Weight Loss - When A Parent Has Wls: What To Tell Our Chubby Children

When A Parent Has Wls: What To Tell Our Chubby Children

We know that children are becoming obese at an alarming rate. We know fat kids become fat adults. We know that obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in this county. We know that obese children will be faced with huge health risks that will compromise their quality of life as adults. We know that obese children are the target of hate and ridicule by other children. We know that fat children are shunned by their peers. And we know it is the parent's responsibility to make sure their children do not become obese dooming them to lifetime of disease, heartache and suffering.

One of the most painful things about obesity is we seem to get it from our parents and pass it along to our children. I know a woman, Diane, who could not celebrate her bariatric success because she had a teenage daughter who came home from school day after day to hug a giant pillow and cry - her classmates called her "Fatty-Cathy". Cathy is fat, or as her parents like to call her "stout." Racked with guilt Diane asked "How in the world can I celebrate my weight loss when my own daughter is suffering? I feel pretty guilty about it. I'm her mother. I have fed her and taught her bad eating habits. I've actually written notes to excuse her from physical education classes. I gave her my genetic background, then I made the worst of it."

As if "normal" teen-parent relationships aren't difficult enough, imagine having a mother beside herself with guilt and a daughter angry and jealous over her mother's weight loss. When I asked Cathy how she felt about her mother's new figure and improved health she was angry. She said, "How do you think I feel? She is wearing the cute clothes my friends wear and I have to order fat lady clothes from a catalog. I wear my dad's old raincoat because we couldn't find a cute coat in my size. How do you think I feel?" she wept.

Even though she has pleaded earnestly to have surgery, Cathy's parents are strongly opposed to the 16-year-old having bariatric surgery. They believe the family can learn from Diane's life-long battle with obesity and make small steps to improve Cathy's health, ultimately resulting in weight loss.

They are cooking healthy meals together and monitoring portion sizes. They are learning to read nutritional labels. There are no more late night pizza deliveries and "super-size" is off limits. Diane and Cathy have identified that they are emotional eaters. Now they are talking about their negative emotions rather than fostering them with high-calorie, high-fat out-of-control eating. They are working to improve physical fitness as well, walking together three nights a week. Diane doesn't want bariatric surgery to be Cathy's last and only hope. "I want to make things better for her, I don't want her to suffer like I did all those years. I want to correct what I've done wrong by feeding her too much of the wrong things. I don't want her to go through surgery. "

Cathy has reluctantly made lifestyle changes along with her parents. After three months of improved eating habits and exercising she is down 10 pounds. Her BMI is 39, she started at 41, just at the cusp of qualifying for surgery. Dad has joined the fight against fat as well. He's lost almost 20 pounds. "I'm proud of her," said Diane, "and I tell her everyday. I think we are getting closer. I want so much to save her from feeling the pain."

We know that children are copycats: they are more likely to do what their parents do, not what their parents tell them to do. Given that, Cathy's parents are doing the right thing for her by adopting a new family lifestyle that will ultimately improve the quality of life for all of them. Bad eating habits are not impossible to break and exercise is not impossible to incorporate into our daily lives. Diane's surgery was simply the catalyst this family needed to overhaul years of destructive habits.

Cathy's parents have realized, by way of their own health crises, that eating is one of the most fundamental health-related behaviors that can be controlled. They are working together to improve the quality of life for the entire family.

As for the emotional issues: Diane's guilt and Cathy's jealousy; they are doing their best to work through those issues on their own. But Diane admits it is stressful at times and family counseling may be in order. "Years down the road I don't want us to be a mother and daughter who never speak to each other because we didn't resolve these issues. I think there is a chance here for us to become closer."

Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com - fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.

Car Insurance Rates | Dental Insurance | Health Insurance | Home Owner Insurance | Life Insurance Quote

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |

How To Spot False Weight Loss And Diet Advertising Claims
Flip through a magazine, scan a newspaper, or channel surf and you see them everywhere: Ads that promise quick and easy weight loss without diet or exe...(related: Weight Loss)

Diet Soda: New Study Shows Relationship Between Diet Soda And Weight Gain
A very interesting story was reported recently by WebMD.com. A report was made at the annual scientific session of the American Diabetic Association (www.diabetic.org) by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, of the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine in San Antonio, Texas.Fowler collected data on over 1,500 people aged 25 to 64 over nearly an eight-year period. At the beginning of the study, 622 people were of normal weight. Over the course of the study, roughly one-third of them became overweight or obese. A correlation was found between increas...(related: Weight Loss)

