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[quote=Anonymous]OP, do you count talking about healthy food choices as "restricting"?  The reason I ask is that my parents did what hear people say you should do now: Never, ever said a thing about weight or food choices. Kept unhealthy food around the house, although our food was mostly homemade and we did eat family dinners. Didn't talk about composition of healthy food, didn't talk about proteins, nutrients, etc. My father was normal weight. My mom was an overweight binge eater.

I was obese by high school and struggled terribly. I had to learn the basics of nutrition on my own when I was in my 20s. Weight has been an issue for my entire life. It took me nearly 15 years to learn how to eat healthfully for my body. It was only in my mid-30s that I finally got a grip on healthy eating habits and have maintained a healthy weight for years, and it's still a major task and very difficult for me. My siblings and I all struggled.

You can bet that I talk with my kids about healthy choices and in particular how access to cheap foods and sugars will make your body want to make bad choices. I talk to them a lot about the addicting aspects of sugars, about how you have a lot less free choice with respect to food than people want to believe, and how physical activity is critical. I think the "never say a word" approach is idiotic in today's food environment. I lived that with my parents and it is as unhealthy as talk about diets and restrictions.

That having been said I never, ever talk about people being fat or overweight as a negative. In fact, I talk about how you can be a healthy fat person and they shouldn't make assumptions about health based on body size. I talk about food as fuel and the composition of food. I also talk about portion sizes. I don't keep unhealthy food out of the house.

I wasn't sure what you classified as "restricting," but having lived the "never talk about it, never say a word" life, I would never pick that approach. [/quote]

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