Why I'm Pissed About The WW Kurbo App | How It Will Do More Harm Than Good

[@HelenaBlack80]

If this app was truthfully named it’d be ‘Get em when they’re young and they’ll be customers for life’

[@laurynnb]

HelenaBlack80 exactly what I was thinking!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

HelenaBlack80 seriously

[@brittanyg6796]

Just like the tobacco industry...

[@M_K_M_K_M_K]

Well shit..... 😳

[@RabbitFoodFitness]

Yep. That's exactly what this should be named.

[@iknow991]

The moment she mentioned that the delicious greek yogurt w banana and sourdough toast would get multiple "bad" strikes, I had a lightbulb moment of why I felt terrible every time I tried an app to track my eating.

[@jacethekingslayer]

​@Rachtop Technically, bread isn't JUST carbs--it also has other nutrients like protein (gluten is a protein!) and some fiber depending on if its ancient grain/sprouted/etc. Yes, eating too much bread--especially highly processed bread--can unbalance a diet (for example, some people will fill up on bread/other carbs and either intentionally or unintentionally avoid veggies), but bread has also been a staple of many civilizations. Humans might not have gotten this far without bread/other carbs! Those two slices of bread are giving you LIFE. Also, nothing smells better than the bread aisle at a grocery store. NOTHING.

[@samanthatheminimalist]

This is why I like to use cronometer, the app tells you calories & macronutrients AND all the vitamins, minerals, etc that you need in a day and what percent of those you have achieved as you enter more food. It doesn’t judge the individual foods you eat based on silly criteria, it helps me choose more nutrient dense foods so I can meet all my targets for calcium, iron, etc without overdoing calories

[@jennylove2746]

@@jacethekingslayer My Father used to bake our bread, and the entire house would smell like fresh bread after school. To this day, I associate the smell of freshly baked bread with being home ♥🍞. Bread in moderation is fine, and maybe even a little comforting. 🥰

[@citcatcreation]

I like using the tracker on fitbit because theres no such thing as bad foods. They just track calories and ration of protein fat and carbs in each food. So eating something like rye toast wouldnt just give you carbs but protein as well. Its much better than all these dieting apps

[@madelineadams4144]

I had the same lightbulb moment. I was feeling confused why I eat fairly balanced and plant based, but could never satisfy the damn app. Just deleted it.

[@anasepulvedawli8417]

Fighting disordered eating still at 45. Mom took me to a diet clinic at 12. This was passed on from her female family members....I vowed to NEVER say anything negative about food to my teenage daughter, she has INTUITIVE eating!! Something I do not have.

[@ainevethe6103]

Same here. I can empathise. :( . I was forced to diet HARD due to my mom's eating disorder. I thought i was MASSIVE and i see pictures of back then and I see a strong, lean dancer, no excess weight at all! but what that did was set me in a cycle of restriction and weight loss and regain that has totally messed up my weight, and my ability to be ME outside of my weight. I never EVER feel hungry. i completely lost that along the way. :( I really don't want that to go the generation past me :(

[@naomijaneartworks34]

Yup, me too, my mum ordered the Cambridge diet shakes for me age 15 which has led to a life of disordered eating, misery around food and body dysmorphia (now age 43 and have just taken the commitment of doing the Minnie Maud technique to finally overcome the hell of disordered eating)

[@natalyrausch]

My parents ruined my intuitive eating by force feeding me extremely large portions (my mom plopped down my dad's serving on my plate every day), and then mocking me about my weight from ages 9-13. It started a life long yo-yo dieting curse that I still see no way of solving as an adult. Intuitive eating is something I wish I could practice, but my binging history does not make it easy. I will NEVER do this to my child.

[@h.r.9563]

Also don't talk smack about yourself! I have always been skinny and small. My mom is small but slightly overweight because she's had 4 kids, and never worked out! I just had my third child and look a lot like my mom's body shape and I love how healthy I feel and that my body was able to grow a human! I'm proud. However I also look in the mirror and hear my mom trash talk her body that I now have. It's abusive to ourselves to be so unkind to our beautiful bodies.

[@jillianwickham31]

Heather Meredith You are beautiful.

[@jennsgemms1259]

I remember when I was 14-15 my mom was on weight watchers and she was happy for me to join her in the journey and that's definitely when I started to notice my body image issues / eating disorder truly began but here I am 26 and developed my bulimia . But happy to state that I'm going on a month free of purging . I binge every so often but I am still so damn proud that even after a binge I'm refusing to puke ( even tho i do deal with excruciating pain all of the next day ) I am proud and happy to have my bloated belly instead of constantly having my face in the toilet . Love you Abby so happy I've discovered you throughout my recovery process ❤

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Jennifer Browning I’m sorry for this!

[@SelinaCat]

What an honest raw reveal! I hope you are getting medical help and not just doing this on your own. Our recovery needs medical professionals to help us correct our messed up brains.

[@SelinaCat]

I wish you so much luck girl, I hope you can make your way back. Stay strong!

[@jennsgemms1259]

@@SelinaCat sadly I can't afford the help but I was able to get into a free program I'm just currently on the wait list . But this has been the strongest mindset I've had in almost a year. Every night I give my body praise even if I don't always love what I see in the mirror

[@michimelody4036]

@@jennsgemms1259 Darling you are strong. I had an eating disorder in highschool. It was wicked. Somehow I got myself out of it. I'm not scared to talk about it. If ever you need to talk about it. @MichiMelodyAFTV I'll make sure that I turn on my messages on Twitter. I know how hard it is. I remember being scared of eating a yogurt. You can do this. CBT therapy really helped me recently with my depression and maybe that may be something that you could use to help with those nasty negative thoughts. I'm not a medical professional but I've been there. ~Michelle stay strong beautiful (please let me know if you try to message me and it doesn't go through. Still new to Twitter and i set it up like Fort Knox lol)

[@Sillydreams2follow]

This is so true. When I was young my dad constantly telling me I was fat so at 13 i started crash dieting and having horrible relationships with food. It's taken me to 32 to get to an okay place with food.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Jamie B so sorry to hear that, thanks so much for sharing and so glad you’ve found a better relationship with food

[@olive996]

My mom always told me I was fat too. But she was obese, so it never stuck.

[@Sillydreams2follow]

@@olive996 my dad isnt either which is what helped me later. But that talked started so early for me that it took a long time for that voice to fade.

[@laura987123]

My parents both struggled with there self-esteem around weight and as a result, I was sort of praised for being a skinny kid. When I started gaining weight in high school they weren't outright mean but definitely gave me a strong sense that I wasn't as "special" anymore and I felt like I'd seriously disappointed them. My weight has fluctuated a lot since then between yo yo diets and illnesses that sometimes cause me to loose weight quickly. It's messed up but I feel like I get praised when I'm sick because I'm thin and I really struggle with hang ups about almost "wanting to be sick" because when I'm sick people tell me how "good" I look. Which is crazy because I look terrible when I have flair ups I'm so exhausted and in so much pain that I feel like I want to die, I get very pale with enormous dark circles,I have stress breakouts, and sweat profusely doing the lightest of physical activity. I shouldn't have mixed feelings when my health improves because I know the weight is going to come back and people aren't going to be as kind anymore. People need to understand skinny doesn't automatically mean healthy and fat doesn't automatically mean unhealthy.I wish we could all just stop obsessing about weight like it's the be all end all of what constitutes a healthy, desirable body it's so messed up.

[@nikolpli]

My mum was the same. She was also telling me that I should lose weight. It bothered me but I tried to ignore it. Then I got into nutrition and healthy eating and now my mother has problems with eating, dieting and weight, not me. Just wanted to show different perspective because everyone reacts differently :)

[@ballerina2rockerchik]

I wish I could go back in time and tell my mom to leave me alone about my weight when I was 12.

