When do we become over weight?
We fall victim to over weight when our calorie intake is more than our calorie expenditure. The easy way to find the category in which a person falls, (whether obese or not ) is by calculating Body Mass Index. BMI is a formula to access your body weight in relation to your height. Everyone should try to keep their BMI below 25.BMI between 18-25 indicates appropriate body weight.

People can cut back on calorie and lose weight on almost any diet. But the real issue is not weight but keeping weight off over the long run. It is important to find a way, which you can follow for the rest of your life. Before choosing an eating plan ensure that it gives you
· Satisfaction.
· Lot of variety.
· Good nutritive value.
· Lastly, check that you are in right frame of mind to loose weight.
To check that, ask yourself the following questions:
1. How much willing am I to include regular physical activity in my daily routine?
2. Am I willing to make changes in my set eating routine?
3. Do I have a realistic goal regarding weight loss?
4. Why do I want to loose weight to be healthier?

Yes answer to all above questions will indicate your readiness to weight loss programme.
A plan of weight loss with diet control only, is an impractical one. Physical activity is mandatory to maintaining good health & controlling weight. Aim for at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity (swimming, brisk walking, jogging etc). Most people cut on fat to loose weight. The goal should be to cut on calories. For good health, the type of fat is more important than the amount. Try to eat plenty of unsaturated fat. Limit saturated fat & avoid trans fat. Choose a variety of vegetables & fruits every day. Go easy on fruits like banana, cherries, grapes, mangoes, pineapple & pear.
A diet high in fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, healthy oils & daily physical activity will do the magic for you.
Overweight can expose us to a variety of diseases and timely intervention can help us lead a better and healthier life.

Hampered by busy morning schedules, skipping breakfast is a common feature with not only housewives but also with working ladies, men and children.

Even some people, who do take breakfast, take it on a run and that too an inadequate amount. A breakfast should provide enough energy to realize the daily activity until noon or lunch but it should also be light enough as to be easy to digest.

Our body also has a clock related to our food intake on fixed intervals. Even if we avoid eating food, our body will remind us on the particular time interval and we will start feeling hungry. The word breakfast derives from the idea of breaking the involuntary fast of sleep, thus signifying the first meal eaten after awakening. After fasting during night, breakfast plays a very significant role in refilling our energy. Some studies conducted years back showed that efficiency in physical performance decreased in late morning hours when breakfast was omitted. In children attitude towards schoolwork was poorer when breakfast was omitted.

The importance of breakfast is duly indicated in an old saying, ‘ Eat breakfast like a King, Lunch like a mediocre man and Dinner like a poor man’.

Some people omit breakfast thinking skipping calories to be taken as breakfast will help them in weight reduction. The fact is that these people while on a weight reduction regimen experience a greater hunger in addition to being physiological inefficient.

Studies have indicated that children and adolescents who usually have breakfast generally consumed more daily calories than those who skip this meal and, yet, are less likely to be overweight. The changes which we can make to better breakfast habits can be :

1. Planning simple, easy to prepare but varied meals
2. Getting up sufficiently early so that there is time for eating breakfast.

Breakfast can be light or heavy depending upon the activity level and preference of an individual

A few sample breakfast menu are given below:

1. Orange Juice or milk/Boiled egg, Bread and butter, any fruit
2. Wheat porridge with milk, sandwich, any fruit
3. Stuffed praantha with minimum oil and curd, any fruit
4. Idli/Vada Sambhar/Pongal, Tea or coffee
5. Poha/Upma, Tea or coffee or milk

I feel exhausted these days
I am always running, there is no end to work
I keep forgetting small things
My body gets cramped very easily
My children are falling sick almost every month
I eat so little but my weight keeps increasing

When we give such statements, should we not stop and ask ourselves - “Are we really healthy?”

Health is one such thing about which we all know but do nothing to improve.

Let’s, then understand health better.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of disease.
We can strive for optimal health rather than perfect health because optimal health is achievable.

Pillars of optimal health are:

Exercise
Proper Nutrition
Daily Rest
Positive mental attitude
Good medical care
Clean Air & Water, Good Hygiene

Health is our daily concern and is the most important factor for maintaining good health.

Also, we must remember -

Nutrition = Life

All foods contain nutrients, but all nutrients are not present in one food group.

In the current fast paced life, meals lack vitamins, minerals and fibers. There is high amount of fat and cholesterol in diet. It contains more of empty calories and on top of it we face following lifestyle challenges:

Eating on the run
Missing or skipping meals
No time for exercise
Smoking and alcohol consumption
Stress and environmental concerns

Each bite we take determines how we are going to live tomorrow. Our indifferent attitude towards health and fast paced lifestyle leads us to deadly diseases like hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, cancer, etc.

We can really save ourselves from falling into a pit we have prepared for ourselves by making efforts to achieve optimal health by :

Exercising regularly
Improving our nutritional status
Proper rest
Working on stress and anxiety by indulging in sports, good moments with family, friends and children.
Develop positive mental attitude by taking highs and lows of life in stride
Avoid over indulgence in any one food group
Watching our salt and sugar intake and including lots of food and vegetables in our diet

Individual variation in consumption of food and sense of taste is highly developed in some individuals than in others. Pre-school children with low taste sensitivities accept more variety of food than with high taste sensitivities.

“Why children tend to like noodles, pizzas and cold drinks etc?” The catchy advertisements are very much responsible and secondly they take these food items as alternative to staple diet that is served at homes.

Mothers face challenges in statements form their children like:

· My friend’s mom is so innovative in cooking food.
· There is no variety in your menu.
· Sabzi tastes different & good in restaurant.

How can a mother make a child happy and still maintain health of her loved ones? As a mother, we always tend to cook and serve best for our families form the resources that are available at our disposal. We can start by being more patient and understanding.

Loss of appetite can be due to:

· Sickness
· Genuinely not hungry
· School Pressure
· Peer pressures

Many a times we do not look into matters that divert attention of our child from food.

Some unchallenged rules to get your way are :

· Include your child’s likes in the menu
· The only way we can get someone to do something is by giving him what he wants.
· Follow the deepest principle in human nature - The craving to be appreciated.
· Importance of teaching your child early on - Discipline. Teach them that cold drinks, pizza, etc. cannot be replacements for meals

If we are careful and attentive to the needs and desires of a child with a little tact and persuasion we can succeed in getting our child eat the way we want and the way he prefers.