by Priscilla Benfield

Created on: June 17, 2009

People gain weight for different reasons but to lose weight you need to think beyond dieting. What made you gain weight in the first place? Unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise, emotional eating are all to blame. Unless you choose to make a lifestyle change, a diet is not going to work.

I live in a household of four people. Besides myself is my husband who just turned 49 and my 23 year old daughter and my 13 year old daughter. We are all overweight. I know how it happened and now the four of us are on a mission to change it. We are making the change not only for vanity reasons but because we want to be healthier.

I raised five children, four of whom were very active in sports and dance. When my older children were growing up, none of them had a weight problem. My 3 adult children who do not live with me, have all stayed a healthy weight and they all still have physical activity as a big part of their lives. My 23 year old daughter participated in dance from the time she was 2, but remained active in high school doing dance,gymnastics,soccer and softball. Throughout high school she kept her small frame fit by burning off junk food her daily sports workouts. Then graduation happened. The stress of becoming an adult and not having the discipline of being involved with team sports and dance lessons slowly caught up. Over the last year, the late night Taco Bell visits with her boyfriend and also having a sedentary desk job started to show around her middle.

My husband has always done physical labor. Co-workers would always comment on how younger workers couldn't keep up with him. Age and overeating caused his weight to go up and although it is easier for men to lose weight than women, he still will have to work at it because of bad habits he has developed. Too many light and sweet coffees to keep up his energy has been part of his weight gain.

My 13 year old started to develop bad eating habits at a young age. She was a very picky eater and forcing her to try new things was a battle of wills. She once refused to eat when she had a loose tooth and literally made herself ill rather than eat. Being a child of the computer age, her generation doesn't play outside the way her older siblings did. Between video games and the Internet, getting kids her age to be active is a challenge. Like many parents, I had to leave her home alone after school for a few hours because of my work schedule. She tried team sports but never found her niche. Bad eating habits and

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