SHED THOSE EXTRA KILOS

health

You! If your child is overweight or obese, what is the right way for a kid to lose weight?

Zainab Sarwar: That usually depends on your child’s age. There’s no single number on the scale that all kids must reach to be healthy. The right range depends on how tall they are, their gender, and their age. In fact, many children shouldn’t actually lose weight - they should just maintain it as they grow taller or put on pounds more slowly.

But if they have more severe obesity, especially if they have obesity-related health conditions, your child’s pediatrician may make a different recommendation.

When kids are very young, you are in charge of their routine. Make sure your child’s day includes plenty of time - at least 60 minutes - to be active, whether it’s climbing the jungle gym at the park, playing tag in the backyard, or jumping around in the living room.

They don’t have to get their exercise all at once. Short bursts of activity throughout the day that add up to an hour are just fine.

You! How do we keep our kids from eating junk food, when they are home during their summer break or holidays and don’t have as many activities and distractions?

ZS: Family meals are an important opportunity for parents to be role models for healthy eating, and for strengthening family relationships. It’s the best time to enforce good eating habits in your children when at home. Your children need less calories as compared to their school days because of limited physical activities so even if they stay hungry for few hours and throw tantrums about available food options at home, don’t surrender in front of their tantrums. It’s the right time to create awareness and discipline kids around their bad eating habits.

When children are home and are free, involve them in cooking healthy foods. It can help them acquire important life skills that they can carry into adulthood. Letting children choose what vegetables to include in your meal may encourage them to eat them at the table. When involving children in cooking, it is important to keep meals simple. Also, teach children about proper food safety including hand washing, cleaning surfaces and avoiding consumption of certain raw ingredients.

Suggested meal for kids:

Breakfast: It should ideally consist of eggs, cheddar cheese slices, fresh juices, yoghurt, English muffins, and oat meal with fruits.

Morning snack: Healthy smoothies such as strawberry dream smoothie or Kids protein smoothie. Kids Protein Smoothie is very easy to make. Take ½ cup milk; ½ cup vanilla Greek yoghurt; ½ cup frozen spinach; ½ frozen banana and 1 tbsp honey. Blend all and serve cold.

Lunch: Regular home cooked meals.

Evening snack: Baked or air-fried fries or 2-3 cookies or a fancy fruit salad for kids

Dinner: Home cooked pasta, tortilla rolls, spicy chicken sloppy joes, pizza bread, home-made Chicken burger.

Also, in order to keep your children physically active, engage them in housing cleaning chores during this time.

You! What type of exercise regimen would you recommend for kids while they are stuck at home?

ZS: Physical activity benefits both the body and mind. Healthy adults should aim for at least 30 minutes of daily activity and at least one hour for healthy kids (5-17 years).

Here are some tips for staying physically active during their summer break or holidays:

* Take regular breaks from sitting by standing up and stretching or going for a quick walk, if permitted.

* Leslie walk at home in the intervals of 10 minutes, three times a day.

* Follow an online exercise class.

* Think outside the box: activities like dancing, playing active videogames, cleaning the house or playing with your kids all count as physical activity!

You! When we’re stocking up at the grocery store, we prefer buying non-perishable goods as they last longer. What type of foods do you think we should be buying in order to avoid frequent trips to the grocery store?

ZS: It’s high time to stock your pantries and fridge strategically. It really helps change habits of the entire family. I recommend healthy staples including frozen and canned vegetables;

Canned soups - as long as they’re the non-creamy and low-sodium variety, like a tomato-based soup, split pea or lentil; whole-wheat pasta, quinoa, nuts, canned fish and frozen chicken.

If you really want to have cookies in your pantry, stick to one type. Don’t buy seven varieties of cookies because kids will end up eating more of each of them.

Watch out for sodium (salt) intake. It is used to preserve food and add flavour, and is often added to canned foods to extend shelf life. Look for low-sodium options when stocking up. If you do have canned goods high in salt, you can rinse items like beans and veggies before using them.

For flavour, consider salt alternatives such as dried herbs like oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary; spices like pepper, chili powder, turmeric and paprika; or salt-free seasoning blends, including curry powder.

You! Do you take obese kids as clients?

ZS: Of course, almost 30 per cent of my clients every month are overweight and obese kids. The biggest advantage of getting on-board with me is that I provide them extra support and personal assistance throughout their journey to make things easier for them and don’t let them fall off the diet bandwagon. I can proudly say that Moksha Lifestyle Dubai is the only platform working in the best interest of people trying to manage their weights across the globe with its unique approach of providing 24/7 complete supervision to every person on-board with us.

The journey from not-so-healthy to being healthy and fit requires a great shift in mental attitude. Seek all the help you can. Demolish all excuses and all hurdles.

Zainab can be reached at xainabsarwar@live.com, www.yogadubai.ae or @lifestylebyzainabsarwar on Instagram