Easy for you eat healthy! You don't have kids!

I'm a mom of 4 kids, which is one of the reasons I choose to eat healthily.

Last Saturday we had 2 back to back birthday parties to go to. I had a small piece of cake at the first and said "no thanks" at the second. They know what my goals are and didn't bat an eyelash. No offense taken by any (that I'm aware of).

It is just that hard.

I have 5 kids. They've always eaten all the same stuff as me. They love fruits and veggies, and I make homecooked meals for them. Soda is only for special occasions and we rarely have candy/goodies in the house-when we do it is usually made from scratch-homemade granola bars, homemade muffins, stuff like that. Tonight I made each family member a jumbo dark chocolate cupcake with homemade dark chocolate frosting to celebrate our wedding anniversary, it was all from scratch and it is a special occasion so i'm ok with that (and by making us each a cupcake I didn't have to worry about tons of leftover cake)-but you won't find boxes of cake mix, cookies, goodies, etc. in my pantry.

My kids were raised exercising with me, getting active and learning about being healthy. I really don't think it was a challenge at all, it is part of my responsibility as a parent to help them learn how to care for their bodies correctly and it has been really enjoyable-kids love that kind of stuff! It's an investment in their future. I may be a bit different than many others on here though in that my version of healthy foods also involves full fat things, butter, real mayo, natural peanut butter etc.-sometimes I even fry our brekkie eggs and potatoes in bacon grease after I fry up our bacon (*gasp*) You seriously won't find a jar of fake, low-cal pb or turkey bacon or anything like that in our house. At least once every two weeks we have homemade mashed potatoes with meat and a rich gravy, veggie, and a salad. I'm all for good ole' down home country cooking. We just balance it all out with a lot of grilled and baked foods and stuff like that. I like to know what is in my food. I like to make as much of it as I can homemade, and I like to grow as many of our veggies as possible.

I am terribly sorry for the cutting remark your friend made to you about not having children. Just think though, with all of the healthy stuff you are learning, when you do have children you'll be a great role model for them!

I have kids and I eat healthy. How do I do it? I make them eat healthy too *gasp!* I know, crazy but it works, and they don't mind!!

O, at at parties I either say "no thanks" or I eat a little of it. It's not rocket science lol.

I have four kids, so that really isn't a good excuse. I make dinner and they have the option of eating it or going to bed hungry. But you better believe that I am not going to eat something separate from my kids. That is silly. We do birthdays too... Even if you have a slice of cake you aren't going to gain weight, it is when you eat all of the cake, pizza and chips, ect.

^^This.

I've got 3 myself and a husband. 85% of our meals are home made, not exactly always super healthy, but if I have the chance to do it, I shred or finely chop veggies to add to the meal (I have picky eaters). They have the option to eat what I fix or just simply not eat. It's as simple as that. My youngest is nearly a vegan. If he has the choice to skip the meat and eat the fruits and veggies and nuts, he opts for the healthy stuff. I got him cake for his birthday this year and he ate half a slice and then demanded carrots and broccoli instead. The others took a couple bites of the cake, declared it TOO sweet and asked if they could please have some blueberry muffins instead. We gave the cake to our neighbors who like to pig out on junk food. They said it was gone before morning.
I think your friend is full of it and herself. If the kids have healthy options, they will CHOOSE healthy options. I don't know her. I don't know her children. But I DO know it's really that simple & it seems that she would rather blame you for your success than try to have her own.
Don't sweat if your future children will eat healthy or if you will never be able to attend a birthday party (I fill up on healthy stuff prior to attending & have a very conservative piece of cake or a small scoop of ice cream). So long as you plan and it fits in your calories or even if it mildly pushes you over, it's no big deal.
Sounds like your friend needs a bit of a reality check and to grow up.
Just my opinion.

*SIGH*

That stock phrase used as a get out clause really REALLY irritates me.

So you have kids - doesn't that mean you have MORE of a motivation?! Do you want your child to be part of generation X?!

Also, since when did kids parties become the adults free-cake-for-all buffet? Ummm no. A party is a party, ergo: a treat rather than excuse to stuff ones face full of junk.

I had an argument with someone recently about their horror that there 'aren't enough' parent and toddler spaces in the supermarket car park. I pointed out there aren't enough disabled bays and got bashed for it. Urgh I get sick of other people making their children either an excuse or someone elses problem.

(rant over sorry!)

Everyone has excuses. That's hers. It's crappy she had to pull that card, especially since she knows you would like kids, but people don't think most of the time what they say will impact someone else.

It's not EASY for anyone to eat healthy and live an active lifestyle. But like I said to a friend this weekend "I have to run if I want to keep what I worked so hard for". Would it be easier to go buy Kraft Mac and Cheese, eat the whole box and sit on the couch with a bag of chips. Hellz yeah. But I like being slim more.

Like everything else in life, if it's worth having you'll work for it.

She should be setting an example for her kids. That's why I decided to get healthy...

Just my opinion.

^^My inspiration as well is my son^^
Your friend is being rediculous. This is a total cop out and is one of the the reasons for the high childhood obesity problem in America.

I have two 5 year olds and I still eat healthy. They eat healthy as well. They will (and have) gladly pass up cake for fruit salad. They eat quinoa and whole wheat pasta. Eating healthy is a choice and anyone can do it, regardless of having kids or not. Sounds like an excuse from your friend to not change.

My kids eat super healthy. Typical dinners are Salmon with brown rice and green beans. Another might be baked chicken breast with baked potato and veggies. Tonight, I'm going to make them a treat with baked chiken breast and mac & cheese. I'll make raosted potatoes for me.

It's a BS cop-out. You TEACH your kids how to eat, they do NOT dictate how they eat. Especially since you're on this now before you have kids, they'll just grow up eating right. They wont know the difference. The interesting thing you are going to find, is that if you raise them eating well, most likely, when they get older and can make decisions, they will generally not choose junk. Like, my kids refuse to eat lunch at the school cafeteria; they complain that all they have is pizza and chocolate milk, and that they get tired when they eat that food. LOL. It's a little more work because I have to make their lunches everyday instead of just giving them money, but I'm happy that they make great food choices. Trust me, they still eat candy, and cookies, and ice cream and all the kid stuff. They aren't stoic about it. But, if you asked them if they wanted Mc Donalds, or rather stay at home and have fresh food, they will choose fresh every time. So, hit 'em with it early, and you are golden.

Where people have trouble, is when they spring it on them when they are used to junk food and eating lazy. It's very difficult at that point.

I think she's missing the point of trying to generally be healthy in order to be able to enjoy things.

I have 4 kids, and I try to eat healthy as much as I can. I choose my own breakfast everyday, I bring my own lunch to work everyday. Yes, sometimes the kids have activities that involve pizza, Dairy Queen, etc. And I choose to participate in order to be part of their lives. But I limit the quantities I eat, and also they are rarely surprises, so maybe I'll do some extra exercise that day, or save up some calories in the days leading up. You can be generally healthy and still enjoy the fun times and parties. But it's all about choices and has nothing to do with having kids.