While home with my daughter Monday I was getting ready to go back to work. I always wear a larger shirt over another shirt. Years of being over weight with a huge spare tire has instilled that habit in me. Anyway, while standing in the kitchen I lifted my outer shirt and began tucking the other shirt into my pants.
My daughter walked into the kitchen just as I was doing this. No one ever sees my stomach, just doesn't happen. As my daughter walks in she stands there staring at me and says, "MOM, your THIN" she stressed this. If she had been a friend I probably would have said, you think so? Do I look alright? But, this was my 16 year old daughter. I just stood there with my shirt up and looked down at my stomach as i zipped my pants. I didn't know what to say, anyone else I would have taken it as a compliment. I wouldn't have believed it, but would have said thank you. I hate how I look and am not comfortable with my body. I didn't know how to handle it, I didn't say anything and put my shirt down.
My daughter made me very uncomfortable because I didn't want to tell her what I honestly thought, that I'm still trying to drop weight because I hate how I look, and I didn't want to stress being thin is the best thing to be. I didn't want to say thank you either and make her feel that being thin is a compliment. I don't want my daughter having issues about her body. I didn't say anything at all, but haven't forgotten her comment or what I should have done. Should I have just thanked her, brushed it off, should I have addressed what appeared to be her concerns over how thin I was, or should I have told her "being healthy is more important than being thin?
I have lived a life time with body issues, depression over how I look. I still see an extra 20 or 30 pounds that could come off and she sees me as thin, and from the sound of it too thin.