[@MeganMcIntosh]

ballerina2rockerchik saaaaame! But when I was 9. I would be mad about it but I can imagine how her mother was even worse about it to her when she was young.

[@ohleander02]

This

[@chazzlycurrie333]

Same here! 12 is so young :( I'm so sorry you went through that. I was a teen. And my mom was thin and beautiful. I was on the higher end of a "normal BMI"

[@IslaBella24]

For me, my sister and brother it was family members. I don't know if it's a cultural thing but people always comment how 'big' or 'thick' kids are since before they even walk 🙄

[@marnibenefield7715]

I feel this but I want to tell my mom to stop calling herself fat in the mirror

[@SquishyMcJones]

I was 5 years old when a doctor first told me, word-for-word "You're too fat and you need to lose weight". I was 3 pounds overweight. Think about that: 5 years old, and three pounds.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Squishy McJones that’s awful

[@alva6347]

Omg, poor little child. 💔

[@alyssab90]

A 5 year old LOSING WEIGHT?? That’s absurd. Kids are growing all the time. And kids usually store extra fat before a growth spurt. You didn’t need to lose 3 pounds, you needed to grow into it.

[@jo0ls_dee]

Same

[@maggie.online]

Same story.

[@sweetpea5539]

😡You can tell Mama Abbey’s pissed when her cheeks are burning red! 🤣

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Sweet Pea so pissed

[@animerlon]

Mama Bear on a rampage & rightly so.

[@Reglage]

I think the number of beeps is also a legit show-n-tell ^^

[@rachelthome165]

👏YAS. This app is so fucked up. I love fired up Abbey!! And that you channeled that anger and passion into logical explanations of why this is wrong. Kudos! 💕

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Rachel Thome haha thanks love

[@BigBlessedNest]

I’d love to see Abbey do a video on how to avoid over-eating while intuitively eating. I have to track my foods because I naturally have a tendency to over-eat if I don’t. How do you train yourself to know when to stop?

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Root Bound doing a vid on intuitive eating soon

[@BigBlessedNest]

Abbey Sharp, Can’t wait! Love your content and what you’re doing for the health community. So many disparities, and not enough people to recognize them!

[@nicoledipper8261]

​@@BigBlessedNest I used to feel the same way! And I'll be honest, once I stopped tracking my calories, I did eat a lot more. I can now see the reason for this was because I was so restrictive before that my body needed that fuel. I'm at a point now where I'm eating intuitively and feeling pretty good. My relationship with food has greatly improved but it took me a while to get here. It's not always easy to make the decision to stop dieting but it's 100% worth it

[@naomijaneartworks34]

@@nicoledipper8261 Me exactly. I felt like I was always overeating even when counting calories, and stressed about it, but since I took the decision to eat exactly what my body wanted until satiety I realised it was just my body asking to be fed properly and calories are BS. I was always in restriction of some kind. It's not an easy road but I feel so free and happy now!

[@nicoledipper8261]

Naomi so happy you found this for yourself ❤️

[@glorianaponte]

I have an 11 year old daughter who used to be very thin... some friends and family have commented on her weight recently and my mama bear has gone for them! I wont allow anyone to comment on her body! She eats her fruit and oats, veggies and pasta, and anything we have available. Its nobodys business how she looks and I want her to be happy 😡 I will definetly boicot the ww app if I can. I feel it can ruin so many kids happiness

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Glorian Aponte for sure

[@Toywins]

My mom always said kids grow out and then up, and I have found it to be very true. She never fed us any shit about our weight, no complex whatsoever. Its awesome that you protect your daughter that way, too. She has a whole grown up life to worry about that crap, no one has a right to her childhood!!

[@megangodfrey626]

That’s how I’m going to be. Right now my daughter is young but once she hits puberty mama beast bear will be in full force.

[@leafmealome8910]

Wish my mother had acted like that, happy to see it for your daughter!

[@melissacondon]

I'm honestly shocked that it's legal to promote an app like this! 😳

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Liss the Vegan right?!!

[@blueismylove3128]

I'm not. It's so ingrained in American culture to be fat phobic, but then are surprised when we are one of the leading country's for obesity.

[@marley7659]

@@blueismylove3128 Food deserts, fast food chains, consumerism in general, stressful jobs, easy access to convience food, and lack of education on nutrition in public schools all sets up young people and adults up for failure. It is a problem in most caucasian based regions. Australia, U.S.A, Canada, the UK, and other european countries.

[@k10nn10th]

Not surprised either. Nutrition advice is not treated the same as medical advice in our society. This is ironic because nutrition is like the root of all problems.

[@blueismylove3128]

@@marley7659 Yes.

[@shannonbrooks5735]

I'm on two diets now. I wasn't getting enough food on just one. #RiotsNotDiets

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Shannon Brooks love it

[@79mrsdrake]

😂😂

[@mebeorangepeel]

😂🤣😂

[@ab-jc6zk]

Lmao

[@bellis7772]

Awesome!😂😂😂

[@alecwinner]

My anorexia (Which is now classified as OSFED but still very much alive 11 years later) started when I was 11. I used the myfitnesspal app in secret when i got a smart phone a few years later. I did this knowing it was wrong. I can't even imagine how much worse off I'd be if i'd been outright encouraged even more than I already was for my behaviors. I've spent over half my life dealing with an eating disorder, i'm sick of the high high potential of developing one as a consequence o apps like these, being played off. Thank you for making this video.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Alec thanks so much for sharing

[@kymjasonmorse1102]

I told my 13 year old about this app and she said "Mom, weight watchers just wants you to buy their products. They don't care about people's health."

[@AbbeysKitchen]

that's amazing!

[@Stettafire]

They sell microwaves meals that are as full of salt and fat as tesco's own! Awful company, they are intentionally discouraging people from veg, fruit and fish which you cook yourself and pushing people into their ready made meals. Disgusting.

[@lexalina132]

Good on your 13 year old!

[@megangodfrey626]

Smart kid! Good job, mama!

[@redrooster1908]

She's right!!

[@drunkenatheist]

My mom insists that Weight Watchers teaches proper nutrition and gives you the tools to change your lifestyle. Every time we get into this, I tell her that it taught her to fixate on the ridiculous point values they assign to food and hasn't taught her how to eat in a more healthful manner. Her evidence is her feelings. Mine is that every time she has stopped weight watchers, she gained all the weight back and then some. I'm currently about 35 pounds overweight, and I'm not super happy about that, but I'd rather be 35 pounds overweight than spend the rest of my life yoyo dieting.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Vicki Moore amen

[@cass14444]

My Fitness Pal did this with me. At the time you didn't have to eat the 1200 calorie minimum. So little 12 year old me in the mist of my ed would eat so much under just for the app to say "in 5 weeks you would weight ___" and on the flip side the days I would eat normally and would log it and the little thing at the bottom said in 5 weeks I would way x. That made me terrified.

[@gee8419]

I have dieted with MFP in a crash diet way - they vaguely tell you to ‘consult your doctor’ before going less than 1200 but they still let you make it your goal anyway.

[@animallover2252]

I tried MFP in college and it lasted about 2 weeks. Because I was just always hungry on it. And I'm a snacker by nature and just enjoy snacking and it doesn't allow you to do that! So I stopped using it because I didn't need to have something else to make me feel bad about myself. I had enough other people in my life to do that to me.

[@courtneyrayppy9990]

Yep me too

[@juliagirlgirl123]

Cassi literally relate so hard to this

[@sarosen5731]

I had such a similar experience at the same age with my fitness pal. I already had poor eating habits that I picked up from family and the app threw me into a tailspin of on and off yo yo dieting until I was 18.

