I'm One Mean Mom (Childhood Obesity and How to Deal)

You may have seen this story recently about a 5 year old child who was taken away from her parents due to her weight. It broke my heart; while this story originates from the UK, childhood obesity is a huge problem here in the states as well. Kids tip the scales more than ever before, and there are several factors that receive the blame: too much screen time, a busy drive-through lifestyle, and parents who are overcome with guilt and overcompensate by using food as rewards. It's scary and sad and it's not an easy problem to solve.

But should children be taken away from their parents because they are overweight? Often, parents of overweight children are overweight themselves, so in my non-clinical opinion, it seems that the problem is likely lack of awareness, knowledge, or access to resources that would help them live a healthier life. In my Pollyanna perspective, I'd like to think that if these parents knew how to be a healthier example and set boundaries with their kids regarding food and activity, the problem would go away.  

What are the solutions? Well, the first step is determining whether your child has a weight problem and what to do if he does. You can read about that here. I believe the next step is modeling and rewarding healthy behaviors. 

Of course, this comes from a mom who is currently battling a child who has wanted to eat candy 24/7 since Halloween. I'm having to remind myself several times a day that I am the grown-up and I set the boundaries of what we eat. It's a slippery slope, and a crowded one. Telling my child no makes me feel bad and mean, but letting him eat candy also feels bad and mean. What's a mom to do?

Here's what I'm doing: I'm embracing my bad and mean side. We're getting outside and walking more, I'm gritting my teeth and standing my ground when he looks at me with those puppy dog eyes, and I'm pulling in the reins. Sweets and desserts have their place, but not every day and not candy!  

And when that all fails, there's always time out. For me. :)

Get out there and get healthy. And hey, bring the kids while you're at it!

Back to School Brain Food

It's back to school time!  Pretty soon my Facebook page will be filled with picture of my friends' kids, smiling on the front porch, backpack and lunch sack in hand.  At least, I hope they'll have a lunch sack!  Before you send your kids off to school to feed their little genius brains, stock them up with some food that will actually help them learn.

You know I love the concept of functional food.  When I was in school I would actually research what kinds of food would be best to eat before a test, following a hunch that there had to be a connection between the energy my brain had to work off of and the ability of it to function at high capacity.  It was also a good compensation for not studying.  I was a terrible student and needed all the test-taking help I could get!  My cringe-worthy PSA-style video on the same subject is probably now at the bottom of a dusty pile of VHS archives in my high school.  I still remember the manager of the local grocery store kicking me and a friend out for attempting to videotape her holding a piece of fish.  Fish is brain food, btw.

So I really enjoy putting together my son's lunch for school and include foods that are high in antioxidants like berries and spinach.  Yes, he eats the spinach. I also include mac and cheese or homemade pizza.  It makes me feel good that I'm doing something to create an environment condusive for learning, and since my child is a genius it is obviously working. HA! :)

But while I always knew that antioxidant-rich foods like dark-colored greens and fruits were healthy, I didn't really understand why that was.  This video really sums it up and drives home why a lunchable and pudding cup are more sabotage than treat for your little Einstein.

Good day!

I Cannot Tell a Lie. About Food.

Okay, I will never claim to be the perfect mom.  I have a DVD player for the car; I routinely bribe my child to do basic functions like get dressed, go to the bathroom, or eat breakfast; and I let him wear black rubber fishing boots to school every day because it is just easier for everyone that way.  So let the finger-wagging begin.

But one thing I cannot do is lie to him about science, even when it would be way more convenient for me.  I've tried, and I can't.  I can't tell him that the sun is "coming up," when technically the sun does not move.  It always bugs me when people tell their kids that they used to be "in their stomach."  If your child was in your stomach, you have a problem.  Yes, its semantics and yes I am being too literal but seriously.  I can't do it.

So it stands to reason that I also can't tell my kid that eating unhealthy food is a good thing, and this is where I find myself stuck between being honest with him about the function of food and creating an eating-disordered food-obsessed robot of a child who over-analyzes everything he puts in his mouth. 

You know, someone like me.

I think I do an okay job of demonstrating how to use food for function, and I think I do an okay job of straying from that path once in a while for something that we acknowledge is not good for us but we eat anyway.  I lose a little bit of my soul when we do that, but we do it.  I'm learning, too.

So anyway, I take the role of a parent in teaching their child about nutrition really seriously, so when I see stuff like this, I get really ticked off.

This was an ad in a magazine that I ripped out and stole from a waiting room.  Don't worry, there wasn't anything important on the other side so I didn't ruin any quality reading experiences for anyone who came in after me. 

The ad shows a mom and her daughter doing yoga together (because that happens all the time, I'm so sure), and how the mom is so happy that her daughter wants to follow in her healthy footsteps, all the way to McDonald's where she can continue her healthy lesson over a lunch of chicken nuggets and apples.  Because, as we all know, ordering fruit at a fast-food place is the new way- virtuous thing to do.

