Overcoming the Stigma of Being an Overweight Teen, with Margaret Steffie

Is your teenager struggling with their weight or body image?

My guest today knows all about feeling uncomfortable in her body, and the negativity from friends and peers at school that can come with that.

Margaret Steffie says she was never the fit kid – she openly admits that as a teen, she was more likely to be found curled up with a book than playing sports, but she also suffered with food intolerances that made her bloated and demotivated around her health.

We talk about how Margaret had her weight medicalised at a very young age, and the impact this had on her perception of herself.

We also talk about bullying due to weight issues, comfort eating, and how even well-intended comments about what she was eating, or how much she was exercising, contributed to her struggle to be healthy.

Margaret has since revolutionised her approach to her weight and health. She is now a health coach, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor with her own podcast – Margaret’s Healthy Hour. She says her goal is to help women skyrocket their energy and find their purpose in life.

Advice for parents with teens who are struggling with their weight

The big take home for me as a mum was Margaret’s advice to parents to take a step back from their children’s problems, and to have faith in the process they’re going through.

This is something that’s really been on my mind recently. As parents we start our journeys with our children trying to maintain control – necessarily, and sometimes for their safety! But that makes it difficult for us to stand by and watch when our kids are struggling with something, or to allow them to make mistakes.

And yet, we do eventually have to hand over full control to our children – and that’s ultimately what we want too, however difficult it is to accept.

Margaret’s other super piece of wisdom is that no one can be led into a lifestyle change without being ready for it, and that by pushing our children into certain courses of action, we might actually be doing more harm than good.

Have a listen to what she says about her conversations with her parents now, and how it’s helping them to understand what she and her siblings need.

Where to get help if you're being bullied about your weight

As well as talking to the pastoral team at school, you might find useful advice on bullying from these websites aimed specifically at teenagers:

National Bullying HelplineThe Mix - essential support for under 25'sYoung Minds

Where to find Margaret

margaretsteffie.comInstagramEmail Margaret on [email protected]

More teen mental health resources

There are lots more episodes of the Teenage Kicks podcast – do have a browse and see if I’ve covered anything else you might find useful. And if you have a suggestion of something you’d like to see talked about on the podcast please do email me on [email protected] I have loads more fabulous guests coming up to help families navigate some of the most complicated – but wonderful – teenage parenting years. I’ve also got some posts on the blog that might help parents with other teenage parenting dilemmas, so do pop over to Actually Mummy if you fancy a read.

Thank you so much for listening! Subscribe now to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear all my new episodes. I'll be talking to some fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent, becoming a young carer, and being hospitalised with mental health problems - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.

I'd love it if you'd rate and review the podcast on iTunes too - it would really help other people to find it. You can also find more from me on parenting teenagers on my blog Actually Mummy, and on Instagram and Twitter @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Podcast.co. Please note that I am not a medical expert, and nothing in this blog or in the podcast should be taken as medical advice.