Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Share your experience, challenges and success implementing the McDougall program with family and children.

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Re: Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Postby JulieS » Thu Nov 14, 2013 11:24 am

Trinity wrote:Update:

We have had meatless dinners for nearly a month now (with one exception of scallops, which my husband had after the kids went to bed)! Thanks to all for your support and to JulieS for giving me the kick in the behind I needed. I would love it if everyone would continue to share stories of how their families function with respect to McDougalling...whether here or in the "Spouses or Significant Others Share McDougall Lifestyle?" thread.

Wonderful. That is huge progress! You were so RIGHT when you said that your son is your husband's son, too. When I was a young mother, I too often forgot that and was extremely pushy with my parental ideas, which got us into many, many arguments, which isn't good for children to hear/observe either. Now we don't argue at all now that the kids are grown.

You're doing all the right things in my opinion!! :nod: :nod:
LOST 55 POUNDS! From pant size 14 to size 4, BMI:21
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Re: Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Postby viv » Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:48 pm

Just add some favorite McDougall dishes, I recommend oven baked fries, no one can resist those!

I have been McDougalling since March this year and my two sons eat SAD. I'm pretty laid back so I don't make a big deal out it. My son 24 who lives with me loves my steak fries! When he comes in from work he says "MMM mom have you been making steak fries?"

I bake a big batch of oven fries cooked dry no oil (I'm always amazed at how crunchy and golden they turn out) and my son eats a big plateful most nights with ketchup with broccoli and corn etc on the side. Once he has eaten his fill he is pretty much done for the night and no SAD foods have been eaten.
5'8", Started March 2013
Starting weight: 217
Current weight: 157
60lbs gone--for good!
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Re: Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Postby ihartsacto » Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:49 pm

Hello All,
Very interesting posts from everyone. I think the biggest problem with eating the way we do is the reaction of family and friends. I used to be absolutely brainwashed too over the importance of eating meat and dairy. I lost about 35 lbs. through exercising but then lost another 65 lbs. by sort of following the carbohydrate addicts program and more strenuous exercising. Following a hysterectomy at 59 I have gained back 20 lbs. after four years.
I have been Mcdougalling since January or so but it has been hard to not eat fat. Switching from skim milk, which I enjoyed was very hard. Almond milk is great but in the process of getting off dairy and going vegan, I have had some problems. I love pie and cookies so they, and other vegetarian, but not vegan treats have made it hard for me to lose weight. I have lost five lbs. and feel I am eating a much healthier diet.
For me part of the weight gain was from not exercising very much. I am hopeful that I have turned this around. I still have a lot of trouble not eating calorie dense foods such as rice in too great a quantity to actually lose weight well. I feel like the absolute lack of support and criticism of me when I was at a better weight (5'5, 135lbs.) was part of the reason I gained it back. I had avoided socializing with family/friends and preparing family meals in order to lose weight and when I started eating out with them and cooking for them again I gained. It is my fault because I am the one that ate the jar of jelly, the fried pie, a lot of cookies etc. but I wish I hadn't! I am at least lucky that I am starting to lose again and can hopefully get the weight off before I develop health problems. Seeing everyone my age and younger so fat and sick makes me sad and scared to be overweight again myself.
I only wish I could have raised my two sons as vegans! My advice to you is to do the best you can with avoiding meat/treats with Dad or Mom who is eating the SAD. If you can't have all meals healthy then go for as many as you can. I am so excited for those of you who are nursing moms and families with children who are getting them off to such a great start. I am also proud to be associated with others who love animals and are no longer participating in their torture.
Andrea
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Re: Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Postby WholeFoodVegan.com » Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:44 pm

I'm so glad to have found this thread. I have the inverse problem. My husband an I saw FOK and changed our diet when my daughter was first born. She is over 2 years old now and my husband wants to go back to eating meat "2 or 3 times a week." Well I was fine with him making his own choice and letting my daughter decide for herself, but he made BBQ chicken and she ate it up. It's clear that she will be eating meat whenever he does. This issue has really caused disharmony in our home! My husband says he has felt that something is missing from his WFPB plate over the last 2 years. Help please
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Re: Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Postby Trinity » Fri Mar 13, 2015 12:59 am

That really is hard. Have you and your husband watched FOK again since, or any similar videos or read any books? It may help remind him why he started doing this in the first place. Also, with specific regard to chicken, Dr. Greger's newest post (http://nutritionfacts.org/blog/) may help motivate your husband to keep it out of the house. That's great that he used to be on board with this lifestyle. Surely something could help him get back on? I'm pretty dedicated and even I need constant reminders why I'm doing this.

What I've learned since I've started this thread is that if I stick to my own beliefs and don't get all "militant" about it (to quote my husband), things just sort of evolve. Since I'm the one buying groceries and making dinner most of the time, I can just sort of quietly shape the eating patterns of our family. I have mixed feelings about what happens when we go out to eat -- we let our kids get whatever they want -- and since it's not often, my now-5-year-old son is starting to realize that when he eats a cheeseburger or hot dog, his tummy hurts later and it makes him have to go to the bathroom.

It's just sort of a continuous, but mild, struggle. I know what's right so I just have to stick to it.
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Re: Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Postby WholeFoodVegan.com » Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:56 pm

Thanks Trinity. He no longer trusts our usual sources of information (McDougall, Dr. Greger, etc) because he says they have something to sell, or some other motive like working for PETA (Dr. Greger). He feels that the WFPB way of eating is "marketed for sick people." Why a diet that prevents and reverses many illnesses wouldn't be the best diet for healthy people as well, I don't know! He claims that the only benefit he saw over the past 2 years is losing 15 pounds. Pay no mind to the fact that we raised a healthy baby to 2 years of age on whole plant foods! :roll: Simply put, he thinks that meat will be healthy for our daughter and I do not.

This is one of the biggest challenges I hear when I talk to people about this WOE...family. I'm thankful that my husband at least knows the info and that we are eating the good food that I prepare except for when he has time to buy and cook meat. Trying to be at peace when there is division over such an intimate issue is difficult!

BTW I sent him that salmonella article. Thanks
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Re: Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Postby ANGELOJ » Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:20 pm

Also download this and go through it with your son
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/cpb/

This is a tough situation - the best of luck.
The good news is that it will not be the end of the world if he does have some meat and there are a lot of years to get the message through to him.
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Re: Need advice -- Dad eats meat so son wants it too

Postby Trinity » Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:52 pm

Wait, is Dr. Greger a PETA person? I can't find any references to it on his website.

Thanks, Angelo. Those are both great points. Also as soon as I get to Virginia I'm going to have a Kinko's (or whatever, it's been a couple years since I've lived in the US) print and bind Dr. McDougall's picture book so it can be visible around the house. Great idea. I hope they have kid-proof binding.

It's true -- though I don't think eating meat is a good idea, I think a little meat once in a while is better than dairy, especially if it's home-cooked and not deep fried. That is still a tough situation and I have no idea what to tell your husband. Keep us updated.

What I wish more people would realize is that even if you are young, thin, disease-free, etc. and just happened upon this WOE to prevent disease (like me), even though I thought I felt fine before, now that I eat this way I literally feel amazing and full of energy pretty much all the time, even with 2 small children to deal with pretty much 24/7 (my husband works late and travels a lot). Also I rarely get sick, and when I do, it usually is milder than everyone else in the family. Honestly some days I wonder how people can eat the SAD and still function.

Edit: Oh, I just saw on one of the Forks Over Knives links that Dr. Greger is involved with the Humane Society.
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