's motd Thursday November 18, 2010

[Guest guest]

PLEASE CALL MY

MOM

Thursday, 18 November 2010

I received an E-mail from a 16

year-old girl named a few days ago. She wrote

to tell me that her mother was very overweight. Her

mom was really down and depressed about it. Plus, her

mom and dad had divorced nearly two years ago and ever

since, her mother had just seemed lost. She told me

that her mom gained quite a bit of weight since filing

for the divorce. In fact, she's gained nearly 80

pounds in the less than two years since the divorce

became final. told me that her mother was so

unhappy with the way she looked and felt about

herself. She ended her E-mail with these words,

", please call my mom."

Well hey, after reading 's

letter, you know what I did. I picked up the phone to

call her mother! R-i-i-i-n-n-g! "Hello."

"Yes, may I speak to , please?"

"I'm sorry but is in school today. This is

her mother, . May I ask who's calling?"

(Oh, just who I'd wanted, really.) "Well hi,

. This is calling."

Either didn't believe me or, even if she did,

either way, I was met with a moment of silence over

the phone. I took the liberty to go ahead and start

explaining why I was calling. I told about the

very emotional E-mail I'd received from her daughter.

And by the time I'd finished, was in tears. She

asked if she could excuse herself. (Seems she needed

some Kleenex and a glass of water before continuing

our talk.)

had no idea that had written me and was

actually a bit taken aback by the news. As we

continued to talk, softened up and we ended up

talking like we were old friends. She admitted that

she had indeed put on about 80 pounds since her

divorce. And worse than that, her bad eating and

cooking habits had taken a toll on , too.

Apparently, had been indulging on all of the

same fattening foods, right along with her mother.

And while had put on nearly 80 pounds,

herself had gained almost 40!

I told that never

mentioned to me that she'd also gained

weight. She only told me about her mother's

weight-gain. Well, I said to that this was the

perfect time for the two of them to become a

mother/daughter team and get to work losing the weight

they both needed to lose.

I told her to begin with the two of them sitting down,

face-to-face and having a heart-to-heart,

"food-to-food", talk about the way they'd been

treating their bodies. After their talk, I suggested

they begin planning their meals better, prepare a

shopping list for their next trip to the supermarket

and to make that grocery shopping trip...together.

I explained to how important exercise

would be for their weight-loss efforts. I recommended

they exercise together, as often as they could. By

the end of our conversation, told me what her

goals were. And I let her know that I would always be

here to help her and reach their goals.

I do hope I hear from them because

I know that their chances of losing weight together

are much better than if they each tried to go it

alone. I reminded how great they would feel by

losing the weight as a true mother/daughter team. Oh!

What a great story is waiting to happen for the two of

them.

Do you have a child or parent suffering from

obesity? And are you suffering from

obesity, too? Well, maybe it's time to have that

heart-to-heart, food-to-food chat with your

child or parent.

Love,