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Upbringing and weight

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Replies

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    My childhood involved very little activity :( and using food as a reward. Not a good combo at all. Plus I seem to have inherited a gigantic sweet tooth. In our house, there was *always* dessert to follow the meal, IF we ate everything on our plates. And if we didn't clean our plates, we were given the guilt trip of starving children in Ethiopia. I remember any kind of Drakes snack foods and Kool-Aid always being available in the house. So, yeh, it was a rough start but have learned a bit along that way. Better late than never, right? :)

    My childhood was similar. Dessert of some type at every lunch and dinner was considered normal. We ate out a LOT compared to my friends/family back then (80s and 90s). It was a form of entertainment for my family. My parents both grew up eating a lot of processed food and not much variety when it came to vegetables. While most of it was diet cola, I grew up finding it odd when friends drank water or milk with meals..."pop" was our go to!

    As for activity they did a good job getting me outside to play, ride bikes, etc. We went fishing and on vacations that were fairly active. But as an individual I have always been more bookish and prefer to stay indoors and color, read, draw, etc. So that was a battle (and still is at times).
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    ythannah wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    And if we didn't clean our plates, we were given the guilt trip of starving children in Ethiopia.

    Interesting that your starving children were in Ethiopia. Mine were in China.

    I guess it was a generational thing.

    No starving children for me. I grew up with Scottish parents and it was waste of food that was the real horror.

    My petite ladylike mother ate like a bird. My tall lanky father and I would finish her meal. No food was allowed to go to waste. I still feel that need to clean my plate, and I've been known to finish other people's meals.

    Other than that, the influence was more about dietary choices, and it wasn't bad at all. I was taught that vegetables could form an entire meal, meat was not necessary. My dad had hypertension from a young age so we ate low sodium and never added salt. I find most prepared food tastes overly salty to me because I'm used to food without it. We ate whole grain/whole wheat before it was cool and that remains my taste preference. Of course, we also ate all kinds of organ meats, which may be part of the reason I no longer eat any meat.

    Yeah, no starving children for me, either, but I was never a problem child when it comes to food. I always finished everything on my plate. The only thing I refused to eat was chicken and meat, so my mom basically didn't put any on my plate and that was that.

    My family hated wasting food (without starving children). I just remember mom saying she needs to cook/use this or that before it spoils so it doesn't go to waste.

    We would occasionally have "leftover" meals, specifically aimed at using up leftovers before they could go bad -- especially things that there weren't enough left of for everybody to have a serving. Just enough leftover green beans or sweet potatoes for one? Put it on the table, and whoever wants it, gets it. It ended up with everybody eating a different meal "curated" from the leftovers.

    I'd say that happened roughly once a week, maybe more often after a big holiday meal that generated tons of leftovers, maybe less often if she made a lot of meals where everybody got their own hamburger or pork chop or whatever (as opposed to meals with a pot of something like stew or soup or spaghetti).
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    ythannah wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    And if we didn't clean our plates, we were given the guilt trip of starving children in Ethiopia.

    Interesting that your starving children were in Ethiopia. Mine were in China.

    I guess it was a generational thing.

    No starving children for me. I grew up with Scottish parents and it was waste of food that was the real horror.

    My petite ladylike mother ate like a bird. My tall lanky father and I would finish her meal. No food was allowed to go to waste. I still feel that need to clean my plate, and I've been known to finish other people's meals.

    Other than that, the influence was more about dietary choices, and it wasn't bad at all. I was taught that vegetables could form an entire meal, meat was not necessary. My dad had hypertension from a young age so we ate low sodium and never added salt. I find most prepared food tastes overly salty to me because I'm used to food without it. We ate whole grain/whole wheat before it was cool and that remains my taste preference. Of course, we also ate all kinds of organ meats, which may be part of the reason I no longer eat any meat.

    Yeah, no starving children for me, either, but I was never a problem child when it comes to food. I always finished everything on my plate. The only thing I refused to eat was chicken and meat, so my mom basically didn't put any on my plate and that was that.

    My family hated wasting food (without starving children). I just remember mom saying she needs to cook/use this or that before it spoils so it doesn't go to waste.

    We would occasionally have "leftover" meals, specifically aimed at using up leftovers before they could go bad -- especially things that there weren't enough left of for everybody to have a serving. Just enough leftover green beans or sweet potatoes for one? Put it on the table, and whoever wants it, gets it. It ended up with everybody eating a different meal "curated" from the leftovers.

