Are/Were You Fat Because Your Mom Was A Good Cook?

I heard an interesting question on the radio this morning. The radio host asked the question "did our unhealthy relationship with food start because our mom (or dad as the case may be) was a good cook?"

I grew up in a small town and until I was a teenager did not even know what fast food was. But I was a fat kid. Not only was my mom a good cook but my dad was a "you cannot leave the table until you finish everything on your plate" kind of guy. So for me the answer is yes. My mom cooked good unhealthy food that you just had to have seconds of. Later in life there were many reasons I turned to food but at the root of the problem is my mom cooked very tasty food and I just wanted more.

I learned to cook and I cook healthy tasty food that my kids love. I hope I am passing on to them the same thing my mom passed on to me with the opposite effect.

What are your thoughts?

Actually my mom is a horrible cook. Her mother though was and still is a great cook. Grandma's cooking and her rice pudding is to die for!!

I lived with my grandmother as a child and I was a healthy weight. When I became a teenager, I went to live with my mom and between puberty and my mother leaving me in charge of my younger brother and sister fast food became the best thing in the world.
 

 

 

Yes. I think unhealthy habits start as kids and if you learn them at a young age then you will continue the cycle. This is why I am teaching my daughter good habits now!!

I was raised by my grandparents for most of my life. They were children of the depression and i was encouraged to eat everything on my plate.  Plus my Grandma loved to bake.  The food was always so good.  Her zucchini casserole was my favorite but it was a meal in its self.  I now know that i have to cut how much i eat.  So yes the good cooking always made it harder.  The real hard part now is i am a great cook, and now i am learning new ways to have my childhood favorites but in a healthier way.

I do think our environment growing up had a lot to do with how healthy we eat now and especially portion sizes. I wouldn't say my mom was a great cook or anything but remembering back it wasn't all that healthy. Then of course we had to clean our plate, that goes without saying. Going through puberty when running around non-stop and physically active in sports, there was never any thought of anything other than getting enough calories to go, go, go.

Then my mom divorced and remarried a guy that had to have everything fried and BISCUITS for desert every night smothered with butter and Smuckers syrup. Nothing like an extra 1,000 calories before leaving the table.

Healthy eating is learned in my opinion and the VSG is the tool to make that happen.

 

My mom was an amazing cook.  She cooked fairly healthy when I was a kid and super healthy later in life.  Food was not a free for all growing up, no treats, no snacks (will ruin your appetite).  There was a huge importance placed on "special" treats in my family, too special it turns out.  So I think I'm fat because I didn't have.access to treats and not being allowed to eat when I was hungry but rather having to wait for meals.  In my Mom's defense she did what she thought was right.

Good question Keith

That is interesting. I think both my parents (who were never together) are ok unhealthy cooks. Their food tasted good enough that I wanted seconds. My family did have the "finish everything on your plate" kind of policy as well. I find myself being that way with my 2 year old, but he is 2. I have learned quite a bit about being a Mom and healthy eating habits, more for him then I did myself at first. So sometimes my wanting him to eat is because 2 year olds can be picky.

I have noticed that since surgery though it does seem odd to me if my family (husband and step kids) don't get seconds or third, I have to stop myself from taking offense. I certainly can't eat anywhere near 1/4 of what I used to so why should I take offense. Old habits die hard and I love to cook and feed people!

I think I am fat because I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. My family over eats all the time, eats for any occasion. That is the way I grew up, it didn't necessarily have anything to do with how good of cooks they were...we still ate! LOL

I know this is true for me. My mom was a great cook but we couldn't leave the table until we ate all the food on our plates. This is unhealthy, bc it teaches you at an early age to ignore the signals your brain is sending saying your full. This is abuse in a way, if you ask me. My job is not to repeat the same cycle with my children. My mom also fried everything, I didn't know about baked or grilled until an adult.

Yes and no.  My mom was a phenomenal cook.  However, I didn't get overweight until I moved away from home.  Food was love and everything else in my family.  I grew up eating gourmet food and had no idea that most other people didn't eat that way.

I learned to cook from her, so yes, I can blame her!!!  It actually makes me very sad to think of my mom and her wonderful gifts.  She passed away a year ago last December.  In the last 14 years of her life she had dementia.  She forgot how to cook.  It was hard to believe that someone so good in the kitchen would one day not know the difference between a TV and a microwave!  One day I asked her to put a potato in the microwave.  She walked over to the TV and asked me, " how the hell do you open this thing?"  She was so cute.

I took good care of her in the last years of her life.  I made sure I fed her good food.  She enjoyed eating right up until a few weeks before she died at the age of 94.

I don't care if my mom being a good cook did eventually make me fat.  I wouldn't have had it any other way.  I am the one who knew better.  Now those cooking skills are coming in handy. See below.

 

  

 

Keith -

My mother grew up very very poor and was from the south . My father came over from Italy when he was younger and his family had what was considered money back then so they always had food . When my parents married and had 7 children they cooked !! My mother had a huge garden and we had fresh or from what she canned everything . I never even had store bought jam , cookies or pickles, or pasta until I went to collage !! Every meal was well rounded and we never had a clean you plate rule . My mother became some kind of food hoarder .. Our wine cellar had so much food in it we called it the bomb shelter ! If friends came home with me after school , she would make us girls salads and fresh bread , cheese . It was all good food just so much . No one really in my family believe it or not had a weight problem , my father is slim and so are my 3 brothers , the girls on the other hand all gained weight after giving birth . I'm really the only one who had an issue getting it
off .

I think there are so many factors that come in to play with regards to obesity. I do agree that it dose for many start at home .