So today I had a very sobering moment,one that I am a little shook up about. I have come to the realization that we as parents may have to take a more active roll in our sons health for his future. As you know I have been working really hard to hit the 100 pounds lost point. So today when I got home the kids asked me what I weighed. I told them and all I am going to say right now is....I am soooooo close! So Seth was dancing around all crazy and Tony made the statement, "I wish you would get that excited about your own weight loss." Well at first I thought it was a tough but yet truthful comment. Tony and I know what it is like to be over weight and we do not want to see our children follow those same footsteps. I thought to myself I bet Seth's BMI is as high as mine almost. So I plugged in both of our statistics and what happened next shocked and saddened me. Seth is 4'11" and weighs in at 153 I am 5'10" and weigh in at 225. So Seth's current BMI is 31.....mine is 32.3. How is it that we have allowed our 11 year old to become so obese? For years I tried to place the blame to my genetics, my own health, ect but in reality it was ME who choose to eat unhealthy, it was ME who chose not to exercise, it was ME who chose to allow myself to wreck havic with my health. As a parent how much can I do to help my children be as healthy as they can be? Well I do the shopping, so I guess the treats are going to have to go since we can not just "treat" ourselves once in a while, as a parent I am the who who designates how much "screen" time my children get, and most importantly I have to model the behavior I want my kids to have. So even though my lifestyle has changed almost completely around I need to be more observant of what I am eating, how much I am exercising and if I am totally modeling a healthy lifestyle.
Don't get me wrong. I do not plan to take all the goodies out of our home, never let the kids have screen time and harp about getting healthy but like anything else it is time to make this a priority in our lives. I know what it is like to be the biggest kid in the class, the biggest kid on the team, I know what your joints feel like carrying around all that extra weight. I want Seth to have the best opportunity he can to live a healthy, happy, athletic life if he so chooses.
When I set out on this Lap Band Journey I knew it would affect our whole family. When I shop there is far more fruits and vegetables in my cart. I spend a lot of time outside now which is wonderful since usually the girls will join me. But what I know the most and I preach constantly is, until the person is ready to make a change there is nothing I can do to make them change. But for Seth I can limit food choices, amounts and the amount of inactivity in our home.
If anyone has any tips on how to help your kids be healthy please share. Seth loves sports and he is involved year round in some kind of sport but he is also year round having a large appetite and does not seem to understand portions.
I know that I am not the first mom who has had this concern nor will I be the last but I want the best for my kids and that includes a healthy life.
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