Mommy, how calories are in my sandwich?

www.DrWeigh.com

The other night my three-year old daughter asked me how many calories were in her turkey sandwich. I was part horrified and part pleased. I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I had taken things too far. Sure, I want my kids to be aware that some foods are healthy and some are not. But calories? Hmmm...

I like my patients to think of food in terms of colors, not calories. Green light foods are the healthiest. Red light foods are the least healthy. And yellow light foods fall in between. There is certainly no harm in that.

But thinking in calories may be too much. Limiting total calorie intake is clearly necessary for weight loss. But not all calories are equally nutritious. For example, the calories in an apple are not the same as the calories in a few Hershey's Kisses even if they add up to the same total number. So it's not enough to just consider how many calories... you have to consider the type of the calories as well.

I would rather kids think about food quality and appropriate portion sizes. Of course, an overweight child should monitor how much they are eating to facilitate weight loss. In my program, I suggest how many green light foods should be eaten at each meal and snack. If they want a yellow light food, they must give up two green light foods. And red light foods are limited to twice a week.

So, in answer to Danielle's question about her sandwich, I replied, "Honey, a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread is a very healthy food. Don't worry about calories. Just try to make healthy choices and eat green light foods." To which she responded, "okay!" Simple enough!