yeas I am I have 2 kids and i do make sure that what they are eating is healthy but you cant relay watch them all the time

I have two daughters, 22 and 28.

I have always wrestled with my weight, even though before now I never had a significant issue of being overweight.  (I just thought I was overweight)  What influenced my body image was the fact that I was not rail thin, I have a shape.  Yet I was never proud of it.  My oldest daughter is very athletic and her participation with sports has created a much more healthy body image,   My youngest struggles like I did and I now realize the impact of MY EATING BEHAVIOUR.   She is not overweight, yet she thinks she is.  I modeled poor behavior and body image thoughts. 

Don't ever believe that you behavior (whatever it is) doesn't make an impact.  IT DOES!!!!

For as long as I can remember my mother's always been on one diet or another--always stating that she need to lose just a few more pounds.  My mother is 5'11" and when she recently stated that she'd "packed on four pounds" I really wanted to scream.  I'm 5'7" and weigh around 200 pounds--I have struggled with my weight since high school and now into my adult life.  When I was in high school and my mom went on Weight Watchers I did too because I need to lose the weight--and really that was the sole focus of it--losing the weight, not trying to be healthy.  I lost a few pounds, but predictably I gained it back and then some in college.  When I moved back home I started Weight Watchers again with my mom last year--again I did lose around 30 pounds, but after six months I had gained 15 of those pounds back. 

I really hate blaming any issues I might have with food on my mother because I feel like now that I'm 24 I should take responsibility for my own actions.  However, my early relationship with food and the way I view my body started at an early age.  Even as a pre-teen I was heavier and even though I don't think my mom ever meant to be hurtful she would make comments about how big I was and how difficult it was to find clothes that fit me.  But, reading the above article I saw quite a few parallels to my own life so now I have to figure out how to form a health relationship with food and stay dedictated not just to losing the weight, but doing it in a healthy way that's not just a "diet" (I REALLY hate that word, by the way) but a lifestyle change.

I have a difficult time resisting sweets so I try to exercise regularly to keep my weight down.  I am about 10 pounds overweight and my daughter is about 15 pounds overweight. She also has a sweet tooth.  I try to encourager her to walk, run or do an exercise video with me but she refuses.  At 10 years old, she thinks it is embarassing to exercise with her mom.  I can't watch her after school snacking (usually on fruit) and I know she eats portions that are too large.  I am on the verge of hurting her self esteem if I keep saying she's eating too much. How has anyone else had success in getting their children to start losing the weight?  How did you do it positively?

My mom has dieted for as long as I can remember.  She was always complaining about how fat she was and that she could never lose weight.  She was 5'6" and weighed about 140-160.  I always said that I'd never be like her.  I'd be happy with my shape/weight.  Surprise!  I realized a few weeks ago that I'm no different than she is.  I'm 5'4" and weigh 130.  Very healthy to be sure, but I wasn't happy.  I kept track of all the food I ate and tried to exercise 45-60 minutes every day.  Nothing worked, I'm still 5'4" and 130 lbs.  I've decided that I look fine and as long as I exercise 3 or 4 times a week I can be healthy in body and mind.

Wow!  I can really identify with this.  My mom has been obese for all of my life, she's 5'7" and weighs as least 250 lbs.  She has constantly struggled with her weight, making self depreciating comments and using candy and fried foods as solace.  While I am responsible for my own actions, I am still struggling to overcome the impact her lifestyle has had on me.  Because she was so unhappy with her own appearance, she become obsessed with my weight.  I have been on and off diets ever since I was 8 years old!  Now at 28 I'm finally learning how to eat healthy instead of constantly viewing a diet as a "temporary fix". 

This is such good advice for moms everywhere.  I have insight into both extremes. 

My own mother was morbidly obese all my life, 5 feet 2 inches weighing at one point over 300 lbs.  She had untreated congestive heart failure and once treated dropped over 100 pounds in water weight.  Growing up I was ashamed to have her go to any school functions as the other children would tease me about her.  I was extremely skinny and they would ask if my "big fat mom wouldn't let me eat", was that why I was so skinny. 

Now on the other extreme, my mother in law and her daughters are obsessed with their weight. My nieces are also extremely weight concious, from one extreme to the other.  They either are way to thin or rebel and refuse to control their weight.  My husband is also very weight concious. Interestingly enough, my father in law is over weight and both his boys (my husband included) have wives who are not weight obsessed.

