Watch Me Do

A lot of people are still living with their parents and have a hard time eating healthy or convincing their parents to do the same. Here is my best advice for those of you still living at home:

• The best piece of advice I can give you is to get your parents in on the plan. 
• When talking to parents, always make sure to use inclusive words instead of weight loss words (e.g. “I want to include more fresh fruits and veggies in my diet” instead of “I don’t want to eat carbs any more”). Remember, parents are programmed to worry so frame it as increasing your health NOT losing weight.
• If there are snacks in the house for other members of your family, ask you parents to keep them out of sight or to hide them from you.
• When eating with your family, make sure to fill your plate. Again, you don’t want to make your parents worry by eating meager portions. Instead, find the healthiest option (fruits, veggies, or broth soups usually) and fill at least half your plate with that item. Then have small portions of the less healthy items.
• You can buy your own healthy food and write your name on the box in permanent marker. Or better yet, share with your family and maybe show them that healthy food can be delicious!
• Offer to cook every once in awhile so that you have control over what goes in the food. Also, you may turn a family member or two over to “the good side” and make them want to eat healthy too!
• Go with whoever does the grocery shopping and gently suggest some healthy options. Think of it as a family adventure of trying out a new food, fruit, vegetable, or ingredient each week!

Those are the main ones I can think of for now. Feel free to message me any suggestions you have and I can add them to the page. However, there will be no tips on how to hide abnormal eating from your family. Don’t skip meals and don’t starve yourself. It doesn’t lead anywhere good!