Helping Your Overweight Child

Be Supportive.

One of the most important things you can do to help overweight children is to let them know that they are OK whatever their weight. Children's feelings about themselves often are based on their parents' feelings about them. If you accept your children at any weight, they will be more likely to accept and feel good about themselves.

It is also important to talk to your children about weight, allowing them to share their concerns with you. Your child probably knows better than anyone else that he or she has a weight problem. For this reason, overweight children need support, acceptance, and encouragement from their parents.

Focus on the family.

Parents should try not to set children apart because of their weight, but focus on gradually changing their family's physical activity and eating habits. Family involvement helps to teach everyone healthful habits and does not single out the overweight child.

Increase your family's physical activity.

Regular physical activity, combined with healthy eating habits, is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight. It is also an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Some simple ways to increase your family's physical activity include the following:

• Be a role model for your children. If your children see that you are physically active and have fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active for the rest of their lives.

  Plan family activities that provide everyone with exercise and enjoyment, like walking, dancing, biking, or swimming. For example, schedule a walk with your family after dinner instead of watching TV. Make sure that you plan activities that can be done in a safe environment.

• Be sensitive to your child's needs. Overweight children may feel uncomfortable about participating in certain activities. It is important to help your child find physical activities that they enjoy and that aren't embarrassing or too difficult.

• Reduce the amount of time you and your family spend in sedentary activities, such as watching TV or spending time on the computer.

• Become more active throughout your day and encourage your family to do so as well. For example, walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, or do some activity during a work or school break-get up and stretch or walk around.

The point is not to make physical activity an unwelcome chore, but to make the most of the opportunities you and your family have to be active.

Teach your family healthy eating habits.

Teaching healthy eating practices early will help children approach eating with the right attitude -- that food should be enjoyed and is necessary for growth, development, and for energy to keep the body running.

The best way to begin is to learn more about children's nutritional needs by reading or talking with a health professional and then to offer them some healthy options, allowing your children to choose what and how much they eat.

Early Sign of Depression Symptoms

Depression can really affect your health. It is the problem not only related to your mind but badly affects your physical conditions. People who remain depressed for long time becomes very selfish and immature because they start to lose hope and they always think in negative angles. We all being human beings feel sad occasionally but people who are depressed feel sad on daily basis. The sadness and hopelessness are associated with the depression symptoms but there are some physical symptoms of depression exist as well in people who are suffering from problem of depression.

To give help to all people who are depressed is not an easy thing to do. When you will try to give them comfort form one side, they will think about the other points and when you will try to overcome other, they will take you in some other direction because they are addicted to remain sad and unhappy and when they feel anything good, they immediately start to think that this happiness can bring something else bad for them. So you need to tell them that they are depressed and it is a disease whose only cure is thinking positively.

The depression symptoms which can bring changes physically are less sleep and change in eating habits. When you do not feel sleepy at nights and on the next day, you want to sleep at work or at your school, you are most probably going towards the depression. Same is the case when your eating habits change. Sometimes, you do not feel hungry at all and sometimes, you feel so much hungry when you are depressed. If you are worried for some reason and if you are seeing depression symptoms in you, you should immediately consult someone to help you sort out your problem. Otherwise, you can suffer from depression. Another physical symptom of depression is lack of energy in body for doing anything. When you suffer from depression, you become lazy because your mind is not supporting you and your nervous system remains inactive for long period. In reaction, you feel less energetic and less willing to do anything. This usually happens when you cry and feel sad for long time. During period of crying, you lose your hopes and energy and the next day, you feel tired and lazy.

Chronic and constant headaches are another symptom of depression. Feeling pain in body for more than week and constant headaches can be taken as a positive step through the depression. Some patients feel constant pains in their body without any reason and when they go for medical check up they see nothing is wrong with them. It happens due to the depression. Sometimes, for this reason doctor's advice you to take some depression control medicines and foods which help to maintain your normal depression.

If you think you are suffering from any of the above mentioned symptoms, then you should take some guidance and help to overcome your depression problem completely.

How to Do Yoga at Home

There are many benefits to doing yoga at home rather than at a studio or health club/gym. Here are some steps to help you create a home practice that will help you grow physically, mentally and spiritually.

1) Identify what your goals are in your yoga practice

2) Create a tranquil atmosphere

3) You will also need to purchase a yoga mat, which can be found on the internet or local stores. Depending on where you live, you might be able to drive somewhere and buy one.

4) Try buying some beginner yoga CDs

5) If you're following your own routine, you should start your practice with a short meditation and breathing exercise to calm your mind and center your thoughts. The move into a warm-up, standing poses, backbends, twists, forward bends, reclining poses, and finally, final relaxation pose

6) Choose a time in which you will not be disturbed

7) Decide how often you want to practice

8) Deepen your practice

9) Keep a yoga practice journal.

10) Be patient and stick with it

Yoga Guidance

All the physical techniques of Yoga should be performed on a “somewhat empty” stomach. We should not be completely famished, as we’d be lacking in sufficient energy to practice adequately, yet we shouldn’t practice too soon after taking food either. This is one of the reasons why early morning is the best time for practice … we’re well-rested and energised (you should not have to eat for at least a couple hours after waking!).
When you practice yoga techniques, take off jewellery, glasses, hairpins and any metallic objects, which may create interference, disturbing the flow of your subtle energies.
For this same reason, metallic objects such as piercings or jewellery can negatively affect energy fields throughout the body and should be avoided altogether.
Avoid wearing clothing made from synthetic or artificial fabric as these may serve to insulate you from the energies of nature that you are striving to be in harmony with. It is best to wear comfortable, all-cotton, linen, silk or other natural fabric clothing (a lot of the trendiest modern yoga wear does not fit the bill!).
Of course, there are several other yoga precautions we can consider too, but these are a few good free yoga tips to start thinking about for now. The main thing is to practice yoga!… And tomorrow I’m going to help you get out of bed to do just that!

How to prevent teenage obesity

How to help your children lose weightThere is no magic bullet when it comes to weight loss for kids. The best approach is a general approach which incorporates the following:
Encourage your kids to make changes to their general lifestyle
Encourage them to become more physically active
Make it easy for them to eat healthily
Set a good example for them, yourself
Encourage your kids to make changes to their general lifestyle

Encourage your kids to become more physically activeSuggestions:
Be active yourself! Share your activity with your kids.
Play with them! Play football, go cycling, go skating, go swimming.
Be more active as a family. Take family walks and hikes, and so on.
Help your kids to find activities that they enjoy by showing them different possibilities.
A good trick to encourage them to take exercise is to ask them to help you to get fit. Ask them to go for a walk with you, or a swim, or a cycle.

Set a good example for your kidsMost kids learn by example. They watch and they copy. So one of the most important things you can do to prevent obesity in your kids, is to set a good personal example.
Take regular exercise.
Don't sit in front of a TV all day.
Find out about nutrition.
Buy lots of healthy food.
Cook healthy meals.
Explain to your kids what makes foods healthy and unhealthy.