Any ideas on how to reverse years of bad eating habits in kids? We let our kids fall into bad eating habits before I saw the light of low carb. My kids inherited my genetic tendency towards fat and it is showing. My daughter (12) is better about it than my son (10). I can see him falling into my old patterns. He craves sugar, starch, and food in general. He doesn't like most vegetables and is pretty picky in his eating. I never know what he is going to eat. On the plus side, we do have them on a YMCA swim team. Since I've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I don't want my family to end up in the same boat.
I know parents are supposed to be in control. However, I am afraid that a hard-nosed approach would backfire. My parents tried to keep me off sugar when I was younger. They went ballistic when they caught me with candy and that just made me want it more. I just found ways to be more sneaky.
I cook low carb meals, but the rest of the family usually has extra stuff. It would help if I could get momma off sugar. She gets upset if we don't have some of "their food" in the house. But that is another issue.
Any suggestions? Anything that has worked for you?
Full Version: Reversing Bad Habits in kids
Low Carb Discussion Forum > All Things Livin' La Vida Low-Carb > Children And Livin' La Vida Low-Carb
I haven't been where you are, renegade, but I think Charles has some experience there.
I know that he did some teaching with his kids, helping them learn about their metabolisms and how they work. Sometimes if kids can really see the reason why, it helps.
Giving up candy at age 10 "because I said so" doesn't have the same meaning. (It's just plain ol' mean. LOL.)
Sugar is definitely an addiction for some people.
Would your kids take to some low-carb *treats* to start? My kids *love* LC ice cream and bars. Maybe it would give you an opportunity to show them that LC doesn't mean deprivation. It might be that easing them in by the end of the road would be easier.
I know that he did some teaching with his kids, helping them learn about their metabolisms and how they work. Sometimes if kids can really see the reason why, it helps.
Giving up candy at age 10 "because I said so" doesn't have the same meaning. (It's just plain ol' mean. LOL.)
Sugar is definitely an addiction for some people.
Would your kids take to some low-carb *treats* to start? My kids *love* LC ice cream and bars. Maybe it would give you an opportunity to show them that LC doesn't mean deprivation. It might be that easing them in by the end of the road would be easier.
| QUOTE (valerieslivingbooks @ Sep 20 2007, 06:09 AM) |
| I haven't been where you are, renegade, but I think Charles has some experience there. |
Hey renegade!
This question is really close to my heart because my wife and I recently got our three children "converted" to Atkins.
They were big time sugar addicts as well and it was a big thing. Not only that, but my daughter and middle son are both allergic to eggs and nuts. Breakfast took some real imagination! They are pretty skinny active children but they were always hungry. The sugary foods didn't do much to quell their appetites. Now, they can go 4 to 6 hours pretty easily between meals.
For snacks, they eat things like deli meat and cheese rollups, broccoli and cauliflower dipped in ranch, dry roasted macadamia nuts, beef jerky and salad. We've noticed that if we provide enough fat and protein, they don't need to snack much, but the next meal needs to come at about 5 hours.
We started slow with them, much the same way that Valerie did. We would make the meat and vegetable and then provide a starch for them so we could still eat as a family. Slowly but surely, we began replacing their foods with lower carb things until we cut it off completely. We started with drinks. We love kool-aid so we got the Splenda kool-aid and big bags of Splenda. Once they got used to that, it sort of served as the gateway to many other things. Oh, they complained at first, but then they got used to it. My oldest tried some Sprite over a friend's house and he about spit it out because it was "too sweet." Can you imagine a modern 15 year-old saying that?
We reasoned that they have a much larger carb tolerance than us, so we can make them more flax bread recipes and give them just about anything sweetened with Splenda even though we might not eat it ourselves. For instance, they get low carb tortillas, low carb jelly and more nuts and fruits than we might allow ourselves.
We made a deal with them that if they keep to low carb even at their friend's houses, plus good behavior, we allow them to get Bryer's Carb Smart ice cream practically every night after dinner. It's become a family tradition and it doesn't stall weight loss.
