Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World: A Nutritionist's Step-By-Step Coaching Plan for Easy Weight Loss for Teens and Children

If you are frustrated, saddened or overwhelmed with watching your child continue to carry excess weight despite you and your child's best efforts, Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World could be some of the most important information you'll ever read. If you are fed up with the swirl of theoretical and less than helpful information you see and hear around you on how to help your child reach optimal health, Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World could be the best way to move forward-gaining sound, practical knowledge and building health in your own household.

Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World describes in detail the nutritionist-designed, family-tested and proven Kids in Balance (KIB) coaching plan for easy weight loss for teens and children. Presenting the author's view as to the seven primary contributing factors to childhood obesity and the seven step-by-step B-A-L-A-N-C-E counterpoints to those factors, the book outlines KIB's easy-to-understand and follow plan for lifestyle change. As parents work to incorporate the comprehensive and personalized-for-their-child approach to weight loss, it should soon be clear that a healthy weight is within their child's reach. The simple three-stage game plan, tasty recipes, helpful worksheets and 28 days worth of step-by-step Day at a Glance Guidelines enable families to adopt positive habits and discover health truly can be in their home.

Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World's innovative approach to childhood obesity means parents will be able to: -Sort through the abundance of often-conflicting weight loss information currently available. -Have access to some of the most helpful principles in reaching and maintaining a healthy weight and wellness-in one convenient place. -Translate concepts of natural nutrition, body typing and functional fitness into easy, tasty and fun ways of living life. -Discover a proven game plan to guide a family on this journey. -Protect a child from the many potential health challenges that can arise from carrying excess weight. -Build a foundation of wellness for a child that will last a lifetime.

Discovering Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World is like discovering your own tailor-made way to optimize health! Armed with the information in this book, you'll have a new child and adolescent wellness lens through which to filter lifestyle practises and will be armed with tips and tools to help your child reach an appropriate weight and stay on the healthy living journey for life.

SHORT EXCERPT

Most parents of a child carrying excess weight recognize that an unhealthy or overabundant diet and insufficient physical activity contribute to obesity. If you are one of many parents, however, who has tried unsuccessfully to use that knowledge to help your child, you are not alone.

-Many parents feel they have failed in their ability to move their child to a state of health and wellness with regard to weight.
-Many parents feel confused over which nutritional and weight loss information to implement with their child.
-Many parents feel any attempts they have made to assist their child shed excess weight have worked minimally or in fact, have led to increased weight gain.
-Many parents do not understand why some of their children are in a healthy weight range and yet one or more carry excess weight.
-Many parents feel they are missing vital pieces of information that seem to be contributing factors to their child's excess weight.

If you are experiencing any of those thoughts or emotions, the Kids in Balance program described in Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World can help.

REVIEWS

"For many years, Brenda has selflessly devoted her energies to looking for ways and means to improve the lives of others in her community. With her passion for nutrition, she has done extensive research in order to develop practical interventions to help those experiencing health issues and concerns. In her new book, Brenda translates her wide-ranging experience with nutritional counseling into a concrete program with innumerable recommendations to help those struggling with the very real challenge of childhood obesity. This well-written and thorough book will help families faced with nutritional and weight-management concerns in children to sort through the maze of information on this topic and achieve positive, life-changing outcomes."

Stephen Genuis, MD FRCSC DABOG DABEM FAAEM
Clinical Associate Professor
Faculty of Medicine
University of Alberta

"The cure to childhood obesity lies in the hands of parents. It's in the ability to say "No" to the food industry's processed food and "Yes" to natural foods that are rich in protein and good fats. Overweight Kids in a Toothpick World helps families address the social and emotional components to weight problems. It offers a unique and gentle way for parents to support their children achieve a healthy weight. It's well written and easy to understand presenting an easy-to-follow plan that makes sense."

Dr. Al Sears,
Founder, Center for Health and Wellness

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About This Book

Chapter 1 Kids in Balance

Obesity--Widespread and Increasing

A Chance at Wellness

Parental Responsibility/Privilege

Societal Norms

Who Does Well on the Program?

