Easy for you eat healthy! You don't have kids!
Replies
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My kids do have junk food in the house..it's ok to have it now and then..my solution when I do buy it for them..I buy the snacks I don't like..lol..then I won't be tempted to eat them!0
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I have kids and I want my kids to be healthy so we eat healthy foods. That's just an excuse. I will let my kids have the occassional treat but that's just what it is ....a treat not an everyday thing.0
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We can't blame us being fat on our kids. I tried :grumble: lol. That was a horrible thing to say. I think your friend may just be jealous of you.0
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So today my friend was asking my advice on eating healthier. She said, "I've only had reduced fat this and no fat these and I'm still hungry! How did you make yourself LIKE healthy food!?" I said, "well, eventually you'll realize that it's worth it to spend your calories on healthy food, rather than processed. I didn't make myself like food-I tried a lot of things from searching online and through my grocery store. Eventually, processed and restaurant foods stopped tasting so good and I became full off of less calories and better for me foods. Now i CRAVE vegetables and fruits"
THEN SHE SAID,
"WELL ITS EASY FOR YOU. YOU DON'T HAVE KIDS. It's not realistic for me to eat like this, I have birthday parties to go to."
That hurt my feelings because, I want to eventually have kids...and, I feel like she was kinding throwing that in as a cop out!
BUT! I'm open to YOUR opinions-parents or not?!
I have 5 kids, they probably hate us because we make sure they eat fruits and veggies with every meal. We also puree veggies into pasta sauces, etc to make sure they are getting it when we have spaghetti and such. Those comments dont make much sense. I go to birthday parties a lot, I just dont cram my face full of sweets. Its someone elses excuses, dont let it get to you0 -
As a parent of a toddler and stepmom to two teenagers, I can tell you that we all do our best to eat healthy. My kids LOVE fruit...in fact, my toddler as a rule NEVER gets real desserts, and we have taught her that her dessert is FRUIT. She loves it!! She loves her veggies, too...carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, any kind of beans...we have all gotten healthier since our youngest was born.
Sure, we eat out sometimes and we go to birthday parties. BUT when you go to the birthdays, you can (a) either choose to eat healthily BEFOREHAND, or (b) only eat healthy snacks at the party (pretzels, veggies, etc). As far as the cake goes...I don't like cake myself, and my toddler generally gets fruit instead of cake at the parties, and she understands that we don't really eat cake, and she's fine with that. For her OWN birthdays, I make her cake from scratch (and I'm the worst cook/baker on the PLANET! so don't let that stop you), off of a recipe I got online for a sugar-free healthy apple cake. And healthy icing, to boot!
Just have to find what you want you and your kids to have, and then DO IT.
Does it feel weird to "stand out" at parties by not eating the crap? It did at first, but not anymore. People get used to it. "Oh, they aren't eating cake because they watch what they eat." Yes, we do. And proudly. Kids or no kids...it can be done!
Oh, and my toddler? She's never had cow's milk or juice a day in her life. She has had breastmilk, sometimes almond milk, and WATER. She doesn't know what she's missing out on with the juices and tons of other "crap" people/kids eat, because SHE'S NEVER HAD IT. She loves veggies and fruit and other healthy foods because THAT'S what we've GIVEN her. She is curious about the other kids' foods (Little Debbie cakes, hotdogs, fruit snacks, etc)...but she doesn't really ask for them because she doesn't know what they are and doesn't know if she will like them.
Oh, AND....time is not a factor. I personally work 55 hour weeks, my husband works at least 45, and I also own my own photography business. If I can eat healthy AND work TWO fulltime jobs AND chase a toddler...ANYONE CAN.0 -
Well I do think it can be more challenging to eat healthy with kids because of the time commitment. Just like it might be harder to eat right if you work 50 hours per week instead of 40. I think parties are challenges everyone faces, not just parents. lol0
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Total copout. My friend who is overweight and constantly complaining she needs to lose, is also constantly posting "baking cookies with the kids" on Facebook.
Sorry..but your kids don't NEED cookies even if they are skinny... its just an excuse to eat like crap and not exercise more.
When I was a kid, my mom baked cookies or brownies maybe 2 or 3 times a year, and I'm sure I wasn't an abused kid...LOL! We had fruit for snacks!0 -
I think your friend is doing a terrible injustice to her kids! Up until 456 days ago, I fed my youngest son all the wrong things; as a result, I created an unhealthy, obese child. As a family, we changed our eating habits and today, my once 300 pound son, is a healthy 165 pounds!
I look back and it breaks my heart to know the damage I was doing to him. Physically and mentally. I would never allow that to happen again. Thank God we were able to change our lives. Now I know my son has the right tools to eat healthy for his life, and one day pass that onto his children.
