The Heavy Quotes

“I realized that this was one of those situations where our response to her behavior, rather than the innate behavior she exhibited was going to be the determining factor in this issue.

But, afraid to send her down an unhealthy path of food obsession and body image problems, I kept my mouth shut. If there was any chance that Bea’s weight might not end up being an issue for her physically, I didn’t want to make it one psychologically.”
― Dara-Lynn Weiss, The Heavy: A Mother, a Daughter, a Diet—a Memoir

“At lunch one day in Queens with Bubby, my grandmother, Bea was enthusiastically chowing down on a piece of my chicken. Bubby gently touched her arm to slow her down.

“Don’t eat so fast. You’ll eat too much and get fat,” Bubby said.

I was horrified. “What the hell, Grandma?” I blurted out. “She’s two years old.”
― Dara-Lynn Weiss, The Heavy: A Mother, a Daughter, a Diet—a Memoir

“My husband and I felt that it was our responsibility to help our kids along by constructively molding whomever they naturally were.”
― Dara-Lynn Weiss, The Heavy: A Mother, a Daughter, a Diet—a Memoir

“There was something about seeing those numbers written into Bea’s permanent health record that triggered something primal in me. My reaction was the same as if I’d been told Bea had a potentially fatal allergy or diabetes. Her weight pattern was no longer a simple parenting hurdle; it was a medical crisis.

Something was threatening Bea’s health and I needed to protect her. I needed to figure out how to make the change happen.”
― Dara-Lynn Weiss, The Heavy: A Mother, a Daughter, a Diet—a Memoir

“I chided myself about Bea’s eating in the months leading to this annual checkup. The pediatrician and I had discussed Bea’s escalating weight at our annual appointments for half her life.

A year earlier, at the pediatrician’s urging, I’d acknowledged that the problem had gone too far and I’d promise to deal with it.”
― Dara-Lynn Weiss, The Heavy: A Mother, a Daughter, a Diet—a Memoir

“A working mom is judged negatively for letting someone else raise her kids, but a stay-at-home mom is accused of sacrificing her self-worth and providing an outdated role model for her children.”
― Dara-Lynn Weiss, The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet--A Memoir