9.29.17// Kids 1// food

MetCon// 

24 Minute AMRAP

Partner "Cindy" 

0:00-12:00 Alternate Rounds

12:00-22:00 Alternate Movements

The next two posts are going to be about kids. I realize that I could be wading into some murky waters not having children of my own, so feel free to take any of this with a grain of salt. I can be awesome at coaching or entertaining your kids for a half hour or an hour so that leaves 23 more hours where I don't know what the bleep I'm talking about. 

When I was a kid, the 1990's, I was the only fat kid. It's the worst sin you could commit and as a kid and you couldn't do anything about it. But now, gosh, there are just a lot of chubby kids. This childhood obesity thing really just snuck up on us! And Even as the only fat kid I can't blame my parents or my teachers or any of the adults in my life. The bottom of the food pyramid said carbs like cereal and pasta are the most important, so I crammed cereal like the box said to. And the American heart association told my mom not to eat fat, so there wasn't a drop of fat in the house and we all thought these whole grain, low fat granola bars were supposed to keep us healthy. Forget 2% milk, skim milk was the way to go. We just had no idea. What do we do with all of that? Do we try to point fingers? Is it important to figure out who is responsible?

You really cannot personalize your child's body type. If your kid is fat or scrawny, you really only contributed your genetics. Your kid will get enough body shaming for the rest of their lives regardless of what they look like. The last thing they need is to hear it from mom or dad. Even if you're concerned that their body isn't how you hope it would be, no need to tell them. Really because we're the ones feeding them (at least when we're with them). They can't do much about it. Kids don't know about protein or fat or carbs or micronutrients, but they somehow catch on to the notion that "eating too much makes you fat and not eating keeps you skinny." So imagine being told you are chubby and that's bad, but then being told to eat all of your food or you can't be excused to go play. Wtf man? Or being scrawny and being taught to eat everything and anything and your 5'5" 130lb high school senior turns into a 5'5" 300lb adult.

If your kid is chubby and you're concerned or your kid is scrawny and your concerned, it's because A. You love them and/or, B. You're afraid of what the other parents think. A. Is a good thing, and B. They have their own chubby or scrawny kids to be self conscious about. 

Kids luckily haven't been completely tainted by society. They are actually way more in tune with eating than we give them credit. The unfortunate thing is that it's really inconvenient at the same time. The concepts of breakfast lunch and dinner have really nothing to do with when and how much a kid needs to eat. Kids might not be hungry at dinner because they scarfed an after school snack and didn't use much of that energy afterwards. Your kid will swear that they aren't hungry for lunch, but then have a meltdown in the grocery store later because they need food and right now. I don't know what it would look like in your life, but I do know that kids, if left to their own intuition, will eat exactly how much they need and when they need it. I realize that is literally zero practical advice but at the same time it could be the answer. Funny how that works ain't it? I honestly couldn't tell you the first step in responding to this information, but I just think it's an important concept to consider// Kids will eat the right amount of Whole Foods at the right time if it's readily available. They're also much more likely to choose and over eat processed foods if left to their own choices.

Your scrawny kid isn't malnourished, your chubby kid isn't overfed. Just encourage Whole Foods. You're a mom or dad, you can research some fun ideas! And the most important thing you can do for your child's fitness and nutrition is to work on mending your own relationship with food!