Fit Moms Lead By Example

by Bev Sklar (Subscribe to Bev Sklar's posts)
May 7th 2009 4:00PM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Motivation

Mother's Day is nearly here, and I'd like to thank my mom for never teaching me the word 'diet.'

When I was a kid, my mom typically served a balanced, healthy dinner and we had to eat our vegetables. She ate reasonable portions slowly, savoring her food. As a teen, I analyzed her eating style once and realized she finished dinner last for a reason -- her boisterous mealtime chatter meant food slid unknowingly off her fork and back onto her plate. Mom expected us to show up faithfully for dinner at 5:30 p.m., an oasis where we focused more on sharing the day's events than the spinach lasagna.

My mom never talked about dieting, losing weight, looking good in clothes or body genetics. There was a scale in the bathroom, but she never discussed numbers. She just made healthy dinners, threw in some chocolate (she loves chocolate) and sent us back out to play. Then she dashed off to play tennis on those long, lean legs of hers.

She led by an example of moderation, healthy meals together and an active lifestyle, not an unrealistic body size. OK, so the three-pound bag of peanut M&Ms was a little much at the drive-in, but she never salted our food, and I don't salt mine now.

Thanks mom for never speaking 'diet' in our household. I promise my daughter and son won't grow up with that word, either. Albert Einstein once said, "Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means." So true. Happy Mother's Day to all.

Comments (3)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

u262f 5-07-2009 @ 8:01PM

In contrast, my mom pushes Oprah Winfrey's Wasabread and Laughing Cow cheese recommendations at me. She tried to convince me that it's a girl's "job" to cook for everybody, and she complained incessantly about having to keep making food, so I still have a deeply ingrained hatred of cooking. She also tried to teach me that food doesn't "count" if it hasn't been cooked. She basically taught me to hate any food that's good for me. If I didn't happen to read about the raw food movement, I would still be obese. I've had to unlearn everything she taught me about food. Yeah, thanks, Mom. :/

Average Guy Workouts 5-08-2009 @ 5:55AM

All mom's Common Diet Tip :- > "keep in mind that you should stay away from junk-food." http://dietandexercises.wordpress.com/

Harry Johnson Jr. 7-14-2009 @ 3:14PM

This is a great post pinpointing one key thing in any successful fitness plan: MODERATION. Many people run the other way when they here the term "diet", and with good reason. So many of today's fad diets are filled with rigid guidelines and unbalanced, even dangerous nutrition plans to follow. What many people don't realize is that no one can "diet" forever.... Instead, we need to adapt a healthier lifestyle. Sure, if you are overweight, you will need to follow a healthy diet to shed excess fat. But once you reach a healthy weight, you need to maintain that weight by eating well and exercising-not depriving yourself of foods you love just to later go and indulge yourself in excess amounts of that very same food...

Get a plan set up for yourself, set healthy, reasonable goals, and once you reach those goals, keep workig to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Harry Johnson Jr is the 1998 Body For Life Champion - You can learn more about losing weight and getting into great shape at his blog, www.harryjohnsonjr.com