How To Be A Healthy Family Without The Struggle

When the phrase “Healthy eating” crops up on our Facebook newsfeed, on our twitter feed or is hash-tagged on Instagram we usually scroll past and think “maybe tomorrow”. The “tomorrow” version of yourself certainly has a lot of work to do…

A lot to do with being unhealthy is habitual. We all slip into bad habits because of busy lifestyles, social lives, work or being a parent. Modern life is designed to make things easier for us, and the easy option is not always the healthy options. This means there are plenty of reasons you might fall into unhealthy habits.

The problem is, our country is in a crisis of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. The tragic part is that we are seeing record levels of tooth decay in children, too. Children often do not get a say in the way they are raised, so the only ones able to change anything are the grownups.

This is easier said than done. We all know that we should be making healthier decisions, but this isn’t always easy. Here at Bhandal Dentistry, we think that the only way to combat these health crises is to change gradually and slowly into good habits that eventually replace the bad ones.

We want to help all of our patients to think about what they put in their mouths and the mouths of their children and how it will have an effect on their bodies and teeth. Education is key here, and if we can educate our children then we can set them up with healthy habits for life.

This can help to stop them from falling into easy habits that do harm to their health. Here are a few tips you can get started on with your family:

Don’t try to change everything at once

If you try to change everything at once, it will quickly feel insurmountable and you’ll lose motivation. Instead, make one healthy change at a time and wait for it to stick.

For example, instead of cutting out all fun drinks and asking your family to stick to water, try making healthier changes. Why not change over a fizzy sugary drink to a sugar free alternative? Or get them involved in making non-alcoholic cocktails with fruit juice, fizzy water and fruits and embellishments like mint leaves and lime wedges?

You could then make the switch to water that is flavoured with natural ingredients like cucumber wedges and lime or orange slices. This will help to make this important switch less jarring, and it will also make it a fun and creative change.

Prepare some healthier snacks

When we’re busy, we often rely on convenience. This is why it’s often easier to reach for a bag of crisps or a cookie when you want a snack, rather than chopping up some vegetables and serving it with a healthy dip.

To get around this, you need to be prepared. Try preparing little healthy snacks that you can keep on hand. Cut up some carrot batons, celery sticks, pepper sticks and make a load of healthy dips in the blender. That way when anyone feels peckish they can reach in the fridge for a healthier and much more filling alternative.

Make a list of healthy snacks that they can have between meals, for example: apple slices with peanut butter if they are going out to play – they might be peckish after school and need a little energy boost. If you are stuck for time, buy them pre-made and cut in the veg section and buy ready made dips instead of crisps and sweets and biscuits.

Set goals and keep track

Plan out the changes you want to make week by week and have small achievable goals, this is much easier to follow. Or if you have a family, make a wall planner with stickers to show the goals and have incentives or prizes at the end of every week/month.

Week one might be to each drink a glass of water with dinner instead of pop for a whole week, if everyone does it they get a prize or treat. You might also challenge everyone to go for a whole week without eating crisps or sweets.

You might also challenge your family to try new foods. Take it in turns to pick a night of the week when you try a new home cooked recipe. Everyone can take turns choosing the recipe, which should help to inspire an interest in the origins of their food and how it makes it to the table.

Celebrate the little wins

Be positive about the changes and explain why you are doing it. Children are so understanding and much more intelligent than many give them credit for. Tell them it will help you to get healthy too because you want to be able to play with them without getting out of breath.

You might create a family star chart and reward the entire family for sticking to the plan. These small changes will add up over time and will soon become second nature. Your children will no longer ask why you’re doing it, these changes will just be a lot more natural to them.

Choose healthy rewards

A common mistake that families make when trying to encourage healthy habits is to use the unhealthy habits as a reward. For example, after a week of healthy eating you might choose a takeaway as a reward. However, this reinforces a negative message that you are suffering through the healthy habits so that you can be rewarded with the thing you really want.

Instead, try to plan healthy rewards for your efforts. For example, you might plan a fun weekend activity like trying a new sport together or heading to an attraction like a trampoline park. You could also choose a healthy food spot, or pick a treat dinner that feels indulgent but is actually quite healthy.

Work as a team

Naturally, humans are very competitive so this may be a great way for adults to lose weight and compare, but for children working as a team has as much benefit as the healthy eating itself. Get the children involved in the shopping list, getting the ingredients for the healthy shop, picking out recipes that they want to help with or would like to try.

Encouraging them to be part of the cooking is one of the best ways to establish healthy habits for life. Cooking meals from scratch can help you to avoid unhealthy levels of sugar and fat that may contribute to poor oral hygiene. Learning how to cook from a young age is one of the best gifts you can give your child, as they will be able to use these skills throughout their life.

Stay tuned over the coming weeks as we add more tips and ideas to becoming a super healthy family.

If you would like to come and get your children’s teeth checked and your own why not make a family appointment for a check up – we’re still taking on NHS patients too. Call us today on 024 7668 6690.