I have a cat. And I refuse to let him get fat. He's not in any danger of that, but when I first adopted him, the vet said to make sure he didn't get bigger, so I definitely keep an eye on his little tummy.

It makes me glad I don't have children, because I would probably turn into some diet nazi and preach to my kids that they have to be thin thin thin "so they don't turn out like mommy" and then they'd probably develop anorexia or some equally heinous eating disorder.

A random thread, I know. But I'm curious. What's the situation in your house?

Are your children or pets overweight? And if they are, has that changed as you've changed?

My oldest son is getting just a tad tubby,but he's not overweight. He just has a bit of fat on his belly and some little man boobs, but it could be he's about to hit puberty and shoot up, he's going to be a seriously big boy - as in tall.

But overall, no. I'm a really strict mother like that. I know we've had our discussions about tolerance and understanding of fat people and I feel I can make my confession that when I see fat women walking round the shopping centre with fat children eating hot chips, I am utterly disgusted at them that they could not only do what they've done to themselves (which I can understand afterall) but to their children. You cannot say you feed your children badly because you have emotional eating issues. Its just lazy and bad parenting. As parents the buck stops with us. It is totally our responsibility to ensure our kids eat well and get sport and exercise and an active lifestyle. There is just no excuse, absolutely none for filling your child with pizza and McDonalds etc. I'm sorry if that's harsh but there's not.

Even if your children have inhereted the fat gene that may or may not exist (but I think it does, for sure) you can do worlds of good for their health and self esteem by keeping the family diet balanced and healthy and keeping them involved in healthy activities, away from the television and playstation. Much of the reason I decided to have this surgery was that I cannot keep expecting my children to behave one way whilst I behave another.

At the same time, I really dont want to introduce the diet mentality and all the body image issues that go along with it - and I certainly want them to be able to enjoy junk food in moderation with their friends. They may grow up fat and they may not, but it sure as heck wont have been from poor lifestyle choices and ignorance on my part. They will at least have the foundations of a healthy lifestyle and wont be malnourished on 5000 calories a day.

Ditto the cat. She relies on me for food and like with my children, to do other than to provide her with what she needs would be abuse in my book.

You can achieve this without being a diet nazi, which would be just as bad. If you start them on the right foot, right from the word go, create a relaxed and healthy environment around food in which no food is bad, but some foods are not everyday foods, they tend to move on and make good choices for themselves. I think the teen years will be a challenge though.

See, with our kids, though, we don't restrict foods. They are free to choose what they want to eat, but they more often than not choose healthier foods. They are more flavorful, and they love the vibrant colors of natural healthy veggies and fruits. They choose chicken over beef, and fish over chicken, and they LOVE fruit. My son will have a salad anytime he can, and they thrive on tomatoes. They eat them almost every meal it seems. My daughter's favorite sandwiches are tomato sandwiches. But I have never been food nazi with them. They eat their fare share of nuggets and cheeseburgers and iced cream.

hello. i have had my cutie cat since he was 3 weeks old. he is 12 lbs and has been that way for 6 years. i adopted 2more cats they both were little now tigger is a big boy. there is nothing i can do about that. my friend keeps food out all the time. he eats very well.

Jachut, I TOTALLY AGREE!

It was a constant effort but it wasnt so hard that like you siad you have to be a diet natzi..

I really really hate seeing reallly overweight kids..

I hate to judge..

BUT its hard.

I cared so friggin much, I was able to do it and It was that care that motivated me the most as I was just a kid and not very health conscious at all..

Jachut, I TOTALLY AGREE!

It was a constant effort but it wasnt so hard that like you siad you have to be a diet natzi..

I really really hate seeing reallly overweight kids..

I hate to judge..

BUT its hard.

I cared so friggin much, I was able to do it and It was that care that motivated me the most as I was just a kid and not very health conscious at all..

yeah i know. i have seen the talk shows where this kids are 1 and weigh more then me. and there mother says i do not want to denie my kid from food. its really bad. i do not have any kids. but my mom was always concerned about my weight. could not eat anything bad. well it caught up with me when i got my car and was able to drive:think

I have two kids (2 and 5) and they're both really skinny. I made the conscious choice to never say the word diet in front of them, and I never, ever complained about my body. It's worked. I finally asked my son the other day if he had noticed that I lost 70 lbs and he gave me a blank look and said "yeah, I guess". Geesh! Maybe I should talk about it more. :cool:

I have 4 dogs, 2 are on low-cal food. 1 is underweight and the other is almost overweight.

