Q: I have recently started a young women's group. I am thrilled that they want to take part in regular dance and fitness workshops. However, they also want to start a diet club and I am against it. How can I tell them they can't have a diet club without them losing interest?
First, you should be congratulated for getting this group together - it certainly sounds like they are raring to go. I can accept why you might have some reservations about the girls starting diets but don't want to reject their ideas out of hand.
However, there is no harm in working with them to develop a healthy-eating programme. This way you could incorporate the aspects of a diet: nutrition, hygiene, preparation, exercise and even budgeting. If you want to avoid the idea of dieting, then you could boycott anything that involves weighing or measuring, concentrating instead on feeling and looking healthy. The young women will still be able to monitor their progress by how they feel and how their clothes fit. It also creates a less competitive and more co-operative group activity.
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