Lastly, we have really made an effort to educate them on the dangers of sugar by talking about it and sharing studies and articles that we've read. We've explained that you have to eat fat in order not to get fat. Why? Because the body knows it's not in starvation and it's free to burn it's own fat. My 15 year-old is a wrestler and he is putting the science to work. Over the summer he's pretty lazy so I told him that with low carb, his body would be able to keep his muscle while not working out. This would make it much easy to get back into wrestling once school starts. He just started his wrestling workouts this week and he's already at his wrestling weight.
That's my two cents on the subject. Best of luck managing your own family's nutrition!
All the best,
Charles
Thanks Charles & Valerie. I'll keep trying to work it in gradually and make substitutions. We've already gone to sugar free drink mixes.
I'll especially have to work on breakfast. My daughter likes eggs and eats what I cook for myself. My son doesn't like eggs and breakfast is a real challenge for him.
I appreciate your advice.
I'll especially have to work on breakfast. My daughter likes eggs and eats what I cook for myself. My son doesn't like eggs and breakfast is a real challenge for him.
I appreciate your advice.
I think you have to sneak in the lower carb foods instead of making a huge deal out of it. I'm like you where as soon as I saw the LC light, I thought " OMG my kids have my same bad habits, I have to get them off sugar and carbs ", but as soon as I started saying things like "you can't have that" and MY food YOUR food, DIET food, too much sugar, all that language just made my kids feel like I was trying to take something away from them (which I am) but I'm just sneaky about it. I don't say I'm on a diet anymore. I just cook and the family eats it! I think it's mind over matter, if they THINK it is DIET food, they automatically won't like it. If it's just food, they don't think anything about it. If they say 'is this diet food?" I say no.If they ask " are you on a diet?" I say, "no, I'm just trying to eat healthy food and not eat so much sugar".
Now I find they will ask me, "Mom, is this good for me?", because they think it's a CHOICE to eat healthy food,(which it is), and they WANT to.
I hope this makes sence and helps you out a little.
PS. I try to NEVER take them food shopping with me.
CHARLES!! A man after my own heart. I've heard so many people (NOT here BTW - more on some older low-fat lists) that say they're having trouble staying away from the 100 calories "treats", the ice cream, the cookies, the brownies etc. etc. etc. I say "why are they even in your house????" (because I'm thinking, if you are trying to lose weight - even on a low-fat diet, even, wouldn't you eliminate THOSE types of foods) -- ahhh, but then I look at the Weight Watcher "treats" LOADED with sugar but "healthy" because they are "low-fat" - Umm, ya right!!!). Why are they even IN THE HOUSE?? Right??
Anyways, I degress. Now I understand that I have an older child (I started telling her about sugar etc. when she was around 12ish). But I simply shared with her about her health and good nutrition. And why with her body (she has PCOS and HAD extremely high insulin levels) that sugar and starches were BAD for her body. I can't tell you why, except she sees me live it, she also sees the struggles I have with getting my weight down, but SHE GETS IT!! I made it as simple as I could and she just GETS it!!
Here's a blog post I made about her and her situation and how WELL she's done and is doing (you'll have to scroll down a bit):
My daughter's Story
She comes home from her best friends house and gives me a report about what they ate...it starts something like "Mom all they eat are CARBS CARBS CARBS". She struggles with what to eat when she goes over there and I even had her friends mother tell me that Kassie tells them "I can't eat this or that" and asked me what she can eat. We figured out a middle group. I told her to do the best she can while there, make the best choices possible, fill up on the meat and take a bite or two of the other stuff (they rarely serve veggies and if they do it's CORN!!) Oh well! Her friend comes here and LOVES my cooking, eats satisfying meals and asks me how to lose weight. Sadly she is already obese herself. She tells me how her dad won't buy fruit because it's too expensive, but will have someone come out and professionally treat his lawn several times during the summer. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???
Anyways, I degress. Now I understand that I have an older child (I started telling her about sugar etc. when she was around 12ish). But I simply shared with her about her health and good nutrition. And why with her body (she has PCOS and HAD extremely high insulin levels) that sugar and starches were BAD for her body. I can't tell you why, except she sees me live it, she also sees the struggles I have with getting my weight down, but SHE GETS IT!! I made it as simple as I could and she just GETS it!!
