Comment

Comment by jacquehealth on February 6, 2013 at 10:20am

Lilorphann - What an incredible story. Coming from a a morbidly obese family, you and your son are inspirational.

Comment by Sally on April 26, 2012 at 2:37pm

Lilorphann, I just love to hear about your family's life changes. This point about your son is so poignant. I know that most parents do not think when they are setting the table at night about how the food their children are eating affects their bodies, their health, their social life, their self esteem. 

I am following your blog. I hope you do another post about your son. I am really curious about the first few changes your family made and how easy/hard it was. Thanks for sharing.

Comment by Sally on April 26, 2012 at 2:32pm

Marcia, so right about the soda. Don't keep it in the house. (When I was growing up, soda was a rare thing served at birthday parties!) And keeping the fresh fruit readily available is smart -- even grownups like me can benefit from that. I throw away a lot of produce at the end of the week because it was hidden away in a drawer in the fridge and grew moldy before I remembered it.

Comment by Marcia on April 26, 2012 at 11:50am

Definitely doable, Sally. If your family can't quite make the leap to skim milk, work your way down -- my grocery now sells 1/2%, as well as 2% and 1%. Don't keep soda in the house -- if it's not there, they won't drink it. My kids' beverages of choice have always been water and milk, with the occasional glass of juice. Other tips: keep fruit readily available (washed and in a bowl on the counter and/or in the fridge). Get kids in the habit of having a veggie and/or fruit with every meal and snack -- fruit with breakfast or some salsa on their eggs; a piece of fruit and/or baggie of carrots/celery/cherry tomatoes if they pack lunch; piece of low-fat string cheese and some apple wedges or red pepper slices for after-school snack or apple wedges spread with peanut butter or dipped in hummus. Lots of choices for dinner, but go easy on the fatty sauces and remember the rule of filling your plate with 1/4 protein, 1/4 carb and half a plate of veggies/fruit. We, as parents, need to have the good stuff on hand and downplay the chips, crackers and cookies. Teach good habits from a young age, and we'll all be healthier!

Comment by Lilorphann on April 23, 2012 at 2:29pm

So glad to see this on here! Parents NEED to take control of what their children eat. A year ago, my now 15 yr old son, weighed nearly 300 pounds. Today, he weighs 170! Together we have educated ourselves about healthy eating and proper nutrition. We have not had sodas, fast foods, fried foods, or high fat, high calorie foods; in over a year. It breaks my heart to look back and what I had allowed to happen to his body. He endured so many cruel jokes and such, at school. This year, he is the vice president of his student body, an a leader. He's even decided to become a nurse. He wants to use his experience to help others. He even educates his peers about proper nutrition.