Picking at leftovers on your child’s plate can add over 3kg to your waist – are you guilty of it?

Surely, there’s no harm in picking at a few chips and the odd chicken nugget left on your child’s plate? WRONG!

A new survey now claims that picking the leftovers from your child’s plate can cause you to silently pile on over 3kg in a year.

All your hard work undone without you even realising it!

Picking at your child’s leftovers can add over 3kg to your waist

The survey conducted on behalf of Nutrisystem by Harris Poll in the U.S. found that 81 per cent of mums with kids under 18 admitted to eating off their kids’ plates before, during or after a meal.

One in three mums admitted to eating less healthily than they did before becoming a parent.

Top foods mums are guilty of eating off their little one’s plate:

• Chicken nuggets
• Pizza crust
• Hot chips
• Potato chips
• Mac and Cheese
• Pancakes
• Cupcakes

According to Nutrisystem, eating off your child’s plate once a day for one week can add up to 400 extra calories – that’s over 3kg a year.

“While those few bites may seem inconsequential, the extra calories can really add up over time, and may be detrimental to weight maintenance and weight loss efforts,” says Courtney McCormick, corporate dietitian at Nutrisystem.

Here are some top tips to stop you from picking:

• Eat mindfully – a lot of the time you’re unaware you’re doing it.
• Reassess your child’s portions – are you putting too much food on their plate, so therefore there is stuff left for you to pick at?
• Make good choices – if you are going to pick at their plate, pick the food with less calories in it.
• Save it for later – instead of you eating it, save it for your child for later as a snack.
• Eat while they eat – if you snack when your child snacks, you’re less likely to feel peckish.

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Get kid-approved healthy meals on our 28 Day Challenge

 

You shouldn’t have to cook two meals each night (one for you and one for your family).

All you need is healthy meals and recipes that everyone will love. That way, you can spend less time in the kitchen and help set your kids up for life with a good relationship with food.

Ready to get started? Our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge includes healthy meal plans that are so delicious your whole family will want to eat them. And you’ll get access to our community of mums who cook healthy food every day that even the fussiest eaters will love!

See you on the next challenge!