Comments on: overheard

By: bree

bree — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:42:43 +0000

I agree, great advice from more seasoned moms! When I was young and would talk about weight loss or dieting, my mom would always just say, “you’re too young to diet…kid’s aren’t supposed to be on diets, it’s not good for them.” As simple as it sounds, it really worked and stuck with me through me high school.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:35:51 +0000

Oh Wow, I am so blessed to know such great, wise women! Thanks for all your advice. I really appreciate the focus on being healthy.

We want our girls to know that eating healthy doesn’t mean choosing the low-fat box of brownies, but does mean not eating the entire pan of brownies.

By: Danyelle

Danyelle — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:20:39 +0000

So funny you posted this, just recently my little EmmaJean (almost 7) at every meal points at her food and asks, “is this healthy? is this healthy?” amazing how early all of this starts.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:08:31 +0000

I talk to Mira about fruits and vegetables and whole grains. I tell her how good they are for her heart and her brain and her muscles. I exercise almost daily in front of her. I never talk to her about Mommy wanting to lose weight, but about how I exericse because I want to be healthy and it makes my muscles and heart happy. She completely understands this and sometimes does some kickboxing or pilates along with me. She eats her vegetables and fruit, and talks about how happy her heart and muscles are now. It’s all about what we say and do in front of them that makes all the difference.

By: Shari

Shari — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:41:08 +0000

It can go the other way also. My 17 year old daughter has a very high metabolism and is thin. She weighs about 108 pounds and is about 5’6″ tall. She comes by this very honestly as I was the same way, as was my mother and grandmother (the lovely high metabolism goes away in our early thirties unfortunately).
Anyway my daughter gets alot of comments about how she is too skinny, she must be starving herself, is she anorexic etc.
She has a very healthy appetite but lately has been trying to eat even more food to try and gain weight. It has been hard, I am trying to help her understand that she is healthy the way she is and not to worry about what other people say or think. Unfortunately peer pressure and societies expectations seem to weigh so very heavily on young girls.

By: Kelly @ Love Well

Kelly @ Love Well — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:42:13 +0000

You’ve got a couple of great comments already. I would echo their sentiments of focusing on health and nutrition versus calories or fat. Also, model thankfulness for our bodies versus obsession.

I don’t think this type of thinking is inevitable in young girls. It’s all about what surrounds them.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:26:22 +0000

Wow! Yes, that is scary, but all too often what happens. I happen to know of a situation similar to this and it breaks my heart every time I hear comments made. I am very careful not to make comments about my body around Jeneva. Even if it’s a minor comment like: “I still have this little pudge on me from having babies.” For one, I do not struggle with weight, so it would plant that fear of perfection in her and discontentment. Also, I just want her to be thankful for the way God made her and know that we need to “take care” of our bodies by putting things into them that are healthy, but not obsessing about the way we look. I pray that Jeneva would not look at what the world tells us is beautiful concerning our body image. Oh, I’m just reading the comment above now and I like how she emphasized the focusing on health. Yes, that’s what I’m trying to say. Focus on healthy eating habits and relate it to honoring God.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:09:09 +0000

Wow. Amen is right!

My Mackenzie is almost seven and she would have no idea what “low-fat” even means when it comes to food.

It is so very sad, isn’t it? Girls younger and younger are starting to be consumed with their body image and making negative choices with food already…

What do we do about this? Good question. I wish I had the great answers.

But, for one, I pray for my girls (and Caleb)! I pray that they would love the unique and special way that God created them. I pray that they would be comfortable in their bodies…whatever that shape may be. I pray that their minds would be protected from the lies of the world concerning body image.

And, I am VERY conscious about how I talk around my kids. Never do I talk about a food’s fat content or caloric content. Never do I say anything negative about MY body or anyone else’s for that matter.

Instead we focus on health…sure we talk about foods that are healthy vs. unhealthy. We talk about the importance of filling our bodies with GOOD/healthy foods that will nourish us to help us grow big and strong…

I do what I know that I CAN do with all of this…I just keep lifting my kiddos up to the Lord.