With my older sister at age 17 because she asked me to diet with her.

It helped her, bought us closer in misery. Then the sneaky chick went and got pregnant while we were dieting so we stopped.

She got a baby, I got ill-fitting clothes and a cute second nephew.

when i was fifteen i dunno what happened, i just decided to see how long i could go without a proper meal and only minimal fruit and vegies. i lasted two weeks lol but i lost a ton of weight

i would NOT recommend it though because i got REALLy sick afterward and it was sooooo awful it shocked me into eating normally again!

the bad thing about dieting in the younger ages is that once you have a "bad" food you think the "diet" is over and you can pig out again. haha very unbalanced.

now i just have a bit of everything.
moderation really is the key

i remember the summer between 8th and 9th grade, i started getting more attention from boys and for some reason wanted to be even skinnier. I remember paying attention to fat grams, not calories, but I'd eat only a rice cake midday, then maybe dinner with the family. I rode my bike everywhere that summer, too, so I looked good!

the women in my family are weight obsessed, so I can't ever remember not being on a diet, of some sort, growing up!

I started a diet in middleschool after some kid in my class referred to me as a "hippo" during gym period.

middle school i started to stress about eating hs i actually started dieting

I started weight watchers with my mom in middle school. I just want to take this time to thank my mom for giving me a distorted body image and the tools to constantly be on a diet for the rest of my life.

I just now started "dieting" around late february early march of this year. I lost my son in December, I was depressed I felt like crap. I think losing my son opened up my eyes. I want to live a long healthy life and be able to play with my children without being tired all the time. Oh, and I don't call it dieting... I just see it as changing the way I eat.

i think those increments should be smaller, like 3-4 years. anywhoooo, i don't remember if i was 19 or 20, but i was older so i picked the 20-25 bracket. in hs i played sports (tennis and swimming) and although i was no size 0, i was a size 5 and i looked great, i never had the pressure to diet until i started working at 'the buckle' and the pressure there was unbelieveable. it was the first time i felt i shouldn't eat so I didn't. on a 'skinny' day i would have one meal, and not a filling one at that. i got down to a size 1 or 3, depending on the jeans, and i felt tired all of the time. one day, my manager who happened to be shorter and much overwieght than i, called me 'fat'. so i quit, but after that i continued my unhealthy habits for years. i always worked 2 jobs 9-9 everyday, so in a way i made myself to busy to eat.

My mother was one of those that always told me I was too fat so I started dieting in the 8th grade. I look back now at pictures of myself at that age and I was never overweight. She was just putting her own weight issues off onto me.

Yikes! 10 years old? 8th and 9th grade? geez, that's young. I was 21 when I started "dieting" (finished, now, thank you!).

Did you girls who dieted so young play sports as a kid? I'm just wondering because it seems like none of my friends dieted at that age and I sure didn't but we all played sports and I was wondering if that had something to do with it? What do you think?

I think around 19 maybe

I was on my first conscious "restriction" around 11. My Mom never let us eat junk food or salt as youngsters, and I was NOT even big! But I remember being in 6th grade bringing a salad with some lettuce and a few slices of tomato for lunch every day. Throughout high school and college, I got much more crazy about things and did some stupid stuff...but I was a VERY active child. I was on a swim team since age 4, and started year round swimming at 13 . IN between those years I did soccer, gymnastics, ballet, horseback riding, and on the days I had no organized activity, my brother and I climbed t rees and rollerbalded for hours after school. I can remember in high school, eating one whole wheat Eggo (no syrup of course lol) before my first swim practice, eating 2 slices of Light bread with fat free cheese and an apple for lunhc, and that was it! Then I would have one more swim practice and skip dinner. Swimming 5 hours a day on like 500 cals = NOT GOOD haha. I no longer have that disclipline but that's probably a good thing.

I have a five year old neice, who started figure skating. Her and Mom went skating dress shopping and when she tried it on, she refused to come out and show anyone because she said she looked fat in it! FIVE years old, omg.

MlleMLT, how did you not pass out and die? My gosh. Your body must have been going crazy!

My mom put me on a slimfast diet when I was 11.

I am a product of my mom's messed up self esteem. I think that she has been on some sort of a diet my whole life, and that sort of has rubbed off on me. I was really thin as a kid, and when I started to develop she used to tell me I had a great body, if only I could tighten up my thighs... always something to fix! So I got busy with school and extra-curricular activities and didn't have time to eat. That got me lots of positive feedback, and from there anorexia was born. Luckily I am now over that, and am trying to get to be truly healthy before we have kids. I don't want to put my daughter through all of that!

I just focus on eating balanced, natural foods (fruits and veggies, whole grains, amish chicken, wild salmon, etc.), not eating after 8pm, and snacking often while staying between 1800-2000 calories per day. I wouldn't call that a diet, just healthy eating. However, I do have a sweet tooth and also am a VERY strong believer in everything in moderation. So, cheesecake once in a while? Sure! A glass of wine with dinner?Sure! I also exercise.

p.s. It wasn't always this way.. I went through a restriction period for a few months in high school and luckily got over it. I decided I liked food too much and also that I would rather be strong and toned than bony and weak. Pretty simple, really.

the first dieting for me was crash dieting.. but now not anymore.. now i increase my fruits and vegs intakes (5 fruit servings a day) and avoid meat , too much sugar and unnecessary carbs (like.. donuts haha)

i started really young because i was naive and i didn't understand what i was really feeling.. then later i was diagnosed with an eating disorder.

