Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, a number of professionals had suggested that Tom (8) and his mum Jennifer join BeeZee Bodies, but attending a group just wasn’t fitting into their schedule. So when we converted our award-winning programme into a 12 week online course that they could complete from home, this suited them much better and they signed up.
Before they started the course, Jennifer said they were both very dubious and nervous. “I wasn’t convinced it was going to help us” said Jennifer. But Tom had identified a need to change, sadly because he wanted to stop being bullied for being overweight, and so the pair decided to give it a try…
Every week, Tom & Jennifer logged on to the webinars together, and began to learn lots of practical tips to live a healthier lifestyle. Jennifer said “the group webinars and the lifestyle ‘experiments’ we did at home have helped to motivate us and make the losing weight goal and healthier living more fun! Tom has really been embracing the changes and focusing on how he can support the weight loss programme in his own right. I’ve also enjoyed the WhatsApp group community for parents”
“We have really been enjoying the sessions and have learnt a lot of new things each week. It’s really helped us become aware of what we are actually eating.” Jennifer told us. She said Tom has been gaining awareness of food groups, food labels, and looking at making healthy swaps to make overall healthier choices: “Snacks have been our biggest hurdle, but we’ve both worked on finding healthier snacking options and having the mindset of treats foods only occasionally.”
Being asthmatic, Tom struggles with too much exercise, but he hasn’t let this stand in his way. Both him and his mum began walking to and from school every day, and now he even has a football goal and basketball net in the garden to keep active at home. Jennifer said the programme had been a huge motivator for this.
Dan, Tom & Jennifer’s dedicated nutritionist said:
Thomas and Jenny were a fantastic family to work with over the 12 weeks of our January 5-8 year old programme. The family had a number of goals upon joining the group, including reducing snacking and becoming more active which is never easy, particularly during a lockdown. The family used our Experiment Sheets as a tool to create these new habits which I’m sure will last the family a lifetime! We are so proud of both Thomas and Jenny and hope they enjoyed the programme!
Three months on, we caught up with Jennifer to find out which healthy changes had turned into habits in their home.
Tom didn’t lose any weight, but this is never the primary aim for a children’s weight management programme as they’re still growing. Instead, we encourage them to focus more on building healthy habits, so they grow into their weight and learn to make healthy choices for life! Which is exactly what Tom has achieved….
Jennifer said ‘We’re also both more mindful about portion sizes and what is acceptable to eat on a day to day basis, as well as making sure we get all the right food groups in. We’ve made lots of healthy swaps, like making homemade chicken nuggets and having sugar-free snacks.
Since completing the programme, Tom is much happier having his plate loaded up with fruit & veg, and understands why this is important.
We’ve both got fitbits and make sure we reach our daily step targets every day!’
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