What do you tell your kids?

[Peachblossom25]

Hi. I’ve just had my first prescription approved and hoping to do my first injection tomorrow evening.
It’s just me and my daughter at home and I’m not sure how to explain to her about the fact that I’m suddenly not going to be very hungry ( assuming that I get suppression ) Did you tell your children what you are doing? She’s 12 so will notice if I don’t want to join in with the snacks on the sofa watching a film suddenly! Or don’t eat a proper dinner.
I’m usually open and honest with her about everything but I’m not so sure about this.
What have other people done?

I’ve not told mine as I’m very happy with my decision but not sure how to explain in a body positive way. I am visibly overweight so I’ve said I am healthy eating and portion control is reflecting my current over weight status.
You need to eat regularly and well no matter how hungry you feel and drink loads of water so I think you can get away with it.

You must be obese if you have be prescribed the medication and that will be obvious to her. Can you frame it as wanting to eat more healthily and reduce the amount of snacks?

I have children of a similar age. I haven't told them about the medication, but they are aware that I am losing weight and eating differently because it's self evident. I didn't and don't make any kind of comment on it, or draw attention to what I'm eating. If they directly ask, I just say that I'm not very hungry at the moment or still full from my previous meal, which is true. They don't really care about it or make any comment about it. They know I use a small plate rather than a big plate now, and have smaller portion of things, but that's the new normal and no big deal.

Kids that age are unlikely to care. Just say whatever you when say when you have been on a diet e.g. no, I won't have any chocolate today, I am trying to lose some weight etc.

lol - bit harsh but true I guess 😂

So true. I’m probably just overthinking it!

My son is preschool age so I’ve obviously not had to tell him anything too specific. If I don’t partake in snacks or something I previously did, I just say that I’m trying to be healthier or I’m not hungry.

Less about what to say, but I did have to think about what I was modelling for him though. Sometimes I’d eat more than usual at lunch or misjudge and fill up on water, meaning I barely wanted to touch my dinner. Obviously that isn’t a good example for him and he definitely noticed, so I started planning my eating to ensure that I was always still eating healthy amounts in front of him and serving portions that I could manage 90% or so he didn’t see me leaving a lot.

Reading that back it did sound harsh, honestly as having been morbidly obese myself (now "just" obese!) it wasn't intended! I use/read the word obese so frequently used factually on these boards now it has become a normal word now I don't think how harsh it might sound!

Sorry! 🙈

Mine are a couple of years older, but they knew I was already going to the gym and prioritizing healthy food, so I told them about my decision and the medication, all in terms of health. They do know I’m pleased to look better too, but I never say anything negative about how I look or looked, just positive things about self care and enjoying being as strong and fit and beautiful as I can. I felt I should tell them in case they were worried that I’d developed an eating disorder, so they know I’m looking after myself and dealing with blood sugar issues etc. They see I’m eating super healthily and enjoying food. And I’m more able to do active stuff with them, which of course they’re happy about. They also think the science of the medicine is interesting. But as I say, they’re older, and we’d already talked a lot about body image etc.

That’s ok - it actually made me laugh!! 😆

Thank you everyone for your replies.

You should be eating a proper dinner even on mounjaro. I just told mine I was using it to support healthy eating, which I am. I never made a huge deal out of it.

I've been honest with mine, well the 10yo anyway. Younger one is oblivious. 10yo and I have chatted openly about how I was quite overweight and that came with health risks and I want to be fit and healthy and more able to run around with him and his little brother. We've talked about how everything is okay in moderation etc and just kept it very sensible and low key. He's very encouraging when I lose weight. We also talk about the body needing food for fuel etc. It's something we've had to chat about before anyway as he's autistic and not remotely motivated by food, so needs support to eat. Understanding the reasons behind thing helps him.

It’s been really hard for me. My 13 yr old is being treated for anorexia and during the first few months of their treatment I put on loads of weight stress eating and I suppose eating bigger meals to try and support her to eat. Because her condition is still ongoing I haven’t told anyone in the house I’m using WLI. I was obese BMI 30 but I’m tall and big boned and carry weight well so I don’t think anyone would have realised just how heavy I was. I wasn’t going to say anything and my husband and older daughter don’t notice what I eat but my anorexic teen clocked me straight away. I’ve told her I’m being ‘mindful’ about my eating. I haven’t mentioned WLI I don’t discuss what I eat and I never mention calories. I do intermittent fasting so they don’t see me eat breakfast. I eat pretty much the same dinner as everyone else and I often have a small biscuit in front of the TV in the evening. I think needing to be seen to eat sensibly has helped me to think about how I want to eat on MJ and my daughter isn’t bothered by it. I never talk about my weight, dress sizes etc and I don’t think anyone has noticed I’ve lost a stone…

As a parent of a kid with anorexia who has previously tried every diet under the sun I can confirm that your kids do notice what you eat, how you talk about your body and your attitudes to food. I wish I could go back and change the way I treated myself during my daughter’s early childhood because wondering if I’m the cause of her illness is heartbreaking.