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| My LittleGuy several years ago |
http://behindthebookscover.blogspot.com/2012/03/type-2-diabetes.html
His health over all is VERY good, except his weight…which I now have implemented change in our diets…nothing freaky…I believe in moderation, but I like food. I like meat, that’s why we have molars, for chewing meat. Sorry all you vegetarians, you are missing out. Plus we are all gonna die one day, we should enjoy that which we consume…
Note…When LittleGuy was a baby and reached the monumental age of 1 I threw the formula away and did something some people would not agree with…I didn’t go to whole milk as recommend, I went straight to skim milk…I knew even then this adorable ‘little’ baby was not little and hadn’t been since I cut his cord. He didn’t like baby food and wanted normal food as well; so sometimes I would take the lasagna I made and puree it so he could eat with us and stop throwing fits…his nose works fine as do his taste buds, always have.
However…
I’m a normal Mom of three Children and sometimes the convenience of them helping themselves to bowl upon bowl of sugar laden cereals while I get ready in the morning…is a HUGE convenience!
I made a big mistake.
I put my Childs health at risk and I’m ready to burden myself with that thought and responsibility. Yes, genetics are taken into account when it comes to concerns to Diabetes, but I sat there and watched him gain weight. I do feed my Children healthy home-cooked meals and we really don’t eat a ton of processed foods, but I admit they eat granola bars, fruit snacks, pop tarts and such…WE ARE NORMAL.
My Sons are hungry growing boys and genetically totally opposite of each other.
They eat relatively the same amount, although LittleGuy does consume a bit more I admit.
LoveBug never stops moving, that little human of mine is rail thin, he eats a fair amount though.
LittleGuy doesn’t move like his brother.
My Girl, BrownNut, food is not really on her radar unless edamame or strawberries are on the table.
LittleGuy is actually more inclined to eat a variety of foods and doesn’t turn his nose up at vegetables .
I always have fresh seasonal fruit out to snack on.
I don’t have soda in the house.
They drink water when they are thirsty…from the tap. The bottled water you drink most likely also comes from the tap.
I only have skim milk in the ‘fridge.
I allow them 4 to 6 oz of orange juice in the morning…juice to me is empty calories…
…”Eat a piece of fruit if you want the flavor of said fruit.” is what I tell them.
We don’t eat dessert very often, it’s a special treat.
(It helps I don’t have a sweet tooth.)
The above list are things I DON’T HAVE TO CHANGE…that’s also part of our normal, along with the Pop-Tarts.
What we have to change is our awareness of what and how much we are taking in and look at portion control, calorie intake, fat content and such.
They are aware already the difference between good foods and bad foods, that’s not a problem.
I also have to do it so LittleGuy or one of my other two Children don’t become obsessive? compulsive? and end up with food related mental issues.
Our/My first focus is...
Teaching them to read nutrition labels and what is an actual healthy portion/serving size.
Yesterday, LittleGuy came home from school and was ready to snack…
He wanted a Pop-Tart. We got the box down and we read the label. A single serving size is one Pop-Tart, not the 2 that come in the foil wrapper like you would think.
I then proceeded to get out some hummus, his favorite whole grain pretzels and his favorite vegetable, sugar snaps.
We took the time again to look at the labels and serving sizes…
2Tbs of hummus
9 pretzels
1 1/3 C’s of Sugar Snaps.
Together we measured everything out and that was his snack.
This morning for breakfast I didn’t change a lot. The cereal was still out…along with measuring cups this time.
All three of them measured 3/4 C of cereal (a serving size) into their bowls…stunned looks on their faces and said…
…”That’s all we get?! This is unfair Mom!”
I didn’t leave it there. I told them they could have another serving of cereal. Realistically they do need to eat and 3/4 of cereal is not gonna fuel many people for the start to their day. There was yogurt and fruit too, that’s normal.
We (my Children) understand now that if they fill their bowls up once…that’s 2 serving sizes and you really don’t need to measure everything…
I’ve almost always used small bowls for myself if I am having a snack. For myself I understand portion control but never really applied it to my Children. I have sometimes, but not all the time. These little humans are growing still and I’m trying not to.
Many of this is logical but real life scenario of on the run Mom’s or Dad’s we don’t really have the time to read every label…but if your Child has an allergy you would I bet.
My Children don’t have food related allergies…
This was all written by a woman that has some mad skills in the kitchen
…our problem is Portion Control.
Oh…one more point…
You can be skinny and unhealthy.
You can be heavy and still be healthy.
Yes, extra weight does put more pressure on your organs, I’m gonna try to ease that pressure…knowing full well that in all likely hood my LittleGuy, named LittleGuy because he’s my youngest, will always be a bit bigger, because God makes all of us different.
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