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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

This is an article written by Richard from the gastric band surgery website; he hopes you work as a family and it doesn’t come to these kinds of lengths to get your family in shape. He awaits your visit @thefreshhealth on Twitter.

Many people are trying to drop weight and want their entire family to have a hand in the process. Being together as a family is a wonderful thing, and when you and your family come together as a unit you will find that miraculous things can happen. If there is a person in your family suffering with weight problems then the entire family unit has a weight problem. Having a healthy family means having a happy family. Imagine your family getting together for personal training; it could be an extremely fun activity for them. Sometimes, when one family member does not eat healthy foods the chances are great that the entire family is also eating unhealthy.

Each family member should seek the advice of a medical professional prior to starting their weight loss regime. Working collectively as a family to lose weight and get healthy could be just the push that is needed to get started with a healthy lifestyle for the family.

Working together

When beginning the process a good start could be planning healthy meals together. Sharing the responsibilities of preparing family meals, such as going grocery shopping and cleaning up the kitchen as a family, with everyone doing their part can be the start of a healthy family. Cooking together creates a bond with your entire family, which will give the family a sense of unity that may not have existed before. The person normally responsible for purchasing the groceries should know that buying unhealthy foods is a not a good thing. Make a list before you go to the store and get just what is needed. If you absolutely must buy snacks do your best to buy healthy ones. Also, serve meals that are reasonably balanced and do something else as a family rather than watching the television.

Help your child to lose weight

Child obesity is on the rise and the responsibility lies with the parents. It is up to you to help your child start an early way of life that will prepare them for the future. Ready-made meals may seem like the only option, because work and life do get in the way, but if you really want to prepare your child for the life ahead of them then you will find time. If they are in a sports team then be there to watch them. There is no finer joy than seeing your little one kicking a football about (however good or bad they may be) and there is no greater support than having your parents at the touchline motivating you. This is only the beginning of helping your child to lose weight.

Setting goals

Setting goals is vital for any weight loss plan, which is the family should work together to encourage and support one another. Getting a gym membership for the entire family can give the family something to do together while getting healthier. You can also get the family active by participating in sports such as tennis or swimming, which will have your family physically fit while again creating a family bond. It doesn’t really matter how much weight each person wants to lose, as having the entire family at your side will make this endeavour bearable. Don’t focus so much on the actual weight loss but make getting healthy a top priority.

You can do it

When you turn on the television you can find multiple shows that pertain to weight loss. We see people losing as individuals, teams and families and it makes people feel that maybe they can do it as well. When you have the support of your family or friends it can make any weight loss goal possible. If your family gets together to begin the process it makes it easier because everyone should support one another. When you lose weight as one, you have a huge likelihood of bonding with each other as well as getting healthier together. Trying to lose weight is never easy, but with the support of your family it can be more attainable. With Christmas on the horizon and the New Year to come, this message of family togetherness has never been more important.

Earnest Parenting: advice for parents who want their children to be healthy.