I applaud your determination to get Aber-zombie and Fitch to live in the real world. As a grandmother of a little girl and mother of 2, i told my daughter the same thing I tell my granddaughter–how smart and strong she is. My daughter was always large, but she was popular due to an amazing sense of humor and an intense joy about her that made others want to gravitate to her. I can tell you from experience that if a woman relies on a perfect figure and others perception of beauty instead of personality to attract people to her, she’s in for a world of pain when she approaches old age. Learning that you’re not what you look like but who you are inside begins before your little girl starts walking.

I agree with your sister that loving yourself and doing right for your own self is just as crucial to your child's well being as attending to her other needs.