Here's a blog post I made about her and her situation and how WELL she's done and is doing (you'll have to scroll down a bit):
My daughter's Story
She comes home from her best friends house and gives me a report about what they ate...it starts something like "Mom all they eat are CARBS CARBS CARBS". She struggles with what to eat when she goes over there and I even had her friends mother tell me that Kassie tells them "I can't eat this or that" and asked me what she can eat. We figured out a middle group. I told her to do the best she can while there, make the best choices possible, fill up on the meat and take a bite or two of the other stuff (they rarely serve veggies and if they do it's CORN!!) Oh well! Her friend comes here and LOVES my cooking, eats satisfying meals and asks me how to lose weight. Sadly she is already obese herself. She tells me how her dad won't buy fruit because it's too expensive, but will have someone come out and professionally treat his lawn several times during the summer. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???
My son is 7 and he chooses low carb foods at home because that's almost always all we keep on hand. My big problem are school lunches. They're loaded in carbs! He takes a packed lunch half the time but if I'm time crunched - last Friday be slept in and had 10 minutes to get him ready and to the bus -he eats at school and woe is me.
| QUOTE (LowCarbBand-It @ Sep 21 2007, 11:39 PM) |
| CHARLES!! A man after my own heart. I've heard so many people (NOT here BTW - more on some older low-fat lists) that say they're having trouble staying away from the 100 calories "treats", [...] She comes home from her best friends house and gives me a report about what they ate...it starts something like "Mom all they eat are CARBS CARBS CARBS". It certainly matters that certain things are just not in our house anymore because if it was, they would eat it! |
My children have the same reaction. I try to remind them that people just don't know any better. I ask, If they did, do you really think they would eat that way? When we go to buffets, I have to watch them closely because they are still kids. You know kids don't mind speaking their mind.
I personallly have to go beyond just not having it in the house because then they would make bad choices at school or at their friend's house. Because I talk so much to them about their metabolism and the dangerous effects of sugar, I think they may even get a little afraid of making bad choices.
So I guess it takes education and a bit of fear of getting fat, for my children to buy into this. They don't have to look very far to see examples of what happens when you don't safeguard your health.
Regards,
Charles
I just wanted to say "thank you" to everyone for this discussion, especially to Charles for sharing the story of his children. Our son is 4 and we're trying very hard to bring him down this healthier path.
Right now he is eating whole grain pasta (Bionature--it's very good) occasionally, although I'm sure some of you cut even that out. The logic behind it does not necessarily work with a 4 year old, but we're better off than before.
Thank you, thank you!
Susan
Right now he is eating whole grain pasta (Bionature--it's very good) occasionally, although I'm sure some of you cut even that out. The logic behind it does not necessarily work with a 4 year old, but we're better off than before.
Thank you, thank you!
Susan
I don't post here much but really wanted to come in here and put in my two cents because this is such an important subject. You've already gotten some great information and advice but here goes...
When I first started the Atkins WOL, my 12 year old son was 40lbs overweight and miserable because of it. He had a school outing planned at the end of the school year with a pool party and was terrified of taking his shirt off for it.
It broke my heart that he would choose not to go rather than be seen by his peers in a swimsuit. He made the decision to low carb with me and was so great about it.
He brought meat wraps (with cream cheese and lettuce inside) to school, with cheese sticks and bottled water, he came home and had pepperoni and more water, then a great low carb dinner. I would let him have McDonalds burgers on occasion and he would eat them with a lettuce "bun" instead of bread and swore that he didn't miss the fries.
By the time the swim party came, he had lost nearly all the weight and had a great time swimming with his friends. I almost want to cry when I remember what this meant to him and how hard he worked at it.
The bottom line is that if your kids don't see the reason for it, it is hard to withstand all the temptation they are going to encounter. You can't always control what they do when they are out of your site but you CAN decide what is served in the house. Get creative, find recipes and try new things - they will follow suit. Good luck
When I first started the Atkins WOL, my 12 year old son was 40lbs overweight and miserable because of it. He had a school outing planned at the end of the school year with a pool party and was terrified of taking his shirt off for it.
It broke my heart that he would choose not to go rather than be seen by his peers in a swimsuit. He made the decision to low carb with me and was so great about it.
