Making Good Choices or Just a Fussy Eater?
In today's world of fast foods, processed packages, and fatty salty foods - making careful choices is a necessity. However there are times when "choosing well" could be construed as fussy eating. Eating can be a social experience and sometimes it can be very difficult to go against the flow. This is often the case when you are traveling with others.
Choosing the so-called healthy options can become obsessional. It's easy to do when you do your own shopping, or eat at home - but in other situations - making healthy choices can become stressful. Recently a report in the UK talked about a little-known eating disorder called Orthorexia nervosa - essentially an obsession with healthy and pure unprocessed foods. Apparently many children are "inheriting" their parents strong beliefs regarding dieting and healthy food. However I believe this particular article has completely over-dramatized a situation that is probably very rare among children. How many kids do you know would choose a salad at McD's over coke and fries?
While some children keep their fear of certain foods secret, others are suffering because of well-meaning parents who eliminate what they perceive as a "harmful" food for youngsters but fail to replace them with alternative nutrients.The stress of adhering to a strict diet can be harmful and cause gastric upsets, headaches, inflamed skin and irritable bowel syndrome.
I recently stayed in a hotel that served a lot of fried food - and chips were served with everything. There weren't many options - and to obsess about finding "healthy" food would have proved annoying and disruptive to those with me - I would have been a fussy eater. So what was I to do?
Don't Stress - Eat Less!
I ate probably more fries than I have in a long time, but did so with moderation and small portion sizes. In some ways it has helped to break a subtle but growing fear of "bad" foods.
I would be considered a "fussy eater" in some situations as well. We have some friends that eat a TON of fried food. When we went to their house for dinner, they served fried chicken tenders and fries. I couldn't just not eat, so I tried to just eat less of things. I have been on a "healthy eating" plan for so long now that I pretty much know how to navigate around situations where I'm forced to eat unhealthily.
Replyi get weird looks when we go to KFC and i peel all the fried chicken skin off, and then wrap the skinless chicken in napkins and squeeze all the greese out....i go though like 3 napkins and leave them in a sopping wet pile on my tray. Whenever anyone asks me why i do this, i just point to the sopping wet pile of greasy napkins and then they are usually forced to admit that my actions may have some validity.
When we go to pizza hutt, i eat the cheese and toppings off two slices of pizza with a fork, but leave the base untouched, and then the rest of my meal comes from the salad bar. i am definately known as a "fussy eater" and i sometimes do become quite stressed out if there really arent any low calorie options. i'm very conscious to downplay all of this, because i dont want to rub it off on my daughter, who is nearly three. Still, people make comments and jokes, which only serve to stress me out more. Having "food issues" really sucks sometimes :(
Replyi dont really care
ReplyI'm not sure I've seen much Orthorexia nervosa in children in my parts, and while my kids are for the most part very healthy eaters, they definitely know how to indulge as well without guilt.
Regarding the second part of your post -- and the McDonalds one too -- why is that that fast food outlets don't offer true healthy choices? Subway comes immediately to mind, since their "wheat" bread isn't 100% whole wheat. I'd definitely pay a bit of a surcharge for 100% whole wheat there, and with a Taco Bell bean burrito, and a McDonalds grilled chicken sandwich, etc. How much trouble would this really be for them?
ReplyAt the end of the day just dont go to McDonalds or fast food places!!!just eat a nice whole meal roll at home ps u would probly save money as well! i know u might not have the time but make time, its worth it, your worth it!!
ReplyPleae read more carefully: "...but fail to replace them with alternative nutrients"
In other words these children do NOT eat healthy but inherited some distorted beliefs about what constitutes a healthy diet and thus suffer from an unbalanced diet. This is probably not you.
I say people who (rightly so) refuse to eat unhealthy food should be hugged and held in great respect. If your friends dislike you because you don`t like the stuff they have at McDonalds... well you deserve better.
ReplyI definitely don't think I inherited any sort of fussy eating behaviors from my parents. They were the ones that had a lot of poor eating behaviors. I think the kids you'd have to worry about would be ones that always see their parents pulling meat off their sandwiches, so the kid thinks it's "bad" to eat meat and then doesn't get enough protein from other things. I agree with Jim, I think it's probably pretty rare. Although, I have heard of kids having phases where they only eat say, corn, ham and fries. Or just mustard sandwiches. I'd be worried about THAT if I had kids, but I guess the majority of kids grow out of it.
ReplyI know people who obsess about what they put in their mouths; Lana, I guess you're an extreme example of this. I think if you're going to eat anything, healthy or not, it is best to eat it happily and not burden your mind.
For example, there's a piece of chocolate cake that you really want to eat; you have three options:
1. Best option: choose not to eat it because you know that it isn't good for you, so you choose a banana instead and don't worry about it.
2. Second best option: you eat the cake, but you completely enjoy its flavor and are happy you ate it, not guilty.
3. Worst option: you eat the cake, feeling very guilty that you couldn't resist it, and you feel bad about it even afterwards.
It's been shown that eating the same food during different emotional states causes it to be digested differently. Our brain controls everything. If you eat something unhealthy but meticulously dissect every portion before reluctantly putting it in your mouth, you're doing more harm to yourself than if you just ate it and tried not to worry. No offense at all Lana, just giving you some food for thought. ;) Wow, my puns suck.
ReplyI'm a very fussy eater, and it is not just about health/weight. I eat low-fat (not extreme Dr. Ornish low-fat, but low-fat compared to the greasy food people eat). I take metformin, which has some "gastrointestinal side effects". When you don't eat much fat, if you suddenly eat it you also get "gastrointestinal side effects". So I'll refuse to eat stuff if it is all fatty, to avoid problems later.
Other stuff, like white carbs - I don't normally eat them, but if I'm hungry and the best choice is Subway, with their "mostly white wheat bread", I'll eat that without a second thought.
Replyi can see what you mean, there is no option. But i'm 16 years old and really fussy eater, i used to like vegetables until i was 4 years old and refused to eat them since, so my diet at the moment is eating junk foods every day.
I wouldn't say its heridertary, because my parents love vegetables but i dont, sometimes it can be influenced from others.
Reply