Wow Nycfem! Thank you so much for creating this thread! Reading your experiences really hit home. I have so many moments in my life that have impacted my body image today.
1) My mother has always been very concerned with her weight. As a small child, I remember her following all the fad diets. One involved diet pills that led to my mother being hospitalized. At that time the doctor put it quite simply, he told her "Eat or die. You decide but you have 2 kids waiting at home."
2) I was in the sixth grade and was a size 9. My sister was in the 11th grade and a size 12. My father believed we were too over weight and he would tell us we would never be part of "the ball game" if we lose weight. One morning he told us to get dressed to run an errand with him. That day, he drove us to a workout gym (we had no idea) and left us there for the day This proceeded for the rest of the summer.
3) We grew up poor. My mother showed us she loved us through food. We didn't have much, but food was abundant. Emotional eating was the result.
|