While I am no longer skinny and have overcome my teen anorexia I am not severly obese.  I am however very health concious.  My sisters are both younger than me and severly obese with serious health problems.

I am blessed to have two healthy boys.  My oldest is like I was, very thin and the youngest very active and at a healthy to low weight.  Both eat vegetables and fruit instead of junk as that is how they have been raised. I like to think I am not passing any weight issues on to them.  I wish the article had included more info on the impact to boys.

why the focus just on moms and daughters?! parents affect their children in general when it comes to eating habbits.

I was always a little on the chunky side as a child and It definately had an effect on me - Now i have 2 daughters 11 & 9. My 11 year old is built just like I was and has the same habits I did at that age - she's on the thick side but she is not fat. She likes food though and does over eat a little. She has shown concern about her weight and thinks she is Fat -  She recently got on the scale while I was in the bathroom and when i looked over she jumped off - So i asked her why and she said because "I'm fat" I was heart broken. I want her to feel comfortable with herself and with me - I talked to her about it and explained that her weight is going to change because she is still growing but I'm concerned about her feeling that way at such a young age. Any suggestions on how to teach her to eat a little healthier and better portion control without making her more self concious?

I grew up watching my mom battle her weight, not try to live a healthy lifestyle, exercisewas something that you do to lose weight. Once the weight was gone, so was the exercise, and the yo-yo would continue. I don't think that helped in my view on things, but it has gotten worse , or maybe better, since she has decided that she doesn't care what she weighs, she has litterally decided that food is more important than living, or that you should live to eat, her "I'm going to eat it because I like it, and I am going to eat a whole package, heck maybe even two if it tastes really good!" attitude is not acceptable as far as I'm concerned. So my kids are learning the fine art of portion control/moderation, and that exercise is something that you do to be healthy, not lose weight. Like family bike rides or rock picking excursions.It's so tough to even watch my children around my mother now, as she has such warped views on food, and I would hate to think that grandma might be undoing all the good "eat to live" values that I am trying to instill in my kids.  

My mother has always been very insecure with herself and constantly wanting to lose weight although she has never brought me down about my weight she always would say that we are just big boned people and we'll never be so called skinny! in my mind i have always struggled with that because it makes me feel like why even try to diet if im never gonna be skinny. Im thinking her perspective on skinny is stick thin, not just healthy thin.

Now i have a daughter of my own and im terrified of rubbing my bad self image and insecurities onto her it seriously frightens me! I dont want her to ever have to feel like i do! So im truely trying to get healthy for not only myself but for her because i realize i need to be a good example for her in order for her to be comfortable in her own skin!

I had a fairly healthy diet - a low fat one due to gall bladder removal. I didn't have a weight problem either and when I had my kids I never put on too much weight.

But when my eldest son went to live in Canada for a couple of years and began to eat their food he became very ill. Their diet is somewhat richer and he was not used to it. He was treated for all kinds of things including bowel cancer and depression.

Within a few weeks of returning home and going back to eating low fat healthier foods he was fine.

I felt guilty for the problems he had. I didn't realise it would cause such a problem.

I grew up hearing my mom ask me if I thought she was fat.

Now, i ask my daughter the same thing.

I am over weight,and I ask my daughter if she thinks I'll lose the weight by summer.

I hope she does'nt pick up on asking about her body.

very truthful article.

I am very concerned about how my eating habits have and will affect my teenage daughter. I spent most of her life using food to soothe my emotions and the last year, I've spent counting calories and losing 52 lbs. Yes, I've achieved it by eating healthy and exercising, but, still, how normal is it to weigh every single morsel of food that I eat? It's the only way I've been able to get close to a "normal" weight though. On the other hand, she does see me eating normal portions of food now, so I think she does she that losing weight doesn't have to mean strict dieting.

My daughter has never dieted and has normal eating habits. She doesn't turn to food for comfort. However, I would lying to myself if I thought my habits have not and will not affect her in the future.

My own mother is obese and has been on and off diets my whole life also. I began my first diet at age 15 at 126 lbs. (I'm 5' 4") and had disordered eating habits for one year. My mother would not tolerate me starving myself and was able to make me stop. However, I have repeated my mother's behavior by using food to "solve" my problems.