I clearly remember in 9th grade, watching a Lifetime special with my best friend on a girl who had anorexia/bulemia. It was supposed to show the horrors of eating disorders, but it just encouraged us and showed us how to do it.

I tried to be anorexic/bulemic for about 2 weeks, but it turns out I'm hypoglycemic and love food. I was just grumpy and shaky the whole time...which was NOT worth being thin!

Thank god it didn't stick!

I was in 7th grade... I wouldnt' call it a diet though. I wouldn't eat anything but dinner because my family was there.... I also rode my bike constantly but more for fun than fitness. I used to think I was fat... now I see pics and say YIKES

I think I was in highschool, but my idea of a diet was to skip a meal and drink a coke. LOL. I only wish that worked for me now!

I was in the 8th grade when I went on my first diet. It was in conjunction with exercise and it was pretty healthy at first until I became obsessed with counting calories. I think my whole freshman and half of my sophomore year of high school was spent exercising and dieting and not much else. I even got a job at a gym so that I could get free membership and workout whenever I wanted.

Wow, some of these comments are so sad. I can't believe that some people put that kind of pressure on such young girls to look "perfect" all the time. I'm 25 and have never been on a diet in my life. It's partly good genes (my family is naturally skinny) but also partly that my parents always encouraged us to have good eating habits and to be active, not so we'd conform to some messed-up standard of female beauty, but because it would make us feel better. Sensible diets are one thing, and I'm sure sooner or later my metabolism will catch up to me and I'll have to go on one, but I can't even imagine the degree of self-hatred it would take to literally starve yourself just to look "better."

When I was 16 and was starting to take an interest in my health and body. I didn't so much diet as I did eat healthfully and start an exercise dealy. I have never been able to diet simply because I love to eat.

The only real diet I have been on is trying to cut down on sugars. So I cut out most desserts, but it's not a deprevation thing, I still allow a good piece of chocolate almost once a day.

Oh, and I only drink H2O to cut out those extra calories. I hardly drink pop, juice (unless it's 100 % and no added stuff) and alcohol. I do drink milk once in a while, but I should really start drinking it more.

I was 16 and I dropped 3 kg from just eating a banana and a slice of bread for 2 weeks. Running and just working out. I got to the size that I wanted but I paid the price by getting gastric pain which feels like a knife being twisted in the stomach. And now at 23, if I don't eat on time the occasional gastric comes. So it was the biggest regret ever.

I used to eat horrible things - I was deep frying taquitos on the stove as soon as I was tall enough, but then I would deprive myself. I was heavy and a tomboy, and wanted my best guy friend to like me. So stupid.

I can't say I've ever really been on a diet. I've always been at a normal (or slightly below normal) weight and have stayed pretty active. I did give up eating mammals from ages 12-21, but that was definitely not done for dietary reasons.

I started my first diet to get rid of that "happily married" weight gain. I'm still working on it!

In college. That freshman 20 took YEARS to get rid of because I tried a bunch of things before I figured out that "diets" in that sense don't really work. I tried cutting out carbs, then forgoing dinner, then eating only replacements meals like bars or shakes, etc. Actualy that last one did kind of work, but I couldn't keep up with it because it made me miserable.

Now I just try to be healthy and mindful of my protions and the only thing I try to limit is sugar/desserts (no more than one a day, etc) because that's my weakness.

I agree 100% pixel. I don't understand all the fretting and worry over complex diets, alot of them fads, when if you just reduce your intake, be more aware of what you are eating and take a walk around the block, you'll lose weight. Its a great way for many to get started because there isn't a strict regiment with all kinds of rules. No wonder people fail when they try out these diets, there's just too much hassle.

I've never been on a diet. close as I've come was changing my eating habits after gaining a little over 15 pounds in college. i.e. maybe I shouldn't have pancakes or french toast for breakfast EVERY day

I was twelve, and what's worse, I was prodded into it by my mom. Up until a few years ago, she hadn't ever struggled with her weight, so she really didn't understand what I was going through as a chubby kid. I think she thought she was helping, but in retrospect it was a bad idea.

I was 8 when I bought my first little supermarket checkout line booklet on how to lose weight. That started about 12 years of misery.

I was about 5 or 6 years old when I went on my first diet. My Mum constantly made comments about my weight, and this was confirmed by the way I was treated outside my home - in truth, I just hit puberty very early and the shape of my body was different to everyone elses, and because it was 'different', I was therefore deemed 'fat'.

I tried the cabbage soup diet, the heart patient diet, weight watchers, a diet of 800 calories a day consisting of nothing but cheese and crackers; and whenever I tried any physical activity, the other kids would point at me and say, 'What are those things on your chest and why do they jiggle?'

