How to explain to my kids I'm dieting?

How about "all good chefs weigh their ingredients!"??

That's a good one!

that is all you need to say. As a social worker, I see parents trying to overexplain things to kids all the time.....they don't need to know more than that. Just focus on the health aspect if they do ask questions; if they don't ask questions, no need to discuss it further.

I don't have kids yet but what you've mentioned sounds good. Also, perhaps something along the lines of "I'm trying to eat healthier so you guys will know how to eat healthy!" would be appropriate!

Edit to add: I just saw your post directly above mine! You could say "I'm trying to be healthier in general for my beautiful children"

Make sure its not "a Diet". Let them know its a healthy lifestyle change. I told my daughters I needed to eat healthier so I would be able to keep up with them as they get older nad faster. They do ask lots of questions dont they?

I don't say anything to my kids about it. They're only 6 & 2 so they're rather oblivious to everything anyway.
My six year old did ask me the other day why I shrunk, lol. He was like "Are you turning back into a little girl?".. it was really cute. I just explained to him that I have been exercising a lot lately and we have all been eating a lot of good food because that is how we take care of our bodies. He was fine with that explanation. We don't talk about dieting, weight loss, "fat" is a bad word in our house.
I have recently majorly cleaned up my family's diet because I felt like I was eating well but feeding the kids junky kid food crap way too much... so we're all doing it together. I don't think that kids care all that much. We've never talked badly about ourselves so I don't think that my two know yet that some people can dislike things about themselves.

When the two of them happened to be baking, my granddaughter asked her mummy why she measures everything. My daughter simply said "You know how we are measuring everything for this recipe? Well, I measure everything because that is the recipe for my life. I want to make sure I get all the right stuff and the right amount in the recipe" I thought that was pretty clever - she never uses the word "Diet" or "Fat" EVER!

We have 5 kids...and none are fat but healthy and athletic.
I see that they eat well but not as I do given my restrictions. They eat burgers, hot dogs, pizza and foods I enjoy but in much greater doses of moderation.
I don't make the whole family suffer just because I am losing weight.
They understand that I am working on my fitness goals and can't eat the processed trash they get to enjoy.
My example to them is as one who bucked up in the face of obesity, lost the weight and kept it off going on 13 months.
And I still eat very well given my challenges.
Life is to be lived :drinker:

Plenty of healthy, slim people carefully monitor what they eat as part of their lifestyle and use myfitnesspal as a tool to help them. Look at the trainers on the biggest loser for example - they are not doing it to lose weight, they just want to know exactly what they are putting into their bodies so they can get the best results back out. There is no reason your kids should think of what you are doing as one of those diets you do for a while to lose a bit of weight - you are adopting a more healthy lifestyle for the long term. You should talk to your kids about this, there is no reason for them to feel awkward about it and I will certainly be speaking with my kids about healthy eating and nutrition labels etc and how I make sure I am getting the right nutrition and not too much of anything (fat, calories, salt, sugar etc).

I think the great thing about myfitnesspal is that it is simple and it is simple maths which is all done for you. You keep an eye on what you eat to make sure you are eating and doing the right things to be healthy (not just calories - I am referring to the nutrition profiles and also excercise levels too). It is a great example to set your kids at an early age. If you are naturally eating the right foods and portions anyway then the app will just confirm that for you and it will be like a pat on the back. If you are not then it helps you address it.

I don't think kids think about it that much that they really need more of an answer.

What you've said is enough.

^^ I agree. I think your explanation of, "I want to get fitter and by knowing how much I eat, it will help me do this" is great!

I was honest. "I'm too fat and need to lose weight". Kids learn by example anyway so what you say to a younger child matters less than what you do. Not saying what you say doesn't matter at all but make sure you lead by example. On the other hand, if you're constantly criticizing yourself then they will eventually learn to do the same. So tell them once and move on. Get them involved in the kitchen and focus on a healthy lifestyle.

I'm sure it's been said, but you don't say "mommy's going on a diet" you say our family is getting healthy. You educate yourself on food intake and translate that to your children. You lead by example and bring them along into it. Everyone eats better, everyone moves more. 2 mornings ago I was in the shower and there was a terrible ruckus in my house, I called to my 3 year old "hey buddy, what are you doing?" He came tearing into the bathroom and yelled "Notsing, I jawst exasizing." and went tearing back out. He eats what I eat and bounces off the walls and is happy and healthy. He wakes up skinny as a rail and goes to bed with a big old belly just to do it again tomorrow. You do your thing, and involve the kids, and don't talk to them about dieting and weight loss - those are issues for adults to worry about.

Kids, we all need to eat healthier.

My niece (who unfortunately takes after my side of the family) asked me about my diet once.
She is 9 and really into math so I explained it as a math problem... that the body needed X calories to live. "Guess what happens if I eat more than X?" I asked her.
She said, "There is some left over?"
"Yep" I said. "Guess what happens to it."
She shrugged.
I poked my belly. "My body stores it here." I then went on to explain that the dieting was to ensure that I was eating less than X so my body would use up all the extras from previous meals.

One day, we will figure out her X and I'll gently talk to her about dieting for real.

I love this.... this is how I explain it to my kids too:) I also talk about what kinds of foods are better than others, like lean meats and veg, instead of mac n' cheese all the time. We're still working on that one. We would all rather eat a whole meal of mac n' cheese than anything else.

When they ask explain that you are making healthier choices to be a healthier person and that involves changing the amounts of food you consume at any given meal. Along with excercising more!

Good Luck on your healthy journey!!

ITS A LIFE STYLE - NOT A DIET!!! You dont need to tell them anything about a diet. Why dont you just tell them this is what you should be doing to adequately eat the correct portion? I mean I have been living this lifestyle since my daughter was born. i never told her when she was much younger WHY. It was just a way of life that she adjusted to. Now she knows.... but now shes in 7th grade and understands the meaning of a healthy lifestyle.
Just explain to them this is what healthy happy people do!