‘The Biggest Loser’s’ Alison Sweeney: “You Can’t Have Dessert Every Night”
July 1, 2010 in Celebrity Quotes by Versus
‘The Biggest Loser’ host, Alison Sweeney opened up to OK! Magazine about her family’s eating habits:
You can’t have dessert every night after dinner. Mommy’s not doing it, you’re not going to do it. And I tell my kids why. They know what the Biggest Loser is all about. They understand that for every cause, there’s a reaction, so I let them have an afterschool treat if they’re going to soccer. Like ‘OK, this is good energy. You’re going to go running around all day or you’re going to go swimming in the pool, and then we can have calories that burn off.’ I talk to them about how it’s like fuel like Lightning McQueen.”
“If you find ways to help your kids understand the common sense of it, it doesn’t become weird. I’m cautious of their nutrition and their weight, but also how it affects them mentally because I don’t want my kids to grow up with a complex about it either. If you really make it common sense – as Jillian [Michaels] says, ‘calories in, calories out. It’s a simple math equation.’ You can help them stay grounded about it, too.”
… says 33 year-old Alison.
Do you guys agree?
Read about another celebrity’s dessert policy HERE!
i love alison and biggest loser
i think she’s right!
me too!
me too! Ashley was so beautiful on this season! I love everything the show stands for. It is so motivating to me. I mean some women who are sizes 6-12 think they have SO much weight to lose, and I just can’t do it, and this and that, and then on this show you have people losing half their beginning body weight! It is incredible, and I love how it shows the weight loss process. This was the first season I actually got into it, and my fiance and I watched every single episode!
(I wanted Ashley to win
i’m sorry, but the only time when hunger and fullness just comes naturally is usually during youth. i think its important for them to go by that naturally feeling versus calories in and calories out. they’re kids. i think its important to monitor their nutrition and to prevent obesity, but i don’t think its a good idea to have them start thinking about calories. i think that is more likely to cause an eating disorder.
I saw a documentary where a woman went to a school to do a study. She divided a load of kids at a school celebration into two groups. One table would be given the normal portion for children their age. The other table would be given twice as much as they needed for their age. Both tables of children felt satisfied afterwards, but the second table of children did not stop when they were full and all of them overate! Even taking into account what was left over, all the children ate a lot more than what was necessary. Yes, teaching kids calorie-counting would be over the top, but this test clearly showed that parents need to measure out children’s food for them because they will eat everything that is given to them without knowing when to stop.
I disagree. My mom packed my school lunches and I always threw half of it away (she packed A LOT) because I was full. This was at an age where I didn’t think about my body/weight at all and I didn’t even know what calories were. I miss that.
Well, it is a bit of a stretch to discredit a study of 100 or so kids because of one person being different. Also, it could have depended on your age. These kids were quite young from what I remember and the theory goes that, once they’ve become overweight and have developed bad habits, it’s harder to change when they are older.
I agree Jenni.
People tend to think that if they have to watch what they eat to be healthy and slim/fit when they are adults, that it is the same for kids. It is not.
Yes, childhood obesity is a growing problem. But are these parents like Alison Sweeney aware of what it takes to get a kid to become obese? It’s not dessert after dinner.
Kids can naturally get away with eating more, I guess you can say, bad food. They can also get away with eating a lot of sugar. The counterbalance to that is their activity levels are through the roof, so they burn it off, and it’s no problem…they stay healthy. The reason why kids are becoming obese is not so much due to diet, but due to the fact that kids sit in front of TV’s and computers all day.
Now I’m not saying, give your kids 2 L sodas, Twinkies and pizza. You should be teaching them healthy eating habits. You should be feeding them fresh fruits and veggies. But for God’s sake, just because you can’t eat a dessert after dinner doesn’t mean your kids can’t. That’s just sad.
