and I might add...many vegetables, grains and cheese are restricted in phase 1.
We should, in no way, not allow our children to eat these so called "bad" foods.
I don't think anybody needs to justify herself. As mothers we do what we can. Our kids should be allowed to be kids. And lets be honest: Kraft Dinner, hot dogs, french fries, etc. are awesome (once in awhile!!!!).
I think we should teach our children what intelligent eating is, portion control, weekend treats. Right now, we are not allowed to eat these foods and that is our choice. We choose to be on this diet for many different reasons. I will never eliminate yogourt, whole wheat bread, peanut butter from my pantry just because I am on a diet!
My husband eats really healthy during the week. Only whole grains, raw vegetables, lean meat. He is awesome to watch. He works out, drinks 1 litre of water a day, never adds sugar to anything. He weighs 185 of muscle. However, he allows himself treats on saturdays and sundays. That to me, is what we should be teaching our children. They should know that there are good and bad choices concerning food. But nobody is good all of the time!!!

Just my two cents on the matter of kids. I am an auntie, not a mommy (at least to human kids, anyway) and don't expect to be, though not opposed to it either. So all I have to go on is observation and my own experience as a kid.

Kids are going to be kids. That means they are going to want stuff that they don't know is bad for them or just stuff that tastes rich and yummy. No matter how much you shelter you kids from foods like pasta or sweets, they will eventually run into them or kids with them at school or at sleepovers.

I think the point is to lead by example as best you can and impart what you know. Advice on nutrition is always changing. Don't eat butter, eat margarine; don't eat eggs turns into don't eat margarine, eat butter; eggs are good for you! So chances are what you are teaching your kid about nutrition will be wrong when they are old enough to have kids.

The IP diet is healthy for what it is, but it is certainly not balanced and not for long term. The restrictions for this diet are definitely not kid-friendly. They have more energy and are still growing. For those with overweight tots (I was one!) we have to correct their behavior of overindulgence as soon as and as best as we can. It can be trying at times, I have nieces. I know. But they follow what the adults do, how the adults eat. We as the caregivers have to lead by example. We are re-learning how to eat, ourselves. We are learning what the warning signs were for us. That ah-ha moment where we realized that's what started this. As long as we teach our children moderation and look for these signs, be proactive about it, the kids should be fine. Remember, tastes change, even moreso for kids. I remember loving squash as a kid and mayonaise/baloney sandwiches. as I grew older I would gag at the thought of either. In my twenties I branched out to "mom-food". Now in my thirties, I am loving things young kids wouldn't dare eat. I am relearning how to eat.

So teach your kids the basics and moderation. Let them enjoy some treats. Watch for signs of insulin problems (especially in young girls at TOM age). And trust that at least some of what you taught them sunk in.

Being a father of 3 young children 2 of which eat solid food, I found this response to be a bit bothersome. My children pretty much snack and eat all day. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. My children are always on the move and very active. Most dinners my family eats my dinner but on occassion I will fix 2 or 3 meals at one time to add some variety and give them something they might want. I see nothing wrong with doing this or letting my children have popcorn, a candy bar, chicken nuggets be it from MD's or the grocery store. My oldest daughter who is 5 has learned so many healthy tips from me on this journey she recognizes good and bad foods. Some dinner times are a struggle. Get a 15mo old to eat roasted asparagus, come on...you can try but most are not going to like it. That does not mean substitute it with bowl of ice cream.

Since not experiencing having little, young children, I think your post was a little off base. No one is makeing their children become carb addicted, insulin resistant, diabetic people. Children are constantly growing and active. If its got some balance between good and bad, I see no issue. If our children were just eating bologna and pudding each meal, then yes, that would be a problem.

Carbs are an essential energy form no matter how you look at it. We all have our own reasons why we are overweight in our adult lives, whether that is just over eating, lack of exercise, having children, life changing injury, getting older, etc. We are changing this and just by us changing, our children are going to follow suit. There are many things we cannot eat on Phase 1, 2 and 3 that are perfectly fine for our families to eat, why not let them eat it? It does not fit into our protocol right now, but does not mean we can never eat it again. I willl have a heaping serving of spaghetti later on, I will have a pizza later on. We in the earlier phases with children have to make choices that keep our children from having melt downs and adding tremendous stress in our households. Many items we cannot eat right now because of protocol will be just fine later in phase 4.

Having small children while on this protocol is difficult. Do not beat yourself up if you lick the peanut butter off the knife as you finish a perfectly fine snack of PB&J for your kids. Its not like you gave them 4 peanut butter cups and had 4 yourself. If you happen to finish off their last spoonful of mashed potatoes from their dinner plate, opps, not on protocol but not the end of the world. Learn from those times and try to retrain yourself.

We are all doing great at this and will make mistakes and will move on. I applaud those with small children who take on this program. We are bettering our whole family by doing this.

This is an excellent point and I thank you so much for making it here!

I have two small children (ages 5 and 7). I always thought that I fed my family well. I only occasionally feed hotdogs and chicken nuggets as a meal. The kids usually eat what we eat and that has always included meat, fish, seafood, a variety of fruits and vegetables, which my kids are very familiar with and actually like most of them. Of course they have their individual preferences: one won't eat potatoes or lettuce, another won't eat tomaotes and both dislike mushrooms and onions. However, being on IP has also forced me to realize that our day-to-day also includes a lot of carbs and too many sweets.

It's going to be a slow process but I am really going to have to work on this!

I think this is partially due to habit, partially to convenience and partially due to the fact that I work and don't make a lot of the items that we eat... it is going to be a slow process but I have resolved that it is going to change for the better.

