8yr old scared of getting fat!

[whojamaflip]

For about 2 weeks my dd has been bringing her packed lunch home with most of it uneaten - I haven't commented beyond the fact if trying to find out what she would prefer to eat. However today she has come back with nothing bar a banana eaten. She has been at gym training all day and there is no way she can keep up the level of exercise on so little food.

I asked her direct and she says its cos she is scared of getting fat! Apparently they have been doing healthy eating in school and she has decided she shouldn't be eating any fats and very little carbohydrates

I explained that our bodies need to have fuel to work properly and what is a good healthy diet. She has gone off to bed in tears saying I don't understand!

Wtf do I do now? We eat healthily, we all have an active lifestyle doing sports, outside activities and body weight has never been discussed. ( I like my food too much to have issues with dieting hence the exercise)

How do I deal with this?

Speak to the school they need to know. Maybe they can change the lesson plan to make it easier for them to understand sounds to me like something's been over exaggerated by the teacher. If you can afford book her an appointment with a nutritionist so she can get a professional to tell her that she needs a balanced diet .

Thank you

The more I think about it the more I am getting annoyed with the school. They have taken my bright happy dd and made her concerned about her weight to the point where she is skipping meals I am so aware how damaging it is to make a big thing of weight and dieting and it is just not a topic for discussion in our house! I serve healthy home cooked meals, sweet stuff is allowed in moderation and they are pointed in the direction of the fruit bowl if they are hungry. It's how it's always been so its second nature to my dc.

So for someone to put this idea into her head is beyond a joke - I now have to deal with the fallout. She has a heavy training schedule with her squad work and needs all the energy she can get. At least I now know why she has been getting so tired recently.

She's 8 ffs

I would see if I could get an appointment with a doctor or some nutritionist and assess her and hive her some eating guidelines.

Sounds as if the school have really overdone the whole 'healthy' eating message. Could you talk to her coach ?

I shall speak to he coach on Tuesday when she is in next. I will contact the school on Monday morning and try to get a meeting with the teacher ASAP to see what has been taught and I will look into finding a nutritionist to have a chat with her about proper nutrition.

Biggest problem is that dd is a complete over- achiever and deg has the will power to see this through - I need to nip it in the bus before it becomes a serious problem. I also know I need to tread carefully so that she doesn't start to lie and hide what she is doing.

Is there a register of nutritionists or do I need to go through the gp?