I know that when I become a parent, my kids will eat a balanced meal that caters to their natural cravings. Unlike Alison Sweeney, I will try not to project my own issues with weight and dieting onto my children.
on the other hand, not giving your kids after dinner isn’t going to kill them. growing up, we never ate dessert after dinner, it just wasn’t something we did. i never got upset or asked for dessert because it was never a habit for me. maybe this woman is coming at it from the wrong angle, but i don’t think she’s wrong for not giving her kids dessert
I totally agree. I think it’s important to tell them what’s healthy and what’s not, and make sure to provide healthy options so they form good habits. Kids have no business wondering if they should eat something because they’re not going to soccer…
I think you guys have to be realistic.
As the presenter of ‘The Biggest Loser’ is inevitable that her kids will become aware of what the show is about, the issues with obesity and with nutrition; children typically show or pick up and interest in what their parents too.
Moreover, the fact is that child obesity is a growing problem more because of dietary issues than lack of exercise. The impact your lifestyle has on your weight is roughly 70% diet and 30% exercise. It would be ideal to just feed your kids a balanced diet without them paying much attention to it, but with the junk food industry favourable amongst their peers it is natural they will want more sugar and fat than they should and she, as a parent, has to find a way to explain it to them.
I don’t see how this is projecting her issues onto her kids. She keeps her kids active an allows them to have a treat, but not too many that they become addicted.
She’s not getting them to think about calories she’s getting them to think about health. I think that many parents will find that these days diet and weight is so widespread and topical kids are picking up on it even before you talk to them about it.
“Moreover, the fact is that child obesity is a growing problem more because of dietary issues than lack of exercise”
No, it’s more an issue of lack of exercise, than diet, although diet is a problem as well.
“The impact your lifestyle has on your weight is roughly 70% diet and 30% exercise”
That would be for adults. The same is not true for kids. Activity levels and metabolism have to be taken into consideration. Kids have naturally higher activity levels and metabolism, even at resting levels.
” it is natural they will want more sugar and fat than they should and she, as a parent, has to find a way to explain it to them.”
Absolutely. If you let kids eat anything they want, they won’t choose the fruit and veggies. But rather than restrict and talk about calories and fat content, sugar content and how it’s going to make the kids die, therefore scaring the crap out of them, why not just give their kids an apple and not say anything? And if they ask for a cupcake instead, just tell them it’s better, and they can have a cupcake another time.
Also, I would like to see evidence, scientific or case study, where a kid that had dessert after dinner but otherwise ate a balanced meal and was allowed to run around outside…developed obesity or diabetes. It does not happen. One dessert a day will not do anything to the health of your children. And it’s enjoyable.
To deprive them of that IS projecting your own issues onto the child. She as an adult, with her body changing and metabolism slowing down, and after having kids…she probably cannot have dessert. So she projects that obsession and restriction onto her kids. She even said, “if mommy’s not having it, neither are they.” That’s just straight up sad to me.
A child should not grow up thinking sugar and fat are the enemy. They are a normal part of nutrition. WHen you start restricting a child like that, by not giving them a chance to eat dessert, when they do eat it they think something is wrong with it. Later, when they grow up they and can make their own food choices, they may want to eat sugary foods, but will feel guilty after eating them. Can you say bulimia? A child should be taught that sugar and fat are good for you, especially if they are natural, but in normal quantities, and that it’s not good to overdo it. They should also be taught that it’s ok if they overdo it one day, but they should not make a habit of it. That’s the truth. And by not giving your kids dessert after dinner, and only giving them a snack if they work out, that’s teaching them there is something inherently wrong with that type of food, which is not the case…
The 70% – 30% ratio may be applicable to adults but even fore children their dietary habits will have a bigger influence than their activity levels on their weight.
I also think ‘deprive’ is a strong word in this context. She does not restrict desert altogether she simply alternates the nights on which she allows them to have it. Many kids do not have desert after their main meals; it isn’t compulsory or anything. In fact her kids probably have desert more than most families do on a regular basis. In my household we only really ate desert after our Sunday and I certainly didn’t feel deprived.
