Food is Fuel

Two blog posts in a row about food? Jenn, we get it!

Here’s the thing: as an extreme climber, what I put in my body is arguably the most important part of the entire process. If my nutrition isn’t right, it doesn’t matter how fit I am: I won’t get up the mountain. Period. That’s why I was so excited to recently speak with Jennifer Anderson, founder of Kids Eat in Color, who reinforced the importance of developing a strong relationship with food at an early age. After all, so many of the choices we make in adulthood are influenced by the lessons we are taught as kids.

If you have a child or can remember back to when you were one yourself, you understand the challenges.

Broccoli is gross – I don’t want it! 

Ugh but I’m not hungryyyy.

Can I have a cookie instead?

As a parent, it can be so hard to know which battles to fight and which to concede. One of the things I really appreciated from Jennifer is that she emphasized the difference between our job as parents (providing a good mealtime structure, offering healthy foods) versus the kid’s responsibility (deciding how much to eat, if they’re going to eat what is available, etc). Trying our best to keep those roles separate is the foundation of developing healthy habits.

Try it yourself:

• Challenge yourself to question norms. Who says dinner has to be at 7 pm? If your kids are hungriest in the middle of the afternoon (like mine always are), try replacing the traditional “after school snack” with a full meal. Strange as it sounds, my family eats dinner at 3:30. Why? That’s when my kids are hungriest and least likely to turn their noses up at the vegetables on their plates. Of course, this may not be possible for everyone depending on work schedules, but it’s more likely to be an option now that so many of us are working from home.

• Reframe food as fuel. Jennifer shared an alarming statistic: that 30-40% of children between the age of three and four say they are unhappy with their bodies. These kids are basically toddlers! It’s not like they come out of the womb feeling this way: it’s what they’re soaking in from their environments. Because I am an athlete, I always speak about food as fuel in our house. My kids understand that I change my diet based on my training plan and what my body needs. I want them to really internalize that calories are what keep us alive and strong: they’re not the enemy.

• Eat the cake for breakfast (sometimes). With seven children – and their many practices, sports games, and after school events – the only time we’re reliably in the house together is first thing in the morning. That is why we celebrate birthdays with cake for breakfast. Is this the best dietary choice? Of course not. I know that, and my kids know that. But it’s a special tradition, and Jennifer emphasized that it’s not even a debate between creating those memories and making a “healthier choice.” You know what is best for your family in the long run, and sometimes that’s 6 am cake.