Advice re my 13 year old dd

[LadyBrienne]

She’s reasonably active - 4 to 5 days per week sports team

However she eats a lot and has gravitated over the last two years to food of low nutritional quality - ice cream popcorn pasta rice bread cream cheese - rarely will voluntarily eat fruit or veg despite nudging

She is now worried about being fat - doesn’t help that some of her friends are incredibly thin genetically

She is not medically over weight but I am worried about her self perception along with her increasingly bad diet

There is a wide range of healthy foods at home - she just doesn’t eat them

Suggestions ? I was thinking of some one on one with a dietician to help her understand food choices in a non judgement environment (That’s code for “get outside help so I don’t f@&$ it up and cause her to have an eating disorder)

All help gratefully received .....

Bump

Maybe mention it to the sports coach and ask if they can do a general talk to everyone about the importance of healthy eating and what constitutes a good balanced diet?

thanks juniper - good suggestion

If I was you I would encourage her to eat healthy meals but not cut out anything you’ve mentioned she likes

Parents do not cause eating disorders.

They are bio-genetic illnesses triggered by weight loss/negative energy balance. The behaviours that accompany it are typically due to brain malfunction / malnutrition. With weight restoration and maintenence, internal health improves, organs, including the brain, heal and behaviours usually improve.

The medicine for an eating disorder is food.

Your idea of education about healthy eating is good as long as it's healthy and about moderation, not cutting out food groups or placing restrictions on food. Making her see a dietician may be counter productive as she might view it in a negative light (I.e. You think she's fat) so the sports coach suggestion might get better.

Also, anything that helps to improve emotional intelligence (self-awareness, esteem, worth etc) is a good idea too. That could range from books, workbooks, exercises all the way up to seeing a counsellor.

Also, keep in mind she still has a LOT of growing/puberty to go through. The energy required for those physical changes is a lot.