This is to jessjol-I am not a parent so I don't have any personal experience to share with you, but I'm wondering if you've ever heard of Ellyn Satter-she does a lot of education on healthy eating habits with children.  Not everyone agrees with her, but what I've read sounded reasonable and I would recommend checking her out.  If you do a search on her name you can find her website easily.  Good luck!

reginabc - Below is what I found on Ellyn's website and I am proud to say that I do all of these things except between time beverage - I alway's let them have a drink whenever they want but i only have diet soda in the house - and cranberry juice but they do not go overboard with the drins after dinner they only drink water. So I guess I'm handling it the right way. Thanks so much for the suggestion.

• Arrange for your child to have 3 family-friendly meals a day at set times.
• Let her eat her way—fast or slowly, much or little, some of everything or 1 or 2 foods. Let her have more of any food, even if she hasn’t cleaned her plate.
• Make rules, then let her manage her after-school snacks: Right after school and at the table. No munching along with homework or in front of the TV.
• After she learns to go by the snacking rules, let your older school-age child choose her own snack—even if it is high in fat or high in sugar.
• Say no to between-times food and beverage grazing—except for water.

I have dealt with weight issues most of my life.  I have also dealt with an eating disorder and having a not so healthy relationship with food.  I remember a lot of comments that were made to me as a kid that have fostered this.   Also, food was looked at as taboo.  You weren't supposed to enjoy food.  Food was there to keep you alive and that was all.  If you enjoyed food you were bad.  It was pretty extreme and I am having to work through a lot of issues because of this type of attitude. 

However, that aside, I am learning to take the emotion out of food, and to retrain myself to look at food as an enjoyable experience.  I found a super great book that has been amazingly helpful.  It is called "Intuitive Eating". It was suggested by my nutritionist that I am working with.  It has really helped me to understand and combat my food hangups.   I am so relieved.  It is so hard to change years of one type of thinking. I hope this is helpful to someone else.  It has been like a life preserver for me.  Good Luck!

My mother has always dieted all of my life.  I am the youngest of 4 siblings that are all born within 5 years of each other and grew up hearing about how angry Mom was when she found out she was pregnant with me since she was just starting to lose the weight she had gained with the others.  She also told me that I was built just like my grandmother who I only ever remember as being a really large women.  I was actually skinny growing up.  I remember Mom complaining that if it fit me in the waist it was too short.  In my teens  I was 5'4" and weighed 105 lbs. I had a cute shape and was very muscular from skating.  I really thought I was fat.   I have gained weight as I grew older like everyone else but am not obese.  As an adult I caught my mother hiding once to eat snack cakes and it dawned on me that I am exactly the same.  I worry constantly about my weight and shape.  I find myself "hiding" to eat stuff that I think I shouldn't even though the only person that thinks I shouldn't is me.  I try to practice the 80/20 rule and am successful the majority of the time.  But when I slip I really beat myself up for it.  Diabetes is really prominent in our family and when my mother was diagnosed it really scared me.  She changed her eating and excercise habits the first few years after she was diagnosed but has since reverted back to old habits in part due to other health problems.  I am lucky enough to have not passed what I consider my eating disorder on to my son.

yes this is so true my mum diets all the time and i think she always has done and i am a little on the chubby side and i am on a diet  too  but my mum says that i think i am more over wieght than i actually am....

whats the 80/20 rule - just curious - never heard of it?

I remember my mom dieting when I was growing up; she was always rail thin. She would tell me stories about her mom putting her on salad diets when she would gain weight in high school.

My mom would always poke at my belly if she thought it was getting too big and make a comment about my eating. Then when I started college, I would hear never ending comments about my weight gain. She definitely affected my self-body image. Now when I tell her the reason I am counting calories and managing my diet, she doesn't understand why. She denies ever saying anything to me about my weight.

When I become a mother, I hope to teach my child healthy eating habits so that I have a more positive influence on them.

Absolutely!

It's funny, I also think my husband has food and diet issues due to the influence of his mother.  She was always watching his weight and putting him on a diet in his formative years.  Then when my second daughter didn't look like the first, she was normal healthy girl, and the first was tiny and petite.   My mother in law began to constantly talk about the way my younger daughter would eat.  It was funny, she will it anything, and on an on.  Unfortunately, this made a big impact as well.

My mom was always very curvy (though not overweight). I was raised thinking that she was the epitome of beauty. She was confident, healthy never dieted, and never gave me any reason to worry about myself. She set a great example.

My dad is the one who ruined me. I lived with him on weekends and he became very health-obsessed right before I hit puberty, and criticized my body constantly. If I ate anything in front of him he'd say "That's why you're getting fat" or worse. I was actually underweight, not fat, but I was just going through puberty and getting "curves".

