Food Fight

One night last week, Kate and I had a very difficult time during dinner. I’ll spare you the details (something new looks “yucky” even thought it’s pasta and frickin’ hamburger) because I’m sure you’ve seen it before, but it left her in tears and left me feeling defeated.

“The last thing in the entire world I want to fight with her about is food,” I told Andy. I’ve struggled with food weirdness for what seems like my entire life, and since the moment Kate was born I’ve been terrified of passing that onto her.

That very night I got an email from Weight Watchers asking if I’d be interested in taking a look at “Eat! Move! Play!,” their new book about healthy habits for the whole family. The email said the book contained interactive worksheets, tips, easy-to-follow steps and kid-friendly recipes to encourage a healthy lifestyle for kids and parents alike.

I felt like the stars had aligned.

As you may remember, I joined Weight Watchers in September as a part of their “Lose for Good” campaign. From September to December, I lost 17 pounds, and I became a lifetime Weight Watchers member in January.

It truly changed my life.

Besides the weight loss (which was obviously a nice side effect), Weight Watchers taught me how to eat and how to view food. For the first time I could remember, I felt in control of what I ate and I didn’t feel the crippling guilt of over-indulging. It was amazing.

So. Back to the subject at hand. Given my love for and loyalty to Weight Watchers and coming off what had been a quasi-traumatic dinner, I was very relieved to have the opportunity to read this book.

I’m still working my way through it, but what I’ve read so far is great. They give real-life, applicable tips that are easy to implement. Of course, I immediately flipped to the section on picky eaters. (In Kate’s defense, the girl comes by it honestly. I am not the most, ahem, adventurous eater in the world). The advice in the book was so simple, yet so effective.

Our responsibility, as parents, is to provide our kids with the opportunity to eat healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. Their job is to eat it. Or not. Either way is ok – they need to be in control. And really, isn’t being in control of their eating what we want for our kids, especially when we’re not around? Kate asked me recently if it was ok that she was full. That was a big red flag for me because I don’t want her to stop listening to her body and to eat just to eat until it’s gone (you know, the way I do). So, based on the recommendations in the book, here’s our new plan. Andy and I will give the kids their dinner – they can eat as much (or as little) as they want. After that, if they’re still hungry, they can eat whatever they want from the big fruit bowl on the counter (which I will have to faithfully keep stocked).

So simple. No fighting, no “How many more bites do I have to eat??” Just peaceful dinners. Amen.

I’ll let you know how it goes.