My mom is around 100lbs, she lives off coffee and cigarettes and rarely eats. My dad never got over 150lbs, when he passed away 10 years ago he weighed 80lbs (emphysema, cancer and renal failure took its toll).

I have 2 older sisters. One was always thin growing up, all her weight now is in her butt. She has 3 kids and weighs about 160. The other sister made fun of me my entire childhood about being fat, even when I wasn't. Now she is bigger than me.

One of the reasons I believe I became obese was because of my sister. From the time I was 7 I was told how worthless, fat and ugly I was. After many years of hearing that and my parents not making her stop, I just gave up and eat whatever I wanted. By the time I graduated high school I was morbidly obese. :cool:

My daughter is 16 months old. She is in the top 90th percentile for her weight, but she is also tall. I don't consider her fat even though the doctor told me to watch her weight. With two banded parents I think her chance of being overweight has decreased.

I'm with Nykee here, it was my mission in life to make sure my kids didn't get fat. I was a 50 lb 5 year old, and I know it was because Mom thought feeding me was cute. Later when she put me on a strict diet at 8 years old, I hated her. I was hungry! And she always told me that chips and little debbies were only for my thin siblings. Ugh! Well, I learned what not to do!

I feed my kids anytime they are hungry. But I choose what they are eating. I never talk about diets or weight loss to my kids. My kids had no clue that kids meals at restaurants (my ex & I ate out almost every meal) came with french fries until after they started school. Steamed veggies were normal. They get fruit at home for snacks. If they want seconds at dinner they have to finish all veggies and wait 10 minutes. They drink water except for at meal times. And since I've done this since they were born, it's NORMAL to them. Don't get me wrong, they love chips and candy and soda as much as the next child, but they know they are treats.

The net result? Both of my children are thin. My DD is the perfect weight for her height and my DS is actually a little bit underweight, but I can't-won't-will not make him eat if he doesn't want to. I have done much better by them than I've done to myself. Is that the definition of Mom?

Dog=slightly on the edge (vet says to not let her gain any more)

Son (17)= 6' 1", 145 lbs, loves the junk, meat lover, small appetite, active

Daughter (11)=4'8", 65 lbs, well rounded eater, not a junkie, active.

Mission=not to force eating (clean plate syndrome), well-balanced life

Shawn

Nykee, I find it interesting that in one post, you say your daughter is fat at 160, and in another post you say your mom is pretty skinny at 165 when she is shorter than your daughter. I'm not trying to dig, I just thought it was interesting. I'm the same hieght as your daughter and would kill to be 160, lol. My sister is my same height also, but has a different build to me, and at about 150 right now looks chubby to me. She's always been very thin, and so now with an extra 15 to 20 lbs she looks chubby, even though if I didn't know her and saw her on the street, she'd be another person I looked at and said I wish I looked like that". It's funny how perception works.

Anyway, I don't have kids, but I have 2 cats. One of them is at the point where I start to think she might be gaining, but then she looks okay. I took her to the vet the other day and she's the exact same weight she was when she was there about 2 years ago, and they didn't say anything about her weight. She could probably stand to lose a pound, but I think she's fine. The other cat is fine. I leave food out for them and they eat whenever they want, and they seem to do fine. I don't give them treats TOO often, but sometimes. My fiancee is a beanpole, but he'd gained a few lbs. But he's started losing them so in just a few more lbs he'll be a straight beanpole again, lol.

When I do have kids, I want to start with good habits so that later in life it's just "that's the way it's always been" you know? I have some work to do on my own habits, because I don't want it to be a "do as I say, not as I do" situation either.

181lb Rottweiller. Yes, we have a problem....

Staci

Orlando FL

banded in TJ 12/16/04

hoooo doggies!! that is one big rottie!!

Praise the LORD! My kidds are very healthy and fit! they do sit ups, push ups, and Chin ups. a few days a week. It may cost me a FEW DOLLERS aweek in allowence. And they eat healthy. but its worth it, I was chubby when I was younger and remember kiids being tough! so I did not want my kidd's go through that I started them exercise about year and a half ago.

they play all kinds of sports to so they are fine and enjoy doing it.:cool: