I am failing..............

{{{{{Mack Mama}}}}}

You have not failed.  Your daughter is at that weird, pre-pubescent stage that all girls go through.  And we all know how cruel kids can be.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't be concerned.  You should.  But PLEASE tread lightly.  My mother took me under her aerobic wing at age 8... and I think that was the start of all of my problems.  I was on Nutri/System by age 14 (not by choice, mind you), and weighed 250 pounds by age 18. 

My sister had the same chunky baby-fatty build at age 8 but my mom left it alone.  My sister grew up and lost the weight during puberty.  I've always wondered if I might've done the same thing had she allowed nature to take its course.  

I don't know... it's such a fine line you walk as a parent.  My son will be 18 next week.  He's about 6'2" and weighs 275 (size 16 shoe).  HE thinks he's too heavy, but he works out regulary & watches his intake.  We've worked with his pediatrician to learn about balanced diet and healthy habits... and the info soaked in more coming from the doc than Mom.  He doesn't want to be thin (he once was and couldn't go out for football 'cause he was too light), he just wants to be toned.  I can appreciate that.  Yes, I am concerned about his weight - I was 250 pounds at his age - but I know he's doing something about it.  You could say we're on this journey together.

Life is about lessons.  Be patient and gentle with her - and yourself.

Holding you in love, Sweetie...

Uhhhmmmm....

Woo.....tell him to get at me!! 

Between your son and Sheena i'll have a sports management team in no time!! 

All these future superstarsssssss!!!!!!!


Uncle Nate bout to get paaaiiidddddddddddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oohhh sorry!!!!!! 

I know what you are going through MM.  My son is 6 (will be 7 next month) and he is 80 lbs but he is tall for his age.  He is taller and bigger than the other kids.  He looked okay to me because his dad is a big guy and I never been little.  However, his MD already expressed concerns of him becoming obese.  And like you I don't want my son to go through teasing and the cruelty at school.  I just recently got him in sports.  right now he is playing basketball.  I plan on getting him in football when the time comes.  I also starting taking him skating.  I have seen somewhat of a difference.  and he doesn't look at it like exercise.  My point in saying this is try and get her into some type of sport that she enjoys.  This might help make it fun and and she might not view it as exercising or working out.   

uuuhhhmmmmm

Sheena,
You need an agent!!! Tell your son to call me!! I'll make him a millionaire as soon as possible!!!

That big old boy could be the key out the hood!!! Just have to invest in him now!!! 

J/K!!!! 

I know right.  Maybe one day he will be in the NBA or NFL. 


But for now, I just want him to get moving, have fun, be healthy.

Hi Mack Mama, I feel your pain.  My daugther who is 15 went to Urgent Care the other day because she was sick.  They had to weigh her and she had mad anxiety because of it.  Than she went out the room to get on the scale.  When she came back the look on her face was of pain and sadness.  I didn't even say anything.  She just bust out crying and said she is almost 200 pounds.  Did you hear me?  She is 15 and almost 200 pounds.  My heart sank.  But I knew she had gained weight.  We tried Jenny Craig in the Summer and it was just too expensive to keep it up.  My heart breaks for her because I KNOW the road she is headed down.  I too am going to implement the exercise routine and healthy eating.  I have a 9 year old son and a 6 year old niece.  I can already see their bad eating habits.  So I guess since I am the adult in the home, I am going to have to get things moving in the right direction.

Please don't think you have failed.  Times are very different right now and this is fast food times, doesn't make it right but everthing unhealthy is cheap and available. 

Just hang in there.  I know it's hard for them, but just think how much harder it is going to be for them if we don't help them now.

We can do this together....  Be encouraged.

  OMG - I can't even imagine the feeling - and I am scared to DEATH that she will be 17 and 300lbs or something! 

Yep - we gotta get ACTIVE and INVOLVED with out kiddies!!!!  One thing I talked about with babygirl last night is that she doesn't REMEMBER me at 386...... she was only 5 and 6 when I was that large - she only knows me NOW - and she really doesn't understand how mommy doesn't eat a lot - and why she is hungry...... MAN!!!!  This parenting AND WLS surgery shiot is HARD!!!!!

You are right Mack!  No one said it would be easy...  It's not easy at all.  They have so many other things to deal with, now we have the weight issue.  But it's not too late.  As long we recognize the problem.  I actually recognized it a while back and talked to her Pediatritian.  She recommended a Nutritionist but that just didn't help.  I used to thing it was genetic but I look back at her pics from a small child and she was thin.  So go figure.  I just don't want her to be a teen WLS patient so I have to do all I can to get her eating right and exercising.  I have the equipment in my house, in the basement and she just won't go down there.  So I have suggested that we go down there together.  We'll see how that goes.

Thanks again for your honesty and your candidness on this matter.  If we don't help them now, no one else will.

I just wanted to thank you for your honesty.  I'm struggling with my son's weight too.  He's 6 but he's often mistaken for being 8 or 9.  His only saving grace is he's tall like me and my husband.  I also wanted to commend you on being proactive.  As moms we always tend to blame ourselves.  But part of it is just our genetics.  The blessing is you didn't turn a blind eye to her weight and your willing to to do whatever it takes to save your baby.   So good job Mack Mama!

(((Hugz)))  I know it has to hurt seeing your child struggle.  Don't beat yourself up though (or her).  Do what you can to be supportive - like exercising and getting rid of the junk food in the house, but don't make it a job for her.  Remember that there has never, ever, been a medical study where they've been able to show long term weight loss as a result of diet and exercise.  The genetics just don't allow it.  One of the studies that spoke to me the most was one where they tried to take healthy, average weight men and make them gain weight.  They locked them in a research hospital, didn't allow them to exercise, and only fed them high calorie, unhealthy food.  While this was going on, they were doing tests to monitor their health stats and metabolism... you know what happened?  The men didn't gain weight.  The more they fed them, the more their metabolisms adjusted to compensate.  There was a genetic pull that was protecting them from weight gain. 

While this was going on, they had another group of overweight men locked in a research hospital, being fed very little, trying to force them to lose weight.  Same health monitoring... the overweight men's metabolisms did the exact opposite, slowing down to help them maintain their weight.

I don't mean to say that we're helpless in the fight against weight, but I think it's important to be aware of the science behind it all.  Teach your daughter all you can about healthy choices - knowledge is power.  But don't beat yourself up if you don't get the results you hope for right away.

Blessings.