This is a blog about nutrition and fitness. And, now, since I have FITbaby, her nutrition is extremely important to me.  I had no idea that so much of what we feed our children is based on tradition versus research.  In general, I’ve found that the statement “Infant research is in it’s infancy” is an accurate one! I think I found that quote here. And, that statement is so disappointing to me. Why isn’t more research on our babies?!

Anyway, when I started hearing discussions about “rice cereal” as my daughter’s first food, my first thought was to give her “brown rice cereal”…of course. But, then, I started doing more research and wondered…why rice cereal at all?  Should her first food be cereal? Grains? Carbs? Is that adding any nutrition to her diet? Is iron fortification the best way to get iron into her diet? I have decided….I do not think so. [Regarding iron, the best source is MEAT!]

I made the following conclusions…for myself and my baby….after doing my research on baby nutrition:

• Breastmilk is the most important “food” for my baby until 6 months…really until 9 months, with some fun experimentation into food starting at 6 months.
• Rice cereal is empty carbs and not worth filling up my baby’s tummy and therefore taking the place of breastmilk.
• Spoon-feeding my baby is no fun for anyone!
• Baby-led weaning is tons of fun for everyone!
• The fact that my baby’s digestive system may not be ready for solids before 6 months was enough for me to wait until 6 months old.

So, we started last week [6 months old] and baby led weaning is a blast!!! We started with bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, broccoli, egg yolks etc. We’ve been steaming veggies that we cut into 2 inch pieces. She is having sooo much fun! We [FITori & FIThubby & FITdog Toby] are having sooo much fun! We are enjoying meal times as a family. We are all eating and enjoying our meals together. No one is taking turns spoon-feeding the baby and then eating our own meals.  There is a ton of mess and oh what fun to make a mess! Toby is loving helping with clean up!

A few fun iPhone pics from last week…

And another fun pic from over the weekend.  Loving egg yolks for breakfast!

If you’re interested in our research, we read and *followed* the advice in these three books.

1. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding
2. Baby Led Weaning
3. Real Food for Mother & Baby

I also found this FANTASTIC website recently that helps explain different foods for baby. It’s fabulous! I’m learning SO much about individual foods! Why didn’t I know this before?!

Babyfood101.com  – Check out this example on peaches! SO much important information!

As always, tell me what you think, your research and what you did or are doing with your kiddos!

This is all I need to see to believe that it’s worth trying to feed my kids less artificial stuff and more real foods. It just makes common sense to me! And, that’s all I need to know.

Definitely doesn’t sound like food to me….Green 3, Blue 1 and 2, Orange B, Red 40 and 3, Yellow 5 and 6.

I would love to hear that the FDA bans some of this crap…but I am not holding my breath!

I have friends who have told me that their kids’ ADD & ADHD have been affected by a change away from these dyes!

Have you heard of similar stories? Have you seen this in your own kiddos?

[click here for source]

Emily is 11 and looks much older. She was on the show Too Fat for Fifteen: Fighting Back on the Style Network this year.   I blogged about it here.  I loved the glimpse into American’s lives and I was saddened to see the parents were totally to blame for their children’s obesity. Not one of those children came from a family with parents who were of normal weight.

I am extremely concerned about this epidemic and one of the certifications I’ll be taking soon is on children.  It’s a passion for me because I feel like they are helpless and it is up to us (as adults and parents) to teach them what they need to know.  I’m not a parent yet, but I hope to be soon. And, whether I have a boy or a girl, it is important to give them the tools to succeed in life, including their weight and health.

It is sad to see the risks that these young kids have due to their childhood obesity. Even if they grow up and fight back and change their obesity, those early years of obesity will affect them for the rest of their lives…their emotional and physical health…forever.

One of the huge risks that is becoming noticeable is EARLY PUBERTY among young girls.   Look at old photos of your mother when she was 7 or 8…she looked 7 or 8.  Look at old pictures of yourself. How did you look? Look at our young girls today….young girls today are maturing at an astronomical rate!!!  They are hitting puberty at seven years old! Seven!  A lot of this is coming from the added hormones that exist due to the excess weight. Men and women who are obese produce more estrogen and less testosterone due to the excess weight!

What are 3 medical consequences of early puberty? It’s not just about girls looking older than they really are…there are serious medical consequences!

