Eating healthy is tough when you have kids

lemurcat12

How do you fit bulletproof coffee in a jack-o-lantern lunch pail?

sllm1

Buy things you don't like. Maybe coconut is not your favorite? Buy Mounds or Almond Joy.

acorsaut89

So weird question, maybe, but why can't you have any?

I know that it can be tough but, as many have said, you need the willpower all on your own to do it. I personally LOVE those little halloween bars and it's a completely crazy reason why but here it is: I can eat an ENTIRE chocolate bar, even two, and it fits in my calorie goal. It sounds silly but I am very much a person who wants to eat an entire something and I always finish my plate which is why my personal struggle has been portioning. So if I can eat an entire one of something I am mentally satisfied.

I wouldn't deprive myself, at all. If you enjoy chocolate then have some. I have found that my biggest binges come from when I deprive myself not when I have a little of something that I want. Just some food for thought.

Missy_Lifts

We have snacks in my house all the time. If I want something, I add it into my macros so I can make sure to have it. Those Twix & KitKats are hard to resist.

jvcjim

healthy is a matter of choice and opinion. we have 6 kids (all raised now) they ate the same foods their mother and i did, only 1 of them is overweight (in college she tore both acl and stopped exercises and starting drinking, hence the weight gain). my wife is overweight and i am topping the obese scales! (bmi 70+) they just ate more realistic and rational portions while i chose to let myself go. there were always all sorts of sweets and fruits in the house so it plainly came down to choice and overindulgence for me.

chunky_pinup

Just as important as your health is to you, so should be your childs/childrens' health. If you are aknowledging that their snacks are unhealthy (that's how you worded it), why are they getting it in the first place? We are on a tight budget. We all eat the same things - toddler included. If I wouldn't eat it myself, I'm not going to get it for her. Of course, she gets to go crazy on candy in the next coming months (Halloween, Christmas, etc.) Occasions like that, of course she can indulge - just like I allow myself to! But, outside of those occasions, that stuff isn't in our house. It's moderation. Just like it's good for me, it's good for her, too.

Lounmoun

ummijaaz560 wrote: »

Those who throw out perfectly good candy, do you feel bad? I mean people spend money for the children to be able to get a treat, is that not wasteful?

Why not just limit the amount of doors the kiddies knock on to limit the amount of treats received?
Or maybe I'm just sensitive to wasted food in America.

I wouldn't personally throw out candy unless it involved a huge behavior problem. I don't have an urge to eat all the candy though.
I would not let my child trick or treat if I wasn't okay with the candy coming back. I know people spend money on that stuff and it is disrespectful IMO to encourage my child to ask for a treat and then discard it.
However, I have tossed gifts of homemade Christmas cookies because there is no way our family could consume the quantities we were given. I actually didn't really feel very bad about it. Maybe because it was a ridiculous amount, we didn't ask for it and the shelf life is more limited. I don't give food gifts like that anymore because I feel they are more a burden.

People should make up their own minds how they want to handle these things though.

RachelElser

Don't buy unhealthy kids snacks. Teach them how to eat properly at a young age and, hopefully, they won't have the issues we have. Healthy cheese and crackers, granola bars, and even a cookie can be worked into your calorie amount for the day.

fitoverfortymom

I don't bring anything into the house I can't say no to. Cookies and ice cream don't really do it for me, so those can be around and I'll never touch them. Your mileage may vary.

I make the money. I buy the food. I cook for the family. They can eat what I buy.

snickerscharlie

Lounmoun wrote: »

ummijaaz560 wrote: »

Those who throw out perfectly good candy, do you feel bad? I mean people spend money for the children to be able to get a treat, is that not wasteful?

Why not just limit the amount of doors the kiddies knock on to limit the amount of treats received?
Or maybe I'm just sensitive to wasted food in America.