But here's the thing, mom - chicken nuggets at McDonald's are not healthy for your kids.  It's just the truth, no matter how much the marketing people at McDonald's wants you to believe otherwise.  Is your kid going to die from eating chicken nuggets once in a while?  No.  But don't tell them they're good for them.  It's not true.

I'm not the perfect mom, and I can't say my kid has never eaten fast food.  But he hasn't eaten it under any pretenses that what he is eating is good for him.  I just can't lie about science.

I can lie about other things, however.  He totally thinks the frozen yogurt we get after swimming lessons is ice cream, and as far as he knows Santa Claus is keeping track of his every move. 

But then again Santa Claus is totally real.

Less Bad vs More Better?

There is a key phrase in this article I just read about strategies and solutions for getting junk food out of school vending machines that I want you to keep at the front of your brain this weekend:

"It may be less bad for you, but that doesn't mean that it's good for you."

This is the wisdom of Dana Woldow, a leader in the push for better snacks and co-chair of a California school district's Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee.  And Dana, thank you. 

So many times we pat ourselves on the back because we ordered the baked potato instead of the french fries, and ignore that little voice reminding us that steamed veggies and slivered almonds would have been the more-better choice.  I don't want to poo-poo those little victories because they are important, but let's get real.  Just because something is less-bad does not mean it is good, and you know it.  You know it, I know it, and most importantly (and this is where reality bites) your body knows it. 

But there is a population of people who don't know it - our kids. We have to teach them through example and hands-on experiences how to determine the difference between less-bad and more-better.  This article about the five worst kids' restaurant meals opened my eyes to the fact that we are all guilty of assuming our kids want grilled cheese or mac and cheese or fried cheese or basically anything with cheese, and rarely bat an eye at ordering off of the kids' menus even just to keep the peace at the dinner table.  Seeing the nutritional quality of these meals made me so happy that we rarely eat in restaurants anyway and that my own 4 year old son is a health-food champion who once asked the cashier at Wendy's for "something healthy."

Yes, I took my son to Wendy's.  I brought my own salad and he ordered oranges. My husband, yeah. He got the Number 2. :)  Love ya, babe!

I am willing to bet that there is something going on in your world this weekend that will force you to make the choice between less-bad and more-better. 

Go crazy!  Go big!   Go more-better!

New Flash: Sugar Not Good for Kids

I read yesterday that Nestle is removing from bottles of the kid's drink BOOST the claim that it helps prevent the cold and flu.  I have to say I am SHOCKED.  I mean, the packaging of this product clearly states that it is a Kid Essential with Immunity Protection! Surely there must be a mistake.  yes I am being sarcastic.

So I went and googled the ingredients of the drink right away.  When I saw the following list for the chocolate flavor, I decided the recall should be expanded to include the warning, "FYI this product will probably eventually kill your child." 

I've highlighted the ones that I would actually feed my kid:


WATER, SUGAR, MALTODEXTRIN, FRUCTOSE, SODIUM CASEINATE (MILK), HIGH OLEIC SUNFLOWER OIL, SOYBEAN OIL, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CALCIUM CASEINATE AND LESS THAN 0.5% OF CALCIUM PHOSPHATE TRIBASIC, CELLULOSE GEL, POTASSIUM CITRATE, SOY LECITHIN, MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE TRIBASIC, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SODIUM CHLORIDE, CARRAGEENAN, ASCORBIC ACID, CELLULOSE GUM, TAURINE, M-INOSITOL, ALPHA TOCOPERYL ACETATE, FERROUS SULFATE, ZINC SULFATE, NIACINAMIDE, L-CARNITINE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, VITAMIN B6 HYDROCHLORIDE, THIAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE, COPPER GLUCONATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, RIBOFLAVIN, BHA/BHT (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, BETA CAROTENE, FOLIC ACID, BIOTIN, CHROMIUM CHLORIDE, POTASSIUM IODIDE, SODIUM MOLYBDATE, SODIUM SELENITE, VITAMIN K1, VITAMIN D3, VITAMIN B12.

Look, I'm no doctor, but I do have a kiddo of my own.  95% of the stuff he eats is clean, natural, from the earth, and easily accessible from stores.  My kid has never had to take antibiotics, has not been home sick from school in at least a year, and is at a healthy body weight.  I probably just jinxed all of that by posting it here but I have to think at least some of those things are linked to the quality of his nutrition. 

So attention residents of reality: use your (whole grain) noodle! Don't feed your kids crap unless you want them to feel like crap. 

Rant done. Thank you for your time. :)

People, come on. It is NOT that hard.

You know, sometimes I get so mad when I see what some people eat these days that I just want to cry, especially when they do so while making excuse after excuse for why it just isn't realistic to eat healthier. It seems like these days everyone is on the childhood obesity bandwagon, but not nearly as many people are doing what it will take to change the health of our country and reverse the dangerous trend we are in: eat healthier.

Just freaking do it, people. It is NOT that hard. Stop buying crap and stop feeding it to your kids! Stop talking about it, stop blaming food manufacturers or marketing companies or the school system and just EAT HEALTHIER FOOD.