[@The.Caroline]

Instead of parents spending money on WW, they should spend money on educating themselves on nutrition. I saw the documentary Fed Up a couple of years ago, which you've probably seen, but one of the things that shocked me was how unaware a lot of the parents were when it came to nutrition

[@marykadysh2553]

It is so refreshing to have someone on KZbin who focuses on balanced eating rather than restrictive or fad diets.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Mary Kadysh ❤️

[@ItsKatKool]

Dieting is confusing to children. I remember having to go to the doctor as a child and my parents talked to the doctor behind closed doors after weighing me. I was so confused why I was there. Then the doctor brought me in the room and said 'you need to eat less candy.' I never ate candy? That is when I started feeling negative about my body and that is not ok. The parents are the primary source of food for a lot of children until they move out! If anything there needs to be an app for parents to educate themselves on how to feed their children right. I have been on WW for a few months and I still have some triggers of 'forbidden foods.' Did you know that all fruits and vegetables are free points but if you put them in a smoothie those same points would turn into 10 points (about 1/3 of a days servings). How is that healthy? I feel guilty now anytime I eat a smootie. If a kid has that same app they could possibly eat a 200 calorie smoothie and feel fat for using all their red/orange points. Not ok.

[@kimberlyhenry7717]

That smoothie rule is stupid. I have used WW as well...and there are tons of forums where people don't count smoothies that way. The reason WW does it like that is because where you're not actually chewing the fruit and having the fibre fill you up it's easy to over eat it or some such bullshit. Unless you've shoved like 12 bananas in there I wouldn't give that rule too much creedence.

[@ItsKatKool]

@@kimberlyhenry7717 I totally understand! I have also seen other people not count if for points. I really don't know why it is such a mental block in my mind. I want to not track points for them but I would feel guilty. Maybe I should try it and see what happens lol

[@blueismylove3128]

After weighing my older sibling the doctor literally put them on a fasting diet and said that I was "pushing" the BMI scale, not taking into account our muscle mass (I was and still am a very athletic person) and it made them feel horrible and for me I couldn't think of anything but how I needed to exercise more and like I said I was and still am very athletic.

[@ItsKatKool]

@@blueismylove3128 i totally relate! I was the most active girl I knew in my class. I played hockey and had at least 3-4 games and practices a week. I was also the tallest kid in class. I honestly think that some of the weight my parents were worried about was muscle! It's so hard for parents so I understand why this app might look great and convenient! But i hope people realize the hurt it can cause.

[@blueismylove3128]

@@ItsKatKool Actually, though I can't relate to the being tall thing (my whole family is small in height). But I was always the oldest. I'm so glad something like this wasn't around or popular when I was young, mainly because I know my siblings would have used it.

[@samsoftball77337]

I literally have no words. I'm so glad this thing never existed while I was growing up, if would definitely have messed me up and probably a ton of people around me. this is so...UGH. NO WORDS

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Sam Miller definitely

[@carianderson2254]

I know this is an older post but I just came across it and this makes me so sad. I was put on my first diet at 11. I’m 48 now and I’m still struggling to find peace with food and my body. Some days I think I will take this issue to my grave. But thank you so much for being a (very)minority voice for sanity where food is concerned on social media. And no way will I ever put my daughter on a diet. She’s always been naturally thin but she’s going through puberty and gaining weight as expected which brings up issues with me. I am staying committed to not making weight or her body an issue or topic of conversation. It’s hard because she suffers from food sensitivities so we do need to discuss food but your videos have reminded me to keep the context about how certain foods make her feel versus labeling them good or bad. Again just thank you. ♥️

[@resa31802]

Sort of off topic but thanks so much sharing your perspective on feeding you kid. The 'parents decides what, when, and where' and 'kid decides if and how much' approach has completly taken the stress out of dinner. My kid is 6 and on the autism sectrum. She has some food aversions, but in general, she's just a normal, I'd-rather-eat-pizza kid. In the past couple of weeks I've found out the she loves green beans, and will eat spagehitti sauce, just not with spaghetti. She's stopped boycotting sprouted grain bread, and apparently peanut butter is bae. All I have to do is give her food and walk away. Its like magic.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Theresa Lawson magic!!

[@maggierussell9322]

Totally random but broccoli cooked in spaghetti sauce is amazing. Just.. you know.. for those of us that love spaghetti sauce not on spaghetti. 😉

[@sanityisrelative]

I can remember how it felt when I was an extremely picky kid, so I do my best to respect my kid's pickyness like my parents respected me.

[@endermite219]

i'm so glad to hear you encouraging parents to give food positive language!! my mom has an eating disorder (that she so graciously passed along) and it really took only until i was about 10 for me to internalize how she treated herself and the food we ate. "do as i say, not as i do" literally never works, but it's even more difficult when it's something as sensitive and widespread as diet culture and body shaming. i'm still in the pretty early stages of recovery myself, but whenever i feel down about myself recently i turn on one of your videos and i feel a whole lot better.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Ender Mite so glad it helps

[@noelledford]

I'm writing an informative essay in my English 101 class about this and issues like this (redefining the word "healthy") and this video really helped me to feel more confident about what I'm saying and it means a lot to me personally that you're addressing stuff like this. I had an eating disorder for the last two years, and now that I've recovered, I've become really passionate about educating people with ACTUAL nutritional facts. I'm planning to become a dietitian/nutritionist and you have really been helping me with this journey. Thanks so much and keep it up!!!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Noelle Ledford so happy to hear that. Thanks so much

[@hillarym4550]

I had an eating disorder for 15 years because I started dieting at 8.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Hillary M so sorry to hear this

[@disordered_sprout8990]

EIGHT?! OMG, that's so young! I'm so sorry!

[@Melly16yr10]

Seriously yikes. If its not to triggering or harmful for you how you drop it as get out?

[@earthdoros2833]

Me too, I hope you are doing better now. Remember that you are strong 💚

[@redrooster1908]

You're not alone in this, I'm sad to say

[@Nufinat]

That app is so wrong on so many levels, It makes me really sad and angry that Weight Watchers are doing this. I was introduced to weight watchers when I was 20 something by a relative who has been jojo dieting her entire life, and although She was doing it with good intentions , I wish I had known what I know now. Diets dont work. And its sickening how WW are trying to suck out money from everywhere they can, and setting up a lot of kids for a lifetime of illnes and pain.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Natascha Ungarelli totally agree

[@laura987123]

I went on wieght watchers with my parents at 16, my parents had the best intentions but knowing what they know now they feel horrible that they let me do it. This is so predatory and from personal experience they're setting these poor kids up for a lifetime of food hangups and shame, I'm still dealing with disorderly mindsets 15 years later. I can't imagine how they're allowed to push this on kids as young as 8, 16 or 20 is bad enough but freaking children, this is some get em well they're young and have customers for life BS.

[@haylaebay]

@@laura987123 I'm just going to offer a different opinion, I also joined weightwatchers as a teenager, I was 15 or 16, can't remember exactly. It helped me to lose about 20 pounds which I kept off after I no longer was following the program and even today, 10 years later. I don't have an eating disorder or struggle with restricting. It greatly improved my quality of life and helped me feel better about my body. I was fat and after losing the weight, I was a healthy weight. I don't remember exactly what I did on the program back then but I know that I started taking walks everyday with my family and my mom would sometimes buy those SmartOnes dinners so I could easily count them a few times a week when she didn't cook dinner. I'm very grateful my parents let me do it.

[@lucydanger3902]

What I love about you and your videos is that whenever you are critical of a practice, you actually offer alternative solutions. It’s obvious that your purpose is to help people improve and make good decisions. Thanks for all the info you provide.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Lucy Danger thank you!!!

