What were you taught about food growing up?

I grew up poor until I was about 8. So my early years were

oatmeal, red river cereal or cream of wheat for breakfast. No Juice etc.

Lunches were provided at hot lunch most of the time

Suppers were stews, beans, pancakes, potatoes etc.

If we had cookies they were homemade

Healthy foods but we were told to finish what was on our plates...keep in mind that was fine cause it wasn't a lot.

Treats didn't happen often...but they were oranges most of the time, very rarely did we have chips and chocolate bars etc.

and because we didn't have a TV we were active.

Then economic turn around of sorts...but 7 kids with one being a diabetic.

Portion control was the key. But we had store bought cookies and ice cream (but controlled portions)

I did develop a love of butter, shrimp, lobster (once a year treat) cheez whiz and ritz crackers.

Remained active tho...

It wasn't until I had my own child that the healthy eating went down the tubes...not that we ate junk all the time but there was definately more of it at my adult house.

Now however we are back to our roots mainly and not due to financial hardship but because that's how I prefer to eat and live.

Oatmeal, beans, homemade breads and sweets but still have ice cream in the house as I do have two men in my house who work in the trades and have huge appetites.

I have to sit there until I eat it all

and never waste any of it..

This was the same with me, and I never do it to my kids. If they tell me they are full, that is that. To this day, I still eat everything in my plate, even if I am not hungry any more. I now just put less food in the plate ;-)

- Milk was my drink every dinner
- I couldn't leave the table until everything was clear from my plate.

Those were my dad's rules, I think my mom was a little less strict. But that's what I remember.

Take what you want, but eat what you take. This was the rule at mom and dad's kitchen table and later in the mess hall in the military.

What were you taught about food growing up?

I was taught that you need to plant seeds in good ground, water it, and wait for it to grow up for harvest. I learned all of this from Farmville.

we were always made to "clean out plates" no matter what. I definitely took that into adulthood going out to restaurants and not wanting to "waste" anything. I had an a-ha moment and learned to get over it and ask for to go bags, and I never do that to my kids.

I was taught to pretty much eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. We ate a lot of hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, tator tots...stuff like that. Lots and lots of sandwiches, always with globs of mayo. Every night before bed me and my dad had a snack...a favorite was a peanut butter sandwich dipped in a bowl of sugar/milk and a glass of Hi-C drink.

At my grandma's house (I was there a lot), I had constant access to the cookie and candy jars. She would give me bread and butter with sugar on it. Both house (my dad's and my grandma's) had pop, chips, little debbie snack cakes, individually wrapped pies, and candy available at all times. We rarely ate fruit or vegetables, and when we did, it came from a can. We didn't excersize. Ever. We watched tv, played video games, read books. So much sitting around and eating!

That sounds exactly like my ex husband's family. While my own family wasn't *THAT* much "better" growing up, I was always amazed when I would spend time with his parents & grandparents. They would sit around reading and watching TV all day and every 2-3 hours cook a meal and then finish it off with snack cakes or pie or something along those lines. 5-6 meals a day. Everyone in his family (except for his grandfather) was very obese but it just blew my mind because for me and most other very heavy people I'd known, we ate 3 meals and maybe 1 sweet and 1 snack each day.

Baking is a huge downfall for my mom. When I was growing up, she never ate the stuff but we baked together at least weekly during the holiday season (Oct-Dec) and gave a lot of our goods to family & friends & took it to church and so on. That is kind of what I do now, actually. But once my mom got older and divorced her last husband she just started baking to comfort herself and combined with menopause and other health related issues, it led to her gaining a lot of weight. From her former 120 lb to about 200 lb, which she is now working on losing. But still she eats like a bird when it comes to 'real food' - half a tiny baked potato and some cottage cheese, then eats 2 brownies or nibbles on cookies all evening. It is hard even now to go to dinner at her house because the dessert is always the star.

I was raised in a frugal, but healthy household. My parents did not have much money, so the groceries were carefully budgeted. My brother and sister and I were NEVER allowed to dip our hand into the cookie jar, or open the fridge door without permission. We had a good breakfast of oatmeal, whole wheat toast or simple cold cereal like Cherios or Mini wheats, along with a 4 oz glass of orange juice and some fruit. Mom made our lunches, which included a sandwich, veggie sticks, chips, a piece of fruit and a few store bought cookies. Those chips and store bought cookies were a treat, and so we were given reasonable servings, and not allowed to snack on them between meals, as the chips and cookies had to last for our lunches for the whole week. We drank milk for lunch and had it in our breakfast cereal.

Supper plates were filled by my mom at the stove. There was no serve yourself. We always had plenty to eat, but my mom had to be careful to make sure everyone got an equal amount, so she did the serving. It was usually traditional meat, potatoes and vegetable. Sometimes it was stew, bean soup, chili or a hamburger helper type casserole with veggie. We were allowed 3 cookies for dessert. We also usually had a piece of fresh fruit for dessert, especially in the summer when more fruits were in season and abundant. We drank milk for beverage, but were also allowed a glass of koolaid.

For a snack after school, we were allowed a glass of koolaid, and whatever my mom could spare from the pantry. We had to ask her, and she would make the snack. It was usually something like a peanut butter sandwich, crackers with butter, or a piece of fruit.

We did occasionally go out to eat, and were allowed to choose what we wanted from the menu. My parents did buy us ice cream two or three times a week when the ice cream truck rolled around in the summer, and once a month, my Dad would buy us Jack's To Your Door Pizza on Friday nights while we were watching Sammy Terry Nightmare Theater. In the summer, Mom and Dad would sometimes stop at Linder's Ice Cream Shop after a fishing trip and buy us a cone. Soda Pop was saved for Christmas Eve, New Years Eve or a birthday, and we could not help ourselves. Mom divided it up. Candy bars were infrequent, but Mom took us all over the neighborhood on Halloween, and we always brought home a huge haul of candy. She always made the best Easter baskets, full of yummy candy. None of these premade, store bought, Easter baskets for us! So we did get our treats. It's just that they were not an every day thing, and outside of Halloween candy and Easter baskets, we were not allowed to eat something without asking Mom.

My parents always had a big veggie garden and frequented farmers markets and roadside stands, so we learned to love veggies and fruits early. My father was from Germany and hated American bread, so we learned to eat good, wholegrain bread at a young age, and NO! We were never allowed to cut off the crust.

We were not allowed to be picky eaters. We were each allowed one or two things that we could absolutely hate and not have to eat, but we were given no special favors. I hated bean soup, so I was exempt from eating it on bean soup night, but Mom did not make me anything special to replace it, nor was I allowed to make anything special when I could start cooking. I had to content myself with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Mom was not about to start cooking meals to order for each individual, or dirty up a bunch of dishes to suit each person's taste.

We were not allowed to go to someone's house for lunch or dinner and refuse food. We were taught that it was not polite to complain about the food that someone else cooked and served you. People work hard for their food, and do you honor by sharing it with you. My parents used that same line of thinking at home. They worked hard to procure us good, nutritious food, and to provide us with enjoyment of that food, and we were to be grateful and not complain.

Neither of my parents ever had a weight problem. I did not either, until I became a nurse in my 30's, and began working crazy hours and shifts. It got worse when my late husband and parents got sick. I literally took care of sick people 24/7 without a break for 7 years straight, then after my husband and parents passed went into a long depression. Things were so crazy that we ate lots of fast food and junk food because it was fast and convenient. I am grateful for my parents and the way they taught me to eat. I taught my children the same way, though for 7 years while they were still teens, they rarely got a home cooked meal. At least they know how to eat. Now that I am loosing weight, it's my parents attitude towards food that helps me most.

Eat everything on your plate. No, seriously. I could be full-to-alomst-vomiting and my dad would be standing over me telling me to finish my plate.
After a few years of this, I took it as a challenge.

My mother cooked almost every day and the meals usually included vegetables, but they werent healthy.
Frozen salisbury steak (sodium), canned veggies loaded with seasoned salt (sodium) boxed starches (mashed potato flakes, kraft mac and cheese, rice a roni, SODIUM SODIUM SODIUM)


Pretty much everything came out of a box or can except the meat which was frozen, prepackaged or cooked with copious amounts of salt. To this day, my mother (whose blood pressure is through the roof) still puts ridiculous amounts of salt on her food. I have to stop her from adding salt to the meals she cooks for my kids because they complain that its too salty.

I was also raised in a house where if a child said they were hungry, they got to eat. Regardless if that child just ate, wasnt actually hungry, etc. My parents grew up very poor and with large families. Usually it was just a mom who worked way to many hours and 8 kids who fended for themselves when it came to meals. Food was scarce and they went hungry a lot. They "fixed" this for their children by feeding them however much they wanted, whenever they wanted.
I am the only child that got "fat" from this treatment and I still struggle with "cleaning" my plate or overloading my plate.

I never ever ever even once saw my parents exercise. Not even a walk. Meals were red meat based with a side of carbs. We never ate out back then but the meals at home were probably worse. Most weeks there was a glass cake holder with a chocolate cake in it. Dinners often were huge with extended family always around.

Nutrition was a word I don't ever remember even hearing.

All that being said I was never over weight as a kid. Makes me miss those days.

I was taught to eat what was put on my plate. I was also taught to eat veggies with dinner, but it isn't necessary for breakfast or lunch. :ohwell:

That you HAVE TO clean your plate. The single biggest food offence is to waste food, so you MUST eat it all. Sadly that's extended itself to bottlies of wine, packets of sweet things and the food on a serving plate on the table, not just my plate which is a large part of why I'm here :-(

That cakes and biscuits and other sweet things are a rare treat, strictly rationed, hard to get hold of, subject to summary execution if you over-indulge, expecially when a guest at someone else's house (so when nobody's looking, stuff your face like mad!)

That it's rude to ask for food or drink - e.g. at a friend's house, I can't ask for a drink unless it's offered, and I would never ask for another helping/slice/spoonful of anything! I'll die of thirst before I ask for a glass or water, much less any other drink!

My family doesn't quite get the whole healthy eating idea. Growing up, there was a lot of snacking and going out to eat. My mom was naturally thin growing up and gained weight after becoming a mother. I think that due to being thin, she grew up eating junky food without gaining weight and learned those habits. When I started to get more overweight in middle school, my mom would go through phases of encouraging "healthy" eating for all of us. While some of the choices were healthier (more turkey sandwiches and an apple), most were featured diet foods like 100 calorie packs of junk food, diet sodas, or lean cuisine meals. I generally hated those phases because I just felt hungry all of the time. Even when I stuck with eating this way for awhile in high school and lost some weight, I fell off the wagon pretty easily because I wasn't really satisfied for the long run.

I first learned about real healthy eating while in college. I kind of learned more and more each year. I generally just kept putting off making the right choices there because of how easy it was to make the bad choices. I always was tempted to socialize over alcohol and food, make bad choices at all-you-can-eat delicious dining halls, and snack on huge portions late at night. I don't think I ever wanted it enough to make the changes required. It's only since I moved away to grad school that I finally am cooking more and counting calories consistently.

The 2 things i can remember is that if we were hungry...there was chicken in the oven and rice in the cooker. Of course that didn't happen till my mom married an islander. The other thing i remember was we had to eat what my mom cooked. If we didn't want to eat it then, it would be in the fridge for when we were hungry later.

My kids (daughter 11, son 13) live with their dad right now (didn't want them to have to change schools and everything when i left him) and i get frustrated by what they eat now. Granted, when we were together 2 years ago they ate the same way, but after trying to get myself healthy and lose weight it drives me insane. They eat mostly TV dinners, because their uncle is too lazy to cook...and my kids have never really been taught to cook for themselves.

My son is 5'7 and only 110, REALLY skinny! Makes it hard to find clothes to fit him, he only has a 27" waist! He doesn't like to eat meat, but if that is what was cooked for dinner then he will eat it while groaning about it. The only meat he eats on his own isn't really 'meat' it's corn dogs, hotdogs, and fish sticks. When we do occasionally go out, his favorite place is Sweet Tomato's! He will eat a cheese burger from In & Out, or other fast food places, but he takes the burger apart and leaves the meat patty for last. If he could eat something all day everyday it would be Cheese. He has the cheese pizza at school everyday and he loves cheese sandwiches. He'd rather sit at home playing on the computer or watching TV.

My daughter is 54" and only 62 lbs, she's been a size 8 for the past 3 years! She's almost opposite of her brother. She LOVES meat! She can devour an adult size steak without even blinking an eye. She likes fruit and veggies too, but give her "Cow" and she's in heaven. She loves to ride her bike to friends houses and play outside whenever she can.

I don't worry about their weights on the "obese" side, i worry that they are too small! Without me being there, there's nothing really i can do. I can tell them to do something, but i can't inforce it. I've been taking them shopping once a month for good healthy foods, so i feel a little better. But i can't cook it for them, I just hope that their dad or uncle does!