I didn't write about my Weight Watchers meeting last night. That was on purpose. I lost another 2.8 pounds this week, but a new member came to the meeting and it brought up a lot of stuff for me.
I have struggled with food, eating, my weight, and self-esteem for what seems like my whole life. I've spent years thinking "If only I were thinner..." or "Someday I'll weight less and..." I do in fact still think like this at times, but that's a different story for a different post. What I have been struggling with for the last 24hours or so is that a woman brought her ten-year-old daughter into the meeting last night. Even now typing that makes me want to cry. The little girl was tall (very tall at least five feet...and she's ten) and not thin, but not morbidly overweight either.
Now, I didn't hear the whole story of why the Mom brought her daughter and I pretty much make it a habit of not judging anyone else's weight-loss journey. But I just can't help but feel like this poor kid is being set up for a lifetime of food issues and low self-esteem. Wouldn't it be better to teach a young girl to focus on being healthy and making healthy choices rather than on the number of the scale?
Don't get me wrong, I think Weight Watchers is great. I think they tout a plan that let's you live your life in a healthy and satisfied way. But I'm an adult. I know that a bad week on plan doesn't mean I had a bad week in general (it actually probably means I had too much fun). Ten-year-olds don't have the ability to think abstractly like that.
I just think even though there is probably a valid medical reason this girl needs to lose weight, it should be up to her parents to teach healthy eating and healthy habits.
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