He brought meat wraps (with cream cheese and lettuce inside) to school, with cheese sticks and bottled water, he came home and had pepperoni and more water, then a great low carb dinner. I would let him have McDonalds burgers on occasion and he would eat them with a lettuce "bun" instead of bread and swore that he didn't miss the fries.
By the time the swim party came, he had lost nearly all the weight and had a great time swimming with his friends. I almost want to cry when I remember what this meant to him and how hard he worked at it.
The bottom line is that if your kids don't see the reason for it, it is hard to withstand all the temptation they are going to encounter. You can't always control what they do when they are out of your site but you CAN decide what is served in the house. Get creative, find recipes and try new things - they will follow suit. Good luck
Great points Cathy and Susan and thanks for the kind words. I have been reading parts of Gary Taubes book with the children as well. They are fascinated as to why everyone doesn't know this stuff. The reasoning is very sound to me, and them!
Hey everyone. Great topic.
I am going through the motions about making dietary changes for my son so he will not have to transition later. He will be 3 in Feb. He wants his carbs all the time and chocolate (he got that from me). I am looking into anti-yeast diets and similar diets and am confused right now as to what to do.
My priority is my son and his health. I know he shouldn't eat processed foods, additives, preservatives, colorings etc... I have been slowly "trying" to get them out of the house with great success. We also have been experimenting with gluten free foods and he doesn't do milk/dairy hardly at all (except cream cheese). I know that the LC WOE is great for weight loss but with my yeast issues and wanting to change my sons eating habits (now while I can do it more easily) may be the priority here. SO I have to put off my weight loss goals for now and focus on making changes for my son.
I will probably lose some weight by eating the foods he eats only smaller portions and exercising, right?
Anyway, Thanks for listening and glad you all shared your experience with us regarding your children It really gave me more incentive to make these changes I need to make. No one wants to see their children unhappy but giving in to the food cravings won't make them happy in the long run and I need to remember that.
Thanks
I am going through the motions about making dietary changes for my son so he will not have to transition later. He will be 3 in Feb. He wants his carbs all the time and chocolate (he got that from me). I am looking into anti-yeast diets and similar diets and am confused right now as to what to do.
My priority is my son and his health. I know he shouldn't eat processed foods, additives, preservatives, colorings etc... I have been slowly "trying" to get them out of the house with great success. We also have been experimenting with gluten free foods and he doesn't do milk/dairy hardly at all (except cream cheese). I know that the LC WOE is great for weight loss but with my yeast issues and wanting to change my sons eating habits (now while I can do it more easily) may be the priority here. SO I have to put off my weight loss goals for now and focus on making changes for my son.
I will probably lose some weight by eating the foods he eats only smaller portions and exercising, right?
Anyway, Thanks for listening and glad you all shared your experience with us regarding your children It really gave me more incentive to make these changes I need to make. No one wants to see their children unhappy but giving in to the food cravings won't make them happy in the long run and I need to remember that.
Thanks
My son is 17 and was always so thin we had to buy him elastic waist pants because to get the length he needed the waist was always huge on him even with a belt. He is a carboholic just like me. About 1 1/2 yrs ago, he was finally formerly diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome which is a form of Autism and he was put on Zoloft and Risperidone to help control his moods and his emotional outbursts and wierd behaviour. The good thing is he is much more calm and way less agitated now because of the meds ( I dont fear for his life or others anymore) but the drugs have caused him to gain about 50 lbs..He is 5'11 185lbs. He is very set in his ways, refuses to eat fruit, will only eat canned corn no other veggies, mon and fri nites are spaghetti nites- no exception and he loves his grape (no way he'll drink diet) pop and popcorn on the weekends. You have to understand with Autism, it is very difficult if not impossible to change their views. We have substituted 2 percent milk for skim milk and encourage the milk rather than the pop (he will not drink water) But as i write this i am realizing he probably should be having the full fat milk shouldnt he, rather than skim. The only thing i think i might be able to change without him noticing (autistic people have heightened senses, hearing, smelling, tasting) is to substitute slowly whole grain pasta for white spaghetti noodles and cook em al dente....He has no friends (typical of autism) and refuses activities-swimming, walking etc...He sits on the computer or plays playstation all the time or watches tv, so his physical activity is almost nil ( He gave up 2nd degree brown belt karate about 1 1/2 yrs ago around when he was diagnosed and refuses to take it up again-boy was he in good shape then....) He refuses to take his shirt off-he says he has "moobs" and i feel terrible for him...His dad and sis are string beans, and i used to be until about 8 yrs ago too, when my mom died and i took up eating carbs to fill the void, and i have done some very bad modelling to him. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get him going in the right direction-he does love meat, will eat cheese slices, not big on bread, refuses eggs, fruit and veggies...I am not even sure what he should weigh, his dad is 5'11 and 138 ( too slim i think) maybe about 155 or so-that means 30lbs, and i need to lose 60 so he and i could do this together, but i cant let him know that we are doing it because he will rebel--------please, any guidance for such a picky eater????
