What were you taught about food growing up?

tiffanydavey

I'm happy to hear that most of us were taught bad habits!
I grew up in two houses with very different rules! My dad being Portuguese and never seeing me much was very much of the mind set "eat all day, it makes kids happy". Needless to say I used to have about 6 full meals at his house a day. Like plates of pasta, meat, breads...I remember once eating a jar of nutella and a loaf of bread for breakfast one morning. My mom also carried guilt so I was allowed to eat what ever, when ever. I say that continued until I was 9. Then my sister started getting sick and then it was my turn to carry guilt. I felt so guilty asking for food or things to eat. I didn't. There was no school lunches, no breakfast...
Because my sister was at the hospital I figured my mom had other things to worry about. Which made me binge eat when ever there was food or when I found food. I still remember coming home from school once and everyone was at the hospital. I hadn't eaten all day and when I got home I hunted the kitchen. Found two can of chef Boyrd from god knows when and ate them out of the can.
This has made me so messed up as an adult. I'm in constant hunger mod even though I've just eaten. I can eat all day and never have that full feeling. I think about food all day, from the moment I wake to the moment I go to sleep. Its such a horrible, horrible feeling. I'm so sensitive with my kids now. I always make sure there is home made meals and lots of healthy options to snack on. There are treats, but they don't have access to them all day. I never force food. I never talk about food, or diet. But my kids are aware of things like too much sugar and eating for your body and brain.

BubonicTonic

My sister and I had to stay at the table until we ate every last bite. My father would berate us for not wanting to eat steak. Our mother was a terrible cook but a fabulous baker. Dad hated fish so we never had it, mom got away with casseroles (hot dish, as we say in Minnesota- tater tots, cream of mushroom soup, and hamburger with potato chips on top). When they divorced, everybody became depressed. Evenings at mom's house, she would come home from work and fall asleep on the couch, then heat something up at 10:00. Dad's house was junk food, fast food, pizza, Haagen Dazs. They both taught us to eat our feelings and comfort ourselves with food. I would come home from school, pop a bag of popcorn, eat a peanut butter sandwich and any cookies or bars in the house everyday. I always thought I was a fat kid, but looking at pictures, I would be considered average or healthy size compared to how obese children are nowadays. I was always active, riding bikes and playing outside.

Now my parents (and step-parents) are all in their 70's. My mom is still a food pusher, constantly offering food. Always has bars and cookies around. I'm trying to help her eat healthier, as is her husband who has lost 40 pounds after being diagnosed as pre-diabetic. They walk the mall and eat more veg, but still eat out a lot. My dad and his wife are at healthy weights and eat a variety of food, some healthy, some not so much, but in moderation. Dad really doesn't drink alcohol or caffeine anymore.

My sister had a couple of years of anorexia in college, then became vegan, then vegetarian, now she eats eggs too. She is very thin but extremely active. I wouldn't say she has a great relationship with food but she is physically healthy. I'm working on letting myself feel emotions instead of eating them. Not rewarding myself with food is tough, as is resisting temptation when I'm stressed. Yup, I blame my upbringing for this, but I recognize it, and my parents changed/are changing, so can I.

Great discussion! It is so helpful to read what others are going through. It's a good day.

AmyRhubarb

I never realized how good I had it until I was grown and out of the house I think. Should have realized it when all my friends talked about how much they loved eating dinner at our house! My mom's an awesome cook and does just about everything from scratch!

I actually hated it at first - we got junky foods and a lot of processed goodies when I was really young, until my little brother came along. He was a handful, considered hyperactive and mom started looking for foods to change or cut out for all of us. No more artificial anything was the rule. I missed some of my favorite sugar cereals and Hostess treats in my lunch, but I was getting sandwiches on homemade bread, from scratch cookies and desserts, delicious healthy meals every night...

I still make a lot of the same recipes that I grew up on. And I'm blessed to have been taught to cook the way my mom does - I can whip up a lot of stuff just off the cuff, and give me a recipe and I can make just about anything.

The only thing I would have changed in mom's cooking when I was a kid, was less steamed veggies and more roasted/grilled veggies! I hated green beans, squash, broccoli, sweet potatoes - just about all veg when I was a kid and got stuck at the table until I finished my veggies - usually with my nose plugged and a glass of water to wash it down before I gagged. Now I roast or grill, or saute with garlic & herbs - lots of great flavor and a whole new world of veggie love for me now!

MagicalLeopleurodon

Food=
Love
Support
Sadness
Happiness
Grief
Reward

bcattoes

What did you learn about food/diet/exercise while you were growing up from those around you (like your parents, siblings, school, friends, etc?)

I grew up in the 60's and 70's and skinny was the thing to be. My mother and most of my aunts were overweight. Not much, and probably wouldn't even be considered fat today, but everyone (including them) thought they were fat then. Obesity was rare and there were only a handful of overweight children or teenagers. They were known as the fat kids.

Breakfast was usually a big sugary bowl of cereal. Lunch a sandwich - processed lunch meat on white bread. And we ate and drank sugar all the time. I'm not even sure there were diet drinks back then, but we didn't have them. We drank mostly Kool-Aid as children and sugary soda as teenagers. I was taught to eat your vegetables and meat at dinner, or no dessert. And we always had dessert - cookies (homemade and store bought), cakes, pies, ice cream (which was always served in a big cereal bowl. My mother really new how to bake. She even won a couple of baking contests.

