Using a food scale in front of your kids

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Replies

  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    My 6 year old daughter is an avid competition dancer. She regularly has 7-12 hours per week of dance classes/rehearsals. From a very early age I have taught her that she needs to eat properly to give her body the energy and fuel it needs to do what she loves. So, when she questions food related activities, such as weighing, I simply tell her I am making sure I get the right amount of energy for my exercise. She understands completely. It also helps with the conversations around "why can't I have another cookie, why can't I have cupcakes for breakfast, etc." We are an IIFYM household, we all eat what we enjoy, and we moderate and guage it based on current goals.
  • Daisy471
    Daisy471 Posts: 409 Member
    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wish schools would have kids log calories and weigh food as a project in high school health class for a week. Teach them about macros and their role in our bodies, what a reasonable portion of food looks like, how much they should consume for their size and activity level, how much protein they should get, etc.. It seems like one of the most important things you can teach teens as far as health is concerned.

    One of my son's high school teachers did this. It was in his conditioning/weight training class. The teacher had them record everything they ate for a week and all of their activities. The following week, they looked up the calorie and nutritional info and estimated what they burned. We had some really interesting discussions at home after this project. The teacher was great - he never condemned any food groups, but wanted the students to pay attention to what they eat and consider how that will help them meet their own goals. I really liked his approach, unfortunately he retired a few years ago.
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
    This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wish schools would have kids log calories and weigh food as a project in high school health class for a week. Teach them about macros and their role in our bodies, what a reasonable portion of food looks like, how much they should consume for their size and activity level, how much protein they should get, etc.. It seems like one of the most important things you can teach teens as far as health is concerned.

    I agree 100%. We live in a calorie-surplus environment. If you just eat to satiety the commonly-available foods that you find tasty and convenient, you are almost guaranteed to eat a surplus. We should be counting calories from a young age before we get overweight.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wish schools would have kids log calories and weigh food as a project in high school health class for a week. Teach them about macros and their role in our bodies, what a reasonable portion of food looks like, how much they should consume for their size and activity level, how much protein they should get, etc.. It seems like one of the most important things you can teach teens as far as health is concerned.

    I think that's a great idea.

  • jaqcan
    jaqcan Posts: 498 Member
    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wish schools would have kids log calories and weigh food as a project in high school health class for a week. Teach them about macros and their role in our bodies, what a reasonable portion of food looks like, how much they should consume for their size and activity level, how much protein they should get, etc.. It seems like one of the most important things you can teach teens as far as health is concerned.

    ^^^^^This!
  • mgrimes517
    mgrimes517 Posts: 16 Member
    Maintenance. Making sure you stay healthy?
  • kamakazeekim
    kamakazeekim Posts: 1,183 Member
    hollydubs85 wrote: »
    kamakazeekim wrote: »
    I've stopped using my food scale in front of my daughter. She is 6 and is already very concerned about calories and fears gaining weight. I want her to learn to make healthy food choices but I don't think a 6 year old should be so concerned about calories that she wants to weigh her food!

    Did you tell her that it was for weight loss and counting calories?

    I told her it was so I eat the right amount of food. I've lost about 140 in the past year in a half so she knows I control my food pretty tightly.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    My appetite is not properly tuned to allow me to eat the amounts of food that will keep me at the place I want to be, so I use a scale to correct the faults in my appetite. As far as I'm concerned it's comparable to wearing glasses. My 4 and 6 year olds already understand that.
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    Yeah, I was wondering how to approach that with my 5 year old daughter. She asked me why I was doing what I was doing. I said, 'It's something that daddy does'.

    Bake a cake with her - a real one from scratch. To get it right, you should weigh all the ingredients, not measure them. Explain that to her while you make the cake, and how if you have too much of one ingredient or not enough of another, it will be floppy or thick or crumbly.

    If it comes up again when you're using the scale (or if you just want to throw it in while you're baking) tell her you use the scale on your dinner for the same reason, to make sure you have the right mix of ingredients. Leave it at that til she's older.

    My son is 12, and he's just always seen me using it, but I use it for everything, baking, full recipes, or just making my own lunch. He just associates it as another kitchen tool, one he uses, too, when he helps in the kitchen.
  • Sarasmaintaining
    Sarasmaintaining Posts: 1,027 Member
    I have two daughters and it's a non-issue, just like having a bathroom scale out in the open is a non-issue :) My oldest daughter has asked why I weigh my food and it was a great discussion-I showed her how nutritional labels work, how food has servings sizes etc. It was actually a pretty neat life lesson moment :)
  • bewarethedog
    bewarethedog Posts: 42 Member
    I don't see a problem with my kids watching me use the kitchen scale. I want to model a healthy relationship with food to them and part of that is knowing how much is enough. I can't prevent them from having body issues... I think every woman in the world does... But what I can do is show them how to be the healthiest they can be. And sometimes that means weighing food to make sure you are eating the right amount of things. I grew up always watching my mom exercise and I credit that to the reason it is easy for me to workout now. Maybe if she had also modeled the correct portion size for a brownie or cookie, I'd have an easier time with that, too.
  • Sarasmaintaining
    Sarasmaintaining Posts: 1,027 Member
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    lthames0810 wrote: »
    DemoraFairy wrote: »
    Whenever I cooked with my mum we always used scales, how else do you accurately follow a recipe? Also used scales in cookery classes at school.

