I began this woe making a carb side for my hubby and son (son will be 19 next week). Since my hubby got on board with me I quit doing that. Son is away at college four days a week anyway. But, my opinion is that the children don't NEED carbs (wish I could go back, but no do overs, right!).

The brain fog you feel is from a lack of sodium. We ketoers need about 5000mg of sodium daily to prevent this side effect! When ketones pass through our urine, they take sodium with them. So, your just replacing what you're losing, it's not extra. Also, magnesium and potassium can be off balance with the loss of sodium too! Recommendations: sodium (almost impossible to reach the amount needed through food, but can be done) 5000mg a day from sodium sources like Himalayan Pink salt....or sodium tablets (i use these because I get tired of eating food just to get sodium)pickle juice...,magnesium (ates, citrate, glycinate, work best around 600 mg a day), and potassium, which is easily found in products like Nosalt, or NuSalt (salt substitutes) that would be used along with the other salt. Electrolyte imbalance is a big thing with this woe, and keeping it controlled will help you feel better throughout the process!!

Good luck!

If you dont have time for the bath, they also make a magnesium lotion to absorb through your skin too. I use one with melatonin every night on my stomach/fat areas (I feel like fat absorbs it better - just glad I have spare fat lol - no idea if that is true). I sleep MUCH better. You can also put it on achy muscles and supposed to help. The melatonin is very different when absorbed through skin vs taking a tablet - no grogginess or anything, just sleep "better" somehow (or placebo? i will take it either way ).

I have 2 stepkids, 8 and 11. They don't eat a LC diet overall, but for dinner they eat what their father and I eat. They have sandwiches for lunch (we make our own bread) and cereal or oatmeal for breakfast on school days (I buy low or less sugar varieties and they don't seem to notice).

It makes it easier for me to plan my breakfast and lunch if I know what I'm having for dinner so I meal plan a week at a time. Last night's dinner was chicken, broccoli, and cauliflower with a garlic cream sauce and for a side we had Brussels sprouts. So no "starch," but still some carbs. Sometimes dinner is a piece of steak and a salad. The kids never notice- they haven't fallen into the trap of "dinner= meat, starch, veg" that I grew up on. If I hadn't already planned a meal with a starch/ carb, then I don't make one just to add it to their plates. They dont' seem to suffer for it.

Ive been Keto for 9 months now. When I first started, I cooked for the family exactly like normal except I stopped using margarine for them. I would only add the amount of butter that they should have on their high carb diets and then I would add more to my foods once plated.
I would just not eat their starchy side.
The first time I made lasagna I made myself a separate one with sliced zucchini for noodles. Everyone tried mine out of curiosity and the kids thought it was good. My husband thought it was good, but weird. I made it again a month or so later with only zucchini and after my husband ate half of his he asked me if I was "off my diet now" because he knew we were eating from the same pan and he thought it was made with pasta! Lol So, I clearly don't ever need to make it with pasta again.
As time went on, I reduced the amount of starchy side I would put on their plates (I make everyone's plates) and increased their vegetables. There started to be leftover pasta or rice getting thrown out.
My husband does the grocery shopping. He has evolved from always buying an assortment of packaged, starchy sides to very rarely buying any. And usually if he does it's brown rice or brown rice noodles for stir fry dinners, and he specifically asks me to only give him a little bit of it. I think this evolution is inevitable as the family sees your results. Even if they don't go all the way with you, they will eat less processed food and carbohydrate overall.
My "kids" are 13, 17 and 21. 13 year old has always been smaller than other kids his age and very, very skinny! So much so that years ago, doctor suggested I make him a high fat milkshake on a nightly basis to help him gain some weight! (Didn't work) He's very active and plays baseball. Even in the off season he is conditioning with all sorts of bodyweight exercise and kettle bells. He is the only one that still snacks on chips, cookies and junk food on a daily basis. The whole family knows my position on the idea of individualized eating, meaning not everyone can eat the same way. Also, that simply being thin doesn't mean healthy. So my son does have limits on the junk food and is made to have real food snacks in addition to it and as priority to the junk.
Middle daughter is petite and has become interested in health over these months. She wanted to stop taking ADHD meds and uses MCT oil and other supplements instead. She decided to stop drinking any form of sugar sweetened beverage on her own and even weaned herself into unsweetened tea from her previous 8 sugar packets. She will cut back carbs for a few days if she feels she had overdone it previously. So, she's just aware that they shouldn't be over consumed basically. She also gets into conversations with teachers about Keto from what I've told her and she said a couple of them actually wrote stuff down! lol
Oldest daughter is T1D and a carb addict like her mother! She has most certainly developed some insulin resistance and upon going back on her insulin pump has decided to go full Keto with me as of a week ago. Yay! You may have seen my post about her water retention issues. She has been overweight when she was a kid, but not since her diagnosis.
Anyway, you do want to be mindful that the carb eating family not get too much extra fat from the foods that you do both eat or they will get fat while you're getting skinny! and of course that's where the idea that fat causes cholesterol issues comes from. High carb plus high fat is a source of that issue. But, I think there's a natural evolution in the rest of the family over time as they see you get healthier.

I have 3 little ones, ages 3, 2, and 1. While I would love to say they only eat health foods, I would totally be lying. Since starting this way of eating, I've been trying to decrease their carbs, especially the processed ones, but I don't plan to eliminate them. That's unrealistic for us. That said, I wouldn't be upset if their only carbs came from vegetables and fruits. I just don't have it in me to attempt that at this point. Crackers and cheese are too easy.

I think it would be good for most kids to feed them a low-ish carb diet, like cutting out added sugar, and most, or all, flour and grains. Giving them fruit, legumes, and moderate amounts of starchy vegetables would be plenty of carbs that offer nutritional benefits.

lithezebra wrote: »

I think it would be good for most kids to feed them a low-ish carb diet, like cutting out added sugar, and most, or all, flour and grains. Giving them fruit, legumes, and moderate amounts of starchy vegetables would be plenty of carbs that offer nutritional benefits.

I completey agree!

A lifetime of low-fat, processed diet foods (along with ideas like eating a tub of fat-free Cool Whip is a completely acceptable dessert thanks to Weight Watchers) is probably largely what contributed to my IR, and to my husband's pre-diabetes. We don't want the same for our kids. I'm glad I can feed them better so they have a healthier relationship with food.

jessicaesqueda0409 wrote: »

Regarding the munchkins, we do a "limited carb" diet. They certainly still eat candy here and there, and have some carbs with their meals. However, I've begun to limit the amount and increase proteins and fats. This looks like limiting to 1 piece of toast instead of 2, making just a half a sandwich (with extra meat and cheese) etc. My daughter, who is 6 and was a few pounds overweight, is now in a healthy weight category!

I make inside-out sandwiches, sort of. I buy cheese in bricks (why pay extra for them to slice it for me, right?), so I just cut pieces of cheese and sandwich lunch meat between two pieces of cheese. My 3-year-old carboholic loves it! My 2-year-old isn't as much of a fan and lately has been eating the cheese and leaving the meat behind, but whatever. And baby boy will eat anything.

jessicaesqueda0409 wrote: »

Regarding the munchkins, we do a "limited carb" diet. They certainly still eat candy here and there, and have some carbs with their meals. However, I've begun to limit the amount and increase proteins and fats. This looks like limiting to 1 piece of toast instead of 2, making just a half a sandwich (with extra meat and cheese) etc. My daughter, who is 6 and was a few pounds overweight, is now in a healthy weight category!

That's marvelous! She's learning healthy eating habits too.