[@Ava-mm6tx]

I’m so glad I found this video! I’m 16 and I started using this app to learn how to eat healthier and be a better athlete. I thought it would be better and healthier than counting calories. But it just made things more confusing when it told me that foods I liked and thought had nutritional value like peanut butter, cheese and even hummus were “red” foods and on the same plane as cake and candy. I just ended up feeling really guilty for eating too many “red” foods in a day and not having the will power to stick to “ green”and “yellow” foods. I’m so glad I found you’re channel. Thank you for giving the real information!!

[@carolynevans1580]

Thank you for doing a video on this. As a teacher, I am so disturbed by this app. WW was something I briefly tried in my early twenties & I quickly learned it was not for me. When I was on that program I remember this moment when I was hungry & was going to eat a banana, but was concerned because it had a lot of points. Luckily, I stopped the program after a few weeks, and for the rest of my twenties and into my thirties now, I just eat when I am hungry and listen to my body. I hope we can focus more on this generation how to listen to our bodies, and to really end this diet culture. Your video on this is excellent.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Definitely. Thanks for sharing love

[@Angryoyster]

This app scares me. As someone who is 16 three years ago I had an eating disorder. I ate a snack size box of raisins and a snack size apple sauce. This was all I ate until dinner when I had a very small plate of whatever my mom/dad had made that night. Along with that I was also in high performance P.E. I didn’t realize it was a problem until I was having major panic attacks and had to go into counselling. This was when my family found out what I was eating.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Ellady Sezzy oh gosh I’m so sorry

[@kattemma]

I remember being a kid and terrified of the yearly nurses office check-up at school. Not because I was scared of weight gain, or health issues. But because there was always a possibility for the nurse to tell us kids that we weighed too much and needed to lose weight. Us children were terrified of the opinions of the adults, not the weight. This app is terrifying.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

ugh totally. Thanks for sharing

[@Celinezarb]

Can you make a video on how to help a bruised metabolism recover after yoyo dieting?

[@babyhoneyb2584]

You’re my favorite youtuber right now. compassionate from a place of research and science. you’ve been helping me bit by bit the past few weeks. small things like making more nutritionally balanced meals throughout the day, and distancing myself from the harmful “i ate like shit today, so i feel like shit, so i am shit” way of thinking, and into “i made some unbalanced choices so i feel unbalanced, i’ll pay more attention tomorrow.”. i’ve been feeling less and less guilty, and a lot less shameful. thank you so much for utilizing your career and platform to educate and speak your knowledge 💖💖 can’t wait for the next video.

[@margavrw184]

Love this video! In South Africa, a new law was passed that people giving nutritional advice without proper qualification and registration will be prosecuted. There are too many quacks out there!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Marga Von Rauenstein that’s great!

[@carolynhance5588]

This needs to go global! And hopefully at least the SA audience will be blocked from all the quacks on YT.

[@Stettafire]

We need this law in the UK

[@helenv1940]

What an incredible video! You nailed absolutely every point. Not just for vulnerable kids but adults who have been through this. Thank you for your words and your inspiration. You are educating but mostly advocating for the kids!! Love all that you do ❤️❤️❤️

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Helen Vrahnos thank you

[@Madij1990]

You also really shouldn’t be restricting calories while a child is growing. Edit: she said that.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

For sure

[@ohmareshah]

@Eden Wild you can't blanket statement say a 100lb 10 year old is unhealthy. That's ridiculous

[@anika5094]

Eden Wild At ten years old I was 5’1 and 98 pounds. Pretty healthy.

[@TimothyEspinosa]

This is serious and Abbey is a true professional for calling this app out..... I also love it when she goes the f**k off. It warms my soul.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

yayy

[@pipersisk3966]

I just realized I’d love to see I review of DR. Michael Gregors book How Not To Diet when it’s released.

[@ainevethe6103]

Would love this!

[@juliachandler1316]

Yes please!

[@LiziStardust]

I would too!

[@arwaal-turkait5923]

Yes pls me too!

[@Dennise_Who]

+1

[@Obijaunecanoli]

You are the only health and diet channel on KZbin that I can watch without triggering my disordered eating thoughts. Your advice is so thoughtful and professional and I watch your videos whenever I find myself calorie counting or restricting

[@AbbeysKitchen]

so glad to hear that

[@maefurman5131]

LOVED THIS VIDEO!! My mom put me on diets in mid elementary school and now I’m working on “normalizing” my eating again. Thank you for this!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Mae Furman thank you and good luck with your recovery

[@rachelb751]

Thank you so much for speaking out about this! I belong to some groups on Facebook and so many think that this is okay. I shall refer them to your video when it's mentioned now. I hope WW is bombarded with so much backlash from this app that they shut it down.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Rachel B that’s horrible! Please share this video there!!

[@1209c]

I love how much you swear! and somehow don't sound aggressive or horrible ( im not being sarcastic btw!)

[@AbbeysKitchen]

mvgmbv bhfm ha thanks

[@juliamattsson2703]

YES ABBEY!! I loved this video, it’s so well research and supported with scientific studies. I’m engaged in my local department for prevention against eating disorders, and we often talk about and educate people that the best way to prevent eating disorders amongst children is to teach them to have confidence and see their self worth. Thank you so much for making this video and being so passionate about food and proper education!!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Thank you!

[@marcelenaw]

I'm so disturbed by this - thank you for bringing this to the surface! Eff off WW!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Marcelena Melton yesss

[@margarett_b]

I am SO FREAKING GREATFUL for you making this video! I hope it goes viral and out-weights this shitty app with views. Honestly, we already have an immense ED problem these days and such apps are just making everything worse. Thank you once again for bringing all those important issues up!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

For sure

[@anni-riin3254]

Felt shitty about getting a bit bigger, then Abbey mentioned that gaining weight during puberty is totally normal and suddenly everything is ok again.

[@EliseSecond]

I love this tip @ 15:00. It's so important to do this. I grew up with my mum loving vegetables and I loved them as well. I got radishes and carrots in my lunchbox and I always ate them happily. Even though I have had a couple of years of not so nutritious eating in my 20's, I had no trouble switching back to more fruits and veggies, because I still loved them! It helps tremendously if you actually enjoy eating fruits and vegetables.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Minoes yessss

[@tiffanyc2966]

As a current ww lifetime member when I first heard of the app I was very nervous and with further investigation angry. It honestly goes against the whole idea that ww puts out for adults that you can eat anything in balance. By putting the idea out there that there are "red foods" it says the complete opposite. I have a 3 year old that has texture sensitivity and therefore doesn't eat much variety. During my losing period of my journey with ww I had been interested in a point system for kids not for her to lose weight but so I could make sure she was getting in enough. This app does nothing to help with the children who may not eat enough. I am so disappointed in the company by this. It makes me very sad. The day I found out about the app I searched for posts about it on the ww social media connect and was shocked to see how many parents were already embracing it and having their children use it.

[@sweetpea5539]

Check out Dr. Gregor’s daily dozen check lost for a great resource to checkup and check in with you child’s nutrition. Best to you 💜

[@sweetpea5539]

**check LIST

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Totally. Thanks so much for sharing

[@brakattack3824]

How depressing

[@maryyellen]

I was a 2 yr WW member & cancelled after Kurbo. I can’t agree with teaching kids to have eating disorders. I wrote this in my reason for cancelling my account.

[@MissPetry]

This is so disheartening... Thank you for this, Abbey. I completely agree and am appalled just thinking of the ideas we are passing on to our children with this, not only about food but about themselves!!

[@oliviavincent9405]

Wow. I wish my mom hadn’t encouraged diets, restrictions and weight stigma. 16 and already trying to heal my mentality to truly be healthy and comfortable in my body. Thanks for the great video!!

