I know it has been a while. I've been up and down, lather rinse repeat. I finally signed up for e-tools and that has made tracking my points easier.
I'm worried about my son.
I'm tired of buying so many snacks. I buy junk food and say it is for the kids, but then, I look at my kids,and really folks... they don't need it either. I've gone to shopping once a week. If they eat all the snacks in the beginning of the week - too bad.
I had my oldest write down everything he ate. Only, I ended up writing most of it. The second week I said he can have 5 snacks, we picked them out and put them into a basket. Except that he ate those and then more. Yesterday, I bought a 12 pack of peanut butter crackers for him. That is what he said he wanted as a snack this week. I specifically asked if they wanted granola bars. I bought almonds for me.
I went to get a granola bar for me this evening. All but one package of almonds is gone * , all but one granola bar is gone and 6 of the 12 packages of crackers are gone. He did not ask for any of this food. This means he is sneaking the food. I took the remaining snacks that I got for me and put them up in the cupboard.
*turns out the youngest ate all of the almonds
This brings back bad memories. I was fat as a child. My parents hid food from me too. I found it. I don't want this for my son. I have at least been encouraging him to exercise. Both boys get 30 minutes of computer time. If they want any more they have to do 20 minutes of exercise.
I wish I knew what to do. We've talked about it before. I've stressed to him that I just want him to be healthy. He is not at a healthy weight. His BMI is 34.2 where mine is 34.9. My folks ,I say both of them, but I'm pretty sure it was mostly my mom, tried to put me on weight watchers at age 10, tried to bribe me with rewards for losing weight etc. None of those worked for me. I wrote him a letter tonight and told him it made me sad that he ate that food. That I want him to be healthier than I am, that I want him to not get the bad habits I have. I want so much more for him. He is such a bright young man. I want him to be happy. I want him to be able to have girlfriends in high school and not be the fat kid. Maybe I am just projecting my history on him.
If he won't ask for the snacks, if he's sneaking it and if you don't want to hide it from him then don't buy it. Flat out, don't buy it. You said you would buy them for the kids but end up eating it yourself, so this will help you too. You won't be able to eat it either. Stock up of fruits and veggies. Those are their snacks. You can even cheat and get all the stuff that's already cut up and save yourself time. (It costs more but its easier). Celery with peanut butter and raisins is a great snack. Apples are an easy grab and go, or grab and munch while doing something else. Baby carrots, red peppers (theyre sweet!) and cauliflower are all easy and good raw, even with a little low fat dip or hummus. Grapes are a good pop-in-your-mouth munchy snack instead of chips or anything else they would eat while watching tv. They'll just have to learn that these things are their options if they want a snack. It's all stuff they can get themselves, easy and accessible. I go shopping once a week too and when I get home I cut up all the produce and put it in snack size ziplocks so it's easy to grab out of the fridge. Putting it in a gladware tub or other plastic-type container keeps the bags organized in the fridge and at eye level instead of in a drawer. But almost anything can be found already cut up. You're doing the right thing by talking to them about being healthy. And they will complain, because theyre kids and they dont understand the end result or how important it is for so many reasons. It's a hard step to try to change your family's habits but stick with it. It will happen. Love you
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