Eating well for a healthier life

This is a common complaint but veg and salads don’t have to be boring!

These ideas might encourage your family to eat more veg by making it look and taste more interesting –

• Changing the shape - big chunks, grating, small chunks, strips, discs, ribbons
• Changing the texture- steamed, stir fried (to be a bit crunchy), raw, roasted, soup, as a sauce, as a dip
• Small bitesized pieces can be easier for little mouths to chew
• Change the colour, mix up different colours together
• Change the flavour- try adding herbs, spices, miso, lemon, lime, garlic, chilli for their full flavours to come out
• Eat with a dip- yoghurt or salsa or houmous or they can be made into a dip themselves

The NHS website has some great recipes ideas which will help you to fill half of your plate with veg and salad.

Please see the table below which gives ideas of different ways to make veg and salad more appealing

Introducing food changes is difficult and swapping all the usual processed snacks in your cupboards with all healthy ones may cause upset within the family.

We know that children who snack constantly, don’t eat well at meal times (and so eat a less balanced diet)

‘If you don’t buy it, they can’t eat it’, so try buying less processed snacks and more fruit

Consider the reasons why your family are eating snacks, could it be they are bored, tired, thirsty, fed up, stressed. You could consider how these feelings could be dealt with rather than using food. A walk, drink of water/sugar free cordial, shower, bath, activity, music, relaxation can all help.

Try and work together as a family to create a healthy eating environment at home.

Healthy snack ideas

• One bowl of frozen berries defrosted and added to plain, unsweetened yoghurt
• Vegetable sticks, e.g. carrot, cucumber, pepper, celery
• Veg with tomato Salsa
• One bowl fresh fruit e.g. melon, apple, plum, banana, apple, grapes, strawberries, blueberries
• Cherry tomatoes, radishes, mangetout, sugar snap peas, baby corn, raw mushrooms
• Pickles – e.g. onions, gherkins, olives
• One pot sugar free jelly
• Crunchy salad veg with lemon juice, salt and pepper or spicy herby natural yoghurt
• Bowl of tinned fruit in juice/water – drain and rinse all tinned fruit whether it is in juice or syrup
• Cup of Low sugar instant hot chocolate drink
• Boiled broccoli with garlic chilli and lemon juice
• One low sugar yoghurt/natural yoghurt

Healthier Together: Keeping your child healthy

For weight management - click on obesity

For different languages, click on speak/translate me. 

Complications from Excess Weight (CEW) videos for Supporting Children with Additional Needs - Webinars on weight management in children

Relationship with Food

The main reason for us to eat or drink something is because we are hungry or thirsty – ie, our body’s response to a need, eg more energy or hydration needed to keep us functioning. This is a ‘physiological need’.

But..... eating habits have changed.

Many of us now use food and drink to fulfil other ‘needs’ in our lives:

Heart Hunger – or emotional eating.  We use food to comfort us if we feel lonely, bored, sad, happy, angry

Head Hunger – external triggers for us to eat may be sight/smell/look of food.  Adverts, marketing and the availability of food may trigger our appetites, eg, sweets at the till, 4 takeaways on one street

Habit – social occasions, Eid, Christmas, Birthdays (cake!), cinema (popcorn!)

Pressure from family and friends – if they are eating and encourage you to eat even if you do not want to. This can be cultural – you may not wish to cause offence by refusing.

How often do we challenge ourselves and just ‘do’ what others are doing, often feeling guilty afterwards?  we need to get better at distinguishing between:

• Hunger – the physical response caused by the body’s need for/lack of calories
• Appetite – psychological desire for/or enjoyment of food.  This may be dependent on memory or associations.

What is a healthy relationship with food?

Balance and flexibility - where we don’t feel guilty for eating certain foods or punish ourselves for eating certain foods. It means we listen to our bodies and choose foods that nourish and protect us. We must enjoy our food and celebrate it.

If we want our children to have a healthy relationship with food, now, and as adults, parent/carers must understand their own relationship with food. 

It is hard to manage food and mealtimes if there are strict rules/no rules for some in the family but not for others. Eg, making meals for children but ’skipping’ a meal yourself due to ‘dieting or not allowing any sweet treats but having a ‘treat drawer’.

It is much easier to manage eating well if there is a whole family holistic approach where there is an understanding of emotions around food and eating.

‘Feelings are at the heart of all behaviour’

If an adult understands their own relationship with food, it is easier to empathise with some of the feelings a child above a healthy weight may have and therefore manage their behaviour. 

Thought:  how may your child feel?  

Could they feel?

• sad
• angry
• frustrated
• different (from their peers)
• guilty (for eating certain foods) etc
• bored

Because of these feelings, how may they behave?

