I'm overweight, but I'm also muscular. Not body builder muscular, but strong and solid. I'll probably never hit the medical "ideal" weight and I'm okay with that because I think their "ideal" is stupid. I do want to get rid of the excess padding and insulation though.
My daughter is three. She'll be four in January. She is middle of the charts height wise and on the high end of the charts weight wise. Which, of course, puts her on the high end for the height/weight ratio (why don't they just call it BMI, that's what it is). She's not fat. She's strong, solid, and muscular. The girl carries milk in a gallon jug from the car for me UP THE STAIRS. She's practically a monkey. She was scaling rock walls at the playground at two.
When I decided to lose weight, I knew there was no hiding it from Aleighla (my daughter) because she's as smart as she is strong. She's also practically always with me. So, I had to figure out how to approach it without it being a big deal and in a way that showed only healthy positives. At this age, little ears hear and absorb EVERYTHING. I don't want her to ever look at her body negatively. So, I've tried, as much as possible, to say getting healthy over losing weight. When I break out the measuring cups, it's not to limit my portions but to know how much I'm eating. The only thing I've ever said no to around her is when she offered me a second piece of her Halloween candy (I ate the first, we've worked so hard on sharing). Even then, I said, thanks but I've already had one today and one is enough. My kids get that. We limit the amount of sweets they can have in a day.
At first, it was tough to use the positive language. It's gotten easier though and honestly, I think my terminology has helped me as much as my daughter. Saying things positively has gotten me thinking positively. Thinking positively has me acting positively. Acting positively is a whole lot easier to do than forcing and limiting.
This morning, I was reassured that all my hard work to preserve her sense of self and body image is working. She asked me to watch her. When I turned around to look, I expected a spin or cute dance (normal watch me moments). What I saw, however, was a really great set of mountain climbers (prone knee drives). She piped up with, "I'm gonna finish strong, Mama!"
That's MY girl. Watch out, she's going to kick some butt.