Don’t…punish him for eating stuff that was just fine yesterday but means a time-out or grounding today. Aside from the aforementioned confusion, it does nothing but make him feel like he failed and he disappointed you in the past. Not very cool for the self-esteem and related ‘emotional eating’ that is so common in our households.

Do…reward him for staying on track with his eating plan. Offer a meal [within limits] at his favorite restaurant on Friday night or a special treat at grandma’s house. Make it fun and something to look forward to so that he can strive to succeed.

Don’t…cold turkey the fast foods and sweet junk. Not only because of the points made above, but there are significant hormonal changes that occur with deprivation diets and immediately halting foods that trigger such. For example: simple carbohydrates such as white sugar and pasta trigger the release of insulin and various hormones such as serotonin that help make us feel safe and secure and in control. Dopamine, another very important hormone, produces endorphins, which help make us feel euphoric and happy [runner’s high]. An abrupt deprivation of foods that release these chemicals can lead to symptoms of fatigue, depression, and loss of focus or concentration. These symptoms, though precipitated by the well-intended deprivation of ‘junk foods’, are often misdiagnosed and may sometimes be treated with antidepressants or other medications not appropriate for the cause. Do…make a very gradual transition to the healthier diet by phasing out the bad calories over the course of months as you phase in the healthier foods. This process may take a year to complete but I must emphasize this is a new, sustainable way of teaching your child proper nutrition, not a diet that is sure to fail in a couple weeks. This process will allow the body and brain to adapt to the new foods by ‘learning’ how to digest, process and assimilate such in the system. My opinion is the physiological functions of the brain and body are linked by emotion: if your child is miserable, no reasoning in the world will get through, no matter what the consequences are. This will lead to sure failure and should be avoided at all costs.

Don’t…feed emotions! Though it’s ‘normal’ [read: typical] for parents to want to comfort our kids when they’re sad or hurt, all you’re doing is teaching them that feeding their pain and sorrow is the way to healing. It’s not and we all know it-all we do is make a problem worse. Yes, your mom did it, and her mom did it. But, we are a terribly overweight nation. Is it working??!!

Lifestage Fitness was created by combining the best attributes of most contemporary fitness centers with unparallelled personal fitness services.

Joe Ranieri is a 30-year veteran of the health and fitness industry, and is owner of Joe Ranieri’s LifeStage Fitness, an individualized fitness and nutrition training facility in suburban Chicago. Joe has helped hundreds of exercise enthusiasts of all ages and ability achieve their fitness goals using his simple, realistic approach to proper nutrition and exercise. Joe can be reached for questions regarding your desire for a healthy lifestyle through his email at joe@lifestagefitness.com.

Understanding that life-changes do not occur overnight, Joe Ranieri provides a real-world approach to making regular exercise and proper nutrition second nature – an easy, sustainable way to gradually, and permanantly, help you help yourself.

• 45 Day Slimdown - Part 1
• 45 Day Slimdown - Part 2
• 45 Day Slimdown - Counting Calories
• Surviving Fad Diets - The "Lose Weight Fast" Scheme
• Get Rid of Excess Fat - Part 1
• Get Rid of Excess Fat - Part 2

• Childhood Obesity - Leading by Example
• Childhood Obesity Step 1- Portion Control
• Eliminating Childhood Obesity - Do's and Don'ts
• Eliminating Childhood Obesity - More Do's and Don'ts

• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 1
• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 2
• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 3