I wouldn't personally throw out candy unless it involved a huge behavior problem. I don't have an urge to eat all the candy though.
I would not let my child trick or treat if I wasn't okay with the candy coming back. I know people spend money on that stuff and it is disrespectful IMO to encourage my child to ask for a treat and then discard it.
However, I have tossed gifts of homemade Christmas cookies because there is no way our family could consume the quantities we were given. I actually didn't really feel very bad about it. Maybe because it was a ridiculous amount, we didn't ask for it and the shelf life is more limited. I don't give food gifts like that anymore because I feel they are more a burden.

People should make up their own minds how they want to handle these things though.

When I am lucky enough to get gifted more yummy things than we can possibly consume before the shelf life expires, I just freeze the excess. That includes mini Hallowe'en chocolate bars. When they're frozen, you can just take a couple out and let them thaw. Really helps cut down on spontaneous/mindless munching, too.

Packerjohn

ummijaaz560 wrote: »

Those who throw out perfectly good candy, do you feel bad? I mean people spend money for the children to be able to get a treat, is that not wasteful?

Why not just limit the amount of doors the kiddies knock on to limit the amount of treats received?
Or maybe I'm just sensitive to wasted food in America.

H#ll no. Once something is given it is up to the receiver to determine what to do with it. If there is too much candy around the house for the kids or the parents no problem throwing some out.

extra_medium

The shame of logging that third or fourth fun-size snickers after taking it from their trick-or-treat stash would be a good deterrent for me.

serapel

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I will never understand why a parent wouldn't feed their children a healthy diet. I always saw that as one of my responsibilities as a parent.

haha....funny....

serapel

littlechiaseed wrote: »

Don't blame having kids. You could buy fruit and make your kids eat it

I'm 19% body fat btw....thanks for the nice commentary

serapel

Thanks. I like the idea of the snack jars. That was a great idea. I think I'll try it at home.

ahoy_m8

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I will never understand why a parent wouldn't feed their children a healthy diet. I always saw that as one of my responsibilities as a parent.

Agreed. Another parent responsibility, though, is teaching kids moderation, and they need practice to learn it. When mine were 10-14, they liked making a mixture of peanuts, raisins, M&M's & pretzels for a snack. They asked for it, and I bought it for them. I remain amazed at how they could share a bag of m&m's and make it last a week. At that age, I would have been hording and binging, sad to say. I may have learned a little moderation from them, come to think of it. If they had gorged or fought over food, I would have had to handle it differently. We didn't have "forbidden foods," and they did have a healthy diet. It just included modest treats of their choosing.

OP, 95% of the time I kept away from their snack food. And there was the odd occasion where I would cave and eat it. Because I like ALL their stuff. It helped me (1) to save calories for really nice high quality treats for myself (2) to keep my snacks in a separate cabinet. I didn't feel deprived and I could tell myself to stick to my cabinet. But yea, sometimes it just comes down to willpower, and sometimes my willpower wasn't enough. But on average, it worked out.

JeromeBarry1

My wife hides the Halloween stash in one place. My kids hide their candy in another place, and I hide my candy in yet another place. I plan to have a piece of my candy as a snack later today. What's the problem?

JeromeBarry1

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I will never understand why a parent wouldn't feed their children a healthy diet. I always saw that as one of my responsibilities as a parent.

Shark Week.

kportmanshark

extra_medium wrote: »

The shame of logging that third or fourth fun-size snickers after taking it from their trick-or-treat stash would be a good deterrent for me.

Yeah I just log everything and seeing too much red tells me to back off. I don't beat myself up if it's one day, but, if the second day looks like i'm going to be going over I guilt myself into not eating the chocolate or whatever.

cqbkaju

Fill up on protein shakes whenever you have cravings.
Kids aren't the problem. Making poor choices is the problem.
It sounds like Halloween isn't the problem, but it might be your excuse to make poor choices.

Like @littlechiaseed says, you can give out any number of things besides chocolate or candy.
If you know it will be a "problem" for you then why would you have it in your house?