So I tried so hard to diet, but when it didn't stop my puberty I figured it was clearly too late to salvage this gross body of mine and I began binge eating. Totally epic binges.

If I was going to be a gross fat cow to him no matter what, I might as well get to enjoy the associated vice of eating, right?

So I just wanted to come in here and stick up for all the moms here. Sometimes it's really not their fault.  :D Keep an eye on your obnoxious ex-husbands though. Who knows what crap they're saying to your kids.

I am the complete opposite from my mother. I have more of my dad's eating habits and weight issues. BUT in my teens my mother would tell me if i lose weight she'd buy me clothes just like my lil sister who has always been thin just like my mother. So I did the no breakfast or lunch with only hot chocolate to drink when i started to get hungry and ate at dinner so my mom wouldnt know about it. I was 5ft 8 and 165lbs at 16yrs old, well I did drop it all off and was at 128lbs up til i was 21....i have two boys now and have had lots of trouble losing the baby weight and now weigh at 214lbs. My snacking is out of hand at most and i've been laying off the snack almost 24/7. Like the chocolates or ice cream, cakes etc... I still get some snacks for the kids mostly unhealthy ones due to my husband spoiling which i tell him doesnt help me or the kids....so he's really trying now for me and our children. I still cook the same foods and some i've found a healthier way to make them but its all about portion control for me. The only thing I'm still have trouble with is always in the back of my head i hear my mom telling to lose the weight so she could buy me nice clothes, and that this is the time to be thin and healthy blah blah blah. Puts me on such a downer so I stop excersing for weeks. I do agree with this article its just not only mom's who influence because there are some daughters who look up to their fathers and not mothers until they're teens or until father isnt around alot due to traveling for work. I just hope that I don't do the same with my boys who are still just lil toddlers.

now that i'm reading other people's posts - i  remember a couple times that my childs grandmother has made comments about what she eats - and says "your gonna get fat if you keep eating like that" (but she does not make the comments in front of me) so, without being rude - how do you tell her not to make comments like that?? which also reminds me that my grandmother has no problem telling me if she thinks i'm getting fat either - is that just how they were back then (both are almost 80)? If anyone read my earlier post - maybe this is why my daughter is concerned of her weight - it did not dawn on me cause i know that i'd never comment on her wieght - especially at this age (11). Maybe it's what other people say - how do you protect them from other people? I am very reassuring to her when she shows concern - I hope that's enough.

The best thing you can do is be supportive.  You are not going to be able to change how or what the grandmothers do or say...

Both my daughters are beautiful.  They are different in many ways but they are gorgeous girls.  I take every chance I can to tell them how I see them and why.  I think it is the only thing I can do for them. 

 Additionally, the things I need to do to model strong female behaviours loving myself. And make sure I don't create a situation where either one of them thinks I am dishonest with them, because I am judging myself so harshly in front of them.  Hopefully I am making sense her. 

The last thought, don't make rifts with the grandmothers, they are elderly, and whatever experiences your children can have with them, they should have.   

We lost my mother in law at the age of 67 to Lung Cancer, and it was heartbreaking for all of us.  I would not have taken back or changed any of the experiences we had with her.  

Be strong yourself, love yourself and be a great role model.

As a child of a mom whom was morbidly obese, I have to say that I feel like a lot of my habits come from her. She got gastric bypass surgery a few years ago, and now she is about my size, but here is a quick overview on how drastically she changed..

When she was big: She ate what I think are normal quantities of foods. However, the foods were often sweets, like chocolate, cookie dough, and cookies. She developed diabetes, and we didn't find out until about 9 years ago (When she was pregnant for my brother). She had to check her blood every so often, blah blah blah. When she was preparing for the gastric bypass, and she let the lies get into her head; She eats too much. She didn't eat too much she just never made good choices.

After gastric bypass: Now, she rarely ever eats, and because of this, her sugar constantly drops low, so then she needs to eat those sweets to help her recover. Whenever she does eat something, she barely eats any of it at all. She lost a lot of weight. She is still considered overweight, I believe, since I am and she is my size and a bit shorter than me, but she doesn't look healthy. Now, she eats sweets at 11 at night, right before she goes to bed. Her meal times are way out of whack, and her idea of breakfast is an iced coffee.