If only somebody told me that nothing was wrong with me, and that all of that was normal! Then I might actually be 'normal' now, and not involved in a big weight loss mission!

Wow... im amazed at the amount of people who have been like me... oh well... i know im not alone now, huh?

i first started dieting at 11-12 yrs old... size small and 0... and now that i look back, i had an awesome body... i'd work out 6 hours a day and ate 500 calories on a bad day...
and my mom just loooved me and admired me as i got skinnier...

oh well...

Seeing the number of commenters that started at very early ages plus people who are baffled at how that might have occurred inspired me to write a blog entry about my own experiences with it. I wish people would approach childhood weight issues much more delicately, chances are that if the kid is active and healthy, they'll grow out of it.

I started in high school...i really became image conscious when i saw all the hot older upperclassmen.

Seriously, i have learned something very valuable about drinking water. First and foremost...we dont drink enough of it. Secondly...dehydration and thirst can be misconstrued as hunger. So if you are feeling hungry...drink about 8-12oz of water and wait 10 minutes. Your hunger should subside. So easy and healthy!!

I did it after my first year of college. I was 18. I gained all Freshman 15 - who could resist the buffet of food available in the dorms. The summer after my first year I joined Weight Watchers..and lost a good chunk of the weight. Then upon returning to school in the fall, I started to take cardio classes to keep the weight off...It's such a cycle for me.. blah!

I did after my sophmore year of college. My grandmother kept nagging me, calling me fat (I weighed 130ish at 5'4) and comparing me to my cousin, who at the time had a very serious eating disorder. So I tired the South Beach Diet, lost 20lbs, and got really really sick. Since then I haven't gone near a "diet", now I just eat a healty diet. But every once in awhile the scale creeps up a little and I get tempted.

I first started dieting when I was 14 years old. I saw that I was bigger than a lot of the gymnasts on my team. (i weighed about 115) PURE MUSCLE. No one ever forced me to diet however my parents and family did hint that I could loose a little. I got down to less than 105 but when I gained the weight back I got very upset. I did multiple crash diets and over excersized often. Now, I'm very much into nutrition and am improving my life style every day. Although, I still do have my "bad days" and due to depression last year gained 25 lbs. Since then, I have knocked 10 of those off and I am at 135. My goal now is to be at a healthy 115. back where i started at my height.

I started dieting when I was 9 years old. I only ate grapes and watermelon for weeks. Some heifer called me fat in my dance class. Five years later I was 90 lbs with an eating disorder. Everyone told me how great I looked while my hair was thinning out. Well...today I am active and eating. Never will repair the damage that was done. My metabolism is shot. Struggling with my weight. But I've just graduated as an environmental engineering, going to law school, back in my ballet class in my tight leotard and that girl that called me fat dropped out of high school. I feel the score is fair.

i first started dieting when i was 11 (i think). i used diet pills and cut calories. i guess i've never really stopped those behaviors. it pretty sad to think i've been dieting for 15 years.

Holy heck. I just read every single comment and it was eye opening. I had no idea so many people dieted so young, or received so much horrible pressure from family members. I mean, I knew it happened but I guess reading story after story about it was a bit shocking.

I'm so grateful to have grown up in a family with very healthy views on food and exercise. My mum sure had her issues about other things in life but I never, ever once heard her complain about her weight, or even make any mention of it. I wasn't even really aware of diets etc until I was about 16, and then it was only from girlfriends at school.

My family has thin genes, but I think it's more than that too - growing up I thought healthy food with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, small portions and going for walks after dinner every night were normal. We had KFC once a year, and that was a fun treat for us. I have a good relationship with food now and eat a very healthy diet, exercise regularly and am very slim. But I love chocolate too and can't live without it! I vow to pass on healthy body image and lifestyle habits to any children that I'm lucky enough to have. The thought of having a daughter in today's world scares the living daylights out of me though.

I really hope anyone who grew up with eating/weight issues is able to break the cycle with their own children. I can't imagine how hard it would be to change thinking that was implanted from childhood but it would be so worth it.

Like angelfromlsu (and many others) I was called a nasty name when younger ("cow") in fourth grade by a little shi#head boy. I was in the fourth grade and was a tad chubby but my no means a cow. That started me on the diet cycle...I can remember going on salad-only stretches, bacon diets (?!), doing exercise videos, whatever. It started so young and looking at all of these comments, I realize how widespread the self-loathing is and how early it starts. Very sad...

when I was 18-19 I did so since it is closer to 20 I picked 20-25
it is funny when I was younger I was very skinny and I still remember wearing a skirt being that skinny and some guy saying I looked like a boy in a skirt.
Now unless you are that skinny you get insulted
shows how much time has changed

My stepmother put me on a liquid diet similar to Slim Fast shortly after she met my dad. I was around 10 and didn't think there was anything wrong with the way I looked at the time. Boy did she ever change that.

Wow, those are some horrible experiences for some of you guys! I can't believe that your parents would make you diet. My parents just made sure I ate a good balanced diet. I first "dieted" at 17, and all I did was substitute the chips and cookies at lunch with apple sauce and a granola bar. I lost 15 pounds just by doing that.