My parents didn't really monitor what my brother and I ate or the amount of food we ate. My mother and father worked full-time jobs so we ate microwaveable dinners often. It was easier for my parents to pick up fast food on the way home from work than to cook. As I got older, my father noticed my weight gain. He would make comments about my "flabby arms" or my "love handles" but never offered to put healthier food in the refrigerator. I often felt that he should've offered a solution instead criticizing. Today, we still eat at buffets and he continues to make comments about my weight.
My family has a lot of influence on food and my body. I eat whatever I want becasue I've never had stipulations on what I could eat. Healthy eating was unheard of in my family. We were also able to eat until we got full. Full often meant stuffed in my household and my parents didn't have a problem with it. In my adult life, I still eat like that. I struggle with eating until I feel full. Over the years, I've tried to lessen my portions and eat healthier snacks between meals. I must say that I do eat better than I used to. Food have and always will be my weakness.
Samisha
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Oh Samisha, I can relate to food weakness. I did however grow up differently than you as I hit early teens. My family really changed its eating habits when my father had his second heart attack and open heart surgery. It was of utmost importance for my father’s health to eat healthier, no fried foods, no creamy foods ie, gravy etc. We ate all the good ol’ southern cooking type foods and my Mom had to relearn how and what to cook. I never really thought about it as a kid or even really as a young adult, but I do today. As life has caught up to me, I can almost see every calorie that I take in sit on my butt and stomach! They say that comes with age, but I has really made me more health conscious the last several years! My husband and I love food, dining out together, cooking food together and eating as a family. This can make the pounds really start to show so I have to really watch it. Good for you to become more attentive to what and how much you are eating. It is very difficult to monitor yourself and have will power!!
ReplyDeleteSamisha,
ReplyDeleteThank you for post, I have been enlightened and I must confess that lately I have been the same type of parent that is purchasing takeout food most days. After hearing your point of view I will now try and cook large amounts of healthy dishes on the weekends to prevent me and my son from eating large amounts of unhealthy foods. Sometimes a parent can only see one side, thanks for the look at the other side.
Vikki D. Littleton
Hi, Samisha.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post about how much the family environment can shape the way we eat. Your story very clearly demonstrates the point that parents and our family eating patterns have such an impact on the way we learn to eat, and the habits we take into adulthood. Working parents with children face a difficult balance with their jobs and family responsibilities, and sometimes the "fast food" option is the only choice. But this should be the exception, not the rule.... even so, this "ideal" situation is hard to enforce. When raising my own children, I recall how difficult it was to balance work, the children and their extracurricular activities, etc., and still try to have family time together. We tried to make dinner time a special event, and always tried to have a healthy meal. But this certainly didn't happen every day, despite how hard we tried.
Your statement about having healthier food options available was right on .... if we at least offer healthier choices to our children, that's a good start!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
Carol Martin
cmartin18@twu.edu