Jaybee~ I am not sure if you are aware of this or not. I have been researching about autism and food allergies because my 2 1/2 yr old was showing signs. There is a proposed link between food allergies and brain development and chemistry in autistic children. My son was talking at the age of 14 months and very clear for his age with a large vocabulary (even started talking in 2-3 word sentences). All of a sudden (within the month of his last innoculation shot) he stopped and started using sign language through his therapy. He is doing much better now but we had to change his eating habits and are still trying to figure out what "sets off"the mood swings,whining and lack of eye contact. He is a very intelligent child but sometimes it is difficult.
I know it must be very hard to try to make the changes so late in the game but it can be done. Patience.
I would recommend that the first thing you can do to feel some type of control is to keep a daily food journal of his eating and compare that to his moods/health (whether he has a headache or digestive issues, rashes etc..) You may be able to figure out what "sets him off" and eliminate the food. He may be more open to change is you have the proof instead of the "because I said so!" reasoning most parents use. You will be able to show him in black and white that this day you had soda and so many hours later you felt bad or were very grumpy. It is also very common for people to crave the very foods that they are most allergic to. (for me it is chocolate so now I use unsweetened carob chips to end my chocolate cravings).
Ask you doctor about an elinimation diet. I really think that will have a great impact on his behavior and his well being.
Maybe once you find the causes of the behavior through food then his outlook will improve and he will be more interested in activities with others etc... Food allergies also cause depression and anxiety.
Please do some research through your local library or the internet on food allergies and autism or food allergies and moods/behavior. I think that might give you some hope.
P.S. Yeast overgrowth sometimes accompanies food allergies and makes them worse so you can also ask the Dr. about testing for yeast and if he may need an anti-fungal medication like Nystatin (Has no known serious side effects).
Hope this helps.
KAT
I know it must be very hard to try to make the changes so late in the game but it can be done. Patience.
I would recommend that the first thing you can do to feel some type of control is to keep a daily food journal of his eating and compare that to his moods/health (whether he has a headache or digestive issues, rashes etc..) You may be able to figure out what "sets him off" and eliminate the food. He may be more open to change is you have the proof instead of the "because I said so!" reasoning most parents use. You will be able to show him in black and white that this day you had soda and so many hours later you felt bad or were very grumpy. It is also very common for people to crave the very foods that they are most allergic to. (for me it is chocolate so now I use unsweetened carob chips to end my chocolate cravings).
Ask you doctor about an elinimation diet. I really think that will have a great impact on his behavior and his well being.
Maybe once you find the causes of the behavior through food then his outlook will improve and he will be more interested in activities with others etc... Food allergies also cause depression and anxiety.
Please do some research through your local library or the internet on food allergies and autism or food allergies and moods/behavior. I think that might give you some hope.
P.S. Yeast overgrowth sometimes accompanies food allergies and makes them worse so you can also ask the Dr. about testing for yeast and if he may need an anti-fungal medication like Nystatin (Has no known serious side effects).
Hope this helps.
KAT
Thanks Kat-yes i have read about the food intolerances and various diets to try to improve autism symptoms, but i have never seriously considered trying them because his diet is so limited and he is so narrowminded-Thats as far as I have ever gotten-But thankyou, I think I will revisit this idea, and perhaps introduce it to him, like you say, showing him the proof, and maybe that can help-He gets migraines, and so do I but we have always just written them off as weather issues-Thankyou for the ideas-I will followup....
Please stay in touch re you and your son
love and hugs!
Please stay in touch re you and your son
love and hugs!
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.
