Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are food insecure and balancing between not letting dd panic but not eating for comfort is hard. I try to do this by reminding dd when she'll get to eat next, that hunger pangs do not mean that her stomach hurts, and point her towards eating real food, rather than empty calories.

Can you get some food from a food pantry?

That's more for people who are homeless and/or need a one time fix. We go through this each week.

OP - check out Ellyn Satter's common sense, easy to implement advice. She has several books with more details about preparing children to have healthy diets and avoid overeating. Her main message is that parents decide "what" "where" and "when" (without completely restricting any one category of food, or catering to certain categories) and children decide "how much." Obviously this is not that easy and requires that you be consistent and prepared to deal with your child whining or boycotting some meals. Clearly this would be for a child with no special health issues.

http://www.ellynsatter.com/resources/DORfeeding.pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This "gotta pack snacks!!" business has got to stop, for every single teeny outing. I blame the helicoptering of making sure Larla feels no slight discomfort, ever. In my opinion it's GOOD to be hungry sometimes. A kid can surely deal with hunger for 30 minutes or an hour.

I agree that a kid should be hungry fortheblast half hour or ao before a meal, but OP seems to be describing that she would like her kid to be hungry a the end of a meal. What? That makes no sense. "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full."

+1. It comes from the snacking all day long culture. I feel like even adults don't just do 2-3 meals anymore -- they eat breakfast, snack at 10, lunch, snack at 2, snack at 4, dinner, snack before bed. Give me a break. No one needs a steady stream of almonds, hummus and eggs all day long. Doesn't matter how much protein they have -- you aren't going to burn those calories off and then people wonder why they aren't losing weight despite eating so healthy. It's the sheer quantity of food that's a problem.

Funny. My dietitian recommended the small meal/ health snack schedule when I had gestational diabetes. Said it's better to keep blood sugar even throughout the day. My husband was diagnosed with type II diabetes, and his dietitian told him the same thing. He used to eat nothing all day and pig out at dinner. The more balanced eating schedule is better for him. He's very skinny, FWIW. Just eating wrong when he did eat.

Okay, but why should everyone eat like they're diabetic? If you're insulin sensitive, and have a healthy pancreas, it's fine to only eat 2 or 3 meals in a day. Your blood sugar will naturally stay stable.

Because there are people who don't qualify as diabetic, but still have blood sugar problems. And there are people who have stomach issues that can't eat larger meals, so they need to eat throughout the day. I think the thing is that everyone is different and has different needs. The secret is finding out what eating pattern works for you. Personally when I only ate 2 to 3 meals a day I was lethargic and had trouble concentrating. I do much better with meals and snacks. That doesn't mean everyone feels better that way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This "gotta pack snacks!!" business has got to stop, for every single teeny outing. I blame the helicoptering of making sure Larla feels no slight discomfort, ever. In my opinion it's GOOD to be hungry sometimes. A kid can surely deal with hunger for 30 minutes or an hour.

I agree that a kid should be hungry fortheblast half hour or ao before a meal, but OP seems to be describing that she would like her kid to be hungry a the end of a meal. What? That makes no sense. "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full."

+1. It comes from the snacking all day long culture. I feel like even adults don't just do 2-3 meals anymore -- they eat breakfast, snack at 10, lunch, snack at 2, snack at 4, dinner, snack before bed. Give me a break. No one needs a steady stream of almonds, hummus and eggs all day long. Doesn't matter how much protein they have -- you aren't going to burn those calories off and then people wonder why they aren't losing weight despite eating so healthy. It's the sheer quantity of food that's a problem.

Funny. My dietitian recommended the small meal/ health snack schedule when I had gestational diabetes. Said it's better to keep blood sugar even throughout the day. My husband was diagnosed with type II diabetes, and his dietitian told him the same thing. He used to eat nothing all day and pig out at dinner. The more balanced eating schedule is better for him. He's very skinny, FWIW. Just eating wrong when he did eat.

Okay, but why should everyone eat like they're diabetic? If you're insulin sensitive, and have a healthy pancreas, it's fine to only eat 2 or 3 meals in a day. Your blood sugar will naturally stay stable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people let themselves get hungry, they overeat.

It's better to eat regular healthy snacks, like apples, carrot sticks, etc.. between meals so you are not starving when you sit down.

Also, I make my child take a break from dinner if she wants seconds. "If you are still hungry in ten minutes, you can have seconds". She just has to give her body a chance to realize the food is in there and her hunger is sated.

