REVOLT!!!!!

I knew this new path was going to have its challenges, and I fully expected the children to struggle; but what I did not expect, I guess, is how vehemently they would oppose change.  This revolt has told me one thing, however, that my children are horribly addicted to bad foods.  Without fail on what seems like an hourly basis – even though I know it is not –  , some child will scream out, “I’m hungry!” to which I reply, “Then eat something.”  The response is almost always, “There’s nothing to eat!!!” to which I inevitably reply, “There is plenty to eat.”  I often hear a cabinet or refrigerator door slam and footsteps huffing off.

I have had to do a real gut check and understand that my children are addicted to garbage.  I have to say this makes me feel like the world’s worst mother that I let our busy schedule dictate how I nourished my children.   We are always on the run, so we settle for running through the drive through and picking up whatever was quick, or I was “to tired” so we opted to order pizza or make a box of mac-n-cheese and heat up chicken nuggets.   The snack of choice…Cheese-Its, leftover pizza, and, Aidan’s fav, a turkey sandwich.  Now a turkey sandwich is not necessarily a bad choice, but when it is an hour before a full meal and you slather it, on white bread no doubt, with store bought mayo loaded with fat and chemicals, not so good any more.  I have even found that Aidan and Rory both have learned how to make chicken nuggets in the microwave.  I would come home from school to crumb covered plates with piles of un-used ketchup – also loaded with chemicals and high fructose corn syrup…bad.  It is not enough that Danny and I have our own struggles with food dating back to well before we ever met, but now we have passed those struggles down to our children – and they don’t even know it yet. Now, they don’t all have immediate weight concerns (DJ and Rory may never have those concerns given their physical makeup, but there are no guarantees), they certainly could one day if we don’t a handle on this, not to mention a lifetime of struggling with food.

This is where the revolt comes in.  Knowing the we, Danny and I, struggle with good choices when bad choices are available and we have passed that struggle down to the kids, we (again Danny and I) opted to be a bit drastic.  We emptied the house of all those foods loaded with carbs and empty calories.  We dumped everything with preservatives and that is processed. We have made a few exceptions while we look for healthier alternatives to things like Kraft Mayo, Heinz Ketchup, and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing – I say those brands because they will not eat any others – we are just really watching portions or these items. The purge also included anything with ingredients not found in nature and anything made from the “whites”…white flour, white sugar, white salt (we use sea salt), etc.  I have become an avid label reader, and you would be SHOCKED how much garbage is added to our food!  EVEN MEAT! That is the garbage for which my kids are screaming.  If I did not know better, I would swear that stuff has addictive properties to it given how my kids are “withdrawing”.  Now don’t get me wrong, we have loaded the house with good foods…lot’s of fruits, nuts, and healthy veggies for the kids to snack.  We even keep a supply of boiled eggs in the frig for a quick protein shot…Rory and Maggie like those the best.  We are trying to get Aidan to get away from his Turkey sandwich for some turkey slices and a piece of fruit.  Still, they crave the bad stuff and really get quite upset that it is no longer available.  The one exception we have made…well, we have tried to make a few amendments, not exceptions…is pretzels.  For lunch every day the boys would take a turkey sandwich, goldfish, pretzels, and an apple.  Maggie would take the same except substitute a PB&J for turkey.  Well, we kept the turkey sandwich (changed it to whole wheat bread with just a touch of mayo) and changed the goldfish out for carrots.  Maggie baulked at the carrots, but agreed to omit the goldfish anyway. The one caveat, they may only be eaten for school lunch, never at home for a snack.

Another struggle that I have yet to find an amicable solution is to milk. Many studies show that milk found in the grocery is really quite bad for you because of the hormones and antibiotics given to the cows on regular basis.  I did acquiesce on that.  We could go with organic milk, but we could not afford to keep the house stocked given how much milk my kids drink.  I don’t know, the jury is still out on that one.  

Regardless of the kid’s complaints, Danny and I know that we are finally doing what is right by our children.  Are we perfect? Certainly not!  Do we fall and give in?  Occasionally, but those times are happening with less and less frequency.  We are trying our best every day to set a positive model for them where their health is concerned.  Are we always successful? Absolutely not.  What we are learning that is probably this most important lesion, however,  is that strength is coming from the process of us all learning together.  We are not only being blessed with better health with the best possible side effect of weight loss (Danny has lost 14 and I have lost 7), but we are also seeing our children start to SLOWLY come over from the dark side (forgive the Star Wars analogy).  I have noticed that our temperament is changing; and, despite their vehement objections sometimes, their temperament is changing.  We are all learning and growing together while we move down this new path as a family, and we absolutely are seeing every day that the blessing is truly in the walk.