Mamma Said: Keep Your Fingers Out Of Your Mouth
Watching television exercises our eyes but nothing else. Unfortunately, it doesn't require us to do anything with our hands which leaves them free to grab something to eat. Then there are the food and restaurant commercials where everything is colorful and perfectly cooked. Don't even think about watching a cooking show: the temptation to snack or get up and cook is totally irresistible.How can we break this self-des...(related: Weight Loss)

Weight Loss Now! The Soft Drink Diet
In the early nineties doctors were beginning to see the growing trend in American's waistlines. So for a very short period of time they came out on the offense by promoting better foods to eat. An easy one was endorsing pasta meals. What they failed to mention was the best time to eat pasta and what other things to not eat with it. Thus, fifteen years later, you are twenty percent fatter, and more confused than ever. Pasta by itself is not necessarily the problem, but combine that with soft drinks or wine, then you have the Venus fly trap.Remember years ago, the sticky strip you hung out in your ...(related: Weight Loss)

Cross Training
One of the biggest misconceptions about exercise is that there is "one" program that works for someone...(related: Weight Loss)

Weight Loss Surgery: What Are The Options?
To understand how surgical procedures aid the grossly overweight person to reduce their body fat, it helps to first understand the digestive process that is responsible for handling the food we take in.Once food is chewed and swallowed, it's on its way through the digestive tract, where enzymes and digestive juices will break it down and allow our systems to absorb the nutrients and calories. In the stomach, which can hold up to three pints of material, the breakdown continues with the help of strong acids. From there it moves into the duodenum, and the digestive process speeds up through the addition of bile and pancreatic juices. It's here, that our body absorbs the majority of iron and calcium in the foods we eat. The final part of the digestive process takes place in the 20 feet of small intestine, the jej...(related: Weight Loss)

Volumetrics Adverse Events - Two Potential Outcomes
Adverse Events with VolumetricsDr. Barbara Rolls is a well respected nutritionist in the United States. Volumetrics reflects her passion and expertise. It is a balanced and nutritious diet that is easy to follow. The meaning of the term "Volumetrics" has been around for sometime. I can remember my Dad talking about eating foods with high "moisture" content. The concept of food volume as a means to lose weight quickly fell out of favor and was replaced by fat content. Just within the last 2-3 years food volume has made a comeback.It is important for consumers to understand that there are only a few clinical trials for weight experts to draw conclusions from and make appropriate recommendations.For instance, it is my opinion that losing weight is not your problem. ...(related: Weight Loss)

Weight Loss Tips For A Swimsuit Body
Spring is here and swimsuit weather is just around the corner. If you're like many of us, you start panicking about all the weight you need to lose to fit into your favorite swimwear. Some need to los...(related: Weight Loss)

Rapid Weight Loss - Is It Healthy And Does It Work?
It is important that the public not only understand the right ways to lose weight, but also equally understand the wrong ways!There have been many FAST weight loss systems that have come and gone over years ? The Cambridge Diet and Sl...(related: Weight Loss)

Eat What You Like And Still Lose Weight
Did you say there's a way I can eat what I like and still lose weight? Is that even possible? Is there really a way I can lose weight without counting calories, carbs, fats, and without doing all the other stuff that these diet experts tell me?Yes there is. First of all, to put it bluntly, diets just don't work at all for long-term weight loss. The main reason why diets don't work is because they take you out of your comfort zone. Diets say things like "Okay put down the cheeseburgers & fries and start eating rice cakes all day."Now the all new popular Rice cake diet by "Dr. W...(related: Weight Loss)

Can Water Really Help You Lose Weight?
I believe that water not only helps with weight loss, but is also one of the most important things to keep in mind when trying to lose weight. Here are just some of the reasons why everyone should be drinking at least eight glasses of water day.- Naturally suppresses appetite- Increases metabolism- Reduces stored fat deposits- Improves kidney function- Decreases fluid retention- Helps muscles maintain their tone- Aids in the prevention of sagging skin after weight loss- R...(related: Weight Loss)

Move, Move, Move For Greater Weight Loss
The loss of fat comes from fat cells all over the body, not from one or more specific area's so spot reduction of a certain area is not possible. The main priority of this article is to show you the quickest and safest way to lose fat from the body.The key to effective aerobic training that burns off the maximum amount of fat is long-term consistency not intensity. It doesn't matter if you run a mile, jog a mile or walk a mile you will burn exactly the same amount of calories.<...(related: Weight Loss)