I read Nikki’s journal entry earlier today and she asked if personality and anxiety or feelings were issues when dealing with weight loss.* Dan told her that those were a part of it.* I’ve been thinking about that all day.
I agree with what Dan told her, but I also think that in some cases*overeating and/or eating the wrong types of food are learned from childhood and become a habit.* That’s a habit that needs to be broken, just like smoking, or biting your fingernails, or twirling your hair.* But some habits are easier to break than others.
I grew up as a country girl.* My mother used to fry everything.* Meats were breaded then fried.* Potatoes were fried.* Squash was fried.* We didn't know what olive or vegetable oil was.* It was all fried in lard or Crisco shortening. *Bread in some form*was a part of every meal - white bread, cornbread or*biscuits.*
I didn't even know what broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and such were when I was growing up.* Dinner always consisted of meat and potatoes and usually beans.* During the summer we did get some fresh veggies from the garden, but a lot of them were cooked with bacon fat used as seasoning.
Several times*a week we had fried eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy for breakfast...sometimes even chocolate gravy!* Oh, and no*margarine*on our toast...it was pure butter and our glasses were filled with whole milk.* fficeffice" />>>
Our parents fixed our plates and we were required to eat every bite before we could leave the table.* Not wasting anything was always the rule.* You couldn't afford to waste anything, especially food.* We always heard about the starving people that would love to have what we wanted to leave on our plates.* We ate three "square" meals a day and we were “well fed”.* We rarely had fast food or pizza, but we had enough fat in our diet that it wouldn't have mattered much if we did. *We did drink sodas, but they were the regular ones, with lots of sugar, not diet.>>

Genetics does have a bit to do with it. *I have three sisters and all but one was overweight as was our mother.* Dad and my older sister were skinny.* It didn't matter what they ate or how much, they were still skinny (my sister was 5 ft. 11 in. at age 20 and wore a size 0. Yes I said zero!)* But it’s all catching up to dad and sis now.* They’ve both put on weight, especially my sister.

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But genetics isn’t all of it.* You have to retrain yourself to eat differently.* And you have to change your mindset.* I still have to continually tell myself*that I don’t have to eat everything in front of me…that it’s ok to leave food on my plate.

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Changing the way I cook, and what I cook, was easy.* I don’t buy shortening.* I only use olive oil or canola oil.* I don’t fry anything.* I don’t buy high fat foods.* I buy lean meats, fat-free milk and dairy products, and lots of veggies.* I’ll spend more for fresh broccoli and cauliflower rather than fill my fridge with fattening cheap stuff.* And I eat a lot of chicken and fish.

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In social situations you have to teach yourself not to overdo, even if you have to go to such extremes as keeping both hands wrapped tightly around a glass of ice water or even sitting on your hands.* I still have problems with this.* And I'm still trying to retrain myself.>>

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We are not on a diet. *We are changing our diets and changing lifestyles.* We are trying to eat healthier than ever before and trying to get more exercise.* We are all working to improve our bodies and our minds…yes, our minds.* We have to improve the way we think about food and exercise before we can ever think about reaching the end of our

journeys.

I have to agree somewhat, since I grew up at a different time then you did, I saw things differently.* I do remember eating well as a kid.* I remember many a hambuger and french fries meals.* But I also remember spaghetti meals and steaks and veggies.* But after my parents split I don't really remember them anymore.* Not to blame either of my parents, and I know that my mom had a lot going on and didn't have time to cook much.* I think it was nice when the town I lived in didn't have a fast food restaurant.* After they started coming to my town I remember eating a lot of fast food meals during high school.* And although I didn't eat many fast food meals during college, I still didn't eat the way I should have.
I think that I grew up at the change from more traditional meals to a fast food family.* I am learning what is good for me now, and what I should stay away from or limit my self.