1. Early and extra exposure to estrogen and other hormones leads to increased risk of breast and uterine cancer
2. Type 2 diabetes risk increases
3. Social and emotional consequences of looking older than a girls’ mental maturity.

What are the two main causes of early puberty in young girls? (1) Obesity and (2) hormones in our food!

What can you do? I will be doing these things for my kids and I’m sure sometimes it will be a struggle. We can’t do everything right as parents or as humans, for ourselves or our family. But we, the women of the family, have the power to control our family’s diets to some degree and need to use that power for good not evil!

• The problem is not as much the FAT as it is the SUGAR. (This is true with heart disease and diabetes!)
• Eat from the farm, not from the factory. Eat real whole foods versus creations to sell a new product.
• Eat fruits and veggies, not sweets.
• Eat hormone free/organic milk and meat.
• Limit animal fats.
• Eat fish, plants, veggies, fruits.
• No BPA bottles.
• Do not microwave plastic.
• Use clothing instead of sunscreen on kids.

What do you think? Are you scared?  How can we get the word out?

source

]]> http://fitoriblog.com/childhood-obesity-early-puberty-in-young-girls/feed/ 6 http://fitoriblog.com/killer-at-large/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=killer-at-large http://fitoriblog.com/killer-at-large/#comments Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:49:30 +0000 tori http://fitoriblog.com/?p=628 This was a GREAT movie! I watched it on my computer on Netflix using their Instant Queue (which is the coolest thing!) If you have a Playstation, you can also watch movies instantly.  Check on their site for instructions. This movie is FANTASTIC!!! The most interesting parts to me were the information on the school lunches in America and what we’re feeding our children as well as advertising and our children and the fact that our children under the age of 8 years old (I believe) cannot determine the difference between programming and commercials. This is well worth the time (only 102 minutes) to educate you to the problems with our childrens’ foods. I am appalled and evidently crazy because I will not feed my [...]]]>

This was a GREAT movie!

I watched it on my computer on Netflix using their Instant Queue (which is the coolest thing!)

If you have a Playstation, you can also watch movies instantly.  Check on their site for instructions.

This movie is FANTASTIC!!!

The most interesting parts to me were the information on the school lunches in America and what we’re feeding our children as well as advertising and our children and the fact that our children under the age of 8 years old (I believe) cannot determine the difference between programming and commercials. This is well worth the time (only 102 minutes) to educate you to the problems with our childrens’ foods.

I am appalled and evidently crazy because I will not feed my children like this !

Check it out on Netflix by clicking the link below….

http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Killer_at_Large_Why_Obesity_is_America_s_Greatest_Threat/70116605?strackid=38c1a7cdb4c7a344_0_srl&strkid=1520196252_0_0&trkid=438381

Another amazing documentary!

This one is about how important CORN has become in the politics that affect why we are so sick, obese and unhealthy in this country. Corn Farming is the central issue to why we eat fast food, why our kids’ school lunches look the way they do, why corn syrup is in EVERYTHING, why our cows are fed corn rather than grass, and essentially WHY WE’RE SO FAT IN AMERICA!!

We’re slowly killing ourselves and it’s apparent when you look around us!

This is also available instantly on Netflix Instant Queue.

It’s so easy! Go watch!  It will open your eyes and hopefully you’ll be appalled and ready to take action, at least in your own life and the lives of your families if not your community!

http://www.kingcorn.net/

I am SOO excited about this show!

It premiers on ABC this Friday, March 26, 2010 in a 2 hour special at 8/7 central.

You can go to ABC.com and watch the short preview of the show here….

http://abc.go.com/watch/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/250784/254757/episode-101

He is trying to change America, one city at a time and teach clean and healthy eating.

He meets AMAZING opposition!  It just makes me crazy!!!  I can’t believe he would get opposition! It shows how important food is to us in this country and how it is like a DRUG to us!!

It’s amazing to me that lack of knowledge we have in this country about proper nutrition.

He explores what I find as a HUGE problem in America – school lunches!!!

Check it out! I can’t wait!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This is the best story! Listen to this 911 call and how calm the little girl is when she’s making this call. It’s the sweetest thing, hearing her say “I’m sorry da-dah.” I’m not a mother so I don’t know how normal this is with a 5 year old. But, from what the mother says in this interview, it appears they were recently working on what to do if you have to call 911.