The article warns parents of being "food police." A recent study by The Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, found that monitoring your childrens food intake actually causes them to gain weight. I'm a good example of this. My mother constantly monitored every bite of food that went into my mouth. I could only eat X amounts of pizza out of the box when we would order pizza, I could only have one dessert per week, and water and diet soda were the only drinks allowed. This completely backfired on her because I would go to friends houses and pig out on pizza, ice cream, and sugary sodas. I would buy sugary sodas and chips at school, basically stuffing my face with what I wasn't allowed at home. I never would've gone to that extreme if my mother had simply taught me proper nutrition, portion control, and moderation. Unfortunately, I don't think she knew those things herself. The article goes on with tips for parents on how to educate their children about healthy attitudes towards food. I hope parents will read it and put those tips into practice.
The food police didn't come knocking on my door tonight. Actually, my dinner was inspired by Heather's favorite sandwich. I liked the idea of taking a childhood favorite and giving it an adult twist. Unfortunately, I didn't have any swiss cheese. I used a Laughing Cow French Onion wedge and it was still very tasty! I mashed about 1/2 cup chickpeas with honey mustard, heated the mash in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and spread it on two slices of Ezekial 4:9 bread with lettuce, sprouts, pickles, and tomato. For my sides, I made carrot fries and steamed brussels sprouts.
This was a great sandwich! I'm going to pick up some cheddar cheese this week so I can make it again with my favorite cheese. You're a genius Heather!!
Enjoy the rest of your night. I'm ready to relax with some dvr'd shows. Big Bang Theory is calling me!
Have you ever run into the "food police" in your life?
18 comments:
Thanks for this post Melissa. I actually just had a problem with this last night. My parents have started reading my blog (which I usually don't mind) but after I went out for Laughing Planet (and got a totally reasonable whole wheat crusted pizza) my dad made a comment about my "full fat" meal. I was so mad. Everyone deserves a splurge! Food police don't help - they just make me want to eat in private.
Wow, I'm so sorry your mom was like that. If that's not setting you up for food issues I don't know what is. My parents never policed my food other than making me clean my plate, which might be just as bad. I made me feel guilty for leaving food on my plate and taught me to eat beyond the point of fullness.
great article! I completely agree. It seems as though your childhood has made you a stronger adult! xoxo Kasondra
I'm sorry that the article brought up those bad memories. I have a friend with food issues who comments on everything I eat when I'm with her. It makes me self conscious and just want to binge!
You always have the most delicious meals....that sandwich with brussel sprouts looks right up my alley :-)
Thank you for this post. It was very opening and honest. At the same time it makes me wonder what good parenting is when it comes to food? I know my mom couldn't have cared less and left it up to my grandparents to feed me. At grandma's house, anything and everything went, and my peak weight was 170+ after 8th grade, which definitely didn't make me happy with the way I was raised until that point.
Wow, that article hits home for me, too. Thanks for posting...
Thanks so much for posting this article Melissa! I really don't want to turn into one of those mothers, but I think I've already started with Nick! I don't monitor everything, and trust me we have plenty of sweets and chips, etc. in the house, but I still pack his lunch and make his dinner. I spare him some of the not so healthy things, and I get angry when he keeps going back for more ice cream! I'm just a worry wart. I have to work on that. He has heart disease in his family, and his entire family is overweight (food addictions!) so I worry about him :(
It doesn't make it right though. Thanks for sharing your own story with us. My mom was sort of like that, but not to such a severe degree. She was actually great, she just talked too much about her own weight, which wasn't good for me.
Wow, that's great that you've managed to overcome your upbringing and you are going to make sure you don't raise your own children the same way.
Let's get parents to do away with the "Clean Plate Club" because it encourages unhealthy habbits.
(Jared and I JUST watched our DVRed Big Bang Theory, haha)
I'm not sure how I'm going to raise my children. I'm kind of scared. Do I limit their sweets consumption? Do I let them eat all the sweets they want? How does that work? I'm glad I have time to figure that out although I'm sure it'll be a learning experience throughout. Tough situation. I did my nutrition project on parental influence on children eating habits last year--interesting stuff!
I'm so sorry you had to grow up feeling that way. I think it's important to have treats for kids so that they learn to eat them in moderation. I'd like to have an ice cream night with my kids where we go out for ice cream. I'd also like to bake healthy treats together. But it's a really tricky thing, especially for those of us who have struggled with eating issues in the past.
Totally agree on this Melissa.. parents think they're helping but it always ends up pushing the kids to do the exact opposite. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Great post :)
Great post! I think healthy eating starts in the home, but that healthy eating has to go along with the WHY behind it for sure. Looking forward to more!
Thanks for sharing the article. I guess I was lucky in a way. My mom was a bodybuilder and was crazy about what she ate but pretty much let us eat anything. I was pretty chubby has a kid but I guess I am thankful that she was not completely strict with everything.
Thanks for sharing this article. I think it must be a hard balance between making sure your child eats healthfully and being damaging. I never experienced the food police, luckily.
Your sandwich looks so good - you have made me a bean-mash lover; so easy and yummy. :)
Great post! And--so many important points for moms to keep in mind. Glad you put this out there! I see this happen a lot in families and it can be really very tough on the kids.
On another note, what a good lookin' sandwich! I'll have to try that out!
Lastly, thanks 4 visiting GGB! Just a FYI: I got you on my blogroll:)
Keep up the good posts!
Corinne
thanks for the review of that article, and i couldn't relate more with you. we had very restricted diets when i was a kid because my dad has crohn's so many many foods were off limits, and when i went to friends, it was chow time.
awesome looking sammie too!
What a great article. I am so thankful that I did not have a mom who restricted what I ate. Ironically, as a child, I tended towards the healthier foods but as soon as I went to college I got on the un-healthy bandwagon - eating burger king and mcdonalds more nights than I can count.
It is such a intricate balance we have to strike with raising children. It is so sad to see all the obese kids there are now - but not only eating, I think we need to look at how many parents let their kids sit for hours playing video games and watching TV. As a kid, I can remember playing outside until dark and wanting to ride my bike.
I'm so glad you tried the sandwich - let me know how it is with cheddar cheese!
This post hits home BIG time!! I have had MANY run-ins with the food police and that is exactly why I have had to fight a messed up attitude towards food. I'm not going to go into my history b/c it would be a very looooong comment, so I'll spare you, but I do want to say I've had a very similar experience with someone in my family. Thank you so much for passing this article along!! Do you mind if I use it in one of my posts in the future?
Post a Comment