What About Ayden?

Frozen blueberries sure are messy!

When people first learn about our strict dietary lifestyle, they often ask if we expect Ayden to follow suit.  The short answer is, "Of course we do" but we realize that things are a bit more complicated than that. With food being a primary reinforcer (something we actually need to survive), it is really easy for unhealthy food relationships to form and even haunt one for their entire life and we definitely don't want this to happen to Ayden if we can help it.  Though we want to keep food a non-issue in an attempt to prevent some sort of fixation on the "bad" foods, we also still want to maintain some sort of balance.  Sugar and food addiction is no joke and as our current obesity epidemic will prove, the majority of Americans suffer from it.  David and I both suffered from it before making our lifestyle changes and also experienced being overweight during our childhoods.  Yes, the McDonald's we were eating at the time tasted good but the other kids poking fun (in David's case) or my being a dancer and therefore being acutely aware of how my body was not ideal, had a much longer lasting effect on our psyches. Though we don't want to place such a huge significance on certain foods that it will inevitably draw Ayden to them, we also absolutely refuse to feed him junk or artificial foods that are one ingredient different from straight up plastic (margarine for instance) which our bodies have no idea how to process properly.  Why do we do it to ourselves??

What is our plan?  We will let him make the first move.  Until he seems aware and actually asks us about it, he will eat as we do 100% of the time.  Why in the world would we give our child candy over raisins if he knows no different?  Just because it tastes good? So do raisins.  There is absolutely no argument that anyone can give that would convince us that it is necessary to give him anything but clean, whole foods at this point in his little life.  Once he becomes aware, we will take each situation as it comes.  We will talk openly about our choices, will lead by example and then let him make a few choices of his own all while helping him listen to his body along the way.  Our hope is that we can help him learn to identify the effects of how foods make him feel, physically and mentally.

Overall, we are realistic.  We realize we are raising a child in a country where the taste and social aspects of food far outweigh the toll that fake ingredients and sugar addiction have on our bodies.  There will be no escaping the classroom cupcakes and birthday pizza parties.  Lucky for us, we have a few years before we have to deal with it and once the time comes, we will do our best to give him the tools necessary to make the choices that he feels are the best for him.

Call us crazy for having the lifestyle that we do but now that we have lived on both sides of the track, we are not going back.  If the way I eat alone is what keeps me leaner than I was when I was in high school and dancing every night of the week then I am convinced it is what is right for me.  Some day Ayden will be all grown up and will be making his own food choices and all we can do in the meantime is fuel his little developing body with the best and hope he learns a lot along the way.  Isn't that all we can ever hope about anything for our children?

Napping while we work on packing up the house.

~Sarah