What were you taught about food growing up?

skyebare

My mom would make me sit at the table until my plate was clean, and she would pile on the food, and then tell me what a fatty I was... One thing she never did was have allot of sweets in the house, and no sodas... I was allowed to have a soda every once in a great while as a treat, but not like kids today do where that's all they drink. and my mom would make good home made meals, but just the portions were insane with a full sized dinner plate in front of an 8 year old!

I have changed that way of thinking with my boy. I give him a little bit of food, and tell him he can go back as much as he likes but to eat what he has first. He is nice and healthy as he only eats what he wants, and sometimes during growth spurts its more than others, but for the most part it seems to be working. He gets very little sweets, or soda, and drinks a ton of water throughout the day.

I'm hoping I'm making better decisions for my boy, food wise than my mother did. We eat very little store bought food and mostly eat things we put a bullet through ourselves. We hunt buffalo, deer, and elk as our main meat source. I also raise rabbits for show and food, as they taste allot like chicken only allot healthier. We also trade meat for home grown vegies at times, otherwise its a trip to sprouts, lol.

seltzermint555

Some aspects of my own experience were quite similar to your own.

I grew up in what I would describe as a fairly "typical" 80's household of Lunchables, Kraft mac n' cheese, Happy Meals, Pizza Hut, and Little Debbies. Maybe it's not really typical but for most of the kids I knew that was just how we ate. Lots of dining out & fast food. My parents made "real" meals several nights a week but they were not very adventurous so it was stuff like roast with potatoes & carrots out of a can, or steak, mashed potatoes & frozen peas. Salad meant iceberg lettuce with chopped tomatoes, which I hated.

My mom is a naturally curvy woman. 5'6 with huge hips/bum, tiny waist, and a decent bust. In her teens/early 20's, her body was a lot like Kim Kardashian's...she even kind of resembled her. Lucky! But when I was a kid & teen, she was super skinny from abusing laxatives and eating salad and ice cream w/ peanut butter (that was the extent of her entire diet for years). She never exercised. My dad was 6'4" and well over 200 lb, quite chunky but also fairly fit due to working a highly physical job. He ate heartily, but didn't pay much attention to whether foods were healthy or not. He would take me out walking, biking, etc, which I believe helped fight a little bit of the horrible diet we ate...and I'm grateful now for that at least!

I was never really taught about nutrition or even told to eat less. I was always a huge kid (5'6" 130 lb at age 10) and everyone chalked it up to me being "like my dad" who was 6' tall by the end of elementary school. A lot of my same-age girlfriends ate much more food than I did. I remember sleepovers where everyone would stuff their faces with pizza and candy, and some friends were surprised that I wasn't more into it or didn't eat quite as much. I was not trying to diet. I was just so used to eating sugary, fatty foods. For me, McDonald's or Taco Bell wasn't a treat it was just an everyday dinner. I didn't really overeat so no one blamed my growing chubbiness on food (crazy but true). By junior high I was at 200 lb, fairly proportional but certainly obese.

Even though I have spent the majority of my life obese, and still am (218 lb), I am honestly so happy that growing up I wasn't called fat or treated badly due to my size. I feel lucky that my parents told me I was beautiful and so forth. In a perfect world, they would have known a lot about nutrition, taught it to me, and set better examples. But I am pretty happy that at least I escaped childhood and teen years with my self esteem intact.

upscalelifedownscalebutt

Eat small portions of everything.

Peppers are evil.

Never mix dairy with tomatoes or fish.

Potatoes must be peeled before cooking.

Life would be better if we all got milk from cows not cartons.

Butter shouldn't be dyed.

Good food is more important than good clothes.

Land is important because it means survival (garden, fruit trees, animals, and just space to breath) so getting some land is important.

You can grow fruits and veggies in your flower beds and they will be happy.

Boxed and canned food is sometimes a necessary evil when you work 60 hours a week, volunteer 10-14 hours a week, are a part time student, and still want time to be with your daughter to help with homework and keep your house spotless, but read the label on the can (was ingredients. not nutrition facts in those days).

Only eat your portion of the food, leave some for others.

SweetestLibby

Yep. My parents were the "finish everything on your plate" type but we rarely ate fast food or restaurant food. My mom didn't give us massive amounts of food but instead gave us small portions and said if you're still hungry go back for seconds. My mom cooked frequently and we learned how to cook from scratch at a young age. We had healthy snacks, very little candy, almost no soda or sugar fruit drinks. We were active kids (in multiple sports, after school activities, etc) . My issues came when I had control of what I was eating and when I had to manage my own relationship with food.

HealthyVitamins

I have to sit there until I eat it all

and never waste any of it..

Me too, and this is still with me today, that's why I put smaller portions on my plate. I never let it get me fat though, just have to becareful with how large my portions are.

JustWatchMee

I never really had any guidance when it came to food. My parents divorced when I was really little so i went back and forth between them and my grandmother. While I was with my mom, I can never remember her eating a normal meal. She worked all the time and by the time she came home me and my brother were in bed so we kind of just fended for oursleves and ate nachos and alot of microwaveable things. She also had a really bad habit of saying "I had such a stressful day, let's go get ice cream!!" It always seemed like she had a stressful day lol She also used to give my brother and me a "food allowance" when we went grocery shopping and allowed us to buy whatever food we wanted. Obviously we got candy and junk food all the time.
Whenever I was with my dad we had family meals, but he was of the mind set that you sit at the table until you are done eating everything on your plate. We didn't eat alot fo fast food but it was used as a treat and bribe sometimes. My grandmother is italian so enough said, but really she just liked feeding us whenever she got the opportunity, good food, but loaded with fat and carbs and sugars.
I was a skinny child until I hit middle school and then I got pudgy, and wasn't fat in high school but definietly wasn't thin but it worked for me since I was active.
I have been trying to undo all of the bad habits inherited from my parents and trying to teach my daughter (14 months) from the get go healthy eating habits. I don't make her sit at her seat and finish everything, if she doesnt want it then I let her play and she will eat at her next meal. I started off really strict with her food and drink but I have loosened up a little, but she doesn't get sweets and if she does its not usually anything she eats all by herself, and if she does get juice it's usually 1 part juice to 2 parts water. I am terrified of her getting fat, because I know how mean kids can be and she has the geneticc diposition for that to happen with a quickness.

ninerbuff

That you put soy sauce/fish sauce in about every dish along with rice.

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

seltzermint555

I have been trying to undo all of the bad habits inherited from my parents and trying to teach my daughter (14 months) from the get go healthy eating habits. I don't make her sit at her seat and finish everything, if she doesnt want it then I let her play and she will eat at her next meal. I started off really strict with her food and drink but I have loosened up a little, but she doesn't get sweets and if she does its not usually anything she eats all by herself, and if she does get juice it's usually 1 part juice to 2 parts water. I am terrified of her getting fat, because I know how mean kids can be and she has the geneticc diposition for that to happen with a quickness.

I am not a parent but I think that is cool. SO many of my friends eat really healthy as adults and then let their kids eat any random junk food AKA "kid food" and it surprises me. I don't think I know best or anything, as I said I am not a parent and never going to be...but I just think it's kind of ridiculous to assume that your child will eat nothing but chicken nuggets and cookies and juice for 10-12 years and then suddenly in their early teens develop your tastes and enjoy salmon with steamed broccoli and quinoa...hehe

SmartAlec03211988

My mother was a health nut when I was a kid. Unfortunately her strict ways of making me and my siblings eat it assured a rebellious stage when we were responsible for our own diets - I definitely ate all the things I wasn't allowed to have, because I was finally able to choose for myself, and it certainly contributed to my weight gain (I had actually been underweight during my entire childhood, and only gained weight when I became a late teen and was responsible for my own nutritional needs).

Coincidentally, she's given up on her healthy ways and I've since adopted a (much less strict) version of it.

MissKalhan

Mom was and still is to an extent a yo yo dieter, she had a weight loss surgery (which doesn't fix that mental issue with food) when I was in high school. My resolve grew right there, I didn't want to have to rely on a surgery to lose weight. Growing up food was either scarce or there was an over abundance of it, when it was scare you ate as much as you were offered (when I was staying at my friends place for dinner there was no such thing as no I'm not hungry, sometimes I'd even get sent home with extras which I horded in my room) and well when there was an over abundance you still ate as much as possible before it disappeared again. Mom often projected her self hatred on us, you're getting fat. You need to stop eating ect ect. Lucky I got out of that situation when I was 16, moved out and fended for myself. I'm slowly learning food habits, I save money like it's going out of style just because I don't want to go back to living bankrupt.
That all being said, I love my mother dearly she did the best that she could. Yes she was harsh, she's not selfhating anymore and doesn't project it elsewhere. We all learn and grow up eventually.

