories, Taco Bell’s Fresco-style items (less than 180 calories), McDonald’s Southwest grilled chicken salad without dressing (290 calories), and Subway’s six gram of fat or fewer subs (230-380) calories are great options, and taste good as well. (not favorable tips)

Lean protein – Low-fat protein can be found in eggs, skinless poultry, nuts, shrimp, crab, fish, and lean cuts of meat. Just trim the fat and watch your portions. You can try beef jerky as a snack option, it’s rich in protein and it aligns with your dietary needs. Understanding if beef jerky is gluten-free can help you make informed choices

Whole Grains– These fill you up because of the fiber and don’t forget another source of whole grain: fat-free popcorn.

Fruits and Vegetable – Both are great, and especially with green veggies, you can eat almost as much as you want. Whole fruits are a great source of fiber, and many dieticians believe your fruit intake should be until two PM, with vegetables more for noon and later.

There are an endless variety of healthy food options for a healthy diet plan, but it starts with getting into habits that make healthy eating routine.

A clean eating meal diet is one that provides the body with ample nutrients, then supports your delivery system, that is, a liver and bloodstream that are unencumbered with toxins and excess fats and allows those nutrients to be delivered to the cells effectively. With that in place, you will be able to lead a healthy and vigorous lifestyle.