I also see no evidence based on her quote that she is sending a negative message about sugars and fats, in fact she doesn not even mention them here. All she says is that she aims to teach her kids about nutrition and the conclusion has been that she must be pedantic about treats and junk food.
As I said before she makes a career out of helping overweight people to lose weight and encouraging nutrition so it is inevitable that her kids will be more aware about health than others. Kids absorb their surroundings like sponges. It would be hard for her to avoid going into detail but it is clear that she tries to strike a balance.
I personally would like to keep my kids healthy without making them too conscious about it but as I am neither a dietician or nutritionist I will probably have that luxury.
I have dessert every night after dinner
And I’m skinny, and healthy.
It’s called moderation.
Well, I know that if I start eating dessert every night after dinner, I’ll gain weight. (I mean a ‘real’ dessert, not a fruit). It’s called knowing your own body. Probably she has a tendency of being overweight and her children might have this tendecy too.
Also, the absence of a night dessert wont be bad.
I have ice cream every night and it doesn’t make me gain weight… I’m worried for my health though.
If the portion of icecream is normal (1-3 scoops) and apart from ice cream you also eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, a good lean protein source, and drink plenty of fluids, plus healthy fats (nuts, seeds, olive oil) – then your health is going to be fine.
If you have a family history of diabetes and obesity, then yes, it would be wise to thin the desserts out, but not completely. That’s unreasonable.
I definitely don’t eat more than 3 scoops and apart from that I eat healthy food (mainly because I don’t like junk food at all). There are no obese people in my family but my aunt and ancle have diabetes :-/ and my blood glucose is a little bit too low, which I’ve been told is the same of it being too high… that’s why I’m worried.
You will only gain weight if you eat too many calories. If you factor in the dessert in your daily calories, you will not gain weight.
The time when you eat something doesn’t matter. You need calories non stop, and it takes time to digest and metabolise food.
Finally, a comment that makes sense!
i agree a 100%. i know some people are gonna be all oh no you cant deprive kids at young age. but this is how it all begins for a lot of people. my fiances little nephew was raised to eat whatever he wanted any sweets any time and now he is another obese child added to a statistic. his mother saw what she did and tried to cut down his portions but he would cry and yell and say she was “killing” him. this isnt normal. what the lady in the quote says is great.
Hmmm, I definitely think it’s important for children to have some knowledge about nutrition and to have an active lifestyle, but I’m not sure I’d want to talk to my kids about things like calories. I’d be worried they’d get hung up on something like that and obsessive.
Allison is is right. And anyway, there’s usually very little nutritional value in most desserts so it just becomes an unhelpful habit.
I agree, if the dessert means something like a slice of cake or a chocolate mousse. When i was living in France all my friends’ families ate dessert after both meals of the day, but it could be just an apple, a youghurt or a small piece of cheese or chocolate. As such, i loved it, i have a sweet tooth and just the idea of eating what you call a dessert after every meal made me satisfied just that little bit more
As a kid, my parents tought me the normal stuff, candy only once a week, not too much fatty and sugary foods, but i can recall not having any idea of portion sizes or thinking about eating. That’s the best for children imo, they can become too aware of their bodies so easily. However, we are three children, and two of us (me included), have always had ginormous apetites. Mom def. needed to watch what we were eating (not that i noticed it as a kid). As i grew older, not having that natural sense of “enough is enough” made me battle a bit with food. I went to an extreme at one point, and sometimes i wished healthy eating and portion control and nutrition were thought to us a bit more, some of my friends seemed to be so used to a certain degree of (healthy) discipline from a very young age. But idk, maybe some people will struggle no matter what, i don’t have kids and i don’t know yet how i would approach the thing, but yeah, Alison’s plan sounds good to me, not ideal but then what is..
she suits with more meat on her body,,,shes look too skinny
Sidney, I know where you’re comming from, cause I come from there too. My situation as a child was very alike, my mom loved us a lot, but she never told us to be picky with what we ate and the result is that, as an adult, I battle a lot with my food choices in order to lose weight and maintain. When I have kids, I will try to be more responsible, because what happens in the early food education highly influences later health, weight and looks. I mean, why strive to obtain and then stay in shape (like I did), when you can be like that since always?