What has this done to my brother and I?
Well, I've been prone to binging after school and late at night, on sweets. But now that I have actually found the will power, I've been basically fasting to clean out my digestive systems and such, and have lost 10 pounds at least in 4-5 days. I feel like if my mom can do it then so can I. She also puts herself down, which makes me put myself down. As for my brother, he is pretty big. I remember an occurence of when my grandmother purchased a medium sized tub of Tollhouse cookie dough. He ate the entire tub in somewhere between 4-7 days. He is 9 years old, and I am terrified he is going to have a heart attack or something. I am 16 years old, and currently weigh 184 pounds.

So yeah, I am proof that mothers really do have an impact on their children's diets.

Patty115.  I have a 12 year old daughter that has always been "a big girl", but the past few years she's really become overweight.  She and I got a doctor's note a couple years ago and joined Weight Watchers.  It worked for both of us.  She had fun doing the math and she often spoke at the meetings.  It was 'our thing'.  I've gained nearly all my weight back and she's put on weight as she's grown and hit puberty.  She really hides what she eats and is home alone after school.  We've told her she can eat as much fruit and veggie as she wants and we've vowed now to not have the bad stuff around the house since she can't control her impulses.

ashiixelainexx,

You should not fast for more that a couple day's to clean out your system, It's not healthy especially for someone your age. I'm sorry that you had to endure this behavior from your mom (i'm sure she did not mean to affect you), but your still young hun - you can definately change things around for yourself and promise yourself that you will not fall into your moms unhealthy habits. It's great that your workking towards a healthier lifestyle and you have plenty of time to accomplish this. Maybe you can start trying to instill healthy habits into your brother or try to get him to follow your footsteps instead of mom's. Eating too little or starving yourself will NEVER work - it'll be up & down - starve - then go crazy cause your so hungry - One day at a time and do your best to make healthy choices - alway's eat breakfast! If you need some guidance - we're all here for you trying to accomplish the same thing you are and we all have great advice.

My mom has been dieting and worried about her apperence and body image for as long as I can remember. It always bugged me but I never really said anything. She always says to me "I hate being fat," "does this outfit make me look big?" things like that, I always would tell her she isn't fat, and looked good. In my eyes, she was beautiful, and to me, even though not to others, we had the same shape, and everyone said we looked alike. 
It took untill I was about 12 or 13 to start to feel when she made a bad comment about her own apperence, I felt the 'ouch' of it too.

And well here I am now: 14 years old struggeling to over come an eating disorder!

my mom never dieted (and never needed to), but she was always putting me down or trying to get me to diet. she used to always tell me that i ate too much, that i needed to lose weight, that i had a belly, that i was unfit and etc. so, i don't wanna put ALL the blame on her, but i've never had a healthy relationship with food, i've been dieting since i was 8, and when i hit 15 i developed anorexia and bulimia.

i think my family played a huge factor in that.

I started my first diet with my mum when I was 15.  I weighed just over a little 9 stone!!   This was in the 70's and a 1000 calorie/day was the done thing.  Looking back,  I have spent all my life yo- yo ing and I can't help feeling that my poor  relationship with food was altered forever by our misguided dieting attempts.  I certainly don't blame my mum, she too has struggled with her weight, so I suppose there's that genetic connection too.

Hi,

My mom always has something to say about my weight when ever I see her.

It's like I'm never the right weight to her.

I wish she could support me and just except me for me.

When I'm heavy, I don't even want to see her over the holidays, because I know at some point she'll have a commment. And i'm embarraced!

I'm also tired of family thinking I'm over weight because I eat too much!

The truth is I have'nt been exercising.

The way she comments, you'd think she thinks I like being fat.

I tell her, my husband loves me wheather I fat or slim.

This is sooooo true!

I've been self-conscious about every inch of my body since I was a little girl. I think this has to do with my mom having a tummy tuck while I was about 5... and I remember looking at myself in the mirror at that time, thinking that I was too fat and ugly...

so that was the beginning of it all... =/ 

I've learned to accept myself, but it´s been a difficult journey...

So moms really really really should set a good example and think before speaking and acting in front of their children.

Reading this article made me realize how great of a rolemodel my mother is!  

I have never heard her talk about her weight (she is between a size 10-12). She actually likes to cook gourmet meals so emphasis was always on eating quality foods that were not processed.  She never said that to us directly, but she would just always talk about fresh food and how good it was. 

