Shelby, 14, Student
Mom and sister harass her over weight
5’5” and 220 lbs.

Shelby is sick and tired of the way her mom and sister harass her about her weight. She says that way her mom and sister treat her makes her want to cry. She says that she wants to lose weight so she can attend her first dance, but she always gets drawn back to food. Negativity at home is interfering with her weight loss.

HOW DOES YOUR MOM HARASS YOU ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT?
She’ll say, “Calm down, Chunky!” And she calls me fat when I’m eating too much. She’ll say, “You need to calm down on you’re eating, Chunky.” She gets real mad when I don’t do something. She’ll say, “Come on, lazy!” She’ll say “C’mon, Chunky, get to working.” She had to put up a fight for me to take out the trash one day. I didn’t want to go because I was working on homework. She gets mad at me when I sit watching TV for 4 hours straight.

WHAT DOES YOUR SISTER SAY TO YOU ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT?
She’ll say, “You fat tubolard you’ll never amount to anything.” If she’s having a bad day, she’ll go ahead and start in on me. She’ll call me “Fat Ass” and “Fat Bitch.” She called me a fat bitch the other morning. We got in an argument on the bus, and she beat the crap out of me. She punched me a bunch of times and told me she hated me. It was pretty bad. She ended up having to stay home because of it. She’s one of those people who hold a grudge all day. She’s probably still mad at me.

HOW DOES WHAT YOUR MOM AND SISTER SAY MAKE YOU FEEL?
It gets me down. It rubs me the wrong way if I don’t think she’s joking. If I’ve had a bad day at school, I just start breaking down and crying because I hear that stuff at school. I try and build up and not cry because when I get home it’s hard not to.

HOW DOES WHAT THEY SAY INHIBIT YOUR WEIGHT LOSS?
It hinders my I-can-do spirit. Sometimes I feel like food is my only friend. So instead of talking to a friend on the Internet, I turn to food. I’d like to change that.

HOW LONG HAS WEIGHT BEEN AN ISSUE FOR YOU?
Since I’ve been in school. I was always singled out as fat kid and made fun of. I realized it wasn’t normal for me to be this size. This goes back to when I was 5 or 6 years old. And it just kept going from there. I’d love to look like Hillary Duff – she’s a teen idol.

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU FROM LOSING WEIGHT?
Once I get started dieting, I fall off the wagon. There’s so much good food at school. And then I give up. At school, I eat the regular menu, which a few days ago was polish sausage, potato wedges, applesauce and carrots.

WHAT DO YOU USUALLY EAT?
I drink Coke or Mountain Dew. I have Pop Tarts for breakfast or Hostess muffins. Sometimes I’ll snack after I get home from school. I’ll snack on stuff like Hostess snack cakes or eat a salad. Then I’ll eat dinner, which includes some kind of meat like pork chops with potatoes, mashed potatoes and corn. After that, sometimes I’ll have dessert like a cake my mom makes.

WHAT HAVE YOU TRIED TO DO TO LOSE WEIGHT?
I’ve tried regulating my food intake. I had my mom start buying me stuff like yogurt and pills and everything. I try to get out and run and do something outside. I don’t really believe in diets because it’s false advertising if you do it wrong. If you have the will power, you can do it by yourself.

WHAT DOES YOUR SIZE KEEP YOU FROM DOING?
I think that my size might keep me from becoming a pilot because they might worry about me dying in the air because of my size. It might also keep me out of the Navy, which I want to join. The recruiters single me out and say that I’ve got four years to get in shape. I’m good in softball, but I have problems running. It’s hard for me to run but I try.

WHO ELSE GIVES YOU A HARD TIME?
My PE teacher. We have to run a timed mile at school. I failed the trial because I didn’t finish. She thought I was taking too long so she said that I didn’t want to finish.

WHAT’S YOUR SOCIAL LIFE LIKE?
I went to one dance in sixth grade with my sister, so it doesn’t really count. Otherwise, I haven’t been to one. I’ve never had a boyfriend. I would like one. There are some guys at school that I like. I think I’d get a lot more attention if I lost weight. That’s how the world operates. If you’re skinny, you get attention.