Got a funny look from hubby today at the grocery store

lwagnitz

I think it depends on how your "support" system is.. or your family and friends how you think they will be. Some will be very supportive and others will want to sabotage it. It seems as though you've already had bad experiences with being open about dieting. I would suggest not really bringing it up, but if someone notices I wouldn't explain it as a diet, but a lifestyle change to be healthier. That way they won't be so concerned and tell you "oh you can just have one" when they push something unhealthy in your face. You're excuse isn't "No, I want to lose weight" it is "No, I choose to eat healthy"

bcattoes

I didn't really "diet". I lost weight through exercise so it would be pretty hard to hide that from my husband. He definitely notices when I do a Zumba DVD, go out for a run or do strength training while we watch TV.

swest222

mine are 2 and 3, if you think they're eating salad, you're nuts lol they're too little, and they are healthy. they're actually on the smaller percentile for their weights. I'm not going to tell them no when it comes to food they eat. Kids are picky, I'd rather have them eat what they like. I'm having a hard time because of my own choices and my hypothyroid. I ate mac and cheese and pbj and as a child and I was fine. I still am healthy. I may be overweight, but I'm not unhealthy in any form.

I'm not saying that you're doing anything wrong or in anyway trying to imply that your kids will be hurt by eating mac and cheese. They won't. I was raised on it and didn't have a weight problem until my fourth kid was born and I got sick.

I'm only telling you what worked for me and my kids. And yes, my 2 and 3 year olds ate salads, loved fresh veggies, and never missed the other stuff. They also were never picky, because they were never taught to be. If it went on their plate, they had to try it. We pulled a lot of reverse psychology on them to get them to put it on their plate ("Sorry, honey. That's grown up stuff. I don't think you'd like it. Well, I guess, if you're sure you want to try it, but really, only grown ups like it.") but once there, it had to be at least tasted. They were munching on sushi, tzatziki, dolmathes, curry, and a variety of other foods before they went to kindergarten, and they loved it. I also did a lot of renaming to get them to eat things they wouldn't otherwise eat, like Pirate's Eyes (piece of bread with a circle cut out and an egg cracked into the circle), Monkey Toes (dolmathes), and American Mix (goulash). (Weird how just renaming things somehow makes them edible.)

I believe that healthy habits start young, so I taught my kids how to eat healthy foods in appropriate quantities. Sure, we occasionally had pancakes for dinner and ice cream for breakfast, but those were treat days and rare, and the kids understood why. I never counted their calories, but I did teach them serving sizes ("Want a second helping? Okay, sounds good.") and how to snack healthy.

And guess what happened? It made it a million times easier for me to eat healthy. No having to make two meals. No having to answer awkward questions about why I had to eat something different from them. No having unhealthy foods around to tempt me. It was win-win for everyone.

I completely agree with this! .. However I have a different spin on it that if parents DID serve more whole foods vs processed then we'd all be that much more ahead.

I have 3 yr old twins and they both love salad!!! Someone put it to me this way. Your kids will not starve themselves. If they are hungry enough they WILL eat. I make what I make for the family, and if they dont eat it, they dont eat. Simple. No second dinners, no snacks, nothing.

That being said, I do try to make something EVERYONE likes ...
For example DD loves squash, DS hates it so I make squash and carrots and they both get to eat something they like.
I dont believe in making one suffer completely .. lol

My kids dont like normal kid things like Chef boy-r-dee or any of that processed kind of food. I seriously attribute that to the fact that i've made them homemade food since they day they started eating solids - never bought jarred baby food of any kind

While other kids are asking for chips and chocolate, mine are asking for bananas and yogurt ... Im a proud Mama!!
In fact they never even TASTED candy until this past Halloween ... and my son hates sweets of any kind!!

I figure just because I made/make bad choices in life, doesnt mean my kids should be subjected to that...
The more you serve it, the more they will learn to like it.
It takes something like 20 times to decide if you really like something (kind of like making something a habit) ....

SithChicky

mine are 2 and 3, if you think they're eating salad, you're nuts lol they're too little, and they are healthy. they're actually on the smaller percentile for their weights. I'm not going to tell them no when it comes to food they eat. Kids are picky, I'd rather have them eat what they like. I'm having a hard time because of my own choices and my hypothyroid. I ate mac and cheese and pbj and as a child and I was fine. I still am healthy. I may be overweight, but I'm not unhealthy in any form.

I'm not saying that you're doing anything wrong or in anyway trying to imply that your kids will be hurt by eating mac and cheese. They won't. I was raised on it and didn't have a weight problem until my fourth kid was born and I got sick.

I'm only telling you what worked for me and my kids. And yes, my 2 and 3 year olds ate salads, loved fresh veggies, and never missed the other stuff. They also were never picky, because they were never taught to be. If it went on their plate, they had to try it. We pulled a lot of reverse psychology on them to get them to put it on their plate ("Sorry, honey. That's grown up stuff. I don't think you'd like it. Well, I guess, if you're sure you want to try it, but really, only grown ups like it.") but once there, it had to be at least tasted. They were munching on sushi, tzatziki, dolmathes, curry, and a variety of other foods before they went to kindergarten, and they loved it. I also did a lot of renaming to get them to eat things they wouldn't otherwise eat, like Pirate's Eyes (piece of bread with a circle cut out and an egg cracked into the circle), Monkey Toes (dolmathes), and American Mix (goulash). (Weird how just renaming things somehow makes them edible.)

