Back to School Fit Lunch

God has given us as parents the great responsibility to raise our children not just spiritually and morally, but also we must teach our children to succeed in life and lead a healthy and fit lifestyle. The eating habits that you instill in your children today will last a lifetime. As a fitness and martial arts instructor I help people and children succeed in life, achieve their goals and transform their bodies. That is my calling what God put me on this earth to do. Yet, just as I tell my students parents that a Black Belt is made by the family a healthy fit child is also made by the family. We all need our family to give us support in reaching our goals. The younger that you start feeding them healthy foods the better it is. Yet, it is never too late to start.

 

First you must be an example, how can you tell your child to eat healthy and exercise if you are stuffing yourself with fast foods and not exercising. Next, you must stop feeling sorry for your child and take action. Our taste buds change within a few weeks. Stop letting the media, McDonalds and the school system monitor your child’s eating habits. Obviously it has not worked just look at the state our nation is in with the obesity epidemic. The fast food industry spends billions of dollars advertising their yummy food. They lure our children in with the nice toys in their kid’s meals. My children Julio 15 and Jon Paul 10 are in great shape and they are great athletes, yet we still monitor the amount of hamburgers and pizza that they eat.

 

School cafeteria food today is full of un-healthy choices. The cola industry pays the school system to have their vending machines in middle and high schools. By the time our kids are in middle and high school they are living off of soft drinks, sweets and potato chips. These are extremely un-healthy foods full of empty calories. The biggest poison that you can give a child is soft drinks especially diet soft drinks.   

 

Do you know that over weight children are more vulnerable to being bullied and also bullying other children? Over weight children usually have lower self esteem then their fit peers. The worst part is that over weight kids can develop hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and numerous other adult diseases. The experts are saying that this generation will be the first generation to not out live their parents.

 

 Now is the time to go back to school so let’s take action. Healthy eating habits will help keep your child awake in class and more focused. Healthy eating is even more important to children than it is to adults. Kids need to eat nutritious meals that provide them with energy, keep them free of disease and supply them the building blocks for growth. We must give them a healthy breakfast and pack a healthy lunch for optimum fitness and success. Setting up a routine schedule for your child is of utmost importance (go to sleep early, set up a time for homework, exercise and healthy eating.)

 

The best way to assure that your children are eating a healthy school lunch is by packing them a lunch. Discuss lunch options with your child and make decisions jointly about which foods to include. If not the child will not eat their lunch and either throw it out, sell it or trade it. Make your child foods that are tasty and can be eaten quickly, since schools don't usually allow much time for lunch. You want foods that are easy to prepare and nutritious. If your child is overweight, you also want to make sure the foods you pack are low in fat, sugar and calories.

Lunch should include a protein, such as peanut butter, eggs, chicken, tuna, lean deli meats, or beans. It should also include vegetables such as baby carrots, celery, green pepper or zucchini sticks, and/or corn which will provide vitamins, minerals and fiber. You can also include fresh or canned fruits. Fresh is always better. Bread, tortillas or crackers made with 100% whole wheat flour will add fiber to the meal, helping your child stay full longer. (White flour contains little fiber and does not have the same effect). Skim, low-fat or soy milk should be included in a thermos or purchased at school. Avoid juice boxes since they contain high quantities of sugar (yet, it is still better than soda's and fruit drinks). Don’t forget to pack a few bottles of water also. Water fountain water is contaminated with numerous chemicals.

 

Here are some healthy sandwich ideas that your child will love. A crunchy peanut butter and grated carrot on cinnamon raisin bread or whole wheat bread (you can't taste the carrot)! Peanut butter and banana wheat bread sandwich is my favorite sandwich. I began eating them in the early eighties when I was a competitive bodybuilder. Tuna or chicken salad in a pita pocket, or on whole wheat bread will give your child the protein needed to build his/her muscles. If you are not sure what or how to eat it make sure that you eat it as close to the way God put it on earth. For more information on fitness and nutrition log on to our new web site www.miamikettlebell.com and make sure you read the 10 Commandments of Health and Fitness. This is a work in progress. We’ll be adding new pages and tips on a regular bases.

Comments

[Frank DiMeo, NSCA-CPT, KBC-1 Instr.]

Julio--
Thank you for making this resource available.
Obesity in children is a horrific problem in our culture.
What you said is true about the things an obese child will go through; I grew up that way.
Almost every fight I got in during my early school years had to do with that in some way.
My parents really didn't understand good nutrition and just did the best they could with the meals they provided.
I am so thankful that they never pampered me over being so fat, that caused me to rise to the challenge of change. With GOD's help, those changes became life-time habits for the good.
I encourage all parents to take your advice.
Thanks again, and GOD bless!

[Julio Anta]

Frank
Thank you for the kind words. I would have never guessed that you were an over weight child. Keep up the great work, stay fit and God Bless my friend.

Frank is a fitness and kettlebell instructor from Sarasota, FL. Log on to www.miamikettlebell.com Ageless Warrior section to see what great shape Frank is in.

[Manni]

Reading this article I find it to be an eye opener for parents. I'm a high school student. I go to a school and I see the weirdest thing in the world.

My educational strand is telecommunications and information technology (by statistics students in this field are overweight or are generally unhealthy.) The students in my field are fit, there are three personal friends of mine that I know who work in the gym weekly. To me its odd seeing a young man with big muscles typing on a keyboard.
I notice more students studying health who seem mostly to be anorexic or over weight. I can only think the parents themselves are the cause. A person can have knowledge, but they can also have no motivation. Maybe they chose the strand in the first place to help their parents be healthier; who knows. This has aroused a curiosity with in me and I’m going to look further into why people are unhealthy.
Thank you for writing.

[Julio Anta]

I'm glad to hear that you are eating healthy. It takes more then knowledge to eat healthy and stay fit. You must be motivated, dedicated and have great will power to eat healthy. Look at the average Medical Doctor. They are totally out of shape, yet they monitor our health.

[Gerardo Larrea French]

Anyone who may be interested in improving his or her physical condition must understand that the goal has to be a continous goal. Getting in shape and staying fit is a challenge where you compete against yourself to become a stronger person. By stronger I mean that you become stronger intellectually, physically and spiritually because the result of not giving up and staying with it year after year as I have done gives you balance, confidence and true sense of achievement.

I have a quote that I wrote and I would like to share with you and it is the following one..... "Believing is giving yourself a chance to be"

Gerardo Larrea French Jr. (Kung Fu Student)

[Julio Anta]

Gerardo walks the walk. He lost 45 pounds in 2 years doing our kung fu and fitness kickboxing program. 6 years later he has kept the weight off. Read his story "Gerrardo Larrea, a True Success Story" in the article below and see his wonderful transformation in his before and after photo. I'm truely proud of Gerardo reaching the big five 0 this year he is a brown belt and in the best shape of his life.