• sneak/steal food 
• constantly snacking
• overeat or under eat
• skip meals
• defiant
• withdrawn (maybe from social occasions where food is involved)

A simple guide to help you get starting with a more positive relationship with food:

Parenting styles

Parenting can be a difficult. The following table shows different parenting styles and how a child responds. We may fluctuate between these styles of parenting but should try to aim for the authoritative style the majority of the time.

Mindful Eating

STOP! THINK? Are you actually hungry?

• Are you bored?
• How will you feel in 20 minutes if you do not eat it?
• Do you really need to eat this now or can you wait until your next planned meal?
• Do you need to be in the kitchen near food?
• Can you be distracted by another activity? As with many sensations, it often only takes a couple of minutes for a craving to pass. They can help to curb your appetite and take your mind off it
• Do not have high fat/sugar snacks in the house

Distractions

• Make an activity list or hat - fill with different activities and pull one out to do. Suggestions – brush your teeth, have a shower or bath, wash the car, write a letter or e-mail, phone or visit a relative or friend (social media), watch a programme or film, computer games, reading, crosswords & puzzles, jigsaws, needlework (knitting / sewing), musical instrument, take some exercise – walking, cycling (outside or exercise bike), swimming, on-line exercise programme, dance to music.
• Really concentrate on one activity at a time, become preoccupied with it spending at least 10 minutes on the activity

If you feel you must have something to eat, you can still make a healthy choice

• Drinks to fill your stomach up – water, herbal tea, low-calorie/diet/sugar-free squash, fizzy water (carbonated or soda, if prefer flavoured choose sugar-free)
• Plan to snack sensibly – see leaflet for ideas
• Avoid having food in your bedroom
• When at home eat only at the dining room table

Control Your Mealtime Environment

• Keep serving dishes off the table to avoid ‘seconds’
• Make your meals look as attractive as possible, the more colourful the more appetising
• Use smaller plates, bowls and glasses. A smaller portion will look large when it is in a little dish
• Eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly before swallowing, put your utensil down between mouthfuls
• Pause for 1 – 2 minutes at least once during a meal/snack to reflect and assess hunger. If you feel full stop eating. Remember it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to send a message to your brain that it is full. Don't let fake hunger make you think you need more
• Concentrate on enjoying your food, be mindful (see reflective eating section of this leaflet)
• Do nothing else while eating, avoid distractions, avoid eating on the move

Shopping

• Try to shop for food when you are without the children or internet shop
• Stick to your precise shopping list

Relapse management

• Identify triggers for lapsing. What happened? Where were you? Who were you with? What were your feelings and thoughts at the time?
• Plan in advance how to prevent lapses. When is this likely to happen again?
• What can you do differently next time?

Videos to watch

· How to help your overweight child lose weight - live on purpose tv- a psychological perspective

· The approach to treating childhood weight management

Rewards

These should be used following desired behaviour not as a bribe to get desired behaviour - See reward leaflet

Reflective Eating

This exercise is to help you appreciate the enjoyment of eating, tuning into your senses and experiencing the present moment. Paying careful attention to our thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations without judging them as good or bad. This exercise should take around 5 minutes. It is recommended to do this daily for at least 7 days. We are hoping this will help your child to develop a healthier relationship with food:

Pick one food item to eat such as a raisin, grape, slice of banana, piece of cooked pasta, or a bite of rice cake

• SEEING – hold the food item in your hand; take time to really look at the food. Think of it as a food an alien has introduced to you for the first time.
• TOUCHING – turn the food between your fingers explore its texture. You can close your eyes as this improves your sense of touch
• SMELLING – Hold the food below your nose; on each breath in notice the smell. Think about what is happening in your mouth and stomach as you smell.
• PLACING – Bring the food to your lips and then place on your tongue. Think about how your hand and arm move to do this, use your tongue to explore the food.
• TASTING – Chew the food notice where in your mouth you chew the food, notice the taste as you take single bites and if the texture changes.
• SWALLOWING – look for the signs of intention to swallow.

Additional resources: 

NSPCC resources

Healthier families - nhs.uk

HENRY - for families in BwD- an 8 week program, which offers parents the chance to share ideas, gain new skills and tools to address lifestyle issues, in a supportive and fun environment. It is aimed for children aged between 0 and 5 years old.

Healthy Families - for families living in BwD- 10 week programme for parents, to support healthy weight for children aged between 5 and 11 years old.

For information on using rewards charts, please see the next drop-down: 

Rewards Charts

You can start using a Reward Chart with your child once they are about three years old or at an age they understand.

