I do not want my daughter to be afraid of carbs.
\nI do not want her to believe fried food is evil.
\nBut I also do not want her to solve her problems, or avoided them, with a pint of ice cream.<\/p>\n
I want her to have a healthy relationship with food.
\nI want her to stop eating when she\u2019s full, rather than absent-mindedly munching on mediocre French fries because they\u2019re there.
\nI want her to relish her ice cream, but not every day.<\/p>\n
And I want to be the woman who teachers her these lessons.<\/p>\n
But last week, when I stepped on the scale, the number staring at me was one I had sworn I would never see again. So, I\u2019m back on Weight Watchers. No, I\u2019m not endorsing the diet. It just happens to be the one that\u2019s worked for me in the past and so requires the least amount of decision-making.
\nYes, I\u2019m sure that whatever diet you followed to that 10 pounds is amazing and will work for me too. But I don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n
I just don\u2019t want my eleven-year-old girl to have a mommy who\u2019s always on a diet.
\nI don\u2019t want her to spend the rest of her life feeling like she\u2019s the wrong size.
\nI don\u2019t want her to know that when I\u2019m thinner, I feel better about myself.
\nI don\u2019t want her to ever think what I do when I look into the mirror: \u201cgod, I\u2019m fat.\u201d<\/p>\n
I really don\u2019t want to screw this up. It\u2019s so easy to do just that. One in five school aged, American kids is obese. Over 50% of the girls in this country will go on a diet before their eighteenth birthday.<\/p>\n
I want my daughter to have a mother who is active, comfortable with herself, and only eats when she\u2019s hungry. A mom who doesn\u2019t eat a box of cookies because she\u2019s stressed or sad or bored. Instead, she\u2019s got me, a mother who knows that whether you start your day with spin class or waffles, if you\u2019re a woman who grew up in 20th<\/sup> century America you\u2019re a little crazy when it comes to your weight.<\/p>\n At this very moment, half the women in the U.S. are on a diet. Last week, I became one of them. My goal for the next few months is to lose 20 pounds, without setting up my daughter for a lifetime of body image issues. Right now, she\u2019s perfect in that department. She doesn\u2019t really like sweets. She stops eating when she\u2019s full. Her favorite food is salad. She\u2019s my hero.<\/p>\n I tell people that I\u2019m dieting because I want to be healthier, have more energy, take better care of my knees. But it\u2019s a lie. If I could eat chocolate chip cookies everyday and look 20 pound thinner on outside, I wouldn\u2019t care about what\u2019s going on inside.<\/p>\n My tipping point wasn\u2019t anything a doctor said or even my jeans getting a little too tight. It was some photos from my college reunion. There\u2019s nothing like a double chin on Facebook to make kale and a protein powder sound yummy.<\/p>\n But I don\u2019t want to tell my eleven-year-old that I\u2019m on a diet because I looked fat in picture. I can\u2019t even tell her for the last six months, I\u2019ve been doing a deep dive into emotional eating because I\u2019m anxious about a long list of things, including her.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have much time left to influence my daughter. Puberty is peeking out from under her stuffed animal strewn bed. Soon peers and media will speak louder than any of my actions or words. What I can do today<\/em> is model the behavior I wish for her, while I\u2019m counting my Weight Watchers points.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s too late for her to have dessert; it\u2019s too late for me too. And to the dinner guest who presents me with a chocolate cake saying, \u201cI\u2019m sorry you can\u2019t eat any of this,\u201d I will respond, \u201cI can, but I choose not to.\u201d While I imagine dumping the sticky mess on her perfectly coifed. skinny head.<\/p>\n What I eat is a choice, not compulsion. Tomorrow, I may have eat that chocolate cake, but this evening I\u2019ll have a peach and when I look in the mirror, I\u2019ll remind myself that my daughter still thinks I\u2019m beautiful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I do not want my daughter to be afraid of carbs. I do not want her to believe fried food is evil. But I also do not want her to solve her problems, or avoided them, with a pint of ice cream. I want her to have a healthy relationship with food. I want her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting-through-the-apocalypse"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIf an apple is a good afternoon snack for her; it\u2019s twice as good for me.
\nIf protein bars and diet sodas aren\u2019t \u201creal food\u201d for kids; then they\u2019re \u201cnot real food\u201d for me either, sadly.<\/p>\n