What Should Kids Eat to Lose Weight?

Healthy weight loss begins with educating kids about wise food choices. A simple method of teaching proper portion size is to teach a child to fill half of a 9-inch dinner plate with fruits and vegetables, a quarter of the plate with protein and a quarter of the plate with carbohydrates. Healthy snacks throughout the day like raw veggies, fresh fruit or a small serving of nuts should be encouraged and made readily available. Meals should be eaten together in a family setting when possible and never in front of a computer or TV. Packing a nutritious lunch for school takes extra effort but is essential in helping a child be successful in losing weight. As parents we control what foods come into our homes, and we model eating behavior. If we are not willing to be good role models or provide healthy options, we can not expect our kids to lose weight.

Fruits and Vegetables

• Kids are naturally drawn to color. Encourage kids to eat a rainbow of food colors during the day. Fruits and vegetables can create a rich color palette full of a wide range of flavors and textures. Fruits and vegetables ranging in hue from deep yellow to deep red are high in carotenes, important antioxidants. Those ranging from reddish to purple and blue and black are high in anthocyanins, another essential phytochemical. Green foods, those brilliant leafy vegetables like kale and spinach, are full of important nutrients including omega-3 essential fatty acids. Fruits and vegetables are also high in fiber. A simple way to explain the importance of fiber to kids is to compare them to a cleaning service that travels through the body making sure that all the "garbage" gets swept out. Fiber is also important for making a body feel full.
  While grocery shopping, encourage your kids to help you choose a rainbow of different fruits and vegetables. Kids are often fascinated by oddly shaped fruits and vegetables. Kids are more willing to try new foods when they were the one to put it in the shopping cart. Throughout the day discuss what colors of foods your child has eaten. Soon your kid will let you know when a meal is too monochromatic. Fill up half of the plate with fruits and veggies at each meal.

Whole Grains

• Not all grain foods are created equal. When ingredients are listed on the side of the packaging, they are listed from greatest to least concentration. The first three ingredients in Kashi GoLean Crunch are: whole oats, long-grain brown rice and rye. The first three ingredients in Kellogg's Apple Jacks are: sugar, corn flour and wheat flour. Teach your child to take the time to check the ingredients on the packaging. The first three will give you an idea of how a food will affect weight loss goals.
  There are basically three parts to a grain seed: the bran, the endosperm and the germ. The bran provides fiber, B vitamins and trace minerals; the endosperm is rich in protein and carbohydrates; and the germ contains vitamin E, B vitamins and other antioxidants. Refined grains have the bran and the germ removed from the grain seed, leaving only the endosperm. The bulk of the fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants have been removed from the grain so they are not available to help nourish the growing body. Foods that have a higher fiber content take longer for the body to digest and keep the body feeling full longer.
  Play a game with your kids at the grocery store. Teach them to look at the first three ingredients. Check to see if the word "whole" comes before grain. Is a "whole grain" one of the first three ingredients? Let your detectives determine if a food passes this simple test. If yes, then it can go in the cart; if not, it goes back on the shelf. Let your kids discover for themselves why the seven-grain bread is a healthier choice than the white bread. Fill up a quarter of the plate with grain-based foods.

Legumes, Fish, and Poultry

• Legumes (beans, peas, lentils and soy products) combine beautifully with whole-grain foods to create delicious foods. Beans are rich in protein and complex carbohydrates, high in fiber, low in calories and contain calcium, iron and other nutrients. Beans are also inexpensive.
  Fish is high in protein and lower in unhealthy fats and calories than other types of meat. Oily fish like salmon and mackerel are higher in omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for healthy brain development. The wide variety of species of fish and the various methods of cooking provide lots of delicious choices for you and your kids.
  Poultry is high in protein and lower in unhealthy fats and calories than meat coming from four-legged animals, particularly when the skin is removed. Poultry is also high in B vitamins, niacin and selenium.
  Protein makes up 15 percent of the body, mostly in the muscles, but different types of protein in the body include enzymes, hormones, immune factors and blood-clotting factors. Our bodies use amino acids to make protein. Eleven of these amino acids our body can make for itself, but there are nine that we must get in the form of food. Eating legumes, fish and poultry provides our bodies with these nine amino acids. A little goes a long way; only a quarter of a 9-inch dinner plate should be filled up with protein-based foods. Think of these as "sides" rather than the main course.
  Make it a family goal to try one new fish recipe a week. You will begin to develop a family collection of favorite fish dishes. Let your kids rate the recipes, giving them one through five stars. Let those dishes earning four or five stars become a regular part of the family meal plan.

Snacks

• Have healthy snack choices available. Eating every three hours helps to regulate blood sugar, decreasing the "I'm starving" sensation. Keep fresh fruit where kids can have easy access. Keep a container with sliced vegetables for a quick and easy snack. Craving something salty? Try air-popped popcorn with brewer's yeast; not only is it tasty but brewer's yeast packs extra nutrients. Dying for some potato chips? Try eating a large dill pickle instead.

Dessert

• Just because you're trying to help your kids lose weight doesn't mean that dessert has to be banished from the family meal. Instead, as with other food choices, help your kids plan to enjoy dessert in a proper proportion. There are a wide variety of delicious dessert recipes that are big on flavor and won't sabotage a day of healthy eating. For example: four chocolate-dipped strawberries served with a tablespoon of nonfat whipped topping; one serving of fat-free vanilla pudding served with banana slices and topped with a tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs; one serving of fat-free chocolate mousse pudding with one tablespoon of fat-free whipped cream and sprinkled with a chocolate graham cracker. Or make your own mini ice-cream sandwiches with nonfat ice cream and reduced-fat Nilla wafers. Four of these mini sandwiches make an excellent guilt-free dessert. Kids love to help in the kitchen, so be sure to let them in on the action!

Beverages

• Water should be the beverage of choice when working toward weight-loss goals. Drinking water enhances fat loss; combats ailments such as fatigue, headaches and back pain; reduces hunger sensations; and hydrates skin, helping keep a youthful glow. Make sure your kids have access to water bottles at all times.
  Other drinks like juice and soda are fast ways to get a lot of calories in very little time. If you choose to let your kids have access to these beverages, keep the portion size to 6 ounces. Measure it out with a measuring cup.