I believe that healthy habits start young, so I taught my kids how to eat healthy foods in appropriate quantities. Sure, we occasionally had pancakes for dinner and ice cream for breakfast, but those were treat days and rare, and the kids understood why. I never counted their calories, but I did teach them serving sizes ("Want a second helping? Okay, sounds good.") and how to snack healthy.

And guess what happened? It made it a million times easier for me to eat healthy. No having to make two meals. No having to answer awkward questions about why I had to eat something different from them. No having unhealthy foods around to tempt me. It was win-win for everyone.

my older is very picky, and I didn't teach her to be. She eats what she's given for her meals, but I'd rather offer her something she'll eat rather than fight with her and make her feel like she HAS to eat what she's given. I grew up that way, I was FORCED to eat things my mother's ex knew I hated, and I will not ever do that to my children. He forced me to sit and clean my plate, even if I sat there literally all night until school the next morning. Don't judge.

SithChicky

mine are 2 and 3, if you think they're eating salad, you're nuts lol they're too little, and they are healthy. they're actually on the smaller percentile for their weights. I'm not going to tell them no when it comes to food they eat. Kids are picky, I'd rather have them eat what they like. I'm having a hard time because of my own choices and my hypothyroid. I ate mac and cheese and pbj and as a child and I was fine. I still am healthy. I may be overweight, but I'm not unhealthy in any form.

I'm not saying that you're doing anything wrong or in anyway trying to imply that your kids will be hurt by eating mac and cheese. They won't. I was raised on it and didn't have a weight problem until my fourth kid was born and I got sick.

I'm only telling you what worked for me and my kids. And yes, my 2 and 3 year olds ate salads, loved fresh veggies, and never missed the other stuff. They also were never picky, because they were never taught to be. If it went on their plate, they had to try it. We pulled a lot of reverse psychology on them to get them to put it on their plate ("Sorry, honey. That's grown up stuff. I don't think you'd like it. Well, I guess, if you're sure you want to try it, but really, only grown ups like it.") but once there, it had to be at least tasted. They were munching on sushi, tzatziki, dolmathes, curry, and a variety of other foods before they went to kindergarten, and they loved it. I also did a lot of renaming to get them to eat things they wouldn't otherwise eat, like Pirate's Eyes (piece of bread with a circle cut out and an egg cracked into the circle), Monkey Toes (dolmathes), and American Mix (goulash). (Weird how just renaming things somehow makes them edible.)

I believe that healthy habits start young, so I taught my kids how to eat healthy foods in appropriate quantities. Sure, we occasionally had pancakes for dinner and ice cream for breakfast, but those were treat days and rare, and the kids understood why. I never counted their calories, but I did teach them serving sizes ("Want a second helping? Okay, sounds good.") and how to snack healthy.

And guess what happened? It made it a million times easier for me to eat healthy. No having to make two meals. No having to answer awkward questions about why I had to eat something different from them. No having unhealthy foods around to tempt me. It was win-win for everyone.

I completely agree with this! .. However I have a different spin on it that if parents DID serve more whole foods vs processed then we'd all be that much more ahead.

I have 3 yr old twins and they both love salad!!! Someone put it to me this way. Your kids will not starve themselves. If they are hungry enough they WILL eat. I make what I make for the family, and if they dont eat it, they dont eat. Simple. No second dinners, no snacks, nothing.

That being said, I do try to make something EVERYONE likes ...
For example DD loves squash, DS hates it so I make squash and carrots and they both get to eat something they like.
I dont believe in making one suffer completely .. lol

My kids dont like normal kid things like Chef boy-r-dee or any of that processed kind of food. I seriously attribute that to the fact that i've made them homemade food since they day they started eating solids - never bought jarred baby food of any kind

While other kids are asking for chips and chocolate, mine are asking for bananas and yogurt ... Im a proud Mama!!
In fact they never even TASTED candy until this past Halloween ... and my son hates sweets of any kind!!

I figure just because I made/make bad choices in life, doesnt mean my kids should be subjected to that...
The more you serve it, the more they will learn to like it.
It takes something like 20 times to decide if you really like something (kind of like making something a habit) ....

mine don't like the canned spaghetti crap or anything, but there's nothing wrong with pbj and mac and cheese for lunch. And again, I didn't teach my daughter to be picky, she just is. Only veggie she likes is broccoli, she doesn't pig out on sweets. She likes a lot of things that are good for you. I just used to pbj and mac and cheese as an example, regardless, I didn't come on here to get slammed nicely for my parenting. My kids are healthy and I'd rather give them what they will eat, within reason, than have them grow up how I did. It leads to way more problems.

