"Nutrition, Exercise,and Weight Management"

Blog #9

How was the issue of food and weight discussed in your home?
Dealing with major issues with eating disorders is still a huge topic even today in my own parent’s home. Now my mother did have some valid points nutrition. She felt everything should be cooked from scratch and no junk food. So when we at the movies we were allowed popcorn but no artificial butter. She felt if you were over on the thick side then you were healthy. On when it came to my father, he was a strict about us eating everything on our plates. Daddy felt you should also eat all the seconds and thirds you could stand. There was one problem this family did at the dinner table and that was argued while you were attempting to enjoy your food. So gaining weight with him didn’t bother him till he became a Diabetic and he still is a food alcoholic.
Was it ever a control issue or a point of conflict for you?
Yes, I had to eat everything or else I would get into big trouble at the dinner table. It created many eating problems latter in my teenage years. I learned to chew my food and wait for a moment to place the food in a napkin and then be excused to go the bathroom where I would flush my extra food down the drain. Later as my weight increased I learned to exercise in excess to burn those unwanted calories. I’m just grateful for my first husband who taught me that I did not have to live that way.
How much influence do you believe your family has on the way you feel about food and your body today?
Yes, my family dynamics did influence how I eat and looked at my body.
That is an endless subject but I’m grateful for the therapist I had during my last pregnancy. When I had gain over 40lbs from my last baby I was miserable over my bodies appearance. He made me stand in front of a mirror and say I was loved the way that I look now and I would have to say that I love my self out loud. I had to learn how to eat healthier food groups and exercise. I did have to loose weight this last year because Diabetes runs so high in my family tree; however, I did it in a slow fashion over a year’s time instead of staving myself into nothing Today I’m more at peace with the way I look and content. No more do I have to starve myself to look at and fit into today’s extreme skinny fashion world.