What is an ideal weight?

I think our society is very confused about ideal weight. Your ideal weight is NOT the weight at which you could model on the cover of Sport's Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. It is ironic that a society so obsessed with looking emaciated is also so overweight.

My program is targeted to overweight children and teens. A child whose belly does not look completely flat in a bikini is NOT an overweight child. I often have parents (almost exclusively size 0 parents) bringing in their gorgeous, curvy teens, complaining that they are 'fat'. Some will lament that their daughters gained twenty pounds in a year but are unfazed when I point out that they also grew five inches during that time. Children are supposed to gain weight and girls bodies change as they grow and mature. A woman's body is supposed to have curves and yes, some flesh. As mothers, we need to teach our children to love their bodies. Overweight children must lose weight to prevent serious health complications. Yet even those children can be taught to think positively about their bodies. I always frame these discussions by explaining that even though a child looks great, his/her weight can be harming his/her health. Weight loss should be for health, not for bikinis.

Moms, if your child is truly overweight, it is essential to get some help. But please don't chastize your daughters for turning into the women they are destined to become.