Obesity

Here are a couple of quick and easy ways to reduce the calories your child consumes:

Change to diet drinks

When I counsel my patients and their families, I stress the importance of making small changes slowly to maximize your chances of long-term success. A relatively small change that offers great rewards is simply changing from regular sugared drinks to sugar-free.

Every 8-12 ounce serving of a sugared drink (like regular soda, juices, powdered flavored drinks, etc.) contains 140 to 180 calories. Four sugared drinks can have as many calories as a Big Mac!

Only eat at the table

Most junk food snacking is done either on the couch or on the run. Make a rule that all food must be eaten while seated at the table.

If your child is watching television and wants a snack, she’ll have to get up and eat in the kitchen. This can translate into less snacking as well as less time in front of the tube.

Drink lots of water

Have your child drink a glass of water just before sitting down to eat snacks and meals.
Drinking a glass of water first will help the stomach send your child the “I’m full” signal quicker and should cut down on second and third helpings.

Cutting out needless calories is a great first step in helping your child achieve longer term goals of weight control and physical fitness. Make sure that you discuss any weight management program with your health care professional.

Michael P. Scaccia, MD, FAAP is a physician, author,
speaker, and child health expert whose goal is to help
families live healthier and more satisfying lives. For
more information, go to:

http://www.UltimateParentGuide.com

Would you like a speaker who is knowledgeable, dynamic, and
entertaining? Dr. Scaccia speaks on a variety of child health
topics. For more information, send an email to:

speaking@ultimateparentguide.com

Tags: nutrition, obese, obesity, health, healthy, calorie, child, kid, overweight, over weight, diet

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You’ve made the life-saving decision to go for help to lose weight or stop smoking, now how do you pay for it?

Many health care insurances, no longer pay for losing weight or smoke cessation, which seems counter-productive, because weight problems or smoking can lead to severe health problems that cost far more for treatment than the cost of losing weight or smoke cessation programs.

The I.R.S. recognizes this obvious catch twenty-twoTax laws passed for 2003 onwards means you can get a tax credit for money paid for smoking cessation and weight loss programs.

This is a tax credit - not a tax deduction, so that means 100% credit on your taxes of the total amount spent for the entire program!

You Can Get 100% tax credit for your Weight Loss and/or Smoking Cessation program when using Hypnotherapy or other programs to resolve these two health threatening issues!

The information below is quoted from page 12 for Smoke Cessation and page 13 IRS Publication 502 year 2003.

Stop-Smoking Programs
www.hsainsider.com/pdf/treasurypublications/TreasuryPub_23.pdf

You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for a program to stop smoking. However, you cannot include in medical expenses amounts you pay for drugs that do not require a prescription, such as nicotine gum or patches that are designed to help stop smoking.

Weight-Loss Programs
www.hsainsider.com/pdf/treasurypublications/TreasuryPub_23.pdf

You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay to lose weight if it is a treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes or heart disease). This includes fees you pay for membership in a weight reduction group and attendance at periodic meetings. You cannot include membership dues in a gym, health club, or spa as medical expenses, but you can include separate fees charged there for weight loss activities.

How to Report

To claim the credit, complete Form 8885, Health Coverage Tax Credit, and attach it to your Form 1040 or Form 1040NR. Report the credit on Form 1040, line 67, or Form 1040NR, line 62, and check box c. You cannot claim the credit on Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ.

You must attach invoices and proof of payment for any amounts you include on line 2 of Form 8885 for which you did not receive an advance payment. If you file your return electronically, attach the invoices and proof of payment to your Form 8453. Proof of payment may include a pay stub if insurance is through a spouse’s employment, a bank check, or bank statement for premiums that are automatically deducted from your account.

If you claim this credit, you cannot take the same expenses that you use to figure your health coverage tax credit into account in determining your:

Medical and dental expenses on Schedule A (Form 1040)
Self-employed health insurance deduction, or Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA) distributions.

Tags: weight loss, smoke cessation, stop smoking, lose, I.R.S. tax credit, obesity, hypertension, diabetes

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Obesity is a growing problem especially in the USA and the western world. With our fast paced lifestyles and whirlwind lives there often seems little time to look after ourselves and eat properly. Fast foods are the norm and most of them are just not healthy and promote obesity. They are not only fast but relatively cheap encouraging us with 2 for one deals and specials to buy and eat more than we might normally have done if it was not “such a good deal.”

Obesity is when you are basically above your normal weight and is a matter of admitting that you are .fat. Once you have done this and recognized the problem then you are ready to take action:

1. Understand and know you have a problem

2. Taking action-set goals

3. Educate yourself about the different foods your body needs

4. Learn about the different exercises

5. Change your attitude and lifestyle

Understanding and admitting you have a weight problem is a giant step towards achieving your goal of losing weight. The hardest part of any problem is to admit that you have one. Once you have done this you are ready to take action and get results!

Taking action and setting goals: once you have decided to lose weight set yourself some goals. These will include:

How many pounds you will lose in a set time (for example a week.) Be realistic here, as you want to succeed. 5lb-10lb is a reasonable figure.

You may not at 1st see the difference for about 4-6 weeks. However when you do it is time to reward yourself with a couple of new outfits and a photograph!

Plan your meals carefully modify your diet.

Include some exercise time. Just 20miniutes 3x per week or a brisk daily walk will help you to lose pounds.

Education is very important. Knowing which foods are good and which are bad will help you modify your diet for success.

Learn about the different exercises that will help you lose weight and get your muscles back into shape. There are many basic books that you can get about different exercises for different areas of your body you may need to work on. Your goal here will be not only to lose weight but tone and strengthen your body muscles.

Change your attitude and your lifestyle: when you decide to lose weight you will need to change your attitude and outlook on life. It takes a little discipline and quite a bit of hard work to lose weight. You will need to decide to be determined to succeed. Once you can do this you will be able to do whatever it takes to lose weight. It will usually include changing your lifestyle and not just relying on fast food and junk snacks. Once you change your diet and exercise on a regular basis you will be able to not only lose but also keep those pounds off permanently!

The more you educate yourself and are prepared to adapt your eating habits the more successful you will be. Do not check yourself in the mirror everyday but wait for about 4 weeks. You will surprise yourself and be encouraged to continue. Before you know it you will not only be looking better you will also feel better. With less excess weight to carry and eating better you will find you have a lot more energy to do the things that you want to do and even try some new activities.

Zach Thompson is a Glyconutrients Consultant. His clients range from pro athletes and actresses, to cancer patients and children with Learning Disabilities. Learn the truth about nutritional supplements at: http://nutritionalreview.com/79.php.

Tags: lose weight, obesity,

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