When most people try to lose weight, they watch one number: the scale. But not all weight loss is...
Where Past Meets Present: Family Meal Patterns
By: Scottsdale Weight Loss Center
Published: April 18, 2017
Please Don’t Drink Your Calories if You’re Focused on Weight Loss
Liquid calories are fluids consumed as part of your daily diet that often go unnoticed and...
Rock Climbing: Lose Weight on the Wall
If your weight loss efforts have hit a wall, why not climb it? Rock climbing is becoming an...
Weight Watchers vs. Medical Weight Loss Programs in Scottsdale: Comparing the Results
Many residents in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Glendale struggle with weight loss plateaus despite...
Arizona Medical Weight Loss Programs vs Online Programs: Which One Provides the Best Results?
The weight loss landscape has shifted significantly with the rise of digital health platforms....
Is Brown Rice Healthier Than White Rice?
Is brown rice better than white rice? Intuitively, one would think that brown rice is much...
In what ways does your past influence your present eating habits? Your history is unique to you. The foods you remember eating as a child, the habits your family reinforced surrounding dinner or dessert—even your inclination to eat (nor not eat) your vegetables can in many ways be traced back to the habits regarding healthy eating that you were presented with as a child. Those family habits become ingrained, and they die hard.
Unfortunately, not every parent is a nutritionist. Parents make poor eating choices, just as you, now an adult, make poor eating choices from time to time. The eating habits of your parents become the norm for you as a child, and without understanding how or why you could still be making food choices based on the whim of something one of your parents preferred.
Negative eating habits are often reinforced in children without a second thought. This includes habits like:
- Eating mindlessly in front of the TV
- Going back for seconds after dinner
- Eating before going to bed
- Drinking soda or sugary juices with your meals
As an adult, you can look at these habits and see their negative consequences. However, even though they may recognize them, many adults don’t notice these habits in their own lives.
Environmental habits like family meal patterns have a huge influence on a child’s developing relationship with food. In many cases, personal issues that you are confronting regarding unhealthy eating habits like binge snacking or stress eating will be difficult to resolve until you identify the root of the habit by addressing the ways your childhood may be influencing your current weight issues.
Just as the past may influence your present habits, making changes to your present will impact your future. Growing up with unhealthy eating habits will make adjusting to a healthier way of eating more difficult, but not impossible. Take steps to recognize the negative habits in your own life that may be ingrained, and consider how you can correct those habits now to set yourself up for a healthier future. Making healthy changes to the way your household interacts with food now can help you achieve your weight loss goals, and can help set your children up for a healthier relationship with food long-term.
Nick
Nick's Story
"I wish I would have come here first. We spend all our time reacting to the next great weight loss tip or program. It might work for a while, but does not last and we end up yo-yoing from one fad to the next – as we gain more weight." Read More
Gina
Lost 44.5 lbs
"I had no trouble adhering to the meals and they really helped catapult my progress! The classes were so beneficial to me because they helped change my thinking about how I viewed health, nutrition, and fitness.
I will always have my relationship with Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. They truly helped me change my life forever." Read More
Lauren
Lost 60 lbs
"Dr. Ziltzer and everyone who I have come in contact with at the Scottsdale Weight Loss office have been so encouraging and I look forward to seeing them each week. It is now a year and 2 months later since I started. I am down 60 lbs., which is the average amount a 9-year-old weighs, it is crazy to think I lost a whole person! I feel amazing, I hit my goal weight in November 2021 just before Thanksgiving. Nothing on my body hurts anymore..." Read More
Chuck
Lost 66 lbs
"The best thing I did was call the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. I have a lot more energy, I'm not hungry, and it feels great.
You can take it from me that this is a program that produces results. The staff is always positive, supportive, and never judgmental.
Your visits always result in positive reinforcement, no matter if you had a good week or a bad week." Read More
Emily
Lost 101 lbs
"Here I am at the lowest I have been since high school weighing in at 155lbs. I have lost 101 lbs, BMI of 39 when I started, to 21.6, and of course at body fat % of 47.1 to 26.5%. I told myself by my 30th birthday I wanted to be confident in the way I look and I owe it all to SWLC. The entire staff is so welcoming and they are rooting for you just as much as you are rooting for yourself...." Read More
Reviews
Meet Our Team
Robert Ziltzer, MD, FACP, FAAP, FOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Diana Bone, FNP-C
Specializing in Obesity Medicine
Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, MFOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Kristen Ash, FNP-C, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Alicia Earley, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner
