Did you "diet" as a child?

I was sitting here eating some cantaloupe with my lunch and it caused this memory to come rushing back to me of my friends and myself eating cantaloupe and cottage cheese in elementary school because our moms thought we needed to be on a diet. I remember this as early as third grade, and NONE of us were heavy. I was actually a very thin child and I remember being forced to diet from about 8 years old onward. Just curious if it was just me and my friends who had parents who liked to scar us, or was it a trend when we were kids? I just cannot even imagine doing that to my child. No wonder I'm screwed up

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

No, but my mom didn't really keep a ton of junk food in the house.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

Yup... kindergarten... all the other kids got milk and cookies.... I had to get my orange wedges from my school bag. It totally scarred me for life.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

No...I did not diet as a kid. I didn't "diet" until I was in college. I was very active thoughout all of my childhood/teen years.

We ate healthy, but were allowed snacks (ie goldfish, pretzels, cookies, etc).

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

I was on a "diet" since I was 8!

It caused me a major eating disorder! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

yes i did. and to this day i have major body image issues b/c of it.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

yes

ped told my mom that i was 10 pounds overweight when i was 8 - around the time that kids started to call me fat

so i stopped eating at school - from 4th grade till senior year, it was very very rare to see me eat during the day

and then when i got a little bit older, basically stopped eating altogether

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

I think I am a little older than you, but it wasn't a trend among my friends.

We all used to share our snacks that our moms packed & sometimes I was given money for ice cream.

Message edited 8/17/2009 1:06:32 PM.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

Never. I was allowed to eat junk if I wanted to. (in moderation, of course). My mom always packed me a snack of cookies, chips, etc. Neither me nor my brother were overweight then or now.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

Never. I had a regular breakfast (pop tart, cereal, eggs...), school-provided lunch, snack after school (usually ice cream or a cookie) and then a regular dinner. Usually dessert after dinner too. I have been active my entire life - it would never have even occurred to anyone to put me on a diet - I was skinny anyway. I think it is horrible when a parent restricts the diet of a kid without medical reasons (I mean, if the doctor said to do XYZ as a diet, then do it, but a parent should not just decide to do so without any medical reason).

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

No, instead my mom would give me the junk and then berate me for eating it. I've finally developed a healthy relationship with food, but I'm still very self conscious about the last 20 lbs I have to lose.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

My parents were pretty hypocritical. We had all healthy alternatives to EVERYTHING in the house. But they had their own private stash of junk.

The result? I would be seen eating raisins, pretzels, peanut butter, carob chips and fruit as snacks.. but would have my own secret stash of crap from the ice cream man, deli, etc..

I never had a problem thinking I was 'fat' or overweight until that closet eating thing got worse and I started to get heavier.

It's not my parent's fault - but that dual life set a precedent for me waaaaaay back that haunts me to this day. As a result, I allow a certain amount of junk in the house and the boys do get cookies or candy here and there. They understand it's a 'TREAT' because it has no nutritional value. But I take the time to explain why real food is important instead of banning all junk.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

No but I had the opposite problem.
I went to see nutritionists at my doctor's advice to try and gain weight.
I was always extremely underweight as a kid

ETA- we ate very unhealthy in my house growing up. Lots of fast food, and the home cooked meals weren't healthy by today's standards, and basically any kind of junk food we wanted.
The whole family had a fast metabolism and we ate as such...
Hence why I can NEVER stick to a healthy eating plan as an adult. I was spoiled growing up with all that yummy fatty food!!

Message edited 8/17/2009 3:09:50 PM.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

i wish! i was telling my husband that when i was a kid (prob. around 5-8) my father would go to work at 4:30/5 a.m. and he would either make me a fry bread or a bagel with cream cheese. Fry bread for those who do not know is bread fried in bacon drippings. Then send me back to bed, wake up eat another breakfast of hot cereal, school was actually helpful because it kept me from eating but as soon as i would come home it was a pizza or grilled cheese, basically another meal, dinner then snack. I was THIN too! Now i don't eat as much at all and i am so fat. Grrr

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

My grandmother was the reason I became anorexic.. she used to tell me that whatever I mixed would give me a stomach ache or make me sick and I always had a complex about what I ate, if it was going to make me sick or not, so I never ate much..

And then with boys in JR high, I remember NEVER eating in front of them.. I had a hard time eating in front of people for a long long time..

Message edited 8/17/2009 1:25:04 PM.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

No, but we always ate pretty healthy.

When I was about 15/16 my mom thought I wasn't eating enough so my MD put me on a "reverse diet".

As an adult I get "looks" if I even say the D-word.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

Never! My sisters and I all were very thin and extremely active (we were on competitve sports teams year-round). My parents did a very good job about giving us well-balanced meals and everything in moderation. None of my friends were on diets either in elementary school.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

not really but we didnt really have snacks in the house. a snack was a big deal, like making pudding on the stove with my mom. otherwise it was fruit to munch on.

i remember asking for oreos or potato chips and my parents calling them "American food" LOL I could only get that if friends were coming over

But on the other hand, I drank Tang every day with breakfast. . .go figure.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

Posted by Phyl

I was on a "diet" since I was 8!

It caused me a major eating disorder! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

No. We were not on a diet. I have never heard of being on a diet until I was a teenager.

My mom is skinny. I WAS a skinny kid.

But we had rules at my house.

Never had sodas or juice. It was water at every meals or snacks. My grandparents had sunnyD and that was a HUGE treat for my sister and I when we went there. We never had candies. We ate meat and boiled veggies at all meals. Yogurt or fruit was concidered a dessert. McDonald/fast food type restaurants did not exist where I lived until I was 16. I had my first hamburger when I was 17.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

My mother was horrible when it came to my appearance and weight. YES, she put me on a diet starting when I was 8 years old. She would give me a sticker for every pound I lost

It really is a miracle that I never developed any kind of eating disorder!

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

no I never dieted as a child. My parents didn't really prohibit me from eating anything, but my mom also didn't keep much junk in the house either. I've never heard of kids really dieting until they were older in middle school and then it was them doing it, not their parents having them do it. At least from what i remember...
I def don't recall any of my friends being put on trend diets. I do remember friends who were not allowed candy or soda though.

Re: Did you "diet" as a child?

No, but I was underweight as a child.

My food intake was monitored from the beginning though... I was never allowed sugary cereals, my snacks were limited, my halloween candy was taken away on Halloween and I was only given a couple of pieces at a time..

I suspect they may have put me on a diet had it ever appeared necessary. Dress size matters in my family.