I don’t think you should blame our parents for how you relate to food. From what I’ve noticed, it’s better to NOT obsess over the healthiness level of what your kids eat, rather then criticise them if they eat too much, or too many sweets, or whatever.
It seems a critical, very health conscious parents lead to kids having a guilt complex about food, which often leads into an eating disorder.
My parents never taught me about portion control either. But as I grew up, I became more responsible for my own actions and revamped my food habits. No harm, no foul.
Of course that doesn’t mean parents should shower their kids with sweets, but restricting food is not the answer.
My mom is a compulsive eater, so as kids we didn’t have sweets in the house. When we did, they were restricted, but in a sort of “this is a treat” or “rich food is for adults” way. In a sense, my brothers and I were “trained” to view veggie and the like as snacks. I find I crave “real food” like kale sauteed in butter and garlic sauce more than snacks or sweets. I had a friend who was shocked when my brothers told my mother they wanted carrots instead of chocolate as a snack. I don’t think parents are depriving children if they’re not indulging them. I think the best way to teach kids about food is to give them good food that is also real food – not manufactured crap. Ants on a log never hurt anyone (unless they’re allergic to peanut butter!).
Oh, and hhg, I really don’t think she need to gain, she’s just perfect right now.
I never have dessert unless it’s a special occasion, like someone’s birthday. Even then, I’m really careful. I figure I had my enjoyment when I was a kid.
but let’s keep in mind who she’s dealing with — the extreme eaters, like the people on her show who know zilch about moderation. So for them, they can’t have dessert every night because then how is that moderation?
Teach kids about calories? But…they’re kids.
They can get away with eating bad food because they’re active all the time.
Just don’t overdo it, like pizza and chocolate all of the time.
sure, you can’t have fatty and rich desserts every night, but what about fresh fruit salad after dinner? who said desserts have to be bad for you??
On a side note, i can’t believe i’m the same age as her, she looks much much older.
i was bought up with little to no junk food when i was younger so when it came to a time that i could finally have it it was a shock to my system…i had never had unlimited access to food that was ‘BAD’.,….as a result i put on ten pounds……lost them almost straight away but i really think striking a balance is important
I think parents don’t do this enough. I was pretty chubby kid because I was very sick and didn’t exercise much. I also ate whatever I wanted, my parents didn’t really try to balance it out. I only learnt when I got older about it all, and then lost my baby weight really easily and maintain by cooking my own food. Parents owe it to their kids to give them the skills to have a healthy lifestyle.
actually, “calories in, calories out” is not true. while this math seems to make sense, actually biology deals with calories in very complex ways. what your body does with the calories you put in depends on what kinds of chemicals and nutrients are in those foods, and how your metabolism is genetically programmed to deal with those foods.
Baring metabolic disorders, and hormonal problems (which are pretty rare) it IS calories in calories out.
You cannot break the second law of thermodynamics. You cannot gain weight on air alone. And while my metabolism may be slower then person X’s, and she may eat, say, an additional 200 calories with the same exercise level, well, it still dosen’t mean maintaining your weight is something magic.
My metabolism, and exercise level afford me around 2500 calories to maintain. About 300 calories of those are sweets. I’m still maintaining. For years.
IT DOES counts what type of calories are you eating. saturated fats and unsaturated fats are not the same, altough they are both fats
sugars and fibers are not the same, altough they chemically are both carbs
100 g of pure sugar (candies, sweets etc) at one meal will make you gain much more that 150 g of brown rice for expl, altough they both have the same amount of calories.
But it doesn’t matter to your weight. Of course, your health is another matter.
And no, 100 grams of sugar will not make you gain weight compared to 150g of brown rice. If both persons eat the same amount of calories, then they won’t gain weight. Now, the first person will feel like they’re starving (sugar makes your blood sugar spike, giving you a sugar, high, then a sugar low), while the other person will feel much better.