    I'd say that happened roughly once a week, maybe more often after a big holiday meal that generated tons of leftovers, maybe less often if she made a lot of meals where everybody got their own hamburger or pork chop or whatever (as opposed to meals with a pot of something like stew or soup or spaghetti).

    What a neat idea! We usually only cooked when leftovers were almost gone and there wasn't enough for everyone, and I ate the rest for other meals. To this day, I'm still the "leftover depository". If we cook too much of something, I would have it for lunch and dinner (sometimes even breakfast if I'm hungry).
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,265 Member
    I grew up in a rural community basically and my first fast food hamburger was when I was 16. I don't eat franchise foods 99% of the time and when I do I generally regret doing it because of the way it makes me feel and the taste is always a let down when compared to a similar home made version. I was always an active and athletic slim person and gained weight in my 30's and 40's from less athletic endeavors and eating as I normally did. Pretty much have a handle on what I thrive on now in the food dept. and have maintained my weight easily for the last 25 yrs and I go to the gym 2 to 3 times a week, less in the summer. I do have to be mindful of what I eat, but it's pretty easy to fix when I start to eat too much.
  • Mangoperson88
    Mangoperson88 Posts: 339 Member
    I was very skinny as a young child. I didn't like food. It was boring and I had a busy social life. Playing with my building kids, running with them everywhere, talking till our mouths hurt was my idea of fun and my parents especially my dad kept me away from junk food. I used to cry for a bag of chips and my tears never moved him coz my dad was and is a health nut+ diabetic. I always wanted to play sports as a kid but my parents neglected me and so to rebel I started moving with bad company- they introduced me to candy and ice cream. I was 11 then. Lots of bullying when I was 12 and to cope with it I turned to food but luckily I remained slim, a bit of puppy fat here and there but nothing alarming about it. Because I think my athletic tendencies were neglected as a child, I turned to hardcore gymming by 18 and starvation or eating empty calories. Really *kitten* up my body. I am fat now but coz of my love of exercise I am able to maintain some balance.
  • Legs_McGee23
    Legs_McGee23 Posts: 116 Member
    edited August 2021
    I grew up in the 70s and 80s. My younger brother and I were always very active, either playing or doing organized sports and activities. We maintained that as we grew up, and we’re both still runners today. My dad always took his fitness seriously (career military) - in fact he's 78 years old and only stopped running a few years ago. He's still active and moves like a much younger man. He's also maintained his weight and isn't on a single medication. My mom's weight has fluctuated over the years, but she’s maintained a healthy weight for the last several. We ate fairly healthy - dinner was generally meat, vegetables, some other side, and milk; although my mom doesn't really like cooking so we ate a lot of food out of boxes and when my dad was out in the field, we had TV dinners. Candy and soda were treats, and we only had dessert on special occasions.

    Despite mostly subsisting on Pop Tarts, soda, and candy throughout HS (with a decent dinner thanks to my mom) I was a lean teenager; and when I was in charge of feeding myself in college I actually lost weight; not on purpose but because I was always going: school, work, party, party, party, and I would forget to eat. I was in my mid 20s the first time I put on a few extra pounds.

    I’ve never been overweight by health standards but I’ve definitely had times when I haven’t liked the way I looked, or where I’ve felt it has affected my running. I’m lucky in that I’m tall, so I have a wider range of weight that I can bounce around in without it being too noticeable, but I’m currently at the highest weight I’ve ever been. I’m still active – and still outside as much as possible – but I’ve got my mom’s sweet tooth and her aversion to cooking so my diet sometimes goes off the rails. My brother is as disciplined as a monk and as lean as ever. It’s kind of obnoxious. ;)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    I'll say yes and no. You learn a lot of behavioral habits as a kid and some of them you keep. For me it has been keeping things organized. I did that as a kid and still do it today (OCD issue) especially at the gym.
    But then you learn things behaviorally as an adult too. It's NOT uncommon to see so many people who may have been active all their teens and early 20's, to become couch potatoes once they get out of college and join the REAL WORLD. I've seen lots of instances where parents were normal in weight and their kids who are grown adults now all overweight and obese in some cases.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    Yup, that was me for about 8 years after I graduated college.
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    My father was overweight until he was in his 70s, but my mother was always normal weight/thin. I would play outdoors when a kid. We ate home cooked meals, no seconds, maybe fruit but rarely dessert. When I got older I did not exercise much. I was still a reasonable weight. I did not gain until I was an adult.