Stop Telling Your Kids To Lose Weight
You Think Your Kid Is Overweight
I’ve worked with thousands of individuals between 5-25 years old throughout my decade of coaching and I can tell you a very common problem with the youth of this world is self-confidence and belief in their worth. I have experience working with extremely overweight and very fit individuals with body dysmorphia, low self-esteem, and eating disorders. As the coach/athlete relationship builds a majority of these individuals link these emotions to their parents.
I know that most parents out there have the best intentions in mind, but repeatedly telling your kids that they need to lose weight or change their body in any manner tends to be unhealthy and turns into severe problems down the road.
I’ll leave this paragraph with the observation that I would honestly say over 80% of the athletes we start working with struggle with body image and self-esteem. We can do better.
Consider This
Youth athletes and children come in many different shapes and forms… with none of them being identical to their peers. Not to mention the maturity levels physically and mentally can be vastly different depending on genetics and many other factors.
Repeatedly asking your kid to look different because you have conceived an idea of what they “should” look like is a massive mistake. If you are helping promote them to live a healthy lifestyle at home they look just like they “should” at that moment, which we will dive deeper into.
What Doesn’t Help
Focusing on the negative.
Putting them on a diet
Telling them they need to lose/gain weight
Comparing them to their peers
Talking about how much they are eating and commenting on weight gain.
So no to all treats.
Penalizing them with extra physical fitness as a “solution” or making them wear fitness trackers.
Being a terrible example…..
What Does Help
Focusing on the positive.
Prioritize preparing healthy whole foods for the family and teach them why it’s important
Promoting water intake/sleep
Stop drinking and supplying soda and other carb-loaded drinks at home.
Spending time with them doing physical activities.
Leading by example.
My Challenge To You
Stop telling and start doing! Odds are your child learned their habits from you, and you can influence them to change by leading from the front. Consider making a lifestyle change in your OWN life to not only improve your health but engage your children in a healthier lifestyle.
By committing to this type of lifestyle you are creating the opportunity for your children to fall in love with physical activity, themselves, and what they are capable of.
If you’re going to be strict on anything the best bang for your buck is SLEEP! Take away the cell phones and be consistent on bed times. Your child needs the right amount of sleep to be healthy. If your child isn’t well-rested, it’s more difficult for them to eat right and exercise. Sleep allows your child’s body to rest and reset each day… and yours.
One of the main missions of HansenAthletics is to teach the youth to LOVE working on themselves physically and mentally, and how it can carry over to their performance in sport and life.
Keep an eye out for the podcast!
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