WEIGHT WATCHERS: THE DIETING MOM’S SUMMER SURVIVAL GUIDE
School’s out! That means kids in the kitchen, picnics in the park…and sudden death for your diet? Not necessarily.
Summer vacation is upon us, so mothers, get ready—the kids an’t be far behind! Once they’re home all day long, you know what happens—all they want to know is, “What’s to eat, Mom?” And when the little darlings are not eating you out of house and home, they ask (innocently enough) for special trips to get ice cream or fast food, and suggest outings to the shopping center, park, or beach. Before you’ve even recovered from report cards, you’ll end up doing a little calculating of your own: kids + summer = overeating.
For the dieting mom, this equation can lead to disaster. Your carefully organized eating routine gets disrupted, and it becomes harder to resist those temptations you never thought about when the kids were in school. By the time the Fourth of July picnic comes along and you’ve baked the children’s favorite cookie recipe for the tenth time, you’ve lost control. You give up dieting, but vow to get back on the track in September.
“If only the grandparents would come along and take the children away for the summer, I’d be able to stay on my diet,” you think to yourself. Forget it. Those hungry little mouths are here to stay. If you really want to shed those extra pounds and keep your kids, follow the basic tips outlined here.
Control of the Kitchen
It’s always a shock the first few weeks of vacation to see how fast the refrigerator empties out. You can tell how long the kids have been home by the frequency of the trips to the supermarket. No matter how much the kids eat, they still claim to be hungry.
After a winter of having the kitchen to yourself, it’s difficult to adjust to a new schedule and loss of your privacy. Suddenly your domain is invaded and you’ve lost control of the kitchen. Using frustration or perhaps even boredom as an excuse, you, too, begin to wonder what’s for dinner the minute you’ve finished eating breakfast. So:
To take charge of the unruly rob, begin the day school lets out. Set down rules—times of the day they may enter the kitchen or open the refrigerator.
Establish which snacks are acceptable and how often each week the kids may have treats. Again, be firm.
If possible, take them to a toy store an dlet them find some inexpensive new puzzles or games to keep them busy. Involve them in projects around the house to keep their minds off food, and take trips to the library or museum.
In order to protect yourself from the pitfalls of hanging around the kitchen, begin by working out a new, convenient summertime schedule for yourself. If you were accustomed to spending an hour exercising when the kids were in school, find the tie to continue dong that, even if it means hiring a babysitter.
When it comes to food, plan the day’s meals and snacks each morning or for the week, if you can. Have all the foods available that you need.
Experiment with summer sorbets and granites, made with ripe fruits, which you can enjoy while others are having commercial frozen products.
When preparing cold pasta or rice salads for the family meals, measure the amount of pasta or rice you should have. Then add all the vegetables and a measured portion of dressing to your serving. You’ll be eating athe same food as everyone else, but in the right proportions for you.
Use plain low-fat yogurt as a base for dips; cut up lots of fresh, seasonal vegetables for dippers.
Make your own chips from halved pita breads or corn tortillas or thin potato slices that have been baked instead of fried. Use reduced-calorie, milk-flavored beverage mixes to make satisfying milk shakes.
Supermarket Strategies
In addition to having the kids hovering around the kitchen, you’ll inevitably wind up taking them along when you go to the supermarket. This is dangerous ground. Children love talking you into buying cookies or candy, not to mention a host of sugar-laden breakfast cereals they’ve seen advertised on TV. You give in once or twice, buy each one a treat, and before you know it, your grocery cart is filled with items not on your shopping list and certainly not on your diet.