Trickle Down On Family

It's raining and cloudy. Big shock for Washington State - the rust capital of the country, right? The rain brings me down and the clouds make it so gray and gloomy, making it even worse. Today brings me even closer to surgery but it feels like forever. I'm a little frustrated, but coping. I guess I would consider this time period something of a "kick myself" time. I'm sure there will be more of those. I had lost 70 pounds on Atkins before! WHY did I stop eating right and get myself here again? WHY do I have no self control when it comes to food? WHY has it had to come to this to change my life and my eating habits?

I have really learned some really valuable things about raising my children. Our genes (at least a portion of them) tell our bodies to be fat. It's just a matter of fact. Some families have skinny people that can eat and eat whatever they want. Not mine. My genes say "eat and eat and hold on to it". It's really important that I gently curb my almost 9 year old daughter's eating habits now before it's too late. She is not fat in any way, but neither was I! She has the voracious appetite that I have always had though and I watch her keep pace with her 13 year old brother. I don't want her to suffer as I have and I certainly don't want her to feel the social stigmatism involved in being obese.

Luckily, it will take little effort on my part to teach my children that are still at home how to eat right in a hurry. As it is now, they eat very balanced meals with carbs and veggies and lots of meat, but we need to make some changes. There needs to be a lot more veggies in this house and a lot more fruit. Macaroni and cheese and Top Ramen are cheap and easy for them to make, but they are empty and basically worth nothing nutrition-wise. My new gastric sleeve and new lifestyle will happily begin the changes in my children and husband as well, whether they like them or not, and I honestly believe we will all be healthier for it!

It's definitely more expensive to eat in a healthy way, which is sad in itself. Only the wealthy can afford to eat the whole foods and organic items they wish to eat. If your income is limited, you are basically relegated to eating that which one can afford. It's going to take some shifting in our family's monthly budget, but to instill better eating habits right now in all of them and make us all healthier, I would say it's very much worth it!