[DisgruntledOne]

I just want to say HIP HIP HOORAY for anybody who has kids and/or is married and has lost weight.
I realized after tonight there is no way in the world I would be strong enough to live with someone else(especially kids) and not eat any of the "bad" foods they would have in the house. I don't know how you family women or men do it!!!!! I admire you all.

[honeybjones]

I am married but we are child-free and he and I are on the same plan so it works out really well for both of us. I am not sure who decided children were entitled to junk food or that it would not negatively affect them. I wish there had never been any junk food in my house growing up and that school cafeterias did not serve french fries with everything. A hundred years ago kids didn't think they needed doritos, lunchables and gallon size cups of coke because they didn't exist. Hard to miss out on what you've never had.

[eviemc]

It is sooo hard, especially if you have teens. I have 4 of my own and 1 exchange student and they are so bad when it comes to food. Exchange students want to "try" all types of American food and they gain some weight while they are here. It does help for my kids to see that the reason why Americans are so fat is because of our food. Both students that we have had were very thin (healthy though) and eat mostly clean food and a lot of it. They eat very large salads and not much dressing. Large pieces of chicken and green veggies but not many carbs.
Sorry got off topic!
The thing that we always come back to is that they will eat whatever is in the house, so we limit that to healthy things.

[Violet73]

Originally Posted by DisgruntledOne

I just want to say HIP HIP HOORAY for anybody who has kids and/or is married and has lost weight.
I realized after tonight there is no way in the world I would be strong enough to live with someone else(especially kids) and not eat any of the "bad" foods they would have in the house. I don't know how you family women or men do it!!!!! I admire you all.

Thats sweet and it IS hard. MOST people who don't even have kids think they are experts on how they would raise their kids. When they do have kids...reality hits. As a child...I would have starved rather than eat spinach. I can symphathize when my daughter doesn't want to eat broccoli. But, she loves carrots so I buy those for her. You just have to do what you can and the best you can to make sure they have healthy snacks along with the occasional junk food, cause they WILL eat the junk food, if not at home, then at a friend's house. lol

[evoo]

Honestly, I'm with honeybjones, I would love to know when it became standard rule that if there are kids they should be eating Kraft Mac & "Cheese", candy, pizza, chicken fingers, french fries, etc. Children refuse more "adult" tastes because they are not exposed to them; they're not given the chance early in life to like them. Everyone has likes and dislikes, and there are certain things my children dislike -- my oldest isn't fond of beans, she doesn't care for the texture. That said, I'm not going to stop serving beans and yes, she needs to continue to try them periodically taste buds change. Both of my children eat healthy. I did not get fat eating things that they eat, I got fat NOT eating what they eat. I got fat eating what I was given/had access to as a child, not what my children eat. Both of my girls are big fans of whole wheat, they love Kashi products, the both eat spinach, broccoli, carrots, etc. Their snacks are fresh fruits and veggies, they know that candy is a special treat to be eaten in moderation. They prefer health food to junk food because that's what they have been fed from day one. If they have a sincere dislike of a certain food, fine. But I'm not going to give them junk just because it's what is socially acceptable as "kid food". That's ridiculous.

We went to dinner with some friends for Mexican when our youngest was about a year old. When the waiter brought the chips and salsa to the table they were shocked when I put salsa in a bowl and let our daughter at it -- our kids eat spicy food because we eat spicy food. The preconceived notions people have about kids and food are just plain SILLY and largely an American thing -- yet another reason we're the country with this huge obesity problem.

[Thighs Be Gone]

Thank you Disgruntled One. It can be challenging but my kids eat pretty healthily. Where I end up spending too much money is buying single-serve snacks and treats to go to the school. If I (key word I) could stay out of them, I would buy a large sack rather than individual bags. The small bags don't seem to tempt me as much--partially because I know what they cost.

Another great tip out there for anyone needing assistance is to lock up the items you don't want to eat. I have a huge lockable piece in my library with a beautiful skeleton key. I put things in there and then have a family member hide the key. It's horrible but MUST be done because of ME.

[nelie]

I'm lucky that my husband basically eats what I eat. He does have some foods that I don't eat or don't eat much of but those are rare. I make food and he eats it and even the dogs eat it (dogs get unspiced stuff like grains, veggies, beans)

[ANewCreation]

I have to say that I am soooo glad to be an empty nester! It is soooo much easier. My husband and I eat pretty much the same meals (sometimes I will add something to the table just for him ie french fries or bread).

I also raised my kids to eat a variety of healthy foods but when they became teens--Hello! Between the crap at concession stands (and they were always involved in sports and we were there for every game, run and match), parties with friends and earning their own money for fast food, they started making their own food choices! As they get older I do see better choices kicking in and that is reaffirming But boy it sure would have been alot more work to eat healthy for myself than it is now! Could I have done it? Yes, I could have. It's always a matter of choice. I'm just saying it is easier with them out of the house.

So, I also say Kudo's to those of you who are making the choices--good job!!!!