"dieting" with kids?

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Replies

  • jkh107
    jkh107 Posts: 8 Member
    For the most part, we all eat the same things, but I may end up eating less of it than they do. I may have a salad instead of dessert, or something, but that's easy.

    Working around my diet isn't really the problem. I have a child with multiple food allergies who is also a picky eater, he's really the one it's difficult to cook for while still making foods we all like. I wouldn't say I'm a "health food" person per se but it's sometimes a better choice to buy and cook whole foods when you're dealing with someone with allergies!
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    I make the same food for everyone. I weigh and log what i eat, and everyone else however much they are hungry for. The few lowfat items i do buy are only for me, the only huge change we have made is lower sodium, which is a change that it healthy for everyone.
  • bicoastalgirl
    bicoastalgirl Posts: 85 Member
    I have two children under four, and they eat what my husband and I eat. I just watch my portion sizes. So on Tuesday, for example, I made beef stir fry. My plate had extra veggies and half a serving of rice. My husband eats more than I do. My daughters eat less. But we all eat the same thing.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    We eat the same dinners. I will eat smaller portions, and sometimes add in a salad while they have different veggies. At other meals, we will eat other things, but generally, other meals no one eats the same in the house.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I make one healthy meal. My toddlers and husband eat it. If I need to (for caloric reasons) I'll eat a smaller portion. If our meal includes a salad, I'll eat a lot of salad and only a little of the entree.
  • kmm7309
    kmm7309 Posts: 802 Member
    I sneak my healthy eating onto my sons' plates. For example, I found boxed macaroni and cheese at wal-mart with a full serving of vegetables in each helping. I am notorious for using vegetable noodles and veggie-full sauce. If I'm feeling froggy, I use ground deer meat for the hamburger, or deer steaks, or pulled deer bbq sandwiches. Deer is lower in fat than hamburger, and is really good for you (I think, when seasoned right, tastes about the same!). My stepsons' mom feeds them high fat and high sugar diets (I've been grocery shopping with the woman... she didn't even buy any lean meats or vegetables within $300 worth of groceries!), so when they come over, I have to hide the good stuff and make it look bad so that they'll even try to eat it. I don't do "diet food", so I don't think what I'm feeding my sons is a bad thing.
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,177 Member
    I have two children under four, and they eat what my husband and I eat. I just watch my portion sizes. So on Tuesday, for example, I made beef stir fry. My plate had extra veggies and half a serving of rice. My husband eats more than I do. My daughters eat less. But we all eat the same thing.



    This is what my wife and I do, for the most part. Some nights we do let the kids have their own dinner though, kind of a treat for them.
  • BrionaLoree
    BrionaLoree Posts: 45
    i make dinner for my little brother and sister for the most part, and i make them the same thing but i just eat smaller portions sometimes. they dont loose weight but theyre not doing the exersice like me. nothing wrong with having kids eat healthy as long as it still tastes good to them:)
  • AJ_Pete
    AJ_Pete Posts: 863 Member
    A healthy, balanced diet is beneficial and the sooner you introduce a healthier lifestyle to your kids, the better. I have a 2 and an 11 year old. The 2 year old, my son, eats what I eat which is healthy everything. My daughter, at 11, is a different story. She's already overweight and reversing that is much harder than preventing that.

    Let's be fair here, you're eating healthier AND exercising, thus creating a calorie deficit. They are active, I'm assuming, but weigh less than you.... requiring less calories than you. Typically, they're not going to be at a deficit like you are.

    Just buy some healthier snacks for them to munch on.... fruits, nuts, etc. That'll give them the extra cals without the crap.
  • claire7090
    claire7090 Posts: 67
    We eat together as much as possible (all evening meals and most breakfasts), I have had never had an issue with what we ate only portion control. We eat healthy and primarily home cooked foodand rarely eat fast food - my kids have been to MacDonalds twice in their life (age 5 and 8), we occassionally (1xmonth) eat at Frankie and Bennys (diner style restaurant). What I ate was never a problem just the portion sizes, so we eat the same as before but I just serve myself smaller portions and when we go out I make sensible choices (eg choose from the low cal menu).

    If you are truely having a healthy diet reducing portion sizes is all you need to do and the kids should not notice anything different except that hopefully you are shrinking! (My daughter was really pleased when she could reach all the way round me to give me a hug!)

    Kids do not suffer from eating a healthy diet!
  • TheArmadillo
    TheArmadillo Posts: 299 Member
    Like others mine (aged 7 and nearly 2) eat the same as us - though I tend to have a much smaller portion of carbs. Also I do a variety of veg/salad side dishes depending on preferences so we all get (usually) 3 portions of veg/salad with dinner but it might not be the same 3. Unless I do a curry or casserole type thing in which case I bung it all in and they eat it regardless.

    They do occasionally have fast food or even sometimes fishfingers and potato shapes at home but it is occasionally. I work on the principle that as long as 90% of their diet is good healthy food, the other 10% doesn't matter.
  • FitCowgirl8
    FitCowgirl8 Posts: 175 Member
    I am very big on having a family meal as well but as long as it is a healthy meal it isn't a problem. Try sparkrecipes.com. They are healthy and taste great! You can go in and select dietary requirements for the recipe such as low fat or low sodium etc... Everyone I cook for loves the food I make. I dont think they realize its healthy for them! If my daughter absolutely wants chicken nuggets or something like that I will make some just for her and then I will eat a salad or something healthy. We still sit down and eat together even if we are eating different things.
  • heddylyn
    heddylyn Posts: 173 Member
    My children's pediatrician said something to me once that stuck. He said "you determine the type of foods your children eat, they determine the amount." Kids haven't yet developed all the emotional hang ups with food that got us adults to where we are today. I think as long as you take a laid back approach to eating and offer healthy foods 99% of the time everything will be just fine.
  • lilinubo
    lilinubo Posts: 11
    My children's pediatrician said something to me once that stuck. He said "you determine the type of foods your children eat, they determine the amount.

    I AGREE WITH THIS!!!

    I am a junk food freak and my children (I have 4), where eating the same junk as I even though I always out healthy food over the table. I came and joined like three days ago and Im statring to change my habits, my kids are starting to ask me for oranges and they just mentioned they like grilled chicken more than the breaded they just to eat...It is amaizing but they do what I do! Lol! The bad part is that my dh has very unhealthy eating habits and they also copy what he does.

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