Plan Ahead for Your Family’s SuccessBy Lauren Anderson  After more than 25 years of touting my affinity for cheeseburgers, meatloaf and lasagna, I’m no longer feeling the love. It doesn’t really matter why I made the decision to give up ground beef—everyone’s reason is different—but how I’ve been implementing this change for myself and with my family applies across the board. Whether you’re cutting back on sugars, carbohydrates or canned goods, you’re likely trying make smarter decisions for your family’s bodies and the same practices hold true.
For example, a good friend of mine recently shared the struggle she faces raising her 1-year-old son. For years, she’s been a vegetarian and strongly believes in raising her son the same way—for both moral and physical reasons. She’s had a hard time convincing her husband, family and even her son’s daycare to follow the nutritional guidelines she’s chosen. Another friend who’s single with no children doesn’t eat meat or dairy and is very selective about her vegetables. When she dines with others, she’s constantly grilled about her preferences and enters into lengthy dialogues with restaurant staff.
Omitting a food from your diet is no small effort, especially when it’s one that’s been a favorite for years. That effort intensifies when you add kids to the mix who aren’t making decisions for themselves and may not understand your motivation. Whether it’s an animal, vegetable or mineral you want to drop, here are a few ideas to help you and your family make the dietary decisions that are right for you: Do You Research Before cutting a food from your family’s diet entirely, check with your doctor. People need different nutrients depending on their gender, age, weight and more. At 30/40/50 our bodies are incredibly different than our children’s, which are still growing and developing. Consulting a doctor also means you can find ways to supplement your new diet to make sure you’re covering your bases and getting the necessary vitamins and minerals.
Set a Plan There’s a lot to consider when making a change in your diet and the more you plan ahead, the easier it will be to navigate challenges. For example, you’ll want to decide if you’ll completely eliminate a food or slowly decrease your consumption. Are there restaurants you’ll need to cut from your rotation? How will you notify family and friends of your decision? Are you cutting out a food for a short-term diet or is it a permanent choice? Making these decisions allows you and your family to set a course for change and make allowances when necessary. For example, I couldn’t bear to give up cheeseburgers entirely, so I looked for substitutions and have tried veggie, turkey and Boca burgers in the past few weeks.
Reevaluate I’m not sure if I’ll ever eat beef again, but I know that in the weeks since passing it up I’ve felt healthier and noticed I’m eating more vegetables than ever before. In the future, I might stop eating chicken and pork too or maybe I’ll go back to eating lean meat on special occasions. What’s important is to take your resolution day by day and make smart choices whenever you can. If you’re reluctant to commit to something, give it a two-week trial and see how you feel. A trial is a great idea for kids too, since they’ll know there’s an end in sight. During your test-run, show them how little they miss their popsicles or Pepsi, and they might even take you up on a glass of water each night with dinner. Then, once your trial is over, you have an open door to talk about smart choices.
Celebrate Small Wins Just like any diet, there’s bound to be small backslides or days that are harder than others. Congratulate your family whenever you notice a positive change, even if it’s a small one. Then as a reward, pick something non-food-related (like a movie, a hug or staying up an extra hour at night) as a treat. |
