Guest Post: Carolyn Fallon

As we obviously deal with our own share of health issues I am happy to present a great article on Type 2 Diabetes, Juvenile Obesity and overall health written by blogger Carolyn Fallon. I encourage you to check out her blog as well. 

Family Resolutions to Stay Healthy

Did you know that November was American Diabetes Month? I didn't. Well, until last November, which was when my family received the news that one of my younger cousins was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I didn't know that kids her age could even get Type 2 Diabetes (she’s only 13)! However, with the rise in obesity rates, the diagnosis of Type 2 among children is rapidly growing.

The rising levels of obesity in children, combined with low levels of physical activity are major contributors to this terrifying disease. What was even scarier to me, was he consequences that can come from not managing this disease early on. According to information from Syracuse’s Cardiac Hospital at St. Joseph’s, if diabetes is left untreated it can lead to serious effects such as heart disease, blindness, and even amputation. Learning about these consequences made it even more real to our family that this is something that we need to tackle, and we need to do it together!

I've always been interested in eating right and staying fit, but I have to admit that some of my cousins are more fascinated by video games and other sedentary activities than staying active.  And I can't believe some of the things they eat!  After recognizing these risk factors in ourselves, we've all decided to make a family resolution to find ways to eat healthier and be more active together.

Healthy Eating
It's easier than I thought to find healthy recipes that a family can cook together.  We started by making a list of all of the healthy foods we already like (and by cleaning out the cupboards of all the unhealthy foods – if you feel like you are wasting food, just donate it ot the local food pantry!). This turned out to be a much bigger list than we thought!  If you try it yourself, you might be surprised at how many fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins you and your kids already love.  It's more of a treat than a trial to work more of these into my daily diet, and it’s a lot of fun to start getting creative with meals.

Here’s a couple of our favorite recipes:

- breakfast: maple scrambled eggs & turkey-bacon or  protein pancakes

- lunch: veggie tuna salad or chopped chicken salad with apples &

  walnuts

- dinner: spinach lasagna or  buffalo chicken chili

- snacks: edamame hummus with cut-up veggies or spinach artichoke  dip with pita bread dippers

- desserts: sour cream coffee cake with cinnamon & almonds or cherry

  vanilla yogurt pops

Getting Active

Getting more physical activity every day is also a major factor in preventing diabetes.  It may seem like your kids would rather sit inside with the TV than move around, but I bet they'd jump at the chance to play with you! Why not challenge them to a game of basketball or soccer? You could go on a family walk or nature hike. One of the best things about this step is that it's so inherently fun.  For really hardcore screen addicts, try encouraging them to play with any of the new active video games.  Wii Fit has tons of fun, easy games that many players of any age can play together, or get the kids together for a dilly dance competition to Dance Dance Revolution (my cousins love to do this!).

Carolyn is a 20-something year old with a passion for life, fitness and overall well-being. She is an avid cycler, golfer and has been known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. Check out Carolyn’s blog at http://fullonfit.blogspot.com/!