I distinctly remember the moment in which I realized not only was I modeling bad eating habits, I was passing them off to my children, too.
I was making grilled cheese sandwiches for myself, Rosie and Buddy. He was about 7.5 months, and we were slowly starting him on table foods. I was going to just add some chips to my plate and call it done. I had stopped adding fruits and veggies to Rosie's lunch plate a while ago because she just wouldn't eat them.
No wonder. Why would she eat them if she never saw me eat them? The light bulb switched on.
How did I expect my kids to eat healthily if I wasn't? Why did I think Rosie would happily crunch into a carrot if she saw me happily crunching potato chips? And here I was, not adding veggies to Buddy's plate, either, even though he was exactly at the age where I should be starting him on the right foot.
The answer was simple. I needed to put a veggie and fruit on each of our plates every meal (Okay, except breakfast- I still can't eat fruit or veggies that early in the morning. The kids get fruit though). It didn't matter if they didn't always eat it. I needed to make it available all the time, and I needed to eat it, too.
That's when my healthy lifestyle changes began, and when I started my journey to losing 62 lbs overall.
In the beginning of my journey, I used to freak out a little bit when I went to a restaurant (how do I know the calorie count?) or when I indulged just a little too much. Every time I felt overly full, I felt fat again, and like I had gone 10 steps backward.
The truth is:
1. You can indulge a little, once in a while. When I see a brownie at a party, I pounce on it because I never make them anymore. The difference between now and then is I'll just eat the one brownie, not three.
2. If you eat only half of what you're served at a restaurant, you're probably in the clear. And then you'll have the rest for delicious leftovers the next day!
3. Good food makes you feel good. I never used to have this much energy before I amped up my fruit and veggie intake. Between that, and a lot of water drinking, my body is a clean running machine that keeps me going and going.
4. There is such a thing as a food hangover. I ate at Friendly's a few months ago, and felt awful and lethargic the rest of the day. I sadly realized I used to feel this way all the time, but didn't know any better at the time. Once you start eating cleanly, your body notices when you eat something particularly greasy. You are what you eat. Unhealthy food makes you tired. Fresh, healthy food gives you energy.
I started eating more healthily because I wanted to do better by my kids. It was one thing to make myself overweight and unhealthy, but it was an entirely different thing to pass it onto them. I also did it because I was finally ready to.
When I had a hard time tearing the kids away from the blackberry bush last week, I could only smile. It was exactly the kind of thing I had been hoping would happen.
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