[@DeannaFaye]

The before-after example made me cry. That is so messed up. Abbey, you're amazing. Keep fighting the good fight! ✊

[@stephristovski3612]

So glad you made this video. Really hope lots of parents see this

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Steph Ristovski thank you!

[@pumpkinpants8658]

You are bloomin awesome Abbey, love the passion behind your message. I was very lucky as a kid and never went on diets as I was active but then again I grew up in a world that encouraged kids to get outside and move and it was at a time it was safe to do so. I feel desperately sorry for any child growing up with a weight problem and for those growing up with parents who have weight struggles now or in the past. You are a credit to you tube. Thank you. X

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Pumpkin Pants thank you 🙏🏻

[@roseburns4747]

I’m currently in treatment for an eating disorder. I’ve been hospitalized for ED related complications twice and have been in and out of recovery since I moved out 5 years ago. My ED started like so many others! My mother did WW, Jenny Craig, SlimFast, etc. She would pack the SlimFast shakes in my lunches, instead of ANY food, and would shame me when I came home and binged. This type of behavior turned into a disorder before I’d finished the 1st grade and I have no idea if I’ll ever get past this. Kurbo is without a doubt in my mind perpetuating disordered behavior by creating fear foods, controlling behaviors, and perfectionism. All these kiddos want is to feel loved for who they are in the body they’re in.

[@leannaniesen2645]

Wow, this video hit me hard. Kurbo has actually been around for a while, so I was really surprised recently when people started talking about it. I gained a lot of weight in early middle school and my mom started me on Kurbo when I was around 13 or 14. I had always been kind of insecure about my weight but this is kind of what pushed me over the edge body image wise. I’m 18 now, and though I’m starting to become more self aware about my issues with food and my body, they’re far from over. I’ve dieted on and off for the past 4 years and my weight has fluctuated a lot. I’m finally trying to educate myself about real nutrition and I’m seeing a therapist about my body image, but these are things I know I’m going to struggle with these things for the rest of my life. I hate to see other, younger kids going through what I did. Thanks for making this video.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Leanna Niesen so sorry to hear this. Thanks so much for sharing your story with us

[@uglyvegan7945]

How would you recommend talking to kids who are on a restricted diet due to religion or morals (e.g. Kosher or vegan) without giving them a complex about the rules around food?

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Ugly Vegan great question I’m going to cover in my upcoming intuitive eating series

[@BusyLizzy_]

I'm no expert, but I think the framework of a moral/religious based diet would be more positive. "We do this because we believe in xyz" or "because we support abc". This type of restriction is framed in a positive way, and is for external reasons which does not turn inward on the worth of the child. You don't eat that way so they won't be fat/unworthy/unloved.. but because the world will be better or because it honours your spiritual truth.

[@danan9061]

@@BusyLizzy_ i love this response

[@juicysatsumabeauty]

I'm a fan of complete honesty with children, at a level which is appropriate for their age. A five year old asks where babies come from? Don't confuse them with some 'a stork bring a baby' bullshit. I think diets are the same. My husband eats meat and I'm vegan. My kid asks why, I said meat is dead animals and I don't want animals to die so I can eat them but doesn't mind. It's just honest.

[@maggie.online]

@@juicysatsumabeauty can they eat meat ? Do they have the option?

[@AnniMcSally]

I was bullied for my weight when I was 12/13 and it took me over a decade to get to a somewhat healthy place when it comes to my body confidence and eating habits. I am so grateful for your video. Instead of every media outlet blasting diet bullshit all the time, we need this message much more often ❤️

[@madibuzzer]

THANK YOU for talking about this! this app is so toxic and I really worry about what this will do to young kids and their self esteem. it is SO much better for a young kid to have a healthy relationship with food and be a little overweight as compared to obsessing over calories from a young age. they're growing! a lot of kids already don't eat enough.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

madibuzzer thank you

[@mada7393]

What the heck is wrong with people who create this apps?! Thank you, Abbey👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼you’re the only dietitian on KZbin who speaks up

[@sanlamander]

I remember so clearly one of the moments when my disordered thought patterns started. I was a really passionate dancer at ages 8-11. In one lesson, my dancing teacher pinched my sides and told me “You should try eating watermelon, it’s really good for weight loss.” Yeah, don’t say that kind of crap to a child. It sticks.

[@megangodfrey626]

My daughter is 7 and in many dance classes. I am worried this could happen to her. How can I help her before she needs help, if that makes sense?

[@victoriakinsleymiller7296]

@@megangodfrey626 I am a professional teen dancer (currently laid off due to covid). The dance world in general has a huge stigma around weight, especially classical ballet. Honestly, it’s not so much people talking bad about you, it’s that you can sense when people are judging you. For example, I’m 5’3 and about 160. I have a lot of muscle weight, but yes, I do have fat. A lot of the older college girls are already a lot more devolved, so they are really tall and lean. You can kind of sense then looking at you and judging. I remember one time in dance when we were going over the “ideal body”... 5’6- 5’8 and 85-110 pounds. IF YOU ARE 5’8 AND 85 POUNDS YOU’RE SEVERELY UNDERWEIGHT!! and what’s even more bothersome, it’s praised and encouraged to fit these measurements. There’s always talk of a new diet or whatever somebody is doing this week to “get thin” before performance, and most of these kids are already thin! The best thing you can do for your daughter right now is to make sure she has a healthy relationship with food: no calorie counting, listening to hunger cues, not talking about eating “bad” foods, etc. As a ballerina with an ed, please keep her safe!! xx

[@rwc9191]

SO. MUCH. YES! Can’t express how much I LOVE this! As a new parent, body shaming and encouraging a healthy relationship with food has been on my mind for a while now and this is such a good synopsis! I’ve been on WW myself and love their program for adults because I believe it generally does encourage you to eat healthier! However, I whole heartedly agree that any type of “dieting” belongs nowhere near our children!!

[@saratriplett2444]

My mom has been on WW for so many years, I never thought of it that way. I will say she’s found a community there and really loves her “Saturday morning food church” as they call it. But I can definitely see how her being on that since I was a child has matriculated down to how I feel about food and dieting.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Sara Triplett ugh yes

[@lafemmerouge4271]

My Mother had an undiagnosed eating disorder. Sometimes it was the Scarsdale diet but all foods were classified as good or bad. Thin people were beautiful. Not thin people were ugly. It’s a voice still in my head.

[@alanapetrie9470]

I think that I would enjoy Abbey making some videos on nutrition for school children.

[@stellabella3337]

Alana Petrie yeah that’s a great idea!

[@LaurenWMcKinney]

I am so so thankful for this video. I’ve been yo yo dieting since I was a young girl. I’m 23 now and just realizing much more important my behaviors are than my weight. My parents never put me on anything like this; they never even made me feel like I needed to diet, but the constant pressure for me to look like my friends resulted in years of combating “bad” foods and then feeling guilty when I binged. I did weight watchers two years ago for my wedding and gained all the weight back and more. But I’m much happier now focusing on eating nutrient dense foods but still having the foods that I feel feed my soul and my cells. My husband’s parents are terribly weight obsessed, always asking if we’ve lost weight-which we don’t even need too, we are both healthy and active individuals. I’m just realizing how destructive weight and diet talk is, and I just want everyone in the world to see this video. Thank you Abbey!

