Overweight stepdaughter?

Question

I have a 10 year old stepdaughter, she is overweight. My husband and I don't know what to do; we do not want to tell the child because it can hurt her feelings. Also, we simply can't tell the mother because she is the Devil, and will say that we are calling her daughter FAT.

She child is used to eat fast food often.

This is a problem that is concerning my husband and I, and we don't really know how to address it.

What can we do???

Answer 1

Don't give her any fast food or sweets while she is with you. Take her out for lots of walk and places where she can get some exercise. Don't tell anyone what you are doing, just give her activities for her to do.

Answer 2

If she lives with you buy nothing but healthy snacks. Make her plate t all three meals along with yours put no extra food on the table except salad.  If your into it get her into jogging with you. roller skateing, bike riding anything that will burn it up and off   bike riding is the best start off slow mile out mile in build from there

Answer 3

Turn fun into healthy fun.  Take her out on a chosen activity she will enjoy, but be sure to include healthy snacks and exercise!  Hiking with healthy snacks is the best option.  Dinnertime also should be a subject in this matter.  Replacing negative words with fast food and positive words with good food will help.  If she wants McDonald's simply say "Oh man, I don't like that McDonald's, they don't prepare the food properly. I got so sick, and its so greasy..."  Try to show her that with negative food comes negative emotion.  If you eat something considered fast food, try pulling a face and saying "this is so generic and bland. Lets get something tastier" and switch to something with a lot of flavor and a lot of health benefits.  If she has sweet tooth, get low calorie snacks that are very tasty and put them in unmarked baggies (some bags say "low fat, low calories or weight loss approved" etc.) we don't want her to think your trying to say she needs to lose weight.  

Also, try getting her to eat less and move more. Help out with chores, walk around the mall and window shop and try going up and down stairs as much as possible.  An activity with high movement disguised as everyday thing will help in an incognito way.  A sudden liking to the outdoors will not hurt either.  She'll be out in the open air, and this will promote activity, where as home is a resting place, which promotes resting and laziness.  

even if your constantly battling the evil mommy, in the end your child will start to enjoy the new energy she will recieve from losing weight and getting healthy.  

Answer 4

We had this problem when my husband's girls came to live with us. We put them in sports and I started feeding them at home, every meal. I eliminated suger and bought whole grains and produce. They each lost about 10 pounds.

Answer 5

You can start by feeding her healthier foods.  You can't control what her mother does, but if you start to instill in this child the values of eating healthier and getting some exercise, maybe, just maybe it will stick and she'll use that knowledge when she's with her mother as well.