I never really gave nutrition a thought until I had children of my own. But from the time I was old enough to care, I thought about my weight. I did not want to be own of those fat girls!

spoiledpuppies

Buffets are awesome.

Don't waste any food.

Cheap/a good deal = good

Parties = food

I can't entirely fault my mom for this. She was quite broke after my dad left the picture, so food had to go far. I'm sure it would have truly upset her if food went to waste since it wasn't always available. (I think I know why she was so thin for a time -- she'd only eat what was left after my brother and I ate.) Cheap WAS good in that at least it fed us. And she would play with me to plan "parties," which amounted to setting out crackers/salami/cheese/probably other junk and pop. We'd play cards, eat, and have a "party." This was probably all the special event she could muster.

But I also grew up loving veggies, and my palate has only expanded in this regard. I'm eternally grateful for that since it makes staying within my calories much easier.

MrsJuli4B

Such an interesting subject!

We ate balanced meals, even on a budget. Much more of our food was home cooked, and although sausages and fish fingers featured, they were always served with vegetables. I don't remember ever cooking with my mum but maybe that's because I never wanted to. She did always say if you can read (a recipe book), you can cook, and this is very true.We always ate at the table, something I still do with my family, and as a child I was expected to put out the knives and forks, and clear the table afterwards.

We didn't have fizzy drinks in the house, I don't really remember seeing sweets or cakes either, and I recall the first time my mum realised that Burger King didn't give you knives and forks, so treats like that were rare. I would like to blame this on my weight gain when I left home but I think that was entirely due to my love of food!

I was brought up as part of the clean plate club and this is probably the one big thing I have done differently with my children, I encourage them to stop eating if I think they really are full.

Dziasmith

I remember we had a dessert made from scratch every night! My father had a sweet tooth and so we all had one I was so surprised when I finally discovered everyone didn't have this at their home.

nytrifisoul

My mother was a terrible cook. My father burned everything. My grandmother lived off cambells and lipton soup. My other grandmother who passed away a few years ago taught me how to cook at a early age, I am told by my famil and friends that im the best cook they know.

TS, atleast your family wasnt like honey boo boo.

jkfriday

Biggest thing I remember is "finish your plate". That's caused problems ever since.

jjorgi

We had 8 kids in my family and mom was a single mom raising us on her own, we were poor but always had enough food to go around. We had little money and could not waste food, all in my family are fit and slim. I am the only tubber, not sure why but I've slways loved food,

Confuzzled4ever

Garden fresh veggies most of the year
pork and chicken we raised ourselves
fresh eggs from the hen house
fresh fish and seafood we caught ourselves.
farm-like chores kept us exercising
We watched little TV during the week and Saturday morning cartoon were looked forward to.
Dad would buy us Mcdonalds Mom would not
We had to eat everything on our plates
We had junk, but not a ton of it. We used to eat off the garden is mom said no we couldn't have a snack before dinner.
We ate too much in one sitting. Huge portions.
I wasn't fat as a kid, although I thought I was.
I went down hill in college and in my 20s. when I didn't have access to all that fresh food, I didn't know what to eat.
Weight was never discussed as a child
Neither was exercise.
Dessert every night
Salad with most dinner
Always lots of veggies
Was told I was big boned and obesity runs in our family, nothing i could do.

changed it all myself and got back to as close to that as i can without actually having it. (like fresh produce and meat (when I can afford the meat at least))

Yanicka1

bump to read

Hezzietiger1

mcdonalds is delicious. lol

jeffd247

Like most of you said, I was taught to "finish your plate".

jennyrebekka

When I was growing up, we ate out at least 5 nights a week. My parents were super busy, my Mom doesn't like to cook, my Dad doesn't want to learn how to cook........so we ate out ALL the time. I remember even as a child thinking it was a special "treat" when my Mom actually cooked at home - - - - - and that's the exact opposite of how it should have been.

Now I have taken the past 15 yrs or so to wean myself off fast food.....it is a long process....but one that i'm proud of committing to. I still slip up some days, but I am working on it.

And when I go home to see my parents, it seems even worse - - they are eating 3 meals a day at restaurants now. So when they come visit me, I always like to make nice, healthy meals for them....and give the recipes to my Mom when/if she asks. But I know, for them, it is a habit....just their "way of life" now. I'm glad it is not going to be MINE anymore!

briabner

Main thing my parents always enforced was the notion of cleaning your plate. Needless to say that made me develop portion control problems that I am working through now. Also, we used to eat out a lot and when my mother cooked it was boxed processed crap!

jeffd247

Main thing my parents always enforced was the notion of cleaning your plate. Needless to say that made me develop portion control problems that I am working through now.

I try to crack that problem by taking less food or eating off the small plates. Still it's pretty hard-coded that I want to eat everything I am given.

We try to give our kids half the food we think they will eat. If they are hungry they can ask for more.

If my kids say, "I'm full" I take their word for it and say "Good, don't eat if you aren't hungry" (unless they are just holding out for a cupcake or something).

If you don't eat your meat, how can you have any pudding? How can you have any pudding if you won't eat your meat?