My parents house is my downfall!

Lindsay_the_great

Because I had to move into my new hubby's little apartment until the lease expires, I spend most of the time I have my kids at my parents house. They have the room for us to stay. That is currently about 40% of the time. And they stock the kitchen with total GARBAGE! I have the hardest time finding anything worth eating and resisting all of the sweets and snacks. This is how I was raised and now I see why I've always struggled with my weight (not blaming them. Just saying it didn't help.) My parents always go out and buy cookies, donuts, pop tarts, chips, pizzas, etc.. when we are coming. I have asked them not to do this. I have asked them to let me do the shopping. But they never do. They have this spoil-the-grandchildren mentality. They think treats=love. Which might be ok once in a blue moon, but we are here 3 days of the week! I don't know how, for my sake and the sake of my children, to deal with this. We are stuck in this routine until next fall! Any advice to help me resist the junk food and/or convince them not to buy it? HELP!

AllOutof_Bubblegum

Practice self-restraint. Everyone who's interested in their health will learn it somewhere along the road. You might as well start learning it now. It won't be easy. but it gets better with practice.

kittycatsinunderpants

Oh my gosh! This is me exactly! My mother PUSHES food and lays GUILT when it's refused. It's totally messed up. And there is something about being back in that house that puts me right back in the habits I was in living there- when I visit I'm a teenager again (and in this case that's not great!) I can't imagine being stuck in her house for an extended stay. And I would hate for my children to develop my same relationship with food because of it!

If it were me, I would try to find things to do to keep out of the house. Go to the park more. Museums, movies, play dates. Plan activities to minimize time in the danger zone.

Also, you and the kids should cook a "special" meal the first day of your visit. Make it healthy, make a lot, call dibs on the leftovers! And make a big deal out of the HEALTHY snacks that your kids like (get your kids to make a fuss too). When my daughter ate an entire bowl of frozen grapes my mom started keeping them all the time. If you can believe it, now there is more variety of frozen fruit in her freezer than icecream! (But there is still a lot of icecream)

smalltown_princess

This is seriously my life! I still live at home and my parents refuse to get healthy food. There is actually no healthy food at all in the house.
I've started getting small things like a bad of spinach and canned tuna so that there is at least something that I can eat in the house. It is really tough though