Making it a family thing.

My family and I, have decided to limit our junk food. We shop twice a month, and are only spending $20 on junk food. We are also purposly being more active. We are not really doing this to loose weight, but because our 4 year old has been tring to just poke at her meals, and then eat junk food about an hour after a meal. We figure that if ther is little junk food, we will be able to break her from this thinking. The reason for being more active is so our daughters will not be as exposed to the junk on tv. There is just no more quality programing on ther anymore. Even the cartoons are not fit for adults to watch much less children!

I am expecting that this life style change will also cause us to loose weight, which is a good thing. I have been wanting to loose weight, but wasn't really motivated. Now I am glad that I have other motives that will cause weight loss.

Maybe if you can find other motives it will help you in your path to weight loss!

God bless,
Chad

P.S. please let me know what you think about what I am doing, and let me know what you have done to give your kids good habits.

I don't buy much junk food, but I do make a lot of homemade snacks. Dried fruit is a favorite sweet for our son. Popcorn satisfies my desire for salty snacks. My son loves tortilla chips with cheese and salsa. I make our salsa, so I know it's healthy. We're learning how to make goat milk cheeses, so once we figure out how to make cheddar cheese or some of the other similar cheeses it will be completely homemade. Since my son loves to cook I have him help make the snacks. I think when a child is more connected to their food they are more likely to eat it.

Oh, one more thing, we limit tv use and have made sure that our son has plenty of activities that can be done indoors or outdoors.

I almost never bought soda or junk food when my kids were little. For one thing, I didn't have the money. Plus, w/my Meniere's, I have to be careful as to what I eat. If we didn't have it in the house, I wasn't tempted!

It's kind of sad in a way. I'll be 52 in just a few days. And, in spite of my health problems, I'm in better overall shape than these kids that are half my age.

dizzy, I'm 55 and other than my issues with my back the doctors have told me I have the health of a 20 yr old, so I know what you mean. BTW, happy early birthday.

Kudos Chad!!

We were not blessed with children, but played a role in raising my sisters son during a bad time in her life. (at dinner one night he asked if he could call me dad instead of uncle. Sadly I had to tell him no, and try to explain why) We allowed him one soda daily, and one boxed drink daily. The rest of the time it was milk, homemade lemonade, water, etc. Television was one hour, only. The rest of the time we either played outside, or he "helped" with our chores, or we would read books together. He and his mother now live in Virginia, and he starts pharmacy school in the fall. Since we are no longer "cool" because we do not allow alcohol to be consumed by minors we do not see much of him, but I can still see that we had a positive influence on him for those four years when he lived with us.

As for weight loss, well I'm at 165 and really don't need to lose any, but some others in my life are as active as I am, and seem to eat as healthy as I do, yet they still carry extra weight. Best bet is to teach the younguns early to eat right and be active. An early start in life on anything will make later choices easier.

Keith, I believe that sometimes what we percieve as weight issues are just the differences in genetics. Our DS is a big boy, but he's not overweight. He's solid muscle, which of course, weighs more than fat. On the other hand, I'm a small woman. I have very small bone structure, so even if I put on weight, most don't think of me as being overweight. I had gained some weight a few years ago, but others had told me that I really needed the extra weight because I looked anorexic. I've always had a healthy appetite though, so when I started having surgeries and couldn't get the exercise I needed, I put on weight. Now I'm losing weight, but I'm losing muscle mass, so after I do my water therapy I may put the weight back on in muscle. I guess I said all that to say this, God made us all different. Our body shape as well as our metabolism all work together. If a person is eating wisely and getting exercise, then I wouldn't worry much about weight. I think people get too hung up on the whole weight issue because of the society we live it that says you have to look a certain way. I wish people would concern themselves more with staying healthy instead of focusing on a number. (their weight)

Sonshine wrote:
...
If a person is eating wisely and getting exercise, then I wouldn't worry much about weight. I think people get too hung up on the whole weight issue because of the society we live it that says you have to look a certain way. I wish people would concern themselves more with staying healthy instead of focusing on a number. (their weight)

"Best bet is to teach the younguns early to eat right and be active. An early start in life on anything will make later choices easier."

We are on the same page I believe

I agree 100%! I know people who are "overweight", but they eat healthy and get plenty of exercise.