Hi,
I am new to the forums and somewhat new to the diet. I did it several years ago to lose some of my "baby weight". I have since had 3 more children and had to be on steroids, so the weight piled on, I have about 50 lbs. to lose.

I have decided I want my whole family to be on the zone, I have 5 children and we have developed horrible eating habits over the past few years. My children are total carb and sugar addicts.

I am looking for some kid friendly meals and snacks, I need to be able to start this with food I know they will like and eat. For example, I have no problem with veggie and fruit trays, so that's one good thing. And 3 of them will eat the string cheese, 2 don't eat dairy.

Any advice would be great, I feel overwhelmed just making up the menu for the next week. I know I am going to have to have a few choices for them because it is impossible to get all 5 to eat the same things. My oldest daughter, 19, suggested making it up like a hospital menu, where you pick one thing from each category and offer the main choice for dinner, then give 2 choices to pick from for the other things. I think that might make it more fun.

But even with just cutting back the sugar and carbs, which I have been trying to do for the last week has been next to impossible. My 3yo spent HOURS, literally hours, asking for chocolate chip cookies today, then when that didn't work, he decided he needed a donut.

Any advice on dealing with these tantrums would be great, they aren't getting better, they are getting worse!

Thanks! I know I'm rambling a bit, but I feel a little disorganized and want to at least get a decent menu planned for the week and try to get everyone on board!

Welcome to the Zone, Barb! You are going to enjoy the benefits real soon!

Since I don't have children, I don't have any advice ... I'll let some of the experts who have children help you. I just wanted to welcome you. Please feel free to ask any questions ... we are here to help! Let us know how it's going.

Hi Barb!

This might giev oyu som ideas. I recently posted this inn anothern threadin this forum (http://www.zonediet.com/Community/F...ult.aspx):




My three kids ranged in age from 9 to 18 when we began the Zone diet at our house. That was 15 years ago and now, as adults living on their own, one of them also a parent, they've all retained their Zone balanced eating habits. The way I handled it during those first years in the Zone was to set the best example I could at home, working in little bits of info here and there about certain foods and why we were eating differently, but not making it an issue. The first across the board change I made immediately was in the fats we ate. I got rid of the bad fats (as in dumped them in the trash) and from then on used only the best fats for the Zone. During that first year in the Zone, I gradually stopped buying the offending high density carb foods. By the end of that year, our house was full of only Zone friendly choices, and has remained that way. For my youngest, I'd have only Zone foods available at breakfast, I'd pack a Zoned lunch made of things he liked, and we'd eat Zoned snacks after school, Zone dinner, etc. If he ate other things away from home, it was his choice. He has ADD, so it was especially important for him to maintain a Zone balanced diet. I figured the less pressure I placed on the issue, and the more Zone favorable choices he had at home from foods he loved, the easier it would be. Even the pickiest eaters, adults and children, can successfully do the Zone diet. Here are a few tips. Give it time and use some creative thinking when it comes to what to eat. Try to be patient and stick with providing good choices at home in the form of Zone favorable foods that your daughter loves. Keep meals simple and delicious. Use sauces to make veggies taste good. Meals don’t need to be traditional fare. A bowl of Zone balanced chili is as good a breakfast as scrambled egg whites with cheese, a bowl of berries, and some nuts.

It might not always seem like it but kids do emulate their parents. Setting a good example will pay off in the long run. I remember one day, a couple years after we’d been doing the Zone, when my husband had stopped for milk on the way home from work. He’d also picked up a box of granola and a jug of orange juice. He said he thought the kids might want some since it had been a long time since we’d has any in the house. Much to his surprise, the orange juice sat in the fridge, hardly mostly unused until it finally went bad, and the granola was the in the cabinet unopened for months. We ended up discarding that too, after it reached its expiration date.

We were discussing on another thread that it is hard to change things all at once. Change is easier to take when you take it just a few steps at a time (and sometimes only ONE step at a time).

So, you could start by offering healthy snacks. I always have a bowl of apples sitting out. I also keep grapes on hand. The kids love string cheese. For those that don't eat it, they can make roll-ups out of sliced turkey from the deli. My kids love smoothies, and so I sometimes will whip up a batch and give them block-size servings for a snack.

For meals, I find that my kids don't enjoy a lot of seasoning on their food. So, I try to keep the seasonings limited. But, put a meat on the table, and then serve a variety of veggies and fruit with it. They can choose what they want to fill their plate with.

To take changes gradually, you could ease out of the high carb offerings. Eliminating them all at once might seem harsh to them, so maybe cut back and wean off. For instance, if your kids are used to finding a bag Chips Ahoy every day, then just tell them that you only plan on buying them once per week. This may teach them to ration the cookies, but stand firm and don't buy them until the next week comes. If they handle that kind of a change, then increase the amount of time.

I won't tell you that my kids eat perfectly. But, having those things around the house is not a NORMAL occurrence. I think that is what makes those "treats" more of an actual "treat".

Barb, the thread that Cranberrycat mentioned where we were just recently discussing gradual change can be found here:

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/F...fault.aspx

I think you will notice that the people who have responded on that thread about their own successes mention that they have used the concept of gradual change rather than sudden change.

I hope reading it is useful to you.