Balancing setting a good example to kids with food with wanting to take action for my health

[hashtagjubilee]

Inspired by the thread about the lady who (like me) is perimenopausal and struggling with being 2/3 stone overweight
One of the suggestions is meal replacement and for me that Al or nothing approach often works and I know the movement of the scale (and less tightness of my jeans) would keep me motivated

But. I have two young daughters and don't want to expose them to diet culture though we talk a bit about when you stop growing up you start growing out if you eat too much.

How do we balance this?

Any advice gratefully received
(Posted in chat not aibu, not looking for a fight!)

It's tricky to avoid exposing them to it if you're having a milkshake instead of dinner. You could just explain that you're overweight and to be healthy you're doing this as a temporary measure to lose weight. You could also say that eating healthily and exercise is the best way to be healthy.

I also don't want my daughter to see me dieting. She's 11. I do intermittent fasting (16/8) which helps me lose or maintain, whatever's needed. Eating this way I can sit down and have a normal meal with the family. My daughter doesn't notice I eat differently to her. She knows I like a late breakfast but that's it.

How old are they? My kids are primary age and I don’t eat with them in the week - lunch is while they’re at school and dinner is once they’re in bed. So they wouldn’t see iyswim. Weekends could be normal healthy eating.

If the ease of meal replacement works for you, could you possibly try out a form of meal replacement that still models healthy eating?

I only ask because I very happily eat the same food every day and find that far easier than calorie counting. The prep is minimal, and to anyone else it's not an obviously calorie controlled diet, and it's packed with nutrients.

For example, I have the same cheese and nut salad for lunch every day, because it's bloody delicious.

Have the meal replacement shake for lunch whilst they’re at school? No expert but I also don’t think it’s necessarily bad to say that kids are growing, adults aren’t (or at least they shouldn’t be!) and that you have different nutritional needs to make sure you stay healthy and sometimes that means different foods. But if you’re keen to avoid diet talk then I’d probably go in for healthy family meals together and shakes when they’re not home.