She is a bit resistant to making an effort to become educated about nutrition and different approaches to weight loss. She just wants to know what is "good' and "bad" and gets mad when I won't labels things that way. Ally is like me, she is carb carb sensitive and more of an emotional eater. Unlike me, she has a limited palate. (Or perhaps she still needs to grow into it.) With her limited likes and stubborn nature, it is hard to direct her easily to a good weight loss plan.
We went through the grocery store aisle by aisle talking about options and choosing foods to buy and how to fit them into her schedule and not look weird at school and if she should try to count calories or cut out fat or carbs or what to do.
And she said to me "But eating this is not going to make me full, I am going to be hungry. So I am just going to have to be hungry all the time?" That made me think of those actresses who talk about being hungry all the time to stay thin. It made me feel so sad and helpless because, yes, we can alter our appetites. Our stomachs can "shrink" and we will feel full with less. I know that there is a difference between mouth hunger and stomach hunger. Between wanting to eat and needing to eat.
But really? During most of this year that I have been losing weight, I have been hungry. I have done things to distract myself because I don't think I should be hungry. I ignore the feeling. I try to embrace the feeling . But I am hungry.
So how do I tell my child she has to feel hungry to get healthy?
