Type 2 Diabetes - Teens and Weight Loss

The teenage years can be very difficult, especially if your teenager is overweight. Now that Type 2 diabetes is also becoming a big problem for young people, it's more important than ever to make sure your child is at a healthy weight and learns how to maintain that over their lifespan. If your teen needs to lose weight, you can help them with that without making them feel bad about themselves.

The first step to take is to make sure your teenager's doctor has determined your teen is actually overweight or obese. Some children are simply built differently than others. Their doctor will be able to look at their weight and their stature to figure out whether or not they are truly overweight or obese.

Part of the problem will be your responsibility as a parent. Taking responsibility for what your teen is eating each day is part of your job. If you are not feeding your teen a healthy diet at home, then they're likely eating fast food out with their friends. Moderation is key here. You don't want your teen to feel like they're on a diet all the time. However, by providing a healthy breakfast and dinner, your teen will be able to have a little more leeway when it comes to having lunch with their friends at school.

Speaking of school, do you know what your teen is eating there? Check with the school to find out what food choices are available. If your teen is able to drive, they may be leaving the school grounds each day to buy lunch. Believe it or not, some schools even offer fast food options. Obviously, this is a terrible idea as teens don't know the difference between a healthy meal and junk. They just go with what tastes good, so you must do some educating of your teen when it comes to nutrition.

You should also find out whether your teen really wants to lose weight. You can't do it for them. They have to have a reason for themselves to know why they want to, or need to, lose weight. This comes down to self-confidence and self motivation. Have a serious talk with them about the fact they should not want to lose weight for other people. They should want to lose weight for themselves and their health. You don't want to set them up for an eating disorder in the future simply because they're trying to please other people.

If you child does develop Type 2 diabetes, it is not a condition your child must just live with. By making easy changes to your teen's daily routine, its possible to protect their heart, kidneys, eyes and limbs from the damage often caused by diabetes, and eliminate their risk for developing many of the complications.

How to Pick a Gift For Surgery Recovery

Recovering from surgery can be tedious, painful, and lonely as friends or family return to their own daily routines. If you know someone who is having an operation, you will want to get them a gift to show them you care. Here are a few tips on how to pick a gift for surgery recovery for your special someone.

Consider the type of surgery they are having

You can tailor your gift to whatever kind of surgery they are having. For example, if your loved one is having heart surgery, you can get them a heart healthy cookbook filled with easy to make dishes.

You could also get them a fruit of the month subscription so that fresh apples, pears, grapefruit, or oranges are always available for a healthy breakfast or snack.

For someone undergoing cosmetic surgery, you could give a high quality, high SPF sunscreen to prevent future damage from UVA and UVB rays. You can also find special foundation that covers any scars while they heal.

Consider the patient's personality

If your special someone has a humorous side, you can find many t-shirts, caps, and cups featuring funny sayings about surgery or about being in the hospital. If they will be on crutches or wearing a cast, you can find decorative crutch and cast covers in a variety of fun patterns and colors.

If your loved one is the more serious type, consider giving them several non-fiction books to read while they are cooped up in recovery.

Consider how long their recovery will take

For someone facing a long recovery, you might hire a cleaning crew to come to their house twice a week to do the heavier cleaning like vacuuming, mopping, bathtub cleaning, and laundry. If you can't afford to hire a professional cleaning service, offer to clean for them until they are able to do it themselves.

Another good gift for a long recovery would be a collection of DVDs in their favorite movie genre, along with a stack of good books.

If their surgery leaves them a bit helpless, buy tools to aid in dressing, such as button hooks, shoehorns, or a dressing stick.

For someone whose healing time will be shorter, give a variety of current magazines for quick reading. Snacks that can be left on a bedside table, like nuts, pretzels, granola, or fruit make for easy munching and can also help with nausea upon taking medication.

Sudoku, crossword puzzles, or word search magazines can also occupy them while in bed.

Consider your budget

Many things you can include in a gift basket are very inexpensive, like scented candles, lotions, and reading material.

However, if your budget allows, or if you know several people who would contribute, how about paying for a mini vacation for the patient that they can go on as soon as they are healed? Not only would it be a welcomed break from the stress of surgery, but it would also motivate them to get well faster and give them something to anticipate.

Eating Clean - Easy Breakfast Ideas

Eating clean and healthy foods for breakfast is not as difficult and time consuming as one would think. In fact, many healthy breakfasts can be prepared with common items out of your own pantry.

Since breakfast is the first meal of the day it only takes some common sense to realize that this meal sets the tone for the rest of the day. Assuming your last meal from the previous day was eaten somewhere in the evening then approximately 8 to 10 hours will have passed since your last bite of food.

It is important to remember that you need protein and some carbohydrates at breakfast. Protein is important in helping to build healthy muscle mass and carbohydrates are important because they give you sustainable energy until your next meal. The following is a list of some really healthy meal ideas:

1. Oatmeal with fruit. Add 1/2 cup of rolled oats to 1 cup of boiling water. Boil the water for 2 minutes in the microwave. Add the oats to it and cover with a plate to allow the heat to absorb the oats. In a couple of minutes your oatmeal is done. Add 1/2 cup of berries like strawberries, blueberries, or any other type of berry. If you cannot buy them fresh then buy them frozen. Add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon for a better flavor. I personally add 2 teaspoons of flaxseed (found in the health food store or health markets). Flaxseed is rich in omega-3 oils.

2. Egg Whites with fruit - You can make your egg whites by several methods. The easiest method is hard boiled. It's easiest to hard boil your eggs in advance of when you want to eat them. This method allows me to pull a few eggs out of the refrigerator in the morning. After I peel them I remove the yokes. I then add cut up fruit to the bowl. The eggs have the needed protein and the fruit has the carbs that are needed.

3. Grainy bread and peanut butter - There are many reasons why a peanut butter sandwich is a healthy breakfast option. But what's also important to know is that you should choose a healthy grain bread and natural peanut butter. The best bread is a very grainy wheat bread that does not contain high fructose corn syrup as one of it's ingredients. All natural peanut butter is the best nut butter to use. The peanut butter gives you the protein and the bread gives you the necessary carbs.

4. Protein Shake - Although I don't personally drink shakes as a meal replacement it doesn't mean you can't. In general shakes don't fill me up for 3 hours and I only end up feeling very hungry rather quickly. However, you may want to have a shake. The following is an idea for a healthy breakfast smoothie: 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup berries, 1 tbsp flaxseed, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt, 2 scoops protein powder, ice cubes. Puree it all together.

Another good tip to starting your day off clean and healthy is to drink at least one tall glass of water right when you wake up and drink another glass of water throughout your breakfast.