Wow! What a great post. Congratulations to all of your family. My heart sings for your son. : ) And obviously you are doing fantastic as well!0 -
I am a parent. My 4 and 5 year old love healthy food. They eat what they are used to. They don't find it odd to have a salad at a meal. They expect fruits and veggies, every day, not covered in anything or dipped in anything. They are learning to balance too - better than mommy. If they have a less than healthy treat, they know they are expected to balance it with a healthy one. They also know that portions count. Sure they can have chips, but they go into the small blue bowl and that is all they get, no taking the bag with them. Ice cream - goes in mini ice cream cones. Anyone can eat healthy, kids or not. Her comment actually has me a bit angry and I don't even know her!0
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So today my friend was asking my advice on eating healthier. She said, "I've only had reduced fat this and no fat these and I'm still hungry! How did you make yourself LIKE healthy food!?" I said, "well, eventually you'll realize that it's worth it to spend your calories on healthy food, rather than processed. I didn't make myself like food-I tried a lot of things from searching online and through my grocery store. Eventually, processed and restaurant foods stopped tasting so good and I became full off of less calories and better for me foods. Now i CRAVE vegetables and fruits"
THEN SHE SAID,
"WELL ITS EASY FOR YOU. YOU DON'T HAVE KIDS. It's not realistic for me to eat like this, I have birthday parties to go to."
That hurt my feelings because, I want to eventually have kids...and, I feel like she was kinding throwing that in as a cop out!
BUT! I'm open to YOUR opinions-parents or not?!
My wife and I have 4 kids and we manage just fine. Not only is it doable but it's good for the kids to learn about healthy eating and moderation.
Your friend is copping out.0 -
I can relate to her but that is a stupid excuse, What i do is bring a healthy dish i know i can eat, i also join in on the fun the kids are having to burn of those extra calories i may consume while sampling or having a piece of cake. Bring a bottle of water too.0
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I got something along these lines when I introduced my friend to MFP. It's just laziness, I offered to join her on walks with her daughter etc. and I got constant refusals... I say 'please yourself'... lol0
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We have 3 kids. My wife and I still go to the gym together. She goes 5 times a week and I workout 7-8 times, becuase I run with my two oldest a few times a week. One is in track and the other cross country. There are no excuses with having kids. As the adult you are the one responsible for buying the food. Just don't buy the stuff that is bad for them and you and it won't be an option when you are hungry.
This really cracks me up because my kids understand food choices better than most adults.0 -
There is nothing wrong with enjoying an occasional birthday party and cake. If it's just cake/ice cream you (or your kids) don't need to have huge portions. If it's a setting like Chuck E Cheese where pizza is being served, you can either eat at home first so less is eaten at the party or go order salads (they do serve them!) for yourselves.
We have birthday cakes for employees here at work all the time. I participate in the singing etc. and decide whether I want the added calories. Sometimes I partake, others I don't. It IS ok to say "no thank you" but still enjoy the festivities.
BTW, I am a mother of 5.0 -
Conversation with my daughter just last night:
"Mama, I want some dessert!"
"What kind of dessert?"
"Something yummy--like strawberries maybe?"
I am a mother of three and they ALL view fruit, yogurt, and honey as dessert. Those are the "sweets" they get! It's a choice every single time I buy groceries to purchase nutritious goodies instead of boxed sweets.0 -
Yeah, seriously. As someone who doesn't have kids (and does want them) --aka, I'm in your boat!--I would have been mad, too. Like, don't sit there and say that this is EASY for me..... it's not easy, it takes work! Do you know how much I LOVE pizza?! Events come up in all of our lives, even without kids--especially without kids!--where you're drinking and hanging out and you're watching your friends eat god-only-knows-what.......
Yeah, seriously. She's just making excuses. This is a commitment, and I agree with the thousands of people who have already said she should be making better choices for her kids. Sure, it's more expensive to eat real food instead of pop tarts and chicken nuggets, but it's totally worth it. That's why my hubby and I are fixing our eating habits now.0 -
she should come to my kids parties:
fresh fruit
grilled chicken skewers
veggies and dip
turkey meatballs
....stuff like that
we have cake and ice cream and I eat some, I just dont go overboard
My kids prefer these foods
*Dont get me wrong- we enjoy a pizza once in a while 0 -
I applaud you. There seem to be so many obstacles in this day and age to feeding children healthily...advertising, peer pressure, time constraints, costs, etc etc. You should be proud, and your child/children will thank you for the rest of their lives.0
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Little splurges are okay for anyone just not on a daily basis.
Amen.
If you indulge everyday it's not longer a treat... I found that reducing my *treats* made them way more special and I enjoy them so much more.
Giving kids more and more and more only ratchets up expectations and leads to disappointment when it's not met.
Giving kids the gift of less, allows opportunity for joy in unexpected pleasures and splurges.0 -
I don't have children yet so maybe I don't have my facts straight. But surely as a parent you are the one to teach your children what to eat in the beginning? Surely they wont ask for or crave sweets/fast food if they arent given it? And when you do maybe make them understand that they are treats and should be treated as such? Or am I just being an ignorant moron?
Close, but it's more complicated.
You can STOP them from eating stuff you don't want, by not bringing it into the house. The control really ends there, because kids don't always do what you tell them to do. Did you do 100% of what your parents say?
They will *assuredly* crave sweets, and bug you for it. They know what ice-cream and chicken nuggets tastes like, even if you don't buy them regularly They're not stupid. They go to birthday parties, see ice-cream stands, commercials, have friends, and so on.
So, you have some control, but not absolute control. My middle son will only eat carrots and no other vegetables, and this is despite putting all sorts of vegetables on his dinner plate daily for 9 years. My youngest will eat almost anything within reason. Our middle child has a 3 or 4 raw vegetables he likes, but will not try new ones. The picky kids (both boys) would rather go hungry than eat anything they don't like.
You can't force-feed kids.0 -
Yep... total cop-out.
What she said is sort of like my friend that I invited to join me at the gym after work. She complained about the lack of parking spaces close to the building because EVERYBODY wants to go to the gym after work. Ummmm.....oookaay... So then I told her I also work out in the mornings some days if it fit my schedule better and she could join me then, because it's less crowded. Her response? "No, that's too early in the day and won't work for me either." :huh:
I walked away. I hate excuses.0 -
That's the worst excuse I have ever heard, Nobody is forcing here to eat cake. Please, I have 2 kids, and we eat healthy! Birthday party or no.
That's just a total cop out!0 -
I don't have children yet so maybe I don't have my facts straight. But surely as a parent you are the one to teach your children what to eat in the beginning? Surely they wont ask for or crave sweets/fast food if they arent given it? And when you do maybe make them understand that they are treats and should be treated as such? Or am I just being an ignorant moron?
Close, but it's more complicated.
You can STOP them from eating stuff you don't want, by not bringing it into the house. The control really ends there, because kids don't always do what you tell them to do. Did you do 100% of what your parents say?
They will *assuredly* crave sweets, and bug you for it. They know what ice-cream and chicken nuggets tastes like, even if you don't buy them regularly They're not stupid. They go to birthday parties, see ice-cream stands, commercials, have friends, and so on.
So, you have some control, but not absolute control. My middle son will only eat carrots and no other vegetables, and this is despite putting all sorts of vegetables on his dinner plate daily for 9 years. My youngest will eat almost anything within reason. Our middle child has a 3 or 4 raw vegetables he likes, but will not try new ones. The picky kids (both boys) would rather go hungry than eat anything they don't like.
You can't force-feed kids.
My kids hate chicken nuggets, since I've had them have fresh ones that I make from chicken breasts. they hate those frozen pieces of crap now and wont eat them. You don't have absolute control, but you do have control of what you make them. And, what you give them for treats. And, they wont go hungry. They will eat, eventually. That's a power struggle. My kids have tried that. I send them to bed hungry. the next morning, they wake up starving and will eat anything i put in front of them. It's more about power than them not liking anything. You're the parent. You're the boss. You know what is healthy and good for them. Of course they want things that taste good to them over stuff that doesn't. But, remember this, taste is learned. Also, junk food goes thorugh a lot of research to find flavors that people will love. Fresh food never did any research, it just tastes the way it tastes.0 -
I ran into someone I knew and they said "Oh wow, look at you, you look amazing! What are you doing?"
I said "I eat nutritious food and exercise regularly"..
their response was
"Oh right, you have WAAYYY more time on your hands, you don't have kids"
My reply; "Ya, I pretty much sit around all day so its easy to fit a workout in here and there"...
cue blank stare0 -
We haven't always eaten the healthiest and I do have an extremely picky 4 year old (seriously- she absolutely will not eat if it's something she's not familiar with no matter how hungry she is! And she's already really skinny so I have to work hard to keep her from losing more weight). But I have found healthy foods that she likes and I try my best to get her to try new things. Since she is so picky I try to keep a lot of the healthy things that she will eat in the house so that she goes for that instead of whining for unhealthy food. Most kids will be willing to try healthy food if it's cooked in a kid-friendly way. And going to a birthday party and even eating cake and stuff for one day isn't an excuse to not ever eat healthy! You can even eat out and find healthier options so there really is no legitimate cop out there.0
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How about, "Really? everyone with kids is fat?" Honestly, having 2 teenagers and a preschooler I can guarantee you that isn't true. There were years that I didn't take care of myself, but the children can't be blamed or used as an excuse for that. They brought no food into the house- I did! Anything you put in your mouth is your decision, children or not.