These are things that I really need to sit and think about.* Automatically the one thing that rings true for me too was finishing everything on my plate.* As an immigrant from a third world country waste was not an option growing up and it wasn't an option in the United States when we moved here.* I also remember every Sunday going to grandma's for lunch (which really turned out to be an all day eating fest) and now we still*have that at Aunt D's.* Eating was a source of comfort and celebration growing up so it's become difficult to "limit" my food intake because then I'm subconsciously limiting my level of comfort.* These are just a couple childhood thoughts but I want to give this more thought and think about ways that these childhood habits/behaviors can be changed.* Thanks for the insight Mary!!* Former psychologist???*

It is interesting how our childhoods affect us. I know that my mother was especially concerned about health and weight. In fact, when I turned 14 and moved into a size one from kids' sizes, I asked Mom if I was fat. She said that I'd be ok if I didn't gain any more weight. She used to make me get up at 4:30 am and we'd be at the health club working out at 5 every day before school. She bought all kinds of yummy snacks for my brother, but I was expected to eat all the "healthy" stuff. She always cooked super healthy meals and I had to eat them whether I liked them or not. She made me feel like there was something wrong with me. I*rebelled. I decided as an adult that I would never again eat anything I don't like. I decided to eat whatever I wanted...and well...
You get the idea. I could go on and on...geez.
But I do have to say that I STILL was required to clean my plate. How odd.

I will tell you that I never make my own kids clean their plates...I read somewhere that it's one of the number one ways moms can negatively affect their child's weight--by not allowing them to LISTEN TO THEIR OWN BODIES! Hmm....
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After ready everyones threads I have taken a*look at my cooking style for my family.* I to fry everything.* I fry green beans in bacon for flavor.* My husband is a meat and potatos man and think veggies are for rabbits.* Of course my son thinks the same thing.* My daughter is more like me she likes a salad with her dinner.* My parents also made me eat*everything on my plate and I try very hard not to do that to my children.* They are both picky eaters so its hard when I am trying to eat right.* I end up cooking 3 different meals for dinner.* It is time consuming but I do it anyway.* I have tried getting my children to try what I have cooked for myself and they have liked some of the things.* We don't eat out at fast food very often. Maybe twice a month.* We don't have anything close to us so I do all the cooking.* Thank you all for the insight on the way we all eat and the inspiration to change things that I can change to help my children break the habit of high fat foods.* My daughter is already overweight for her age,5, and I am teaching her to listen to her body, but she still has to eat at least half of what I put on her plate.* She is a runner while she eats. She don't like to sit still and eat she says it's boring.* Maybe there is hope for her.*

I agree with most everyone.
I think a lot of us grew up where we weren't necessarily eating the healthiest foods.
My mother also fried almost everything in Crisco, but at the time that was considered the best way to eat.

The point is we now do that as a habit (unconsciously) because we did it for so long.

The hardest part of losing weight is making the change so that we can get to the point where truly healthy eating becomes our habit.

This is so hard because we have to do it consciously, which requires 'eternal vigilence'.* and it takes a long time (months, sometimes years).* It's made even harder because a lot of us (myself included) don't like the taste of healthy foods.*

So, there's a really long, really hard transition period where you have to be aware of how you're eating ALL THE TIME.* I wish it was easier but it isn't. Anyone that tells you otherwise, isn't being realistic or they probably grew up in a home where the healthy habits were part of growing up.

The good news is that, once you've made the change, it really does become a habit and then you don't have to think about it all the time.* It's worth making the change.

Unquestionably, it is a bad habit.* If it's very bad, I suppose that's what we call an addiction (like bulemia, ...etc).

Anyways, assuming you have this bad habit, like I did, since childhood.

The best thing I ever found to change this habit is to 'interrupt' myself everytime I feel like the old habit is creeping back in.* I interrupt myself by (quite literally) asking myself, "WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT".* Since I know that I want to be healthy & thin, this process helped me to get rid of my old bad habit and install a new (healthy) one.