Kids & Sugar

The other day on the ride home from ball practice, my youngest son looked his older brother square in the eye and YELLED, “Yeah?! Well you eat, like, 100 grams of sugar a day!”

And then followed that up with, “And you don’t even eat protein.”

…Which then turned into a battle of “You don’t eat enough protein.” And “Well, you don’t even like broccoli.”

Um, how offensive? Hah!

I’ve been teaching my kids about macronutrients and how to properly fuel their bodies their whole lives. About to start in a soccer tournament? We need more breakfast than a normal school day (with a strong balance of protein, carbs, and fat). Just getting in from playing outside? It’s time to replenish our glycogen stores and feed our muscles some protein so we can grow. Chicken, broccoli, rice coming right up.

They know that processed sugar is addictive and that they should enjoy treats and “fun” foods 20% of the time so they can live a sustainable 80 / 20 balance.

They also know they’re not allowed to call each other “stupid.” So I guess exaggerating the amount of sugar your brother eats is the next best thing. LOL!

This car battle had me thinking how grateful my boys will be when they’re older. It might take them until they are in their 30s to really realize the power of knowledge around nutrition. I know one day they will come to me with words of appreciation and I really look forward to that day. For now, I am just going to soak in all the gratitude I can and thank God for allowing me to lead these two little boys into being healthy, happy men.

Take today as an opportunity to teach your kiddos something that will impact them for LIFE. Teamwork, faith, nutrition, moving their body, kindness, generosity, etc. The impact is massive when they’re this young.

Yours,

Jillian