Luckily, my kids are very reasonable when it comes to sweets but we still have far too much (although it has already gotten better since I've been on IP). There are some items that I think my husband and kids will have more problems limiting (or doing without than other) like sugary cereal, for example... but again, we'll give it time and work on it. Recently, my kids asked for Kashi Go Lean cereal and we do have that at home (in addition to Corn Pops and Lucky Charms) and they like it. I also like to make them yogurt parfaits with fresh fruit, different yogurt flavors, healthy cereal and a drizzle of honey... that is a change for the better for sure (although not OP for an IP girl like me)!

That said, my kids are very active and will always have some kind of kid foods, desserts and sweets as well as I have always felt that by limiting foods too much, they kind of become like the "forbiden fruit" that they will just want more and more and won't be able to control themselves around later. I want to teach my children to mostly eat the good stuff but that they can also enjoy occasional treats and hopefully, they will learn to make the right decisions when it is finally up to them. I don't want to obsess over the food they eat as I do not want them to obsess over food.

I think the way we eat as a society is seriously flawed and a lot of people don't realize that. I feel that it often costs more to eat healthier but then, I am thinking of the money we would save on healthcare and medication if we could all work on that a little more!

I beat myself up too....I've been cheating with IP foods....I can't even keep the bars in the house anymore or I eat 2-3 of them a day in addition to everything else. Urg

In my first few weeks I drank a cup of hot chocolate without even thinking!!! I was helping out at a polar plunge (hince the cold weather) and I was freezing my patuty off and someone offered me a cup and I was so busy with registration I didn't even realize what I was doing (spit the last gulp back in the cup). Freaked out after but drank tons of water that day and moved on but have been a lot more careful since then.

I think we have all made an unintentional mistake with a lick, bit or even a spit out once we realize....Nothing else to do but move forward...

Someone in my office asked me this same question the other day. I just completed week 1 of IP. I have to defend the Moms but I understand why you question what someone would feed their family. I grew up eating typical Southern food. Casseroles and fired stuff and I have battled my weight all my life. I try to feed my kids better food so they will make better choices. But lets face it, sometimes it is out of sheer convenience. I work full time and have my business on the side so it is hard to plan and cook healthy meals. Sometimes it is easier to grab fast food or fix something from a package. I also was never taught portion control. Kids are still taught to leave a "happy plate". I do differently with my kids. They eat a sensible portion of the less healthy stuff and offer them more of fruits and veggies. And lets face it just because someone is not overweight it does NOT mean they are healthy. That is a message my kids have heard a million times!

Thank you for your post! I was just thinking today as my kids were eating mint oreo cookies and milk for a snack. It's just a habbit. It's just something we have to get used to over time while we are on IP. I wanted that cookie SO BAD. This morning I was blowing on my son's hashbrowns and went to put it in my mouth to test it for heat. I caught myself before I shoved it in my mouth. Try not to kick yourself too bad, these things happen. It will all get easier.

I agree with you here! I'm glad to see you speaking your mind!!

I am here to say yet again.....you're doing great! I like the way you think! Kids do need to have the chance to be kids!

I'm glad to hear that so many people have such interesting thoughts on this topic, but I do want to reiterate that I was not criticizing anyone's choices, I was just hoping to get the question onto people's radar, and hear what people (especially parents) think about it, because I think about it a lot.

For me, so much of my eating (I realize now) that led to my weight problem is due to what I was eating when I grew up. I never drank soda, I hardly ever had junk food, was not a big sweets eater (not because we were health-conscious, only because we were poor!) I was an active kid living in a rural area riding my bike all day long including 2 miles back and forth to school every day. But I was still overweight as a child and teen (living on casseroles, potatoes, pasta, etc.) which as I got older and my metabolism slowed, translated into being obese by the time I was 30.

Being on IP for the 4 months it took me to lose the weight was not that bad. But it was very, very hard for me to permanently change my eating habits and realize that for the rest of my life I need to eat very small amounts of carbs if I am going to keep the weight off. I can't just go back to the way I was eating (which was not necessarily a LOT of food, just the really wrong food). THAT change has been at times depressing, at times angering, at times ok. Because eating those foods is a habit, and one that I was very happy with.

Almost 20% of kids in the US are now rated obese, and the rate is still climbing. Diabetes and other diet-related illnesses are on the rise. My own pre-IP condition was labeled pre-diabetic and I was clearly obese.

And I often wonder, "if I had been raised looking at foods/types differently, would I have ended up where I did? If our typical family dinner had included 60% veggies instead of 60% carbs, would I have developed different (better) eating habits? What eating habits did I develop as a child that eventually led to gaining all that weight?" I guess I'll never know the answers to those questions, but that does not stop me from wondering them.

Wow this really is a thought provoking thread. I will be keeping it bookmarked for that day far far in the future when my kids are old enough to eat real food. Since they are not even a glimmer in our eyes yet, it will be at least another 5 years for me I think.
I do agree with Rocky Monarch's last quote:

"if I had been raised looking at foods/types differently, would I have ended up where I did? If our typical family dinner had included 60% veggies instead of 60% carbs, would I have developed different (better) eating habits? What eating habits did I develop as a child that eventually led to gaining all that weight?"

I have discovered since I left home (I'm 26 fyi) that my mothers likes and dislikes drove a lot of the food my dad cooked for meals. She doesn't like many vegetables-and NOTHING spicy. So all the foods I am eating on this plan, except the protein, we never had growing up. I think the same thing about veggies and carbs-growing up veggies were corn, carrots, and potatoes!