For those of you who are parents, you are going to probably relate to my other problem. Well, I wouldn't call it a problem - it is more like another contributor to my weight gain over recent years.
Nibbling on my children's food.
I'll give you an example. Today I took my girls out to a restaurant for breakfast after they had their swimming lesson. I was good and I ordered a dry English Muffin (no butter) and two VERY hard boiled eggs. The girls each had an order of french toast and some fresh fruit. I finished my breakfast and felt satisfied with what I ate. Then the girls claimed that they were done and didn't want anymore. So, what did I do? Before the waitress came over to take the plates, I sat there picking at their french toast and syrup. To be fair, I only had about 6-8 bites but still, it is still 6-8 bites more than I needed.
This is a habit that I think is going to be hard to break. I know it isn't horribly, unhealthy food (i.e. french fries, chips etc) but still, it is extra calories that I really don't need. I don't need a few bites of whatever is left on their plate.
For those of you who are parents, do you do this? If so, do you know why we do this?
For me, I wonder if it is because I was raised in a house where I was told to eat everything that was put on my plate. I think it is a generation thing because a lot of my friends tell me their parents were the same. I have read that children actually know when they are full and satisfied so, at a very young age, I decided not to make my children eat everything on their plate. If they feel full and they tell me they have had enough, I believe them. I don't make them stuff anymore in. Instead, I take the plate away but then what do I do? I go and take a few bites before turfing the rest in the garbage.
There, I admit it, I am a "pick at my children's plate when they are done" addict. Now that I have admitted it and come out of the closet, maybe I can do something about it. Maybe the next time I see food left on their plate and I am bringing it to the kitchen, I'll remember this entry in my blog. Then maybe I will go directly to the garbage and not let any of it make its' way into my mouth!
Aw, crap, I am making homemade macaroni and cheese tonight. My girls love it but there is always some left in their bowl because they ask for seconds but don't ever finish their seconds. Perhaps tonight I'll make their second helping just enough for a bite or two so they'll eat it!! There's an idea!
BTW, I should note that every single day when I fill out my spreadsheet on how many points/calories I have eaten, there is always a little entry that says "nibbles on girls' food". I usually calculate it as 2-4 points. At least I am actually counting it instead of forgetting about it.
No surprise here, I have the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. And in my food tracker I always have (bits and bites) that refer to the little bites and nibbles I take of my kids food.
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing when I'm making dinner, I try a bit here, a bit there (of whatever I'm chopping up and/or cooking). I could probably cut out 6-7 points a day if I stopped doing it. I'd say 75% of the time I'm good about keeping track of it, but there's definitely some that I simply forget about.