Hello, I am reaching out to get this weight loss started! I currently do not know my exact weight and I am afraid to jump on scale :-(. However, my guess is 210. My 9 year old daughter currently is 95.

I'm at a loss as to where to start. We have started walking together and we will do Zumba together when the mood hits. My husband is supportive but is as skinny as a rail and doesn't get it some days.

She and I are going food shopping today so that we can make some better choices for our lunches (for school) and dinner. I love to cook. Anyone have any great recipes to share? Or advice to get this thing started? I don't want to upset my daughter but we need to make this healthy change together.

Welcome! It's wonderful that you're making this change for you and your daughter, and that you're including her in shopping and planning. One thing I do with my kids is that each of them plans one dinner per week. They know that a dinner needs to have a protein, a carbohydrate, vegetables (and often fruit for a dessert). They enjoy planning and helping cook the meal, and I've found it's a natural way of teaching them what healthy options are. It also makes them much more open to trying new things.

Does your daughter like fish? It doesn't really work for lunch, but it's a quick dinner option, and there are lots of good, basic fish recipes. Another thing my kids like to make is oven campfire stew. We make ground turkey meatballs (we just mix the ground turkey with salt, pepper, and whatever spices we want), and cut up potatoes and other veggies (carrots, squash, broccoli, asparagus--anything) into chunks. Then each person gets a large square of foil to fill with meatballs, potatoes, and veggies. Then we season it how we want, wrap it up securely, and roast it at 400 degrees for around half an hour. It's great because it allows for customization if you have different tastes in your household, and it's built in portion control. Cleanup is easy too . Have some strawberries and hot tea for dessert, and you're all set!

Thanks for the input. I love the idea of having her help plan meals.

When my daughters (now 17 and 20) were going through puberty (they were both 10 when they started) they both got really chunky. I mean really chunky. As did several of my friends daughters. Once they got past that they slimmed down naturally and are now both small girls. My advise would be you make little changes that will add up. With my daughters, I am trying to learn from the mistakes I feel my mom made with me. I never brought up their weight at all. As a matter of fact I still to this day don't mention their weight or food to them. I don't want to bring attention to weight. I feel like when I was growing up my mom had me start diets with her and in my opinion it ruined me. I was never overweight until after I had my kids however, I would always join in on my mom's diets. Thinking I was fat when in fact I was 115 pounds. Let her think that she is helping you not that she actually needs the help. It is so hard I know!