I struggled with body image for most of my life, and am finally getting to a better place with regards to myself. However, I am now caught up in a lot of mental drama with my daughter. She is 18, very fit and in my mind has “the perfect body.” She wears cute clothes and always looks great. But now I am worried she is going to gain weight. I know what her body looks like is none of my business, but I still find myself thinking about it. She was on the track team during high school, and now that she has graduated, doesn’t train like she used to. She is also going to college, and I know that people often gain weight in college. I really want to get to a place of peace about it, so I don’t worry about her body, and also so she doesn’t pick up on anything. I haven’t mentioned anything to her and would be horrified if she knew I was having these types of thoughts.
Here is my model.
C: Daughter weighs X, stopped training for track, is going to college in August
T: She might gain weight and lose her cute figure
F: Worried
A: Notice what she’s eating and if she is exercising or not, pay extra attention to her body to see if she her clothes are fitting differently, don’t show up in other ways I would like to, beat myself up for being so superficial and creepy
R: ? Don’t show up the way I want to?
I feel terrible that I am having these thoughts. I believe in body acceptance and all types of body shapes and sizes being beautiful. So why do I keep focusing on this?!
I would appreciate any help coming up with a new model. Thank you.