[@dovenart7546]

My mother would have me go on diets with her when I was a child. I remember trying to follow the Atkins diet with her when I was only eight. When I was fourteen, I went from a size 0 up to a size 4 because of puberty, and had my first panic attack over it. When I was 15, I went up to a size 10, and had a week where I didn't eat ANY food. I've been dealing with Anorexia and Bulemia for my entire life, because my mother wanted "moral support" on her diets. This app sounds exactly like what my mother did to me, and it ruined my life.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Basement Art I’m so sorry to hear that. Thanks for sharing

[@grilledpook]

holyyyyy shit, my mother went on so many crash diets its unreal. atkins, slimfast, weight watchers, etc etc. i can definitely sympathize with you. its awful how diet culture catches on to kids at such a vulnerable time in their lives.

[@MoleLotus]

OMG! This is my life, I wish you were around when I was a young teenager. Ugh oh well, I am learning great thing for my daughter. I have literally been through everything you have talked about and it all started with WW. A whole group of strangers shaming me because I'd put on a kg. Which lead to disordered eating and eventually drug use. And the struggle is still going. Hopefully 2021 is the year I learn to eat intuitively, for both me and my daughter. Thank the universe for you Abbey, I appreciate you!!!

[@taralgasarah]

For me personally this video was relatable but in terms of parents - when I was going through puberty my mum constantly tried to get me to go on diets, told me I was too fat, gaining too much weight etc - I’ve always ate reasonably healthy though so the weight gain literally was just to do puberty. Everything you said about how being forced to diet at a young age can lead to eating disorders just resonates so much with me, I just have such an unhealthy relationship with food now

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Rebecca Mackay ugh terrible

[@ОлесяРезникова-к7л]

My parents started putting me on diets when I was 5 years old, which failed and kept trying and after years of failed dieting my parents decided that to get this to work that each week I didn’t lose weight there would be some sort of ‘punishment’ (things from being grounded, and having my toys destroyed etc, to being picked on (being called a pig) by them). This ended up leading to BED and a massive weight gain and this only made my parents and everyone around me hate me even more. I got to my heaviest weight at 21 years old of 185kg (407 lbs) and then was ‘convinced’ to have the gastric sleeve. Which yes worked, as I ended up losing all of the weight. But I didn’t lose it healthily at all. I got to 39kg (85 lbs) and when my parents were like ‘okay you can stop now’ and I just couldn’t. I had been told by everyone daily that I was a fat cow and needed to lose weight and then just to have everyone stop saying these things wouldn’t compute in my head. Anyways, I now have a life long eating disorder, I’m even more miserable than before, I’m now more scared of bread than having a heart attack and even, had an NG tube not that long ago... but hey, at least my parents are happy they don’t have a fat daughter anymore, right?.. point of my story, please don’t put kids on diets, just let their bodies do their thing

[@melissacondon]

Love the shirt, Abbey! No crash diets needed, just healthy lifestyle choices and balance!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Liss the Vegan yessss

[@honeyw428]

Thank you for this! I was an overweight child, and all of the comments from (probably well meaning) parents, family members, adults, doctors, teachers, etc about my weight and eating hurt more than the bullying and was probably the driving force behind my Anorexia and BP disorders. People don't realize how bad those well meaning comments like "are you sure you want to eat that", or "that food is bad try this instead" fucked me up so bad. You are so right about people developing food fears too, like because of everything I have had a decade long fear of get this, muffins. Even in recovery i've been able to eat what people consider unhealthier foods, but that one food I can't get over due to the comments from my childhood. This app is honestly one of the worst things they can do for overweight kids, it will definitely contribute to body issues and disordered eating.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Honey W for sure

[@spoog314]

I hope you one day make a video with Katy Morton. i think that would be awesome!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Goksu Boz I’ll look!

[@mirimiriela480]

Yes!! Seconding! :)

[@Arthistorycoffeegirl]

Yesss! That would be amazing

[@bethanewright]

That would be awesome!!! I’m down to watch that for sure

[@StraightTalkinFedoraChic]

that would be awesome...I would certainly watch.

[@mikeyyyanne]

I’m a direct product of these apps/programs/products and I’m just now-at 24, when this all started around the age of 10-entering treatment for what has developed into properly diagnosed binge eating disorder. Thank you so much for bringing to light how incredibly toxic these kinds of apps/programs/products can be, as well as both the mental and possibly physical distress parents or other family members could potentially be setting their children up for when they encourage using them.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Thanks for sharing

[@kittenswithbows]

I lost weight with ww over the course of 2.5 years and it really helped me with my relationship with food. So I'm two ways about this video. Totally with you on boycotting the app for kids. Thats awful and a terrible idea! But I just dont feel the same way about the programme for adults. Between December 2015 and June 2018 I lost 26kg (ca 50 lbs) with weight watchers. I lost it in four distinct rounds, and had breaks in between while still attending meetings. During the process I read a lot about the odds of maintaining weight loss. I knew only 5-10% of people keep the weight off, and I wanted to know what i could do to increase my chances of being in that category. So I slowly made sustainable lifestyle changes and aimed for a weight in could maintain as opposed to maximum possible weight loss. Doing meetings, tracking food and having to face my food choices forced me to really reflect on my troubled relationship with food, eating and weight. I'd been overweight my whole life. I remember being 5-6 years old and not being able to keep up with other kids at daycare. I was bullied and made fun of. My mother was naturally thinno matter what she ate and did not know anything about how to promote healthy eating because she had never needed to think about it herself. Growing up I felt like it was my fault I was fat. In my early 20s I realised it was wrong to put that kind of pressure on myself. Children should not have to carry the weight of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. That's why I hate the concept of kurbo. Adults need to be educated, but kids should not be the ones held responsible for their food choices. I'm really grateful for the opportunity I got to overhaul my eating habits as I did weight watchers. But i know most people dont approach it the way I did. I was in many Facebook groups and the cultures are pretty toxic. The focus is either just on minimizing points any way possible or, on the flip side, judging and berating others for eating "fake food". I had to mute them for my own sanity. I dont know what the solution is, but I think there is a level of hypocrisy to saying, on the one hand, that ww is for the rich who can afford it while at the same hand saying we should learn to eat intuitively. This isnt just a critique of you, but many other youtubers who say the same thing. If you are an adult with a terrible relationship with food, how exactly are you meant to "learn to eat intuitively"? From the outside it certainly doesnt seem accessible when you know little about nutrition and how to create balanced meals. The ww points system allowed me to see that I can have a bit of cake when I'm out for dinner and still lose weight. I just cant have cake every day. it showed me I can still eat all sorts of carbs and fats, just not in huge amounts. I had a terrible relationship with food and couldn't have just suddenly started "listening to my body". I was 25 and weighed 89kg. My body didn't know what it wanted. I needed more support than simple platitudes. Luckily I was in a financial position to pay for a weight watchers membership. It was no where near perfect, but it sure was better than just continuing on as I was 🤷‍♀️

[@AbbeysKitchen]

kittenswithbows glad it helped you!

[@theshunnedBandersnatch]

I love your comment - nuanced with a fair critique.

[@sanjalisubash6307]

Thank you for making this insightful video!!! I’m a high schooler (17 years old) who just started getting into your videos and I really love your content!!! It’s hard because so many parents propagate unhealthy eating habits at my age and kids spread diet culture talk because of that. For example, one of my close friends talked about how she is “cutting back he calories because she needs to lose weight to stay a size 2” and that her parents want her to lose weight too. It’s frankly sickening and apps like this just make diet culture in teens so much worse.