    In the US, recipes don't have weights, but rather measuring cups and spoons. We don't commonly have scales in our kitchens. The vast majority of people don't weight their food for the purpose of limiting portions, so it is often viewed as eccentric or disordered behavior.
    You're using the wrong recipes.

    Nearly every cookbook and recipe I've come across..uses measuring cups and spoons, here in the US.

    This-I do a LOT of baking and I have hundreds of recipes that I've printed off from online recipe sites. They all use measuring cups/spoons for measuring, I've never seen a recipe that goes by weight for an ingredient.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    haibu wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice, I think the recipe advice is a good one.

    I guess I've just spent so much time stressing how much I love my body and how important it is to love your body and feel confident in it, that I feel, I don't know, like I'd have to admit that I'm not as happy with it as I've been saying. Does that make sense?

    Balance. It's fine to communicate the idea that we should strive for good health and to be happy with our appearance. What we don't want to communicate is that our self-worth is somehow tied to that. If you feel that way, you're likely communicating it in ways other than using a food scale.
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
    why would you not want your children to know it's important to be mindful of what you eat?
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
    Sarasmaintaining wrote: »
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    lthames0810 wrote: »
    DemoraFairy wrote: »
    Whenever I cooked with my mum we always used scales, how else do you accurately follow a recipe? Also used scales in cookery classes at school.

    In the US, recipes don't have weights, but rather measuring cups and spoons. We don't commonly have scales in our kitchens. The vast majority of people don't weight their food for the purpose of limiting portions, so it is often viewed as eccentric or disordered behavior.
    You're using the wrong recipes.

    Nearly every cookbook and recipe I've come across..uses measuring cups and spoons, here in the US.

    This-I do a LOT of baking and I have hundreds of recipes that I've printed off from online recipe sites. They all use measuring cups/spoons for measuring, I've never seen a recipe that goes by weight for an ingredient.

    http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/

    They all have the options for ounces and grams, and cover pretty much any baked good you'd ever want to use.
  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
    I just show my son/sisters/friends the grams measurement on the side of food packaging. Grams...I cannot eyeball a gram. Gram is a weight. this item is meant to be weighed.

    I like to know what I'm eating. I don't wish to have too much of anything or too little of anything. Its like a cake too much or too little with have it turn out wrong.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    Yeah, I was wondering how to approach that with my 5 year old daughter. She asked me why I was doing what I was doing. I said, 'It's something that daddy does'.

    Good heavens, the way some people go about this make it seem naughty in some way.

    What's wrong with just saying the truth: "I weigh my food so I make sure I eat the right amount to be healthy?"

    *shakes head*

    exactly.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
    I'm just honest about what I'm doing and I tell my kids that it's for figuring out the correct servings sizes. They notice that I use it and notice that daddy doesn't (unless he's cooking dinner for the family) so sometimes that is hard to explain. They do hear me talking about calories though and ask questions about it.

    The other day my son was watching me work out and he asked me "Mom, how skinny are you going to get??" I told him it wasn't about getting skinny, it was about being healthy. I try never to say anything about losing weight or being skinny to any of them. I can remember feeling fat as far back as 3rd grade (even though I was actually a pretty average weight) so I don't want any of them to ever experience that.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    My daughter gets a kick out of measuring things. She's 7, and I'm not worried. I have always stressed the importance of eating a good diet with plenty of vegetables so we can be strong and healthy. Part of that is knowing that there is a limit to how much we should be eating. She weighs her own ice cream and snacks according to the nutrition label.
  • L2BHealthy_2015
    L2BHealthy_2015 Posts: 4 Member
    Using a food scale in front of your children shouldn't be looked at as a bad thing. You can use it as a tool to explain, "This is how much a serving looks like." It'll put healthy in perspective for them, and could help them to stop/not start over eating. I find that 99% of the time, I eat everything on my plate, simply because it's there, not because I'm still hungry. Using a scale and putting the rest away - cereal for example, keeps me from refilling the bowl over and over, and usually the serving I measure/weigh out is enough to leave me satisfied.

    Also, in regards to cups and spoons rather than weight, sometimes I find that you get just a little more food by weight rather than volume - and it's easier with things like fruit. It's easier to weigh 8oz of blueberries than try and put them into a cup. I say if the nutrition label gives cups and grams, weigh it for a more accurate nutritional value.

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