Every time I try talking to my kids about LCing it comes out so technical that my kids turn me off. I want to be simple but persistant. Any Ideas?

every time there is food offered, that is not in my lc way, one of my girls always says, "no, mama's on a diet." i get so frustrated, and try to explain it to them. here goes: mama's not on a "diet". i eat what ever i CHOOSE to eat. i have read a lot of information from dr. who have done tests that tell us that sugar and starches are not good for a healthy body. i remind them about when i quit smoking and how that was my CHOICE. i decided i wanted to do something healthy. i also try to explain that when i eat sugar, it makes me want more, which makes me cranky, which means we can't do fun things because i'm in a bad mood!

the ages are 4,5,and 8, so i'm sure one of them gets something every time i have to go through this discussion. i've tried talking to them just about choices and deciding what is right for you (meaning each person). just because someone else decides to do something, doesn’t mean it's right for me, and vise versa.

my main objective everyday when i wake up, is to set the best example for them that i can. i want to be the best role model i can be. i want to make mistakes, learn from them, and move on. kids understand so much more than we realize. oh, i could go on for days.

i love my girls more than i loved myself for the first 30 years of my life. they are amazing, and being a better person, and loving myself has brought me the greatest joy i have ever experienced.

Regards
brenda

I tell my 5 year old that when I "eat the old way" or "eat sugar" I don't feel as good and it makes my tummy upset( I have IBS that is worse when I eat carbs)He understands this and when someone offers cookies etc, he just says "my mom can't eat that, but I can"

Mine are older, so it's easier to explain than it is to control what restaurant they go to w/ their friends on fri. night. They are 15 and 18. But the way I think would be easiest-- most kids have heard of cave men, right? (Tell them Fred Flintstone-- I know it's an old cartoon, but it's still on ) . We'll I said to my kids that man (and woman) was originally eating what he could hunt, catch, pull up from the ground and pick off of plants. They didn't eat pizza. They didn't eat nachos. They SURE didn't eats sweets. So, basically, I'm eating what cave men ate because it's the way we were meant to eat, before we refined food.

My 15 yr. old said that right away that made it easier for him to make choices-- 'what's closest to what a cave man would have available to eat??' And that works for him. I think it would work for some younger kids too, except for the very young, and believe me, those LITTLE guys are more under your control now than they will be someday!

YB

Bring me a child of five!

Okay, it's an old joke. My point is, my daughter--who isn't yet five, but will be come April--understands what I can and can't eat. She knows that when we go to McDonald's, I'll have a salad with ranch dressing, while she has her hamburger *with* bun. She knows that at home, for dinner I'll have oven-roasted pork ribs and broccoli, while she has ravioli in meat sauce. She further understands that sugary stuff of *any* kind is totally off limits for me, but ok for her as long as she eats something *good* for her first.

She even tells people, "My mama can't eat that because it will make her sick and not feel good. I don't want her to die, so I don't let her eat that anymore."

That's my girl.

I just started on this woe on monday, and I have had many questions from my 6 yr old daughter- she keenly asked if I thought I was too fat, which obviously concerns me in terms of her perceptions of weight and what people "should" weigh. I am totally underplaying the weight loss side of it (actually did not mention it at all!) and just saying that I feel healthier if I avoid too much sugar, but that every person is different and it is ok for her and the rest of the fam to eat the foods that I choose not to. The last thing I want to do is give her the idea that I care about my weight more than my health!

I told my son the first time I started lcing years ago, I think he was 6 or 7, that some foods turn into sugar in my body, then it's used for energy!! But I don't need so much energy I have too much saved! (showing him my belly!!!)

So I don't eat those sugary foods for energy and I can use this for energy!!! (showing him my belly again!)

I made him laugh and I he got it!!!

I Just tell my 9 year old son that I can't eat the sugar because I't makes me sick sometimes.