Not everyone. That is a huge generalization.

+1. I am one of those who can skip a meal and those calories never get made up. I always think -- oh I'll eat double or at least 1.5 times at the next meal -- and it never happens; I may compensate by eating 1-2 tablespoons more but when I'm full, I'm full. So it isn't true for everyone that hunger leads to overeating.

+2 and the reverse is almost not doable, if I overeat in a meal, I am not able to cut down later, overeating just leads to more of it. On the other hand if I fast and then eat, food not only tastes great, I am inclined to lower portions. Of course this applies to me as an overweight adult.

If you're still hungry when you feel full, you've already over ate. That's why portion control is so important. Think about the fact that your stomach is about the size of your fist. Once it is all stretched out it takes awhile for your brain to get the message that it's full. If you practice portion control, you can finish your plate and wait 10 minutes to see if you're full. Don't hand your child a bag of Cheetos, dump a cup in a bowl and put it away.

In DCUM land you are never allowed to feel hungry, sad, deprived of any luxurious comfort or international travel vacation, experience failure, etc etc. 100% comfort, happiness, excellence and perfection at all times. Didn't you know that?

It is okay to be hungry. I am currently fasting, so I am hungry and will be for the next hours til i break my fast.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your body gets other things done when it is not digesting and dealing with food, it is ok and healthy to go long periods of time without food. Our bodies are designed to be productive when hungry, how do you think the cave men survived? Humans do not require constant feeding, you just need to be smart about the food you choose to eat when you do eat so you are not malnourished.

Yes, we should strive to be like cavemen. They were the picture of good health.

No, I'm saying our bodies were not designed to handle as much food as the majority of people eat. There are soooo many more health problems today that were not even around when food was more scarce.

Anonymous wrote:Your body gets other things done when it is not digesting and dealing with food, it is ok and healthy to go long periods of time without food. Our bodies are designed to be productive when hungry, how do you think the cave men survived? Humans do not require constant feeding, you just need to be smart about the food you choose to eat when you do eat so you are not malnourished.

Yes, we should strive to be like cavemen. They were the picture of good health.

Your body gets other things done when it is not digesting and dealing with food, it is ok and healthy to go long periods of time without food. Our bodies are designed to be productive when hungry, how do you think the cave men survived? Humans do not require constant feeding, you just need to be smart about the food you choose to eat when you do eat so you are not malnourished.

I never knew there were so many people with unacknowledged food issues. Ideally, one would eat several small meals per day. Since this is not always feasible, healthy snacking (NOT the salty, crunchy crap my MIL handed all of her kids because she was too lazy) - is fine. It should not be constant grazing, however.

I never knew how prevalent eating disorders were, and in how many variations, until I met my MIL. She comes from a very short family of women that do not eat much. She grew up poor, and thinks anyone that eats healthy; if it is more than a very regimented, tiny portion of tiny meals, 3 times per day, without deviating, is "showing off". I feel bad for her, but she is not one for change. It is stressful to be around her during mealtimes, and my children, now that they are old enough to notice on their own, wonder why their grandmother has such unhealthy aversion to food. I am glad, however, that they know unhealthy eating when they see it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people let themselves get hungry, they overeat.

It's better to eat regular healthy snacks, like apples, carrot sticks, etc.. between meals so you are not starving when you sit down.

Also, I make my child take a break from dinner if she wants seconds. "If you are still hungry in ten minutes, you can have seconds". She just has to give her body a chance to realize the food is in there and her hunger is sated.

Not everyone. That is a huge generalization.

+1. I am one of those who can skip a meal and those calories never get made up. I always think -- oh I'll eat double or at least 1.5 times at the next meal -- and it never happens; I may compensate by eating 1-2 tablespoons more but when I'm full, I'm full. So it isn't true for everyone that hunger leads to overeating.

Anonymous wrote:When people let themselves get hungry, they overeat.

It's better to eat regular healthy snacks, like apples, carrot sticks, etc.. between meals so you are not starving when you sit down.

Also, I make my child take a break from dinner if she wants seconds. "If you are still hungry in ten minutes, you can have seconds". She just has to give her body a chance to realize the food is in there and her hunger is sated.

Not everyone. That is a huge generalization.

Anonymous wrote:We are food insecure and balancing between not letting dd panic but not eating for comfort is hard. I try to do this by reminding dd when she'll get to eat next, that hunger pangs do not mean that her stomach hurts, and point her towards eating real food, rather than empty calories.

Can you get some food from a food pantry?