• Agree a treat/reward with your child when you introduce the chart, so they know what they’re working towards. It can be helpful to write/draw this on the chart to remind them.
• The reward needs to be something your child actually wants and that they wouldn’t normally get (or else it won’t provide any motivation for them).
• The reward also needs to be something you’re happy and able to provide!
• Be clear about what behaviours will earn stickers, and keep to this - if not, they’re unlikely to stay motivated to keep trying.
• Agree with your child where they would like the chart to be kept - ideally somewhere they will see it every day to remind them.
• Give the sticker as soon as your child performs the required behaviour, along with clear verbal praise reminding them what they’ve done to get the sticker (e.g. “Well done for taking your tablet – put another sticker on your chart for that”). Combine with a kiss or a hug if they like this.
• NEVER remove stickers from the chart (e.g. for bad behaviour).
• If your child loses motivation, keep encouraging them and reminding them about the reward they’ve chosen and how many stickers they have already.
• Try to stay focused on the times they have earned stickers successfully – reminding them about the times they haven’t earned stickers is likely to reduce their motivation to keep trying.
• Once the chart has been completed, clear the chart of stickers (or make a new chart if they want to keep the stars on the first one, to remind them of their achievement). Agree a new reward to work towards, and start again! (Try to keep going straight away to keep your child in their new routine, as it can be much harder to get motivated to start again after a break).

Reward/activity ideas

Table Key: ▲Suitable for all ages

                   ◊ Suitable for under 11’s

Reward charts to download

www.latitudes.org/reward-charts/

https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/reward-charts

https://www.rewardcharts4kids.com/reward-charts-by-character

http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/SChynoweth/visualsupports.cfm

Other ideas for reward systems

Rewarding:-

Think about what you want to reward – your child sitting at the table, smelling a new food, playing with a new food etc.

Timescale:-

Offering rewards will vary from child to child. Your child may be rewarded per meal, per day or per week. Keep daily rewards small (stickers, extra time on gadgets, points or rubber bands as per reward system above). For a weekly reward choose something from the ‘reward ideas list’ or anything else you think will motivate your child.

Guide to Portion sizes- based on the persons hand size - “me sized meals”.

Using a smaller plate helps manage portion sizes.

https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/

Advice on how and when to speak to your child about their weight can be found here. 

HENRY- for families in BwD- an 8 week program, which offers parents the chance to share ideas, gain new skills and tools to address lifestyle issues, in a supportive and fun environment. It is aimed for children aged between 0 and 5 years old.

Healthy Families - for families living in BwD- 10 week programme for parents, to support healthy weight for children aged between 5 and 11 years old.

The Billy Project - for women and young women (11–18yrs) only.  When you go on the web page, it will give you information about the women’s only gym.  Press on ‘Our Services’ and it will give details of the Junior gym service.  There is a small charge for this service (£3). 

The FitMill Hub - Free gym sessions for 11-17yrs males and females (mixed groups).  Wednesday and Friday - doors open 3.45pm, 4.15pm -5pm-ish.  Parents need to contact prior to attending and to go in on the first Email Nick on: nick@thefitmillblackburn.co.uk

PASTA Project (Play and Skills at Tea Time Activities).  5-8yr olds.  Currently also being piloted in Blackburn with Darwen. 

You don’t have to go out to be active- ideas for being active at home:

• Make a plan - do your activity at the same time each day. Think about the other people in your house and choose a time that is the easiest for you and your child to fit in with everyone
• Start small and build up, start with 2 or 3 times a week, choose the best days
• Encourage other members of your family to join in with the activity – it will be more fun’
• If you have space in your home, you can make an area that is specifically for your activity.
• Write ‘activity’ on your calendar or in your phone, as a daily reminder.
• Find clothes that are comfortable to be active in and get them ready, e.g. if your activity is in the morning, get them out the night before.
• Celebrate every time you complete an activity! Whatever you have done is better than nothing, so praise your child. Together with your child, make a positive list of all the activities you have done’.

Think about your common reasons for not doing activity and how you can avoid this ‘danger zone’. For example:

The Billy Project - for women and young women (11–18yrs) only.  When you go on the web page, it will give you information about the women’s only gym.  Press on ‘Our Services’ and it will give details of the Junior gym service.  There is a small charge for this service (£3). 

The FitMill Hub - Free gym sessions for 11-17yrs males and females (mixed groups).  Wednesday and Friday - doors open 3.45pm, 4.15pm -5pm-ish.  Parents need to contact prior to attending and to go in on the first Email Nick on: nick@thefitmillblackburn.co.uk

PASTA Project (Play and Skills at Tea Time Activities).  5-8yr olds.  Currently also being piloted in Blackburn with Darwen. 

Additional sites:

• Live Well (nhs.co.uk)
• Parkrun
• Walking for Health
• Walking routes
• Active for life
• Teaching ideas - games
• Change4Life
• Kids Zumba (R) 
• Kids Yoga
• GoNoodle 
• Walking Workouts ​​​

Watch a video from the CEW on goal setting here.