• Choose a category
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• Classic-Fiction

Incorporate "fun foods." Kids are drawn to foods that have different shapes and bright colors. Many fruits, including kiwi and star fruit, fall into this category. If you have a creative side, let it loose! Instead of handing your child a whole orange, break it up into pieces and make a smiley face on the plate. You'll be amazed what some simple creativity can do.

Make desserts healthy. Believe it or not, you can have dessert and make it healthy too. Instead of depending on store-bought cookies and candy (which provide minimal nutrients), try serving fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce, a fruit smoothie, or a berry cobbler. These lower-glycemic choices may have some sugar, but they also contain nutrients. Everything is healthy in moderation.

Allow candy occasionally and in moderation. Candy should be a once-in-a-while treat, not a go-to snack. When your child really wants candy, forgo giving her a whole candy bar and try sprinkling a few M&M's in 1 ounce of trail mix instead. Also, avoid using candy and other sweets as rewards for good behavior; playtime in the park and fun family outings are better, more active reward alternatives.

Remember: Be a role model for your children. If you eat healthy and engage in physical activity you enjoy, your children will likely do the same. Encouraging physical activity and healthy food choices during childhood helps build these habits for a lifetime.

Chapter 21: Incorporating Exercise into Your Life

In This Chapter

Delving into the benefits of exercise for both mind and body

Devising your "perfect fit" exercise plan

Discovering low-glycemic eating strategies to improve your workout

It's really not possible to get through any type of book on weight loss without covering exercise. I know, I know. You've probably heard it all before, so instead of telling you that you need to incorporate exercise to lose weight, I'm going to focus this chapter on some benefits of exercise and how to make exercise work in your life long term.

Believe it or not, one of the biggest reasons exercise is so important for weight loss is so you can eat a normal amount of food! Exercise not only burns calories but also helps improve your metabolic rate. So instead of suffering through a 1,200-calorie diet that leaves you starving all day, you can eat 1,500 calories (or more!) and still lose weight.

If you're like me, the thought of joining a gym may not sound too appealing. Most weight-loss programs prescribe gym-type exercises, which is great if you enjoy them, but if you don't, you'll notice your StairMaster begins to be a place where you sort your laundry. Exercise and movement can be enjoyable. You just have to find the right fit for you — which may not involve any fancy gym equipment whatsoever.

In order to find that "perfect fit" exercise program, you really need to be motivated to start the process. Looking at the benefits of exercise and all the ways it can help your life may be just the place to start to help you feel excited about it.

This chapter covers the various benefits you can derive from regular exercise. You then discover how to set up an effective exercise program that works for you and that you can stick to regularly. Finally, you find out how and when to fuel your body to boost your exercise efforts even more.

Exploring the Many Benefits of Exercise

Even though it may be the first purpose you can think of, exercise is so much more than simply a way to burn calories. It's good for increasing your energy, reducing your stress, improving your mood — the list goes on. Often when you really connect with the health benefits of exercising, you become more motivated to do it regularly. Then the pounds just shed away naturally!

In the following sections, I share some of the benefits of exercise that not only help with weight loss but also improve your health and your overall sense of well-being.

Your natural body shape — revealed

For most ple, the number on the scale is the