SezxyStef

I grew up poor until I was about 8. So my early years were

oatmeal, red river cereal or cream of wheat for breakfast. No Juice etc.

Lunches were provided at hot lunch most of the time

Suppers were stews, beans, pancakes, potatoes etc.

If we had cookies they were homemade

Healthy foods but we were told to finish what was on our plates...keep in mind that was fine cause it wasn't a lot.

Treats didn't happen often...but they were oranges most of the time, very rarely did we have chips and chocolate bars etc.

and because we didn't have a TV we were active.

Then economic turn around of sorts...but 7 kids with one being a diabetic.

Portion control was the key. But we had store bought cookies and ice cream (but controlled portions)

I did develop a love of butter, shrimp, lobster (once a year treat) cheez whiz and ritz crackers.

Remained active tho...

It wasn't until I had my own child that the healthy eating went down the tubes...not that we ate junk all the time but there was definately more of it at my adult house.

Now however we are back to our roots mainly and not due to financial hardship but because that's how I prefer to eat and live.

Oatmeal, beans, homemade breads and sweets but still have ice cream in the house as I do have two men in my house who work in the trades and have huge appetites.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

As a young child, I guess we were taught pretty well. We were able to snack whenever we wanted but fruit was always an option and we didn't have a lot of chips or whatever else. We usually had a well balanced dinner, veggies of some kind (usually from a can though) we always included. We always had diet pop in the house, no sugar pop (my mother was diabetic). We didn't eat out much because we could afford it. My parents were both overweight though and not active at all. Both had high blood pressure and my mother had type 2 diabetes. In junior high I was expected to make my own lunches and I just didn't, so I often skipped lunch or ate other people's left overs. By high school my parents kind of were around anymore and often just left me and my little brother money for dinner, which ended up being fast food we could walk to. Then I got a job at McDonald's and gained some weight because I just ate whatever. By senior year though I learned to keep the eating at McDs under control and lost the weight again.

Now that we are adults, three out of the five kids are probably in the "obese" category, my other sister probably "overweight". I'm the only one in the "healthy" BMI range.

FredSetToGetFit

I have to sit there until I eat it all

and never waste any of it..

This was the same with me, and I never do it to my kids. If they tell me they are full, that is that. To this day, I still eat everything in my plate, even if I am not hungry any more. I now just put less food in the plate ;-)

PJ64

My parents grew up during the depression and were WWII generation. Food was a luxury to them. We were taught to be grateful, so I was part of the "Clean plate club" If it was on the plate you better eat it and be grateful for it. I remember one time not wanting to eat my spinach and my Dad said "there are kids starving in China who would love to have this food" I said "Name two"....Silence .........then SMACK!!..........as I looked up from the floor he said "Ching & Chong now get up and eat" Which ended up being Hilariious later in life because I married a woman named Chong :laugh:

There was always meat & veggies, no desserts except for special occasions, they didn't allow candy or soda in the house except for Holidays and then only on the Holiday itself,. Nobody in my family was overweight. We all played outiside and most of us played sports.
we didn't overeat but we had a healthy balanced diet

shirtswiththumbholes

- Milk was my drink every dinner
- I couldn't leave the table until everything was clear from my plate.

Those were my dad's rules, I think my mom was a little less strict. But that's what I remember.

stunningalmond

I have to sit there until I eat it all

and never waste any of it..

Me too!

Bry_Fitness70

Take what you want, but eat what you take. This was the rule at mom and dad's kitchen table and later in the mess hall in the military.

helpfit101

Let's see.. finish your plate.. eat whatever is being served.. eat as much meat and vegetables and potatoes as you want .. and snack moderately occasionally at night.

My brother and I have always been at a healthy weight.

_Waffle_

What were you taught about food growing up?

I was taught that you need to plant seeds in good ground, water it, and wait for it to grow up for harvest. I learned all of this from Farmville.

yoovie

I got a happy meal on the last day of school every year. Occasionally after church my dad and i would go for root beer floats. My mom loves me very much and that is why she spent so much time trying to figure out something yummy and healthy for dinner, so stay here and eat all of it or you'll hurt her feelings. And dont just sit there and mope and eat - socialize with the family and laugh together. dinner should be a happy time - look at all this yummy stuff - your mom is a goddess.

then usually my dad would shove one of our faces in our dessert.