Portion out what your kids get from other houses and throw the rest away or donate it.
There is no reason why your kids have to eat junk food or all of the candy they bring home.
You can teach them to make better choices also.

crzycatlady1

ummijaaz560 wrote: »

Those who throw out perfectly good candy, do you feel bad? I mean people spend money for the children to be able to get a treat, is that not wasteful?

Why not just limit the amount of doors the kiddies knock on to limit the amount of treats received?
Or maybe I'm just sensitive to wasted food in America.

I've literally spent over $15,000 on braces for three kids-no I do not feel bad if I throw away the candy that can cause damage to all of the hardware in their mouths We don't go to a lot of houses because of this-usually two streets and then we call it good. About half of the candy is sticky (skittles, starbursts, caramels, tootsie rolls, gum etc), and it goes in the trash immediately. Most of the chocolate things are safe so we keep those. My husband and I have also had a lot of dental work done and neither of us eat the really sticky things either.

serapel

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I will never understand why a parent wouldn't feed their children a healthy diet. I always saw that as one of my responsibilities as a parent.

Shark Week.

They need to apple-ogize

serapel

crazyravr wrote: »

serapel wrote: »

I find it tough to eat healthy with the kids' snacks in my cupboards. And now the Halloween chocolate bars are going to be in abundance in my household this Monday. I LOVE chocolate...oh crap.

What are some tricks to avoid eating your children's snacks (granola bars, cookies, Halloween treats, etc). Is there spell I can cast to make myself hate chocolate for two weeks???

I hear this all the time... people blaming kids or their significant others for their problems. Did the kids buy the snacks and junk or did you? The kids will eat what you eat. Also there are plenty of healthy and good for you snacks out there.

I am 19% body fat people!!!

You guys are talking to me like I'm 300 lbs.

serapel

Thanks for the help. I'm not coming back to this thread bc I'm getting beaten up more than my liking here. It's not worth it bc I have to work, go home, make dinner, pick up my kids from school, do homework, put them to bed...

I have enough stress in my life already. I don't wish to read what I find to be very negative and unnecessary feedback.

I do appreciate the kind and helpful responses.

chocolate_owl

serapel wrote: »

crazyravr wrote: »

serapel wrote: »

I find it tough to eat healthy with the kids' snacks in my cupboards. And now the Halloween chocolate bars are going to be in abundance in my household this Monday. I LOVE chocolate...oh crap.

What are some tricks to avoid eating your children's snacks (granola bars, cookies, Halloween treats, etc). Is there spell I can cast to make myself hate chocolate for two weeks???

I hear this all the time... people blaming kids or their significant others for their problems. Did the kids buy the snacks and junk or did you? The kids will eat what you eat. Also there are plenty of healthy and good for you snacks out there.

I am 19% body fat people!!!

You guys are talking to me like I'm 300 lbs.

I was following this thread out of curiosity and wasn't planning to comment, but this is awfully fat-shamey to me. Why should your BF% matter when it comes to how you feed yourself and your kids if you're striving to be healthy?

serapel

chocolate_owl wrote: »

serapel wrote: »

crazyravr wrote: »

serapel wrote: »

I find it tough to eat healthy with the kids' snacks in my cupboards. And now the Halloween chocolate bars are going to be in abundance in my household this Monday. I LOVE chocolate...oh crap.

What are some tricks to avoid eating your children's snacks (granola bars, cookies, Halloween treats, etc). Is there spell I can cast to make myself hate chocolate for two weeks???

I hear this all the time... people blaming kids or their significant others for their problems. Did the kids buy the snacks and junk or did you? The kids will eat what you eat. Also there are plenty of healthy and good for you snacks out there.

I am 19% body fat people!!!

You guys are talking to me like I'm 300 lbs.

I was following this thread out of curiosity and wasn't planning to comment, but this is awfully fat-shamey to me. Why should your BF% matter when it comes to how you feed yourself and your kids if you're striving to be healthy?

I deeply apologize if this offended anyone. This was not my intent.