After Her 300-Lb Weight Loss, Mama June Says She Hopes Her Kids Don't End Up Like She Did

From Redbook

Mama June Shannon may have transformed her body and lifestyle after drastic weight loss and numerous surgeries, but that doesn’t mean her kids are safe from repeating her health mistakes. In a new interview with People, the controversial former star of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo opened up about her hopes for her daughters and their health.

The notoriously obese reality star recently lost 300 pounds, and the “reveal” of her new body was accompanied by a lot of fan fare – and a WE tv show ,Mama June: From Not to Hot, documenting the many steps of her journey and the $75,000-plus she spent on her transformation.

Mama June’s weight has been a lifelong battle. Now, she’s hoping her kids – daughters Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, 17, and Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, 11, who have both already struggled with their weight – can avoid that. “I don’t want them to go through what I went through in school or with surgery,” she told People. “I’ve seen them lose and gain weight, but I don’t want them to end up like I did at 460 pounds. Who would want that?”

The family was heavily criticized for their unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits – among other, more serious issues – while Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was on the air. “Nobody taught me how to cook,” Mama June said of the family’s food choices back then. “So it’s a learning experience all the time and we look up new recipes.”

Those recipes apparently don’t include 24/7 salads. “I do worry about their health, but I’m not going to say, ‘You got to eat salads all the time,’” said Shannon of instilling healthier eating habits in her two young daughters.

While Mama June ideally wants her kids to avoid getting to the point where they need to have surgery, she said she would support them if they did opt to take that path. But her stipulation was that they realize surgery isn’t a quick and easy fix: “If they do have to have that done, they’ve got to realize it’s not just a surgery thing, you have to change body, your frame of mind, what you eat. Everything.”

Though Mama June is now focused on building healthier habits in her two youngest daughters, she remains estranged from her eldest, 22-year-old Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell. Cardwell recently claimed that her mother’s weight loss has more to do with a bid for more fame and getting another show than learning how to be healthy for herself and her family.

(h/t People)

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