Program Benefits

Chapter 2 7 Problems - 7 Solutions

7 Factors in Childhood Obesity

KIB's Three Phases to Success

7 Solutions for Obesity

Chapter 3 B-Body Type

Why I am a Huge Fan of Body Typing

Definition of Body Typing

What are Body Type Differences?

Body Typing in Action

Body Typing Tips

Chapter 4 A-Attitude

Attitudes About What?

Whose Attitude?

Goals and Desires

Chapter 5 L--Laughter and Play

More Laughter, Less Weight

All Work/No Play=Unhealthy Weight

Making Room for Play

Relieving Stress/Good Communication

Chapter 6 A--Activity

Three Essential Types of Exercise

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Inactivity

Chapter 7 N--A Good Night's Sleep

Why Sleep is Important

How Less Sleep Leads to More Weight

Where Did Your Child's Sleep Go?

Suggestions for a Good Night's Sleep

EMFs and Sleep

Chapter 8 C--Clean Water

What Exactly is Clean Water?

Water's Importance

More Water Can=Less Weight

Chapter 9 E--Eat for Health

Food Fundamentals

Simple Food Principles

KIB's Healthy Living Pyramid

Protein

Fats

Carbohydrates

Snacks

Fibre

Chapter 10 Getting Started

The Need to Prepare

What to Expect

How to Prepare

Food Logs: Why KIB Loves Them

Determining Your Child's Body Type

Taking Healthy Measurements

20 Questions Survey

Chapter 11 Phase 1 - Find Your BALANCE

Starting Find Your BALANCE

Creating a Find Your BALANCE Menu

Why Cleanse?

Sugar Detoxification

KIB Food Intake Tools

Find Your BALANCE FAQs

Action Plan Summary

Chapter 12 Phase 2--Build Your BALANCE

Starting Build Your BALANCE

Appropriate Amounts of Exercise

Intentional Eating

Creating a Build Your BALANCE Menu

How to Handle a Weight Loss Plateau

Calories Key to Weight Loss?

Build Your BALANCE Tips

Build Your BALANCE FAQs

Action Plan Summary

Chapter 13 Phase 3--Keep Your BALANCE

Starting Keep Your BALANCE

Sometimes Foods

Celebrating Well

Creating a Keep Your BALANCE
Menu

Keep Your BALANCE Tips

Keep Your BALANCE FAQs

Action Plan Summary

Conclusion

KIB Recipes

Appendix 1 KIB Body Type Survey
Appendix 2 Fuel Mix Guidelines
Appendix 3 Label Reading Clues
Appendix 4 KIB-Friendly Supplements
Appendix 5 KIB on a Budget
Appendix 6 Family Activities

Label Reading Activity

Body Type Activity

Communication Activity
Appendix 7 Worksheets
Appendix 8 Day-at-a-Glance Guidelines

Notes

Index

AUTHOR BIO

Initially trained as a social worker, Brenda was employed in the social services field for almost a decade. During this period, she worked with family support services in a variety of positions including group home supervisor and social worker for an inter-ministerial residential facility for high-risk adolescents.

For the past twenty-five Brenda has formally and informally studied nutritional principles, natural cooking, fitness, nutritional and food supplementation and time management. In 1986, she formed her own company, Choices Lifestyle Management, and began consulting, teaching and writing on healthy living.

Brenda's writing credits span more than a fifteen years--largely in the area of freelance health writing--and include three years of column writing, newsletters and promotional material, as well as a variety of articles on family life written for publications such as Canadian Living, Maclean's, Family Fun and Grit.

Brenda's sense of humor comes of surviving her first 25 years as a "sickie"--how else do you survive four bad colds a year, each being a full season long--and her last 25 years as a mother of five wonderful but slightly wild and crazy children. Though making good lifestyle choices is an extremely important matter, and one that, depending upon your decisions, gives rise to some significant consequences, it is Brenda's belief that not taking yourself too seriously and being able to laugh when the situation warrants, takes you much further along on the healthy living journey than another batch of solemn, theoretical information. As far as she is concerned, a spoonful of organic, unpasteurized honey does a very good job of helping "eating for health" medicine go down.