Learning From My Healthy Kids

Today I have the whole day off for anything I've procrastinated and not done-a lot. DD1 came home yesterday and may now stay until Wednesday. She's going to be a lot of help. When she walked in and took her coat off, still in her work clothes, I was taken aback  bit. She has been very selective about her food, exercised more, and  looks fantastic. I'm not just being a mom when I say she is stunning. She has always been a pretty girl with dark hair, olive skin, and ocean blue eyes, but with her healthy weight, gleam of being satisfied in life, she is just radiant. I haven't seen her in 11 weeks. She had lost 40 pounds or so at that point since the end of May, but the change in the past 11 weeks of weight loss was incredibly noticeable.

She and DD2 have very different body types. The 15 year old is a tiny pixie of a girl, and always has been. She also naturally gravitates towards fruit for snacks, with an occasional treat, satisfied with a bite or two and not a whole candy bar. DD1 was a chubby toddler, loving sugar and snacks, nearing 70% of height and 100% weight on the growth charts and didn't start balancing until middle school when she was a full on athlete. From my perspective, she was never overweight again, but dipped in and out of being slim-just like her mom-as a teen and young adult. (My dip hasn't been slim since 2000). In college in Milwaukee and England she walked everywhere, so had a natural way to keep her weight in proportion to her height. She has had to work hard though since being a career girl, living on her own, to make positive food and exercise choices.

Her dear sweet mother needs to follow her daughters lead. This is  what I've heard and viewed of her healthy practises.

• Drink lots of water, always have a filled bottle, preferably with ice and lemon at your side.
• Load up on veggies. Fill that plate first with the greens, the orange, and reds.
• Carbs are limited and only whole grain. Steel cut oats, brown rice, and sprouted breads in small servings. 
• Eat fruit to meet a sweet tooth.
• Round out your plate with lean and plant based proteins. (She's vegetarian so all plant based plus a few eggs.)
• Limit dairy to just what is needed for calcium.
• Limit if any,  processed foods.
• Walk more. Spend weekends hiking, not shopping or snacking in front of a screen.
• Add strength exercises with weights in addition to cardio.
• Limit alcoholic drinks to avoid empty calories and lack of resolve on above items.

I hope this mom can learn a lot from her youngsters. Maybe 2017 is my year to get my gleam back.