Little Sister Wants to Lose Weight With Me...

fara180
fara180 Posts: 1,260 Member
edited November 2024 in Motivation and Support
My little sister (age 15) wants to lose weight with me. She has expressed interest in calorie restriction and hitting up the gym with me. Part of me loves the idea, it would give us another thing to bond over and an excuse to spend more time together...but another part of me is worried about her self esteem.

She is 15 and yes, she's overweight. She's only 4'11" and weighs 150 lbs. I think it's a good thing that she has acknowledged her health but I'm worried about setting a negative example and a long road of body and confidence issues. She has been talking nonstop about how "fat," and "gross," she is.

Even though I'm overweight myself and want to lose the weight, I never really refer to myself negatively because I don't HATE my body as it is, I just think it could be better. How do I go about letting her join my get-fit mission without promoting her negative self image?

All positivity will be appreciated!

Replies

  • Codilee87
    Codilee87 Posts: 509 Member
    Number one thing you can do is never fall into the trap of body-bashing yourself and, since it sounds like you already have that down, I don't see it being a problem. Second thing I would suggest is that you base all of your goals on acheivements that are not weight-oriented. Running an 8minute mile (for example) Rockclimbing. Being able to do 10 chin ups. Increasing flexibility. Learn a combat sport. Things that will make you both feel totally badass and proud of yourselves.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I used to teach gymnastics, and I had a girl tell me her mother wanted her to lose weight to fit into a dress, and they would go hit the treadmill in the evenings. I told her that there was nothing wrong with exercising with her mom, that it is good for you, but not to focus on the weight loss as she was still growing. What would happen if she had a growth spurt? The dress wasn't going to fit then anyway. I like the idea of exercising and eating right as part of a healthy lifestyle, not focused on the number on the scale or hating your body. You have one body for your whole life, you need to take care of it.
  • tmt2003
    tmt2003 Posts: 176 Member
    Why would you be setting a negative example? If you are planning to do a crazy fad diet or starve yourself, yes that would be negative. But learning about health, nutrition and finding physical activities you could enjoy together is actually a really positive thing! This is your chance to help her with her confidence.As a teenager who is unhappy with her body, if you don't help her she may just decide to do her 'own thing' which could be anything from diet pills to,starving herself.
    I say it's a great opportunity for you to help each other. I never talk negatively about myself in front of my boys (11 yrs old) but I let them know I am trying to get healthier. I teach them about healthy food and calories and being a healthy family so we can enjoy things like hiking and kayaking,etc. They are proud to be healthy and they feel good when they make healthy choices.

    I've been overweight my whole life and had been on at least 4 diets by the age of 15 and many more after that. Most of the time I starved myself. I Didnt have anyone to teach me how to lose weight in a healthy way. I think you could really help her. Even if she is not successful losing weight, the quality time she gets to spend with you would probably boost her self esteem immensely.
    Teresa
This discussion has been closed.

Categories