Snacking, alas, is another story entirely (apparently snacks are exempt from ‘meal rules’). But, baby steps…

Glad to hear the surgery went well for you. And re: my BJJ training, how else am I to make the finals of ADCC? LOL

The kids are 11, 14, and 16, so I’m up against quite a few years of carb-frenzy. Also, I neglected to mention they unilaterally hate vegetables (although I’ve been successful with getting the youngest to eat water chestnuts and carrots, and the other two don’t seem to mind a sprig or two of broccoli). But things are improving.

@ Alexander

Thanks so much for your kind words. The unfortunate part is that they’ve been weaned on the SAD (Standard American Diet) and as such their “favorites” are things like pizza rolls, popcorn, chips, cocoa pebbles, etc. But I’m trying your (and Matt’s) approach of slowly adding the good stuff and slowly reducing the bad stuff. So far breakfast is pretty good. Lunch is harder and dinner seems to be a mess. And forget about the snacks (but I’ll try Matt’s suggestion about the fruit and see what happens).

They’ve heard me proselytize more than once about carbs and hormonal tone to their (older) family friends, so I think they know the deal. And they see the way I eat as well, so that’s something.

Thanks for the help, guys – heaven knows I could use it.

Second, we’ve raised ours to be low-carb from the start, but I know that one of the things that helps her with some of the restrictions is having plenty of fruit around. Don’t forget dried fruit is almost candy like in it’s sweetness, so it could be a good substitute.

As for reducing grains, my advice would be to take Matthew’s advice and make sure the kids are aware of why you want to reduce their carbohydrate consumption. From there, I would transition them to the whole grain and reduced sugar versions of their favorite carbohydrates and just slowly reduce the amount they get.

If you respect where they’re coming from, but kindly and firmly insist on healthier versions of their favorites while you slowly but surely reduce the amount of each that they get then I think you’ll see the results you’re looking for.

One other thought. Consider working on one meal at a time. Understand that, depending on the age of the kids, dinner may be an easier meal to change first, while lunch and breakfast may take more time.

Again, best of luck, stay committed to what you think is important, and have fun!

Don’t sand bag kids, they are very very perceptive. They understand much of what goes on around them, they just lack the ability to verbalize their thoughts. I will say a prayer for you and your new family.

By the way my surgery went well. I should be back at the dojo in a fw weeks. Congrats on the Purple belt. With your additions to the family, be glad that you are still practicing BJJ, do not try and think you can accelerate your training. Just be glad you have the time and energy to go.

All the best!

Matthew

Thanks for the idea – and the compliments!

Love the blog!