Warning Signs

I see it happening already, the warning signs are there...

My mother always said to me: "Thank God you were able to play sports in high school, that is one reason you were able to keep the weight off while you played sports". This was very true. Throughout high school, I was a 3-sport per year athlete (OK, I was not very good at basketball, but I tried to make an effort) I was good at volleyball and pretty good at softball. But playing those sports enabled me to control my weight. I also played volleyball in college, so the training during the summer, fall and off-season also helped. Thank goodness for sports, otherwise, high school would have been a different story for me.

My daughter. Love her to pieces. Would die for her. Those of you who are a parent know what I am talking about. I also worry about her. For one, she is the spitting image of me. This means that most likely she is doomed for the weight troubles that I encountered and battle with (successfully now!) Her last physical I talked to her doctor about it. I knew. She was a 5-year old wearing 6x. Her weight measured at the 95 percentile, her height was in the 75 percentile. I was frank with her pediatrician. What do I do? How could this happen? And that was the one thing I couldn't understand, how did this happen? Especially when she does eat the healthy stuff! She loves fruit, loves tomatoes (which is interesting such her daddy and I can't stand them), loves most vegetables. Then as a parent, you begin to feel guilty. How could I (especially me) allow this to happen? How did this happen and what did I do wrong? Her pediatrician didn't seem to be concerned at this point (well, not alarmed), but she did give me some ideas. Continue to give healthy snack ideas, which is something I am trying. And if it is not fruits or vegetables, I have been buying the 100 calorie snack packs. Less calories and in a portion pack. She also said to work on portion control, which is something I have been doing. I am not sure if it has made a difference at this point, but we will see. I also try to keep her involved in physical activities, so we do dance, we are doing kids zumba, we do t-ball and soccer, etc...

But the warning signs are there. I can see her having to deal with my issues when she gets older. I can see it happening because when I relayed all this information to my parents, they informed me that they had the same discussion with my pediatrician that I had with my daughter's. And I am struggling with how to help her without giving her a complex. That is what I DON'T want to do. That will only lead to a child with an eating disorder or other self-esteem issues. So, the only thing I can do at this point is continue doing what I am doing, show her how mommy eats healthy, show her how mommy exercises and hope that my influence rubs off on her. This is a tall order.