Also, she was always exercising in some way (yoga, walking or biking) and she would always read about and talk to us about things that were good for you, like relaxing with a nice bath, aromatherapy, planting gardens and using herbs, enjoying a nice cup of tea, the benefits of being positive.  All of these things really rubbed off on me! I love reading about leading a healthy life and eating healthy foods. I also have learned that exercise can be therapeutic and make you feel good. I hope that those lessons rub off on my children and I can be a great role model for them!

This is for riomom. I think it's important to find an exercise that's fun. Options in our town include walking on the beach, biking, tennis, swimming at the pool, dance classes, karate. My kids were always into athletics during the school year when they got older. What does your daughter like to do? What does she want to try? How does she want to exercise. THis year at our school we started a walking challenge and a lot of kids enjoyed walking with the principal to school, walking with their classes, and the little trinkets that came with each 5 mile walked. All this to say, think fun.

After sustaining an injury to my back, I was put on an anti inflammatory diet.  Today I can say that my back pain is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  It gave me a reason to eat healthy outside of losing weight.  Eating healthy and excercising keeps the body running the way God intended it to.  It isn't about having the best body, being skinny, or looking the best.  It is simply about taking care of what God gave us.  We haven't given up cakes and ice cream completely.  We are celebrating mothers day with a cake.  But the largest percentage of what we eat is geard towards feeding our bodies, not our emotions and just plain feeling hungry.  Fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and nuts.  These foods give us energy and decrease inflammation, allowing the body to function, react, and heal as it should.  There is one side affect!!!  I have lost 70lbs!  Donuts, refined sugars, white bread, and many other things I use to eat now make me feel lousy within minutes of eating them.  I don't crave the comfort foods like I use to.  I didn't even have to ask my kids to join in.  They what it was doing for me, and they are slowing jumping on the band wagon.  :)

perhaps i'm a bit of an exception to the rule. i definately see this as likely, but my mum is one of those women that 90% of the time is happy with her self and she eats what she wants. I've always had a problem with my self image and wanting to diet and excersise, but my mum has none of that drive, it actually worries me a bit.

I have been overweight and on diets since Iwas in my early 20s.  My daughter grew up with me saying i was fat and going on diets all the time.  when she because a young teenager she thought she was fat and became bulimic, thankfully I caught it in time, but she still stayed too slim at 5'10 and 99lbs.  Thankfully it wasn't serious and after she had her first baby she was too busy to think about it.  Now she is in her 30's and weighs 120.

I know my little sister who is 10 is becoming over weight. We've tried so hard (my mom & I) to get her to eat better, but she's so picky and stubborn so she just doesn't listen.

What do you all do to help your kids eat healthy even if they are picky eatters?

I'd really like some tips that might help her so she doesn't face early obesity at such a young age. Hopefully she will listen! :)

Original Post by: kgal521

I know my little sister who is 10 is becoming over weight. We've tried so hard (my mom & I) to get her to eat better, but she's so picky and stubborn so she just doesn't listen.

What do you all do to help your kids eat healthy even if they are picky eatters?

I'd really like some tips that might help her so she doesn't face early obesity at such a young age. Hopefully she will listen! :)

Does she eat a lot of junk food? If so, who provides it? Your mom should read the book called, Fat Families, Thin Families by Amy Hendel. I thought it was a really good book and helps with overweight kids by focusing on the whole family as a unit. Rather than just put all the focus (and blaim) on the child, it shows you how you can encourage healthy habits. Oh, and if she's picky ater, what about the book, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.

Thanks Bev! I will have to check those books out. She doesn't so much eat junk food so much as she eats foods like top ramen alot & they eat out so much. Part of it is not her fault, but I think since my mother is 49 she is tired and doesn't want to fight her on it anymore. I will try your suggestions. Thanks! :)

This article is very interesting and I find it to be very true in my own life. For as long as I can remember my mom has always been very conscious of her weight. She has also always been very thin. She had an immensely negative impact on my in my early teens, and I'm sure she has no idea of the damage she ended up doing.

She would talk about how little she ate for lunch that day, and was always able to work out longer than me. If I only ran for ten minutes, she would boast how she ran for 30. Now a few years later she has gained some weight (but at 5'7" I would guess she's only around 135), however I'm still struggling with the aftermath. The summer before I left for college I developed an eating disorder which peaked the first year I was away from home, with my weight dropping below 100 pounds. My mom did notice how extremely thin I had become, but didn't seem to think much of it. Now I'm 21, and still struggling daily with bulimia. I've never been able to talk about it with my mom because I'm so afraid of hurting her.

Well this has gotten extremely personal.. I apologize, this article just really hit home for me.