HELP - overeating in front of family

[gingerPuddingBFLT]

Help. My DH and I, embarrassing as this is to admit, are both prone to overeating at family meal times - large portion sizes, second helpings, deserts. We are concerned about the impact this may have on our DCs (2, aged 4 and 6). We are careful not to overfeed them, so they are not overweight - still, however, concerned. Any advice gratefully received

I eat large portions and quite often have seconds and a pudding

I also have 3 DC who are not overweight and love their food

I am not embarassed, however!

As long as you are eating relatively healthily and are role-modelling healthy relationships with food, what's the problem?

I would say denying yourself what you like/want/fancy repeatedly in front of your DC is potentially more damaging, tbh

i.e "Oh no, Mummy mustn't have that piece of cake, it's fattening" = poor modelling

Is this at home or with wider family? If it is at home then only cook enough for one portion and only buy in healthy desserts - save naughty desserts for the weekend :-) There is nothing but will power that can solve it, but after the first week it will be easier!

Perhaps you could join a slimming group for support and change your eating habits together?

OP didn't say she was overweight

Serve your meals on smaller plates and don't make so much food that there is enough left over for seconds.

If you are overweight, then you are giving them a bad example, howevere well you control their diet. If that's the case, then you would do better to prepare the right amount of food and not have the temptation of seconds.

If you're not overweight, then you aren't over-eating!

The op calls it 'overeating'. That doesn't sound good.

I am not overweight but frequently eat large portions and will have seconds, if available

Who can resist more roasties and another Yorkshire?

But is that overeating? Or just enjoying food and satisfying hunger?

OK, I wouldn't say we are overweight; more at the upper end of normal

If you're not overweight and not eating processed shite I wouldn't worry tbh

As I said, I personally think it's more dodgy to be dithering over whether to have another serving of pasta or not

Out of interest, do you have boys or girls?

They're both girls, which may be why we more sensitive about the relationship they develop with food. Thanks btw for your supportive comments

Unless you are a very active person, this sort of overeating will almost certainly lead to significant weight gain as you get older and require fewer calories.

That's more to do with you, though, than your children.

I think it's FAR healthier to let your DDs see you enjoy a relaxed and comfortable relationship with food and eating than to see you restrict it for whatever reason (if you do not have a legitimate reason to do so - i.e overweight, diabetic)

But not making extra for seconds isn't restricting anything

I am obviously a greedy cow

That or rubbish at judging how much food needs cooking

Thanks for the advice. I'm a bit cautious about the idea of drinking large amounts of water before and after meals. One of my friends used to do this for years, and it aided her bulemia - it's known as 'waterlogging'.

Did you get brought up to think you mustn't leave anything on the plate, by any chance? DH and I both did and I think it's a really bad habit - much better to say, 'oops, I took too much' and show the children you feel bad about wasting food but can't eat it all.

It's not so much the quantity that you eat though, but the quality of the food.

If you are eating packet food, ready meals or food out of jars then you are more likely to put on weight as a result.

Try to make sure that your food is freshly prepared. Desserts are fine if the apple crumble is home made and contains brown sugar instead of caster sugar. Also try swapping a few things to make mealtimes healthier:

Wholewheat pasta
Brown rice
Brown sugar
Skimmed milk
One meat-free day a week
Make Friday a fish Friday
Wholemeal bread

Often just by making sure the food we put in our mouths is healthy and not processed, we can still eat well and maintain a healthy lifestyle. That lesson is just as important for kids.

make sure it's wholemeal water.

BTino we always drink wholemeal water :-)