How do you do it?

jessicanickell

How do you do it? How do you stay motivated? I have a seven month old who is going to be eating table food soon and I don't want him eating junk food, so I'm trying to do better and want to set a good example. I'm going over my daily calorie goal every day, but usually just by 500 calories or less. (Just....lol) How do you do it? I feel like winter time makes the motivation worse.

Jess

beckyinma

remind yourself that you want to be around when he gets on the school bus for the first time, goes on his first date, gets his license, graduates from HS, gets married, graduates from college and gives you grandchildren...

cheeksv

Honestly, motivation is hard to find especially in winter! I listen to music, look at before and afters, constantly think of my goals and why I want to achieve them. Sometimes I even take break never quit but, just work on maintaining. In the eating arena I plan my meals. I don't EAT breakfast I replace it with protein shakes. Light lunch and nice dinner. That is just me but, in general you have to rework your diet. That is the only way you will keep from going over. Get yourself on a schedule keep fresh foods in your house and that is what you will feed your body and your baby

mrsdizzyd84

What is your calorie goal each day? My goal is 1600 a day, and I find that is plenty of food to keep me going. The key is to ditch the empty calories (if you haven't already). Get rid of the sodas, juices, chips, cookies, etc. Those are high calorie, but they don't give you that full feeling. Focus on whole grains, complete carbs, lean protein, fruits, and veggies. It's much easier to stick with your goal if you feel full before you've even reached it. Some winner combos for me are egg beater omelets filled with veggies, Oatmeal with a banana, and shiratake noodles with bean sprouts in a yummy hoisin siracha sauce. Also, be sure you are getting at least 8 glasses of water a day (green tea counts). That also helps you stay full.

As far as your baby boy goes, you don't have anything to worry there. Most children will try anything once so long as they don't get negative cues from their parents or others around them.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear parents say " my child won't eat X" when they have never actually tried to feed their child that food. I think this is one of the hardest things for parents to grasp. If you hate peas but try to feed them to your child while you are complaining about them and choking them down yourself, then your child is going to hate peas even if he doesn't mind the taste of them. Children want to please their parents. They want to like what their parents like and hate what their parents hate.

So long as you present your child with healthy options and give him positive cues about those foods he will eat it (at least once). Presenting him with colorful meals in fun shapes/sizes also helps. Kids like to eat fun things (even if they are healthy).

jazzedorange

I try to cook most of my meals and buy 97% of my veggies fresh. I also make a point to shop by myself. If I take my kids we tend to throw things like cookies, chips and baked goods into the cart. So instead I buy fruit twice a week so they eat health snacks like grapes, strawberries and apples.

Just start small. Plan 3-4 meals and shop off a list. Your baby will eat what you feed him, just try to make good choices

Munque

I have 6 kids and don't keep junk food in the house at all, never have, there are exceptions for birthday parties or holidays, but after the party, all the chips go in the high cabinet that nobody can reach and then a week later, they get thrown away because nobody touches them. I make a menu of dinners for the week, and include lunches and breakfast for the weekends, and we write the grocery list from that, so you really only have to have the will power while your doing the shopping, because during the week, you won't have any "bad" food there to tempt you. It works for me, and now my kids would rather have fruit than candy, I even have one girl that doesn't like chocolate at all (personally I think she's crazy). But when I have junk food in the house after a holiday or whatever, like right now, we have pie.....I'm the one walking through the kitchen and getting a small bite and hoping nobody sees me (because the calories don't count if nobody's looking, lol), so it works for me to just make a point to not buy it at all.