[@bobbieaubel2064]

Parents need to watch this video! My daughter was overweight as a child and when the school started to use the BMI scale I was furious! I am a personal trainer and cardio instructor (27yrs), so I understand "healthy" eating. I NEVER EVER put my daughter on a diet-- and ya know what? When she was a sophomore in high school all the weight melted away. She was active as a child, cheered and played softball, and her size was accepted. In fact it was so accepted that when she was a cheerleader the coaches mom made a skirt (by redesigning 2 skirts) to fit her! And many more girls wore said skirt after her. I was on WW in the 90's with their Fat and Fiber program and became very fat phobic...I could recite how much fat was in a food and whether I would eat it. Once they switched to the Slide then Points,I was out. Too much stress hanging over my head using points. This video reminds me of Christy Harrison RD and the HAAS method (which I LOVE). I lister to her podcasts when I walk my dogs. Abbey, thank you for all your videos, and maybe think about starting a podcast in all your "free" time (lol). I would so listen to them!

[@KSquaredFarms]

Wow, I can't believe this app is actually out there. This blows my mind! I struggled with being "overweight" my entire life. I learned to love my body bigger. It took time, but eventually in high school I stoped caring what others thought of my weight and embraced my curves! Kids should be focused on school and getting an education, making friends and dreaming about what they want to do in the future!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

totally agree

[@rainbowskittlers17]

Hey Abbey! Would it be possible to link the specific studies you mentioned in this video? Especially the 2017 paper mentioned at around 5:18. I'm working on a research paper for class about diet culture's impact on children and these studies would be amazing to read/use!

[@juliadepuy8601]

Hey Abbey - I love your videos so much and they're part of the reason I'm planning on getting a degree in nutrition ❤. My parents were incredible but always shamed me for being over weight. They were slim and my siblings were as well. so while they could eat whatever they wanted, I was on a diet before I was even aware of my own body. Apps like this are just another vehicle for disordered eating and thinking. I appreciate you making this video and all that you do to prevent kids from feeling what so many of us felt: like we should hate our bodies. Oh, and then spend the rest of our lives listening to condescending songs, movies and celebrity interviews telling us to love ourselves. As if we didnt think of that. I'm sure most of us did love ourselves before apps like these taught us otherwise. Anyway, love ya!

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Julia DePuy totally. Thank you so much for sharing and good luck with your degree!

[@JamieLuv2u]

I seemed to be in the one year of WW 25 years ago when they first came out with points. It really helped me. My parents (both dead already from poor nutrition) fed me nothing but sugar, pizza, soda and crap. They believed as long as I took a flint stone vitamin that's all I needed. I came to adulthood completely unprepared to feed myself, and WW actually really helped me find an objective understanding of food so that I could understand the choices that come with intuitive eating. However, as a 30 year teacher and human development expert, what Abbey has described is sick, twisted and everything wrong with our culture. They could have done this the opposite way and succeeded so hard. I am sad that something that helped me so much has become so untrustworthy.

[@animerlon]

Thank you so much for putting this out there. This desperately needs to be said, repeatedly, til everyone gets the message.

[@Jilly_Neutron]

WW is stuck in the 90s. The personal behavior model of health improvement has been shown to have little effect on overall health. Join the 21st Century. Our zipcodes, our jobs, our wealth, our personal built environments, our access to safe green space, our education, etc. these seemingly unrelated things are truly what are driving our and our children's health. I shudder to think of a child with this app telling their family they can't eat the food on their plate because an app tells them they can't when that is the only food they could afford and had time to prepare for their child(ren) (yes many impoverished families do still have smart phones). That isn't improving health, that's just furthering stigma and shame that can last a lifetime. I interned at a children's hospital system and it did something to bring healthful nutrition to the most at risk families in our community. We had a truck that would bring fresh, locally grown (a good portion of it by young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities) produce to neighborhoods without access to grocery stores (one coming soon, thanks ALDI!), and we wouldn't preach a replacement method of eating or demonize any foods. We just encouraged the families to add these nutritionally dense ingredients to the meals they were already preparing. This is how you create positive change, not the ww bullshit.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Jill Kealling yes!

[@Veestar88]

This channel has helped me so much since I discovered it! I’ve always had poor self image. I was slightly “overweight” as a kid, and when I was 13, I put myself on my first diet. That would lead to years of disordered eating. When I moved away after high school, I gained weight and spent years hating myself for it. After having my first son, I joined WW with the encouragement of my doctor, and lost a good amount of weight. The first few years, I did well, as I was unknowingly using a lot of IE skills. I had some medication changes and my mental health was not in a good place, and regained the weight I lost, plus a bit. Last year, I joined WW again, and lost some weight but the disordered eating that I struggled with for 20 years got much worse. I quit after getting admitted to the hospital. Over the next few months, I put on all the weight I had plus a lot more. I discovered intuitive eating earlier this year, and for the first time, I’m starting to love my body. And guess what?! I want to eat the foods that make me feel good, whether it’s broccoli or cake, and I’m starting to understand better what I need. I have 2 kids. My oldest is long and lean, my youngest is very tall for his age and sturdy. I worry more about my oldest since he has a lot of food aversions, but even then, it’s less about his weight, more that he’s getting everything he needs. My youngest on the other hand is an adventurous eater and loves trying new foods! I try so hard not to make any foods off limits because it’s “bad”. My parents were very controlling of my diet as a kid and I never want them to feel the same. This got very long, but I just needed to share.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Victoria Morningstar I’m so happy this is helping

[@deepsea5348]

It's hard realizing that my eating disorders can be traced back to the way my mom talks about herself (and occasionally, me).

[@Aidan988]

I just found your youtube channel. Thanks for discussing this topic. WW is definitely what started me on my weight cycling/disordered eating journey. I started on it when I was a sophomore in high school and I am still on the road to recovery at age 30 (but seeing progress finally!) I was horrified when I found out about this app. Kids, I get it, it sucks feeling like the size/shape of your body is holding you back, but your health is more important. It just is. You don't want to deal with chronic disease as a result of decades of disordered eating patterns, you probably want to live a full and vibrant life. Parents, you don't want your kids to hate you and then have to go to therapy to forgive you. Investing time and energy in diet culture only serves the corporations! This video is so real.

[@noelledford]

Please do a video about Amberlynn Reid! Edit: apparently Abbey has previously said that Amberlynn is going through something more psychological than nutritional so she isn't going to do a video on her. Just fyi 🙂

[@brakattack3824]

YES! I don’t see her mentioned in this space much

[@taylorannemade1388]

Please don’t!

[@rachelb751]

I vote for this. Maybe review the one with optavia

[@noelledford]

@Sarah Kelly I don't know much about her, but from what I know I think it would be interesting to hear what Abbey has to say about her

[@powersquirrel8156]

Abbey has said in other comments that she wont because Amberlynn Reid's diet is less about what she eats and more about why. She's not going to comment on psychological issues because that's not her area of expertise.

[@lucyzethner4120]

thank you sooooo much for making this video. this app honestly disgusts me more than i can put into words. i am currently recovering from an eating disorder and it horrifies me to think about children thinking in such a disordered way

[@AbbeysKitchen]

totally, good luck with your recovery

[@lucyzethner4120]

Abbey Sharp thx☺️❤️

[@MeganWeidle]

I'm just as mad as you are! I starting getting into 'health' and calorie counting apps/magazines when I was in middle school. I'm 25 now and still haven't recovered from eating disorders or disordered eating. I'm now a calorie encyclopedia, thanks to these apps I know the exact amount of calories in a tablespoon of freaking sugar free syrup. These apps set you up for a lifetime of obsession!

[@meganb5406]

I'm so happy you made this video, it needed to be said. I have an ED for a very long time now and I find it horrifying what an app like this can do to these children... I hope a lot of parents listen to you and watch your videos ❤️

[@loveinsearchofwords]

Yeah no 🙄 this is literal bullshit. No foods should be red. Parents need to do their due diligence and make losing weight about improving health , enjoying healthy food, and playing ! My parents just kept telling me to lose weight until I got to the point of being 325 lbs at 22 and having to get weightloss surgery . ( yes my fault partially but I think my parents educating me on food and nutrition instead of linking my weight to how I look or it being my value would have helped me so much) . I'm 100 lbs down btw and still working on my relationship with food 😁

[@AbbeysKitchen]

loveinsearchofwords ugh I’m sorry this was your experience

[@hederahelix4600]

It wasn't your fault. I think it will be good for you to realize that. Our bodies don't want to starve. If we put them in starvation mode, the balance is upset. This is not a question of a strong will or discipline, it is our bodies trying to help us survive and that is a very strong instinct to fight against.

