We all have little fights or bicker with our spouses from time to time. Hey, it's hard living with people 24/7. I have three children and sometimes it seems like I don't even talk to my husband for a couple of days. I have a 7 year old boy, 4 1/2 year old girl and a 5 month old baby girl. My 4 year old daughter weighed in three months ago at whooping 62 pounds. The average 4 year old girl weighs about 37 pounds. According to all charts my daughter is extremely overweight - some say obese. I have to admit she is chunky. I am not overweight and my husband is tall and thin. He constantly would say things to me like, "Maddy* looks bloated" or "I think she needs to lose weight." But then I would see him feed her junk. I am not an angel either, I was also feeding her goldfish, pretzels, and of course it seemed like every other day we had a Birthday party where she would eat pizza and cake. How could I control this constant supply of really unhealthy food over taking my cute chubby daughter before she really got out of control?
     One summer day my daughter had just finished dinner which consisted of a tuna sandwich and some carrots. Cooking is not my forte but I try...at least she had some protein, veggies and starch. Anyway a neighbor invited her over for a playdate after dinner and I told my good friend, "She just had dinner so she is fine." Well of course my daughter (who loves to eat, who doesn't!) happily ran over to their house to play and later told my friend she was hungry. Any good Mom loves to feed a hungry kid so she gave her a roll, some noodles, orange juice and two chocolate kisses. My daughter did not need any more food, she just ate dinner...what was I to do? How could I control what others were giving her when I was not around? How could I control my husband from not feeding her junk as well? Then a brilliant idea popped into my head! The next day I told her she was "allergic" to wheat and gluten. She was excited to be "allergic" to something since half of her preschool friends were truly allergic to different things. When you are allergic to wheat and gluten it cuts out a lot of the traditional kid foods like pizza, cake, goldfish etc. Maddy started eating a low carb, high protein, fruit and veggie diet. Within 2 weeks she had lost 5 pounds. She went from 62lbs to 57lbs. I would joke with my husband and say she was the new Atkins poster child. She had more energy, looked less bloated (as my husband would say) and most importantly I felt like I had control of her eating. I told the school she was allergic to wheat and gluten. I told all of her playdate friends she was allergic and she was only to eat what we had packed in her lunch bag. She did great and I was very proud of her for sticking to a wheat and gluten free diet. Not easy for anyone. Instead of cake at the Birthday parties I brought her a small organic lolly pop. Instead of the pizza we would pack her chicken sausage or a turkey hotdog. She was happy...
     Of course there are always people who give you grief about changing your child's diet. Think Mother-In-Law. So I decided to take Maddie into the doctor to get a physical, flu shot, eye check and hearing test. I was remiss in scheduling her 4 year old appointment so it was perfect timing to take her in. Before I had a chance to talk to the doctor he took me aside and spoke to me so that Maddie could not hear. Dr.Smith* told me Maddie was overweight and should be down to at least 52 pounds for her age and height. I explained to him that 2 weeks ago we had "discovered" that Maddie was "allergic" to gluten and wheat and that we had cut out a lot of the junk food that was unhealthy. He thought this was an excellent plan and told me to use him as an excuse if needed. How nice to have the doctor validate my plan! I sighed in relief as I drove home with the three kids in tow. Then one day my son had a Birthday sleep over at our house and he asked if he could have donuts for the morning. I reluctantly gave in and bought a few. My husband finally got out of bed (yes, I had to wake him) to make the three 7 year boys pancakes and eggs and give them donuts. The baby was sleeping so I jumped into the shower to wash my hair which hadn't been washed in four days. The next thing I see is Maddie at the shower saying, "Mommy, Dad gave me a donut!" I was livid! It had been almost 3 months since my daughter had not eaten junk and she was allegedly allergic to donuts. He was sabotaging all of my hard work. I marched downstairs about to yell and scream at him and then noticed my sons friends staring at me. "Dear, can I talk to you please," I tried to say nicely. I pulled my husband to the next room and asked him why he had given Maddie a donut. "It was only half of a donut. I felt bad for her...imagine a childhood with no donuts." I shot back, "Imagine a confused child who is allergic to wheat and gluten not knowing what she can and cannot eat...and then imagine your bloated 4 year old daughter wearing size 8 clothes!" "Sorry," he said and snuck off to play football with the boys. Sorry...humm. To say the least he has never fed her anything "bad" again. And we've had numerous discussions about healthy eating and our children's eating habits. It's actually the most we've talked in years. So six months later Maddie is still "allergic" to wheat and gluten. She is now 4 1/2 and she still weighs 57 pounds. The doctor wants her at 52 pounds and she might get there or she might not. I don't want her to lose weight per se, I want to her to eat healthy, feel good about herself, and maintain a healthy eating regime that will hopefully stay with her for life. Maddie loves her wheat and gluten free diet and she is proud of it. And I am proud of her! And my husband and I now see eye to eye on the subject...now if I can just get him to bathe the kids like I do...but that is a whole different gripe.

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