Beyond Restricting Carbs – Do THIS to help your child maintain a healthy weight
Know the single most important thing for your child to achieve a healthy weight with more confidence…and it isn’t what you were taught!
When it comes to weight management in children, you as caring parents were taught it comes down to two things: How much your child eats, and how much they move.
While these two approaches are important, we can get even better results by focusing on the root cause of why our children are struggling with their weight.
The real problem is that most practitioners do not address a child’s relationship with food…
How your child THINKS and FEELS is the number one contributor to overeating.
Do they reach for food when they are bored?
Do they ask for a snack when they are stressed to help them feel better?
These thoughts and feelings can greatly affect their eating habits, making it easier or harder for them to reach a healthy weight.
How Mindset Affect Eating
Children’s eating behaviors are deeply rooted in their mindset—the way they think about food, hunger, and their bodies.
For example, a child who views food as a comfort might turn to snacks whenever they’re feeling down, even if they’re not hungry.
But how do these behaviors and mindsets develop?
Often, they’re shaped by early experiences, family dynamics, school environment, and even the community and society at large.
A child might pick up habits like emotional eating from watching how their parents handle stress.
Or, they might develop a negative relationship with food if they’ve been told certain foods are “bad” or “off-limits,” leading to guilt or shame around eating.
The way your child thinks about food and eating can have a big impact on their weight. For example:
Emotional Eating: If your child eats when they’re sad or bored instead of when they’re hungry, they might eat more than they need. This can lead to weight gain over time.
Mindless Eating: Eating while watching TV or playing on a phone can make your child less aware of how much they’re eating, which can also cause overeating.
Fear of Food: Some kids might start avoiding food because they’re excessively worried about gaining weight. This can lead to unhealthy weight loss and not getting the nutrients they need.
These behaviors can be hard to change, but with the right help, your child can form a healthy relationship with food to get long-lasting results.
How Healthy Eating Coaching Can Help
Coaching is a way to help kids change the way they think about food and eating.
Here are some examples of how coaching can help your child:
Spotting Triggers: Coaches help kids figure out what makes them eat when they’re not hungry, like stress or boredom. They then work together to find healthier ways to deal with those feelings.
Changing Mindsets: Coaches teach kids that all foods can be part of a healthy diet when eaten in moderation. This helps them stop feeling guilty about eating certain foods.
Building Good Habits: Coaches help kids set small, easy goals that lead to big changes over time. For example, a coach might suggest a child take more time to eat, so they don’t eat too much before they feel full.
Tracking Progress: Coaches check in regularly to see how things are going. They celebrate the child’s successes, no matter how small, which makes the child feel good and keeps them motivated.
Sarah’s Story
Let’s talk about Sarah. She’s a 10-year-old who struggled with eating when she felt stressed or upset.
Whenever she was sad or bored, she would grab snacks without even thinking about it.
This led to weight gain that started to affect how she felt about herself.
She didn’t feel in control of her eating and it made her feel bad.
But then Sarah started working with a coach, and things began to change.
Her coach helped her notice what made her want to eat when she wasn’t really hungry.
They worked together to find new ways for her to deal with her feelings—like drawing or playing outside instead of eating.
Little by little, Sarah started feeling more in control.
She began to understand when her body was actually hungry and when she was just eating because of her emotions.
As Sarah learned to pay attention to her body, something amazing happened.
She started to reach a healthier weight, without needing strict diets or feeling pressured.
This new control over her eating didn’t just help her body—it made her feel more confident. She was proud of herself for making better choices and wasn’t afraid of food anymore.
Over time, Sarah’s whole attitude toward food changed.
She didn’t see certain foods as “bad” or “off-limits” anymore. Instead, she learned that all foods could fit into a healthy diet.
With the help of her coach, Sarah built a positive, healthy relationship with food that will help her for the rest of her life.
Sarah’s story shows how coaching can really help kids. It’s not just about eating better—it’s about feeling better, too.
Better relationship with food = Healthier Weight
The way your child thinks and feels about food is powerful.
At EndoMD Health, we are the first online program in the nation that combines medical weight management with nutritional and emotional support.
These key ingredients help your child BEYOND restricting calories, and go to the root cause of their weight gain.
Coaching helps them understand and change these thoughts, leading to healthier eating habits and a healthier weight.
👉Click here to join our signature Healthy Weight Membership to help your child build healthy habits to last them a lifetime!