DO IT!!!

Each week, new studies come out with the shocking (not) news that Americans are fat and are immediately followed with editorials and blogs about how yeah, we're fat and all, but its just not realistic to think that we wouldn't be what with all the salt and sugar that is packed into our foods. It's not our fault, it's the food's fault for making us fat.

Hmmm. I'm an American and I'm not fat. Weird. I eat food all day long. I buy my food at the grocery store with all the fat people. It's so strange that I manage to maintain a healthy body while its unrealistic for other people with access to the same resources to do it.

This morning I heard a report about the rising levels of salt and sugar in processed foods, which featured a mother expressing how her kids "wouldn't" eat Shredded Wheat, so she compromises with frosted Shredded Wheat. Shredded Wheat covered in sugar. Is healthy. For her kids.

How about we compromise in a different way, mom? How about 1/2 shredded wheat and 1/2 frosted this week. Then next week add fewer frosted pieces. Then add some strawberries the next week for sweetness. Then omit the frosted pieces altogether. Give your kids some credit, mom. They deserve better than lazy "compromises" when it comes to the bodies they will live in for the rest of their lives. They may throw a fit today about how you're the meanest mom in the world and they're never going to eat again; my kid does that too, right before I remind him that I am #1 Mom in Charge and I love him too much to let him eat that crap for breakfast. He gets over it. We move on.

I don't think I am just being dramatic - a report released this week shows that American kids are too fat to serve in the military. More and more children are entering the first grade pounds overweight, indicated by a Journal of the American Medical Association's report that 16.9% of American children are obese. Not overweight. OBESE.

I shop at the same grocery store as the fat people. I just buy different food. I don't feel angry about it, I don't feel cheated, I don't feel restricted, and I don't feel like I am being punished.

Quite the opposite, actually. I feel happy. I feel like I'm ahead of the pack. I feel free. I feel like every day is a reward, because my body and I are working as a team.

I did feel angry, cheated, restricted, and punished when I was overweight, though.

Weird.

Veggie Police? Not me! I hope...

What is it with kids and vegetables? It's as if they are hard-wired to be immediately suspicious of them. My son at age two was already turning up his nose at carrots, green beans, broccoli...the usual suspects. I was completely stumped on how he could have formed this default opinion; he had spent 90% of his life up to that point with me, a vegetable lover. What part of his DNA was programmed to say, "ick," whenever something green and leafy landed on his plate? I think he got it from my husband's side of the family.

For years I have stubbornly put vegetables on his plate each day, made a big show of how much I looooooved to eat my vegetables, and like any self-respecting mother, I sneaked veggies into his food (*ahem* waaay before Jessica Seinfeld wrote her cookbook, just sayin') and took some comfort that at least they were getting into his body whether he realized it or not. I hoped that I could just keep being the good example and someday he would either taste them and realize what he had been missing, or just give up.

Neither seems very likely at this point; we are at a stalemate. But I am pleased to report that his gag reflex seems to be in good working order, which was evidenced last night by his response to our suggestion that he sample a piece of broccoli. After my husband and I presented our respective arguments, and after pointing out that broccoli has vitamins in it and reminding me that I had on previous occasions told him that he was allotted only one (chewable) vitamin a day, my four-year-old proceeded to stage a gagging and choking scene that almost made my husband leave the table to keep from laughing.

And I laughed, too. I'm a bit of a food cop, I'll admit it. I'm one of those all-natural moms who will gladly go out of my way to make my own everything, avoid artificial ingredients, bring my own food just about everywhere, and eat wholesome food made with pure, natural, vibrant ingredients that actually help our bodies function, not just satisfy an immediate emotional trigger to eat. I want my son to develop a healthy respect for the power of what we put into our bodies, and be able to make educated choices about what he chooses to eat.

Yes, he is four. So we try to teach by example. And after reading this article about the fuzzy line between monitoring the nutrition of our kids and sabotaging their future healthy habits, I feel pretty good about our methods. It recommends not forcing your kids to eat foods (although I am perfectly comfortable with the "take it or leave it" method of serving dinner), teaching by example (by not always being on some wacky diet), and teaching them about why its important to eat well.

People often ask whether my son is "allowed" to eat Halloween candy, whether I will buy him a chocolate bunny for his Easter basket, or if I bake him a wheat and sugar-free birthday cake. And while I do realize he is a kid and part of being a kid is wanting to eat candy and sweets, I do think there is a line to be drawn regarding the "fun factor" of food. It bothers me that I am perceived as punishing him in some way by not wanting to teach him that food is for entertainment purposes. But I figure 95% of what he eats is clean, wholesome, and healthy...and for the rest, he has grandparents.

There are some good tips here for creating a healthy relationship with food; one that is based on an understanding of the cause-and-effect of the fuel we put into our bodies and balanced with an example of how to manage situations that present...lower-octane fuel. :)

Yeah, he'll have cauliflower on his plate tonight, and I'll encourage him to take a bite and see what he thinks. But if he passes, that's okay.

I loooooove cauliflower. :)