7 Tips for Parents on How to Drop Weight
Losing excessive weight through spending time with your kids is like killing two birds with one stone: you strengthen the bond with your offspring while getting yourself in a fine mettle. Children can become a wonderful motivator in many a way, from their hyperactive lifestyle to their diets. The helpful idea is to observe them for a week or so noting their daily routine habits and marking down their good points.
1. Keep Playing
When you’re on the playground with your little dynamos, try and involve yourself into whatever they’re doing, running along, spinning carousels and engaging the swings. You will put your muscles to work and burn a lot of calories – and probably enjoy yourself along the way! Besides, the kids are not likely to quit it soon, so you’ll work up pleasant and healthy tiredness.
2. Subsist on Little Food
Children don’t pay much attention to food as long as they’re busy, and it often turns out that they have got by on some chips or crackers and a tomato. While it’s not quite all right, it goes to show that we don’t have to gorge ourselves to maintain energy. So, it’s worth your while to cut down your portions and see whether you will feel fine with half of what you customarily eat. Also, you may find it gives quick weight loss results.
3. Obey Your Stomach
Children haven’t yet acquired the habit of gorging themselves, they stop when they feel they’ve had enough. Unfortunately, that doesn’t go for us adults who can stuff to the utmost at a restaurant. What about obeying the signals from your full stomach and leave food on the table when you don’t want it? You won’t be feeling heavy for a long time afterwards.
4. Keep up Metabolism with Small Meals
As you know, it’s better to eat small meals more often than get down three big ones. This way you keep free of hunger pangs, keep your metabolism working on the same level and can have no fear that you may get enormously hungry at the end of the day and go devouring your way through the kitchen. Pick up something low-calorie every four hours like your kid does.
5. Be on the Go
Look at the way kids rush from one activity to another without stopping to even take a breather. If you take a page out of their book and remain on the move throughout the day, you will be burning more calories that you imagine! Make a point of stopping some way from your destination and walk up to it, it will also be better if you carry the stuff you bought to your car a little farther than you habitually do. Also, as you are watching TV, do some light exercises instead of sitting immobile. You will be surprised at how much you can burn just by introducing these small habits.
6. Alter Sleep Habits
Some people are apt to get ravenous when they had not enough sleep. If you feel like clearing out your fridge or getting several bags of chips or bars of chocolate on your way to work, it may be because you had less sleep than you need. Try going to bed at the same time as your children and see if it will make for a happier morning, free from the pangs of hunger. You surely can afford to do it at least now and then.
7. Do Something Instead of Eating
If you can’t tear yourself from your meal by sheer willpower, start thinking about anything exciting you would rather do right now instead of going on eating until you’ve had your fill. Imagine your kid sitting still at the table and eating, is it a picture easy to conjure up? Not quite, right? So, set yourself off thinking about what you can get up and do and how you can amuse yourself instead of spending another half hour at your meal.
When you have cottoned on to it, you can pick up some useful hints from the way your children spend their day and install them into your routine. What can be better than feeling a little lighter on your feet and a little closer to your young ones? Maybe you will discover more ideas than are set down here.
