AMEN!! Emily also just doesn't seem bothered by it. YET! I guess that is why it has to be a change of lifestyle for the whole family. The problem here is that I have a dh who is on the low carb diet..which means he is always frying up bacon or hamburgers, etc. The smell alone makes everyone else hungry. Then, I have a 13 year old ds who is playing football...and eating us out of house and home to keep up with what calories he NEEDS. he is a bean pole already! That is SO hard for Emily to get...and to be honest, she just DOESN'T get it.

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There's something else that may help - kids are always in a hurry, and want to grab what is quick and easy - if that's chips, that's what they will grab, so yeah, get those out of the house (keep your secret stash of chocolate - just keep it secret). But I found putting out a bowl of fresh fruit - a nice bowl, checked each day, helps a lot. It's hot here, and fruit doesn't last long if I don't refrig it, but this was worth it, even if I ended up throwing some of it out. I put apples, plums, peaches, pears, grapes, oranges, bananas - anything quick and easy there. It did get eaten!

We don't do soda - none of us really like it - and don't do Kool-aid - no nutrition. However, we do Gatorade and juices, halved w/water. We actually drink water most. We use R/O water thru the fridge, but also buy water that we take everywhere on walks, in the car, etc. That is most of what we use. By the way, I gained weight after kids, too, and little diva is heavy, but ds and dh are normal weight.

The ped. also suggested watermelon as dessert and snack, rather than ice creams. My kids love all melons. I think a lot of it comes down to convenience. I grew up in the country, and I often think back on how healthy we actually ate - always had fresh things from the garden. We weren't allowed to spend $ on snacks, and didn't have prepackaged foods much. We had the meats, real potatoes, fresh veggies, etc. I never really felt lucky then, but we always had salads and homemade things. Cookies were a treat. Dessert was strawberry shortcake or homemade pies.

The other important thing is to let her know that she is not destined to always be heavy - it is in her control, but takes time and effort in making the right choices. And keep her away from Starbucks! THAT is my huge downfall.

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Make someone's heart smile today.

You stated that Emily just doesn't get it about her weight being a problem. I think you said that she is going into middle school (6th grade). I posted earlier that was a fat child who decided mid-sixth grade that my weight was a problem because I had a crush on an 8th grader. My epiphany moment came about the time I turned 12 in January of 6th grade. I lost 20 pounds in the next three months after that. She is still young enough that she may just "get it" within the next year. Do what you can do for your entire family's health/nutrition. Try to get her to be in school sports if possible (it will at burn calories and tone her up.) My personal experience is that I had to want it for myself. (Just like a grown-up has to want it for him/herself.)

i think these ladies have all gave great suggestions. my ds was considered obese catagory at 4 years old he is now 6 and in the normal category. his peds suggested not so much focusing on him loosing weight but eating better and maintaining so his height could catch up. by the end of kindergarten he had lost 6lbs and kept it off for 2 years and this year has yet to gain any. we made it so everyone had set meal times and snack times we went down to the recommended 12 oz of milk a day for kids and added more water fruits and veggies. it has made a huge difference he is more confident and we did not pin point him as the reason for change we just stated the hole family needed to eat better. good luck i know it can be a fine line when it comes to the feelings and weight issues together.

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SILENCE IS GOLDEN BUT DUCK TAPE IS SILVER.

I am concerned about my dd. There are days she could gorge off her arm that is how hungry she is. I have been thinking about this a lot lately I guess because she is going into Pre K this year and I would hate for someone to make fun of her and what is truly important is that she stays healthy for her own self. She gets tired really fast. The doctor said this is because of the weight and it seems to be a vicious cycle she is not very physical because of the weight and therefor I feel will only gain more. Her brother is the complete opposite and I have to make sure I do not favor one over the other as far as snacks go, so I just limit both of there snacks so she doesn't feel like I am picking on her about this. I have tried to keep the not so good foods at the store but the problem is I do occasionally do buy stuff so she is not gorging when she goes to someone else house but she doesn't know how to stop at times. Sorry so long but I really am worried about her. Thanks for listening.