If you’re more convinced by examples – me and my friend. We both eat our maintenance calories. She eat VIRTUALLY all junk. Sweets, sugary drinks, fast food etc. I haven’t seen her eat brown bread, like, ever. She’s as skinny as a rail. I also eat my maintenance calories, but I try to eat at least 80% actual food. I’m also on the thin side.
We both maintain perfectly well. The difference is, she’ll prolly get diabetes in about 10 years.
yes, this! One of my friends hoovered junk food like it was going out of style while we were in high school. She was stick thin, but I saw her recently and she had gained a little bit of weight. She was inactive and very picky when it came to healthy food. Meanwhile, I’ve maintained and actually look better than I did when I was 17.
You are right Alexandra. The type of calories you are eating does matter. There are different metabolism pathways for different types of food sources. And that can cause people to vary in terms of how they utilize their food. People with good protein metabolism pathways will store food in the form of muscle. People with bad protein metabolism pathways will always be flabbier/softer.
And the idea that it’s all about “calories in calories out” is correct in theory, but in actuality, it’s incredibly naive and wrong. Hundreds of thousands of proteins are involved with processing what you eat from the moment you put it in your mouth to the moment your body uses it. Each one is controlled by a gene, which means it’s subject to genetic variation. If someone has a faulty X protein which is responsible for converting glucose into fat for storage…guess what, they’ll never have a high fat %…even if they eat the same amount of calories as another person who does not have a faulty X protein. Now think about that times hundreds of thousands.
If it was that simple, we wouldn’t need billions of dollars going into research to understand metabolism, food processing, and other biological components in the body. We would just say calories in and calories out, and use that money to research something else like HIV.
I got dessert after every lunch and most dinners as a kid, but it was, like, 2 cookies or a pudding cup. Maybe 100, 150 calories tops. I really don’t see anything wrong with this. You could do a lot more potential harm to your kids by forbidding foods (which just encourages them to crave, sneak, and binge on said foods) than giving them dessert.
WTH? They’re kids! I can eat desert every night and be healthy and thin, my little brothers who are young can eat 10 times what I eat and are scrawny healthy kids. She’s setting her kids up for eating disorders….I don’t believe she got overweight in the first place by just eating one serving of desert every night, why won’t she just let kids be kids and encourage healthy snacks. She’s giving kids the same food issues she clearly has.
I agree with her! And thank you for posting about Alison Sweeney! I look forward to more posts about her =)
I’m sure she has good intentions but kids don’t even need to know what a calorie is. Feed them healthy food and tell them to eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full. Get them to join sports for fun, not so they can burn off their fattening desserts.
this is a bit tough because of the line between mindfulness and obsession. I think it’s a good idea to let them know about the relationship between what you eat, activity level and weight, but I wouldn’t make them play sports if they didn’t want to, just for the sake of burning calories.
NO! but if the kids think common sense is calories in calories out.. isnt that just as much of a complex around food? thats like drilling in their little heads that food = calories.. something i never even thought of growing up.. which was why i was a slim kid. it wasent calories in calories out.. it was food in, energy up = more time to play and be happy. food is fuel not simple rules!!!
Not all calories are created equal. If you read Gary Taubes’ Good Calories Bad Calories, you’ll understand why. The key hormone that stores fat is insulin. What triggers insulin production? When there is a high level of glucose in the blood. What causes high glucose in the blood? When you eat a lot of carbs. All carbs turn to glucose once digested. When there is high glucose content in the blood, the body produces insulin to bring down the level of glucose by turning it into fat. More carbs, more glucose, high insulin, more fat. No matter how hard you exercise, if you load your body with carbs, it get stored as fat.
BUT, if you eat saturated fat, such as butter, the body won’t produce insulin, because there is no glucose present, therefore it doesn’t get stored as fat!
Eat good and wholesome fats (not vegetable oil or margarine), you WILL lose fat. Eat junk carbs, you WILL get fat.