Linbo93

My fiancee and I are in on this together, so I have plenty of support in that department! Our close friends and immediate family do know. But I've discovered that talking about your food and exercise choices, while interesting to me and SO, are not a hot topic amongst most of my friends or family. So, I only talk about it briefly, and only if they bring it up. I am not on a diet, this is a change I made to my lifestyle and intend to continue until the day I die. So regardless of whether or not my friends or family want to know about how its going, I will continue to just keep doing what I'm doing. Its exciting to me, watching the changes my body and brain are going through. And I guess thats enough for me! :OD

swest222

my older is very picky, and I didn't teach her to be. She eats what she's given for her meals, but I'd rather offer her something she'll eat rather than fight with her and make her feel like she HAS to eat what she's given. I grew up that way, I was FORCED to eat things my mother's ex knew I hated, and I will not ever do that to my children. He forced me to sit and clean my plate, even if I sat there literally all night until school the next morning. Don't judge.

And that is the issue right there. No one should be FORCED to eat anything.... it creates a very bad message from the get go.

I dont force either of mine to eat. However, they aren't getting a PB and J sandwich because they didnt feel like chicken and squash ... no deal.

swest222

mine don't like the canned spaghetti crap or anything, but there's nothing wrong with pbj and mac and cheese for lunch. And again, I didn't teach my daughter to be picky, she just is. Only veggie she likes is broccoli, she doesn't pig out on sweets. She likes a lot of things that are good for you. I just used to pbj and mac and cheese as an example, regardless, I didn't come on here to get slammed nicely for my parenting. My kids are healthy and I'd rather give them what they will eat, within reason, than have them grow up how I did. It leads to way more problems.

hey im not slamming in any way .. and you're right there's nothing wrong with those things once in a while.

if she doesnt like veggies have you tried the weelicious website? yes kids ARE picky ... but there are so many good recipes out there that incorporates veggies that they might not like to eat ..

heck i dont like certain veggies .. we all have our thing ...

SithChicky

my older is very picky, and I didn't teach her to be. She eats what she's given for her meals, but I'd rather offer her something she'll eat rather than fight with her and make her feel like she HAS to eat what she's given. I grew up that way, I was FORCED to eat things my mother's ex knew I hated, and I will not ever do that to my children. He forced me to sit and clean my plate, even if I sat there literally all night until school the next morning. Don't judge.

And that is the issue right there. No one should be FORCED to eat anything.... it creates a very bad message from the get go.

I dont force either of mine to eat. However, they aren't getting a PB and J sandwich because they didnt feel like chicken and squash ... no deal.

I'm the same with my girls, If they want something different from each other for lunch, no biggie, but dinner is dinner and i'm not making 4 meals for every person. Dinner is what dinner is, if you don't like it, go hungry. I'm not having my kids be forced to eat things they don't like, it's not a way to be raised. I had to sit at the table all through the night, at least once a week because my mom's ex made something I didn't like, and he knew I didn't like. It led to more problems, when my mom finally left him, I gained a good 50 lbs between 12-14 years old, and then by the time I was 15, I was self conscious about my weight. I'm NOT subjecting my girls to anything close to that.

miracole

I make no secret that I'm working on a healthy lifestyle. Would DEFINITELY not hide it from my husband. The way I figure it you're going to get people who judge you for how you look, or your food choices (good or bad) for going out to exercise (I get called crazy a lot for noon-time runs) for not going out to exercise, for how you look WHILE you exercise... but let them. To be honest I'd rather be upfront about it because if someone says/does something that makes it harder to meet my goals then at least I can fall back on "thanks but I'm watching what I eat" and since they already know that it's just reaffirming the message. The things people say and do will upset you and frustrate you but if they don't know WHY what they've said/done is upsetting then you have to internalize all those feelings, and that's just not healthy!

In my opinion, being fit means fit in the mind and the body!

Gapwedge01

I don't consider what I am doing (using MFP) a "diet" to begin with. For me it is a lifestyle change. I want my weight loss to speak for me. If anyone asks I will just say I am watching how much I eat. I have failed so many times on "diets" that no one expects this change to last either. I will prove them wrong.

TheArmadillo

I buy the food and I do the cooking.
They all get to eat what I'm having heh heh heh (husband included). :devil:
Otherwise he can shop and cook for himself and he can't cook like I can (kids are too small to cook for themselves).

I do cook good food though and stuff I know they'll like. And will often do a choice of side dishes (especially if I know one of them really hates something - hey we all hate some stuff).

Merithyn

Don't judge.

I'm sorry that you feel that I'm judging you. I'm merely offering you another way to look at it.

Fredrigo

I don't keep it a secret that I count calories, prefer healthier options, and watch what I eat. Most of my friends and family are supportive. My grandmother's concept of nutrition is a bit outdated since she thinks a balanced meal is meat and potatoes but she's understanding when I decline one food for another.

My biggest detractor is my wife who wants me to be healthier but still makes me feel bad when she complains about how she's eating more than me. I've always been the overweight nutrition conscious eater though while she's been the junkfood loving marathon runner. She's under the impression I could lose weight if I just exercised more.

It's frustrating.