[@Zolliepop456]

This is giving me flashbacks of every comment my mom made about my body growing up. If it tells you anything my sister and I both ended up with eating disorders that we still struggle with

[@alliecarpentier7951]

When the ad for an Abbey video is vshread.com telling me fruit is evil for anyone not athletic 🤣🤣 as someone who’s been on a diet since I was 5, I can 100% verify how much this will f*uck up your relationship with food.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Allie Carpentier ugh I’m sorry

[@alliecarpentier7951]

Abbey Sharp You have no control over the ads!

[@inezjacobs2459]

weight watchers was the weight loss programm that started all my issues with food and binge eating disorder. It took me more than 10 years to understand this and finally have a healthy relationship with food. So thank you for your video, it really needed to be said.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

so sorry for your experience.

[@lilmissmalloryy]

Let's find out how long KZbin comments can be: I agree with the fact that this app and its marketing has been terribly executed. I think an app like this should be available only with a prescription from the child's doctor, and I think 8 years old is too young. It should be 13-17. This video seems to run under the assumption that this app is for kids who are a normal weight or very slightly overweight, who themselves or their parents are concerned about weight gain. The idea that kids should be gaining weight during puberty is...obvious, and that's not who this app is for (again, a failure on WW). This video is also extremely presumptuous that all kids are eating yogurt, fruit, sourdough bread, and almond butter for breakfast, and that their parents know a single thing about health or nutrition. I agree about what the fuck was their criteria for the food categorization, clearly they put too much emphasis on sole fat content and not any other nutrients. BUT I remember being in first grade - 6 years old - getting told at every single checkup that I was in the red zone on BMI charts and had to lose weight. As an adult I now know that meant I was obese by age 6. I didn't know what to do. My parents either didn't know what to do or didn't think it was a big deal. No one told me to eat my vegetables. I ate whatever I wanted. My mom made me breakfast every day before school from elementary until 10th grade. French toast sticks or eggo waffles, always drowned in butter and syrup. Lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some kind of snack - a brownie or cookie. Dinner would be pop tarts, kraft mac and cheese, a grilled cheese sandwich. The point is, my parents didn't know enough to teach me how to eat properly and were also obese themselves. I didn't have a smartphone until I was 16, but an app like this probably would've been a lot better than the ABC diet I found on tumblr (look it up, it's a month calendar with a daily calorie allowance - ranging between 0-500 calories per day. Repeat the diet until you're happy). I was obese until age 23. I can only imagine how different my life would have been had I grown up in 2019 when my doctor could have said here, download this app, it'll help you see which foods make you feel like this and which foods will make you feel better. Again, this is where they need to sort out their food grading scale. Could my parents have taken the time to learn about nutrition and get me and themselves healthier? Maybe. But that's not reality. There are parents that don't think it's a big deal to have an obese child. There are parents who were never taught about nutrition themselves. I think it's kids of those parents who this app needs to be for, and was made for. That needs to be clearer in the marketing, but then obviously this wouldn't be so controversial. But I think the *idea* is a step in the right direction.

[@emmyspemmy17]

You totally missed the point of the video - dieting and promoting this kind of bad mentality around food is almost as dangerous as what you went through as a child. Obesity is harmful of course, but just as dangerous and serious as being too thin/ eating disorders.

[@lilmissmalloryy]

Emily Fox No, you missed the point of the comment. One of the first things I said was this app should only be available by prescription from a doctor. This should not be available to the general public. A child that is too thin or just healthy would never be recommended this app unless an alternate version were created to help kids gain weight. I also said they need to re-evaluate the food grading scale so healthy foods such as what Abbey said her kids eat wouldn’t be “red” foods.

[@lilmissmalloryy]

JoJo Skye Some foods are good and some foods are bad. Someone who only ate leafy greens, fruit, and lean meats would be much better off than someone who only ate cookies, chips, and ice cream. WW has obviously failed your friend and likely many others by making them think they can’t have things like salad dressing at all. I’ve never tried WW so I can’t say how it expresses the good food vs bad food thing but what it’s trying to teach people is that some foods are cool to be eaten on a regular basis and some aren’t. Especially for kids it should be very clear that “red” foods aren’t things you can never eat - just shouldn’t be staples in your diet. I never said this app was perfect. I’m saying it was poorly executed and shouldn’t be available to the general public, but the idea of it is a step in the right direction for obese kids who’s parents aren’t able to help them get healthy for one reason or another, and I think the people posting videos like this are completely ignoring who the target audience should be. Maybe if people saw a better utilization of this app instead of just demonizing it WW or some other developer could create a better iteration of it and help someone, instead of scrapping it and letting children be obese without a clue.

[@hederahelix4600]

Thank you for showing me a different perspective. Your history has shown you that it was bad for you that your parents didn't help you to eat healthy. My history has shown me that my parents should have let me develop healthy regular eating habits and not put me on a diet at age 7. I get the dilemma for children with parents like yours. However, I think even with an improved app, there will be still the problem of the food choices a child has. You can't shop for yourself, you are dependent on what is put in front of you (or not). I guess we need good nutrition classes for children and parents to teach them what well balanced healthy eating is.

[@soniatomczyk8882]

Im so happy that you are speaking out against diets especially when it comes to kids. When I was younger I was overweight and whenever I went to the doctor I was shamed and lectured about how bad and negative my weight gain was. I wasn't dangerously overweight either, but never should a child be shamed for how they look. I was but on multiple diets that never worked and only made me feel worse. Thank you for doing what you do, that you for educating people about the detriments of these societal constructions.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Thank you!

[@elisabethreichstamm3840]

Can you do more videos about the Carnivore diet? I feel like this is becoming a new trend now and there's also KZbinrs like this doctor Paul Saladino promoting it.

[@claramartin2104]

Honestly thank you for the video. Not only for talking about WW and their outrageous app, but also for exploring the side effects of dieting at a young age. My mother was and is obsessed in weight loss. She send me to a health clinic when I was around 8-9 and signed me up for WW when I was 12. I'm sure she was convinced that she was helping. But listening to the side effects of such restriction at a young age, mental and physical is an important step for me to understand why I'm the way I'm. So thank you a lot.

[@JoseRivera-te9hw]

At the beginning of the video, I was imagining Kirby inhaling the app from people’s phone. But then I remembered what happens to Kirby when he inhales things, and though he’d be completely screwed if he inhaled the WW Kurbo app.

[@AbbeysKitchen]

Jose Rivera 😂

[@JoseRivera-te9hw]

Abbey Sharp I recently found out that Sv3rige legit changed his name to Goatis, and made a response video calling you a liar and a hypocrite. Talk about trolling and resentment.

[@kirstyskitchen]

I just found your channel for the first time today. My mom took me to my first weight watcher's meeting when I was 9 years old. I've been on and off every imaginable diet ever since. I am currently 51, obese, and type2 diabetic. Your video made me cry. I feel like my life could gave been so different. I'm still looking for a way to improve my health and lose weight for good. Thankfully, I have 3 healthy children in their 20s who have never been food obsessed or struggled with their weight because I always encouraged them to just trust their bodies- eat when they were hungry and stop when they were full. I, on the other hand, have always wondered why I am so broken. Thank you for making this video.