For those with children

MetalMama · For those with children

Have you or do you plan on trying to convert your children to LC/VLC/ZC?

My son just turned two and eats a very mixed diet - he gets lots of good stuff from me and plenty of fat (full fat milk, real butter, fatty meat) but also eats plenty of carbs and junk with his dad. He also eats fruit and a minimal about of veggies (typical two year old).

Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing him a disservice by not being more strict with what he eats. I like to watch him experience all kinds of new flavors and textures and think it would be sort of unfair to take that away from him. I also can't reason with him at this age that I'm doing it for his own good because as you know there is no reasoning with a two year old.

I also have to admit - Convenience is a big factor as well - it's easy to hand the kid cheerios and an apple for breakfast and be patted on the back by most of society for giving him a nutritious breakfast.

I'm leaning towards letting him find his own way and offering to help (when he's much older) if he'd like to try this path. I'm really hoping he's got his dad's genes and not my insulin resistance.

Just curious what other parents are doing/thinking.

Thanks!

Lynne

I stupidly fed my daughter cereal, milk, soy products, fruit when she was a baby..
she suffered TERRIBLE asthma as a result.
she had to take allergy shots.
we were in and out of the hospital with pneumonia and bronchitis.
I was so stupid.

Since my daughter has become a mostly Carnivore with the exception to booze and tortilla's... gluten free products, she is now considered healthy and no longer has allergies or asthma....

STUPID ME....

My son eats mostly Carnivore.
When he goes off for the weekend with friends, he eats what they eat.
He always comes back nasty, aggressive, zits all over his face and that superior attitude..
As soon as he goes back to eating just meat, he calms right down and becomes the boy I know and love...

I would suggest you follow your heart.
I wish I had known about ZC/Carnivorism back in the 80's....

MetalMama

Wow - sorry you had to go through that with your daughter.

Thanks for the input!

jeff

My wife buys all kids of refined, processed, sugary crap for the kids, so I have a hard time making much of an impression. I'm hoping my example will pay off eventually. Maybe they'll someday start to wonder why dad is the only one in the famly who is not fat.

Heather

I serve plenty of meats and eggs while limiting the carbs I cook such as rice or potatoes. While I don't demand zero carb or even low carb I serve food that does not have a list of ingredients. I keep it very simple and natural and home-made. We rarely ever eat at a restaurant. My weakness/badness is diet pop.... Mad

All my kids are very athletic, lean, very strong and with great endurance.

MetalMama

That's awesome Heather and definitely a goal I need to strive for - just getting rid of the processed crap.

My son prefers fruit over cookies anyway so it won't be too bad - just have to keep the hubby's snacking time after the little one goes to bed (which it is most of the time anyway).

Thanks for your input.

jeff

MetalMama

Ok - just one more question.

I've been working on getting him switched over to just whole foods for at least the two meals he eats with me.

He'll still have a french fry or two and maybe a bite of bread with his dad at suppertime but his diet will be 90% whole foods, including fruits, full fat dairy (he drinks LOTS of whole milk), some veggies and meats. I cook all his food in regular butter.

My question is...since he's still consuming a fair amount of carbs and getting lots of fat in his diet already should I try to keep his meats on the leaner side? I've been sharing my Boston Butt with him lately (which is what got me thinking) but maybe I should go with grilled chicken and such for him?

He was born 5 weeks early so he's on the small side and has always been a bit underweight but very healthy - no health concerns so far.

I know high fat + carbs can be a real killer in adults but I'm not sure if it's the same in a child who's system hasn't been damaged by the SAD yet.

What do you guys think?

jeff

If his carbs stay under about 87g per day, he should be fine. Weston Price found that when cultures kept their sugar intake under 70 pounds per year, they did not suffer from diseases of civilization. 70 pounds sounds like alot, but it comes to 87g per day.

MetalMama

Thanks Jeff - exactly the kind of information I needed.

jeff

kateryna

MM my son is now 29. I was a single parent so there were no outside influences on how I fed him. I never had soft drinks in the house. Cranberry juice, whole milk and water.

There was only one cereal in the house. Unsweetened cheerios. My son had a choice, cheerios or home made Egg McMuffin for breakfast. My father would order 20 loaves of sour rye bread and give us all we wanted. I would cook bacon, fry a couple of eggs and put cheddar cheese on the rye bread. My son loved those. They won hands down for breakfast.

For lunch he got liverwurst sandwiches (again on sourdough rye) and I was lucky because they did not serve lunches in schools. So I was in control of everything he ate unless he traded with the kids at school. I highly doubt he would have traded the liverwurst sandwiches as he loved those and who else would want them Grin

Luckily he had no allergies, loved eggs, ham, cheese. It just wasn't a big issue in the house only because no one else lived their but the two of us. If I didn't buy it, it wasn't available.

But our diets became worse as the low-fat mantra started coming out. At least the first 10 years laid a good foundation for him. He never had a cavity to my knowledge and he left home at age 25.

Now of course he eats nothing but junk food.

lowjax

This is something I'm still struggling through. My wife stays home with the kids so their first 2 meals are usually something of the carby variety. Usually for dinner, they get what we are eating, wheather that is roast, burgers or whatever. I have talked to my wife alot about it, almost to the point of badgering, and feel I need to back off some. It's become a bit of a sore spot.

My wife is doing some LC with me, however, the kids don't like a lot of meat so it is a struggle for her to make them eat LC. My kids are both very healthy and active, so at this point, I'm not overly worried.

jeff

But if they continue to eat a crappy diet, they will not remain healthy. Given enough time on a high carb diet, almost everybody will become insulin resistant. This begins the cascade of diseases of civilization.

lowjax

I guess I wasn't quite fair in my assessment or wasn't clear. They are eating a High Carb diet in comparison to most LCers, but not in comparisons to other kids. They almost always drink water (primarily), milk, or juice. They do eat a lot of fruits and veggies and rarely have deserts. Their carbs are not quite as low as I would like, but it is far better than most kids their age. I guess they do eat pasta, cereal, and other things, so there is room for improvement. It's something I will continue to work on.

kateryna

Lowjax if they liked eggs there's so much you could do with them. Then there's cheese. A bit of the purest made bread (without soy or trans fats/veggie oils) preferrably sprouted, could be tolerated. Make of list of things they like and work around those items. Good luck.

jeff

Dr. Weston Price found that when people started consuming more than 70 pounds of sugar per year, the diseases of civilization started showing up. Sound like alot? That's about 85g per day. I think "sugar" would refer to any processed or easily digestible carb.