Were you the overweight/obese kid? What were dietary mistakes adults made for your upbringing?

synchkat

Cameron_1969 wrote: »

I worry about my kid. He's skinny now. In fact, he's too skinny, so I tend to let him eat a lot of junk between meals just to get the calories he needs. . He also has a very limited diet. I don't know when it happened, but he just stopped tolerating new foods and slowly has started rejecting foods he used to like. . And his friends are even worse so whenever I have to feed all of them (which is often), it's chicken-nuggets, mac-n-cheese, pizza, or hot dogs.

He does like fruit and a select few veggies (carrots, peas, corn, and broccoli). . so It's not hopeless!. .

My son is the same. I was also the same growing up. I was athletic and skinny. My doctor was always concerned about eating disorders with me. I only put on weight after having a child and being lazy so no need to really worry he probably just has a crazy fast metabolism

cwolfman13

No, I was a skinny kid and from high school until about my mid 20s I was borderline underweight. I was always really active and started running club Track & Field in the 2nd grade...I also did gymnastics for about 4 or 5 years, was on a club swim team for a couple of years, and I played football and ran track in high school...and did one season of wrestling.

I wouldn't look at anything my parents did as a bad thing...they made sure I got my nutrition (or at least most of it...yes, like most kids and teenagers I was picky about what veggies I would eat an whatnot) and they also allowed me to eat quite a bit of "junk"...because they understood that in addition to my nutrition I also just needed calories. I think that aspect of nutrition and "healthy" is missed on a lot of people...sometimes "junk" serves a legit purpose. Pretty much after every track meet or football game or whatever mean all you can eat pancakes for me just so I could make it back to class the next day.

I put on a little weight in my mid twenties which was a good thing...but I didn't really become overweight until I was in my 30s. My weight gain was largely attributable to going from a very active lifestyle to a desk job and at that time I didn't know anything about calories or adjusting my diet to match my activity, etc...I just ate.

Zombella

I have always been overweight. As a kid, I called myself fat and was super self-conscious. I remember my parents buying snacks for themselves and either we weren't allowed to eat them or we were allowed to have maybe 1 or 2. This led to me sneaking snacks and that of course comes with the shame. I remember once my father caught me trying to sneak soda into my room and he called me a garbage truck because I inhaled everything.

When I had a job, I would spend more than I'd like to count on fast food. If the parents made something I didn't want, I'd just run out and get fast food. If I was hanging out with a friend, I'd (this is so embarrassing) go to a few different fast food places and get my favorite foods from those places and just eat. It made me happy (in the moment).

I do believe that certain things have led me to have an unhealthy relationship with food, but I am working on it. I can't fully blame anyone else for the food that I put in my mouth. I do, however, wish that I had known something about nutrition because I wouldn't have eaten as much of the garbage as I had. I am still a work in progress, but at least I haven't given up.

DaisiesandViolets

@Zombella I definitely remember sneaking and the shame that followed. Your story sounds a lot like mine. good luck on your progress!

CooCooPuff

Yes. I think I was over 200lbs by middle school.

My parents thought giving me a bottle of Coke was cute.
Their mistakes were more in how exercise was handled. My dad never really wanted to spend more than one session to try teaching me anything like riding a bike or swimming and was not at all a welcoming person. They treated exercise like a punishment for not "scoring well" with the doctor. They're not easy people to talk to or supportive. When I came out to my parents about my eating disorder, my dad basically told me to shut up and talk about something else.

tcarp8

I was a skinny kid and was slim in my teens and 20's. Then...

sbrooks0387

i grew up in a rather active outdoorsy family, but for me i started to gain weight when high school. while my parents knew that what was in the house was/is bad they just can not seem to get rid of it. we had pasta or potatoes all the time. chips and ice cream. my mom loves to bake cookies and cakes and brownies. sugar cereals, and a bowl is like 3-4 servings. and i grew up with the mental that you have to eat it now or it may not be there tomorrow, so you may not want a bowl of ice cream tonight but you ate one anyway cause it may be gone tomorrow when you want some.

this has affect how my family lives, a lot, but in a good way. we have pastas/potatoes/white rice in moderation. certainly most of our meals are lean meats and veggies. i do not buy chips, with the exception of a couple of times over the summer during cookouts. i do not buy sugar cereals on a reg. basis (i do believe in treating my kids and will get them lucky charms every couple of months). i do keep ice cream in the house a lot of the time, but it's not a treat, my kids do not see it and need to eat it all, it's just there and they could care less and i know it's there if i want some but i haven't had any in a few months. i love to bake as well but try to switch healthier ingredients in to a recipe. and when i look forward to left overs i expect them to still be in the fridge when i go to get them and with that in mind i try not to create an atmosphere where the kids feel like they need to eat something before their siblings get to it: they know i will always buy more or make more on another day so there is no need to over eat today.

cJOYv6881

I'm pretty sure I was the biggest kid in the entire school right up until high school. I'm also sure I weighed more when I was 10 years old then I do now, and I'm 250 pounds.

You know when you're a kid and you go into McDonald's for supper and you're really hungry so you point to the biggest meal on the menu? Yea, I did that, except my parent's actually ordered what I pointed at. Most days it was the two cheeseburger meal deal with large fries. And of course, you had to get the mcflurry for dessert. I can't even eat that much food now as an adult, not even before I joined MFP!

It was also not uncommon to eat treats, like if we bought a box of icecreams or a tray of muffins, as quickly as possible. It was very much a situation where if you don't eat it, someone else will and you won't get to have any. Now that I've joined MFP I'm right back to the situation again. I can't have more than one muffin a day, they don't fit into my calories, but if everyone else is eating three each within a matter of a few hours, I don't get any. But, I'm also the only one losing weight.

I don't ever remember my parents forcing me to eat my vegetables, and I don't remember there being much vegetables either. If we had veggies they were almost always frozen, not fresh, always the standard carrots, peas and corn, and very bland. I've actually had to learn what vegetables actually exist out there since joining MFP, and how to cook them.