Ep 150: Healthy Habits for Teens

Sid Garza-Hillman, author of Raising Healthy Parents, joins us to
discuss healthy living and how anyone can start living healthier
by taking small steps every day. Plus, the importance of dealing
with stress, the number one obstacle standing in the way of what
parents want.


Sponsored by Equip: Eating disorder treatment
that works—delivered at home. Visit equip.health/talking for more
information, and a free consultation.


Full show notes


Getting kids to eat healthy is no easy task. Not only do they
resist apples and broccoli, they tend to have a fit when you
don’t take them to McDonalds after soccer practice or reach for
cookies at the grocery store. Plus, it’s hard enough to keep
yourself on a healthy diet! After a long day of working and
parenting, it almost seems like second nature to fill up a glass
of wine and microwave some nachos!


And although you might put your own health on the back burner,
creating a healthy family includes healthy parents too. If you
aren’t taking care of yourself, you’re not being your best self,
meaning you aren’t fully there for your kids! Plus, how are you
going to convince your kids to be active and fill their body with
nutrients when you’re on the couch eating a Snickers bar?


To understand how both parents and kids can lead happier, more
nutritious lifestyles, we’re talking to Sid Garza-Hillman, author
of Raising Healthy Parents: Small Steps, Less Stress, and a
Thriving Family. As a nutritionist, Sid has guided individuals
and families away from unhealthy habits into prosperous ways of
living! His groundbreaking approach to nutrition and holistic
health emphasizes the value of reducing stress and taking small
steps to arrive at a healthier life.


In our interview, we’re covering the different kinds of stress,
and how too much stress on a parent can lead not only to
unhealthy living, but also make life tougher for the entire
family. We’re getting into some nutrition science and psychology
to reveal how you and your family can change your eating habits
for good. Plus, we’re discussing how you can introduce healthier
options to your kids without them running in the other direction.


Reducing Stress For a Healthier Family


In his work as a nutritionist, Sid often found that his clients
couldn’t seem to stick to a healthy diet any longer than two
months. When he asked himself why, he realized that it wasn’t
because they needed more information–he had told them everything
they needed to know. It was because they were totally stressed
out from life and hadn’t developed healthier ways of dealing with
it than eating junk food! For parents who manage insane
schedules, stress is a huge cause of unhealthy habits.


Sid explains how a level of stress can be labeled as “adaptive
stress”, meaning it spurns us on just enough to grow and evolve.
But a high level of stress puts the human body in survival mode,
raising blood pressure and heart rate, weakening the immune and
digestive systems, and causing weight gain. And when parents find
themselves in this state, not only does their physical health
decline, but their parenting is affected too. Sid emphasizes the
importance of taking care of your own health if you want to raise
healthy kids!


Plus, it’s important to practice what you preach, says Sid.
Nagging your kids to be healthier isn’t going to work if you
don’t set a good example. Showing them that you care about your
body will encourage them to do the same for themselves. In the
episode, Sid and I share how you can develop a more active
routine and healthier diet–and rope kids into doing the same.
Plus, we discuss what he calls “stealing moments of recovery,” a
simple way for parents to decrease their stress on an everyday
basis.


So you want to create healthier habits to cope with stress more
effectively...but you don’t know what exactly you should be
eating to be “healthy.” Does that mean less calories? More fruit?
Sid gives some priceless nutrition advice in our interview.


The Essentials of Eating Healthy


Although diet fads and fitness gurus make nutrition sound
complicated so they can sell you supplements or recipes, eating
healthy is actually pretty simple, says Sid. He compares food to
a gift box. All food has calories, the same way all wrapped gifts
have wrapping paper. But what’s important is looking past the
paper to what’s inside the box, or what kind of nutrients the
calories contain. Are there vitamins, minerals and antioxidants,
or just empty calories that don’t nurture the body?


So what foods does Sid recommend? Mostly fruit and veggies, beans
and whole grains, seeds and nuts...and keep the rest of the stuff
to a minimum! And even though eating healthy might seem like an
insurmountable task, it doesn’t have to be, says Sid. It’s not
too hard to throw some fruit and almond milk together in the
morning to make a smoothie, or whip up a salad with a few
veggies.


Sid champions a method called “MOT” or “most of the time.” This
means that as long as you're sticking to a healthy diet most of
the time, then you’re in the clear! Don’t sweat and fret over the
small stuff, Sid insists, or you’ll just be tempted to give up
entirely. It’s ok to have pizza for dinner, or for kids to have
two slices of cake at a birthday party, so long as your family’s
regular diet doesn’t consist of feeding yourself or your kids
junk, says Sid.


Talking to Kids About Health


The last thing we want to do is make kids feel bad about their
bodies. So how can we have a talk with them about adopting a
healthier lifestyle without body-shaming them? Sid explains that
the conversation shouldn’t be about their weight, but instead
about their vitality. He suggests reminding them of all the
amazing benefits they’ll see in their lives if they opt to take
care of themselves instead of filling their bodies with junk.


And although it can be hard for you and your family to say
goodbye to the toaster waffles you usually eat for breakfast, Sid
recommends thinking of it as a trade rather than a restriction.
Instead of viewing these new dietary guidelines as punishment, it
can be a lot more fulfilling to focus on the incredible benefits
of making healthier choices. Although your kids might not be
upset when you replace their Cheetos with sprouts, helping them
understand that they’ll have more energy to hit home runs or draw
some cool doodles can work wonders!


No matter what, it’s important to have a discussion with kids
about health, says Sid. Kids’ prefrontal cortexes have yet to
fully develop, meaning they’re likely to act on impulse instead
of make rational decisions. If they’re informed about the
consequences of eating 10 donuts in one sitting, they’ll be more
inclined to think critically about how that choice will affect
their bodies.


In the Episode...


Sid has some seriously innovative ideas about how we can create a
healthier lifestyle for our entire family! On top the topics
discussed above, we also talk about:


How to get your teens to behave more healthy

The trick to getting kids to like vegetables (and other
foods)

The “everything in moderation” myth

How to use Sid’s signature “small steps” method for any habit
you want to start or change



Sid’s advice on creating change is backed up by psychology
research and I hope listeners can leverage it to create the
changes they want to make in their own families and lives! T...