My children are VERY fussy eaters, one to an extreme . But I still keep a house stocked with fruits and vegetables and some snacks like cookies and pie and muffins. Guess what? My older kids now make better choices. They often refuse desserts and both are self-limiting- the little one is still learning. I am a baking and dessert fiend, and we always have soda in the house, but they drink it about 3-4 times a year. As they age they better understand health and consequences of putting bad food in their bodies. We even have 2 half gallons of excellent vanilla ice cream (which they love) sitting in the freezer. It is actually going bad because they are choosing not to eat it.
Parenting includes teaching children how to make good choices in a world filled with bad choices, and includes our modeling it to them.0 -
I don't have children yet so maybe I don't have my facts straight. But surely as a parent you are the one to teach your children what to eat in the beginning? Surely they wont ask for or crave sweets/fast food if they arent given it? And when you do maybe make them understand that they are treats and should be treated as such? Or am I just being an ignorant moron?
Close, but it's more complicated.
You can STOP them from eating stuff you don't want, by not bringing it into the house. The control really ends there, because kids don't always do what you tell them to do. Did you do 100% of what your parents say?
They will *assuredly* crave sweets, and bug you for it. They know what ice-cream and chicken nuggets tastes like, even if you don't buy them regularly They're not stupid. They go to birthday parties, see ice-cream stands, commercials, have friends, and so on.
So, you have some control, but not absolute control. My middle son will only eat carrots and no other vegetables, and this is despite putting all sorts of vegetables on his dinner plate daily for 9 years. My youngest will eat almost anything within reason. Our middle child has a 3 or 4 raw vegetables he likes, but will not try new ones. The picky kids (both boys) would rather go hungry than eat anything they don't like.
You can't force-feed kids.
My kids hate chicken nuggets, since I've had them have fresh ones that I make from chicken breasts. they hate those frozen pieces of crap now and wont eat them. You don't have absolute control, but you do have control of what you make them. And, what you give them for treats. And, they wont go hungry. They will eat, eventually. That's a power struggle. My kids have tried that. I send them to bed hungry. the next morning, they wake up starving and will eat anything i put in front of them. It's more about power than them not liking anything. You're the parent. You're the boss. You know what is healthy and good for them. Of course they want things that taste good to them over stuff that doesn't. But, remember this, taste is learned. Also, junk food goes thorugh a lot of research to find flavors that people will love. Fresh food never did any research, it just tastes the way it tastes.
I guess it was just easier for my parents when I was a kid. My parents never had the money for fast food (it was more expensive then in South Africa than fresh produce) so we never go it. At birthday parties at my house my parents used to serve fruit and occasionally the odd cake (if we were lucky). We were healthy and ate fruit and veg and meat. Brown bread and whole grain foods and stuff were also cheaper back then. We also didnt have tv .. so no commercials. I agree that I of course got the odd treat at friends houses but healthy started at home.
Maybe it's just harder these days, and as I said in my previous post, I don't have kids so I don't actually know. My post before was more a question I suppose.0 -
I don't know how many kids your friend has or what their life is like, but eating healthy can be expensive and a luxury. It can be cheaper to bring your kids for $1 menu items, than to buy the fresh produce, meats, grains, etc. needed to provide a healthy alternative...and if they are a single parent, like me, or finding time to cook a nutritious meal can be a daunting task. I'm not saying it's an excuse, but everyone is fighting their own battle.
My daughter is 9 and has never had a soda. ever. It's a decision that I made as her parent. I stopped drinking soda and stopped smoking years ago because she looks to me for guidance. She does get things like birthday cake, but I watch her portions. Vegetables have been tricky, but education and my clever cooking techniques (haha) play a big part in her acceptance of healthy foods in her daily diet. My biggest challenge has been weekends with grandparents...where junk food reigns supreme. Like I said, everyone is fighting their own battle. So I say, be kind...and live your life to best of your abilities. When you have kids you'll make decisions for your family based on your own beliefs.0 -
Sometimes though people who have kids assume that those of us that don't have kids do nothing. I can assure you I work hard day in and day out and we have chosen not to have children right now because of how overwhelmed we are wih our lives already.0
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.....Super Size me.
Go watch it.
You will never eat fast food ever again...
...If you are a sheep.0
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