Yeah, that's true from what I have read, that genes play a role in weight. Pretty much every female and male relative in my immediate and extended paternal family is overweight to obese. That side of my family loves to eat fried everything, no portion control, soda all the time with every meal and for refreshment, cakes and other sweets at every meal and I am sure you get the picture...they are Southern. I try to strike a balance. I do not shun sweets, I simply regulate my intake of them. I simply lost my taste for fried foods about a decade ago and so I never eat fried anything anymore save for the occasional treat of Thai egg rolls. I have also been diagnosed with high blood pressure despite being fit because it's genetic (thanks family!). So, I understand having a true biological incentive to keep one's health and weight on point.

Your daughter might outgrow this stage because your genes might become expressed in her as she grows. I was a little chunky at that age too, and being active (I was in track too lol) did keep me fit, but I was still a thick kid at 11-12. Not really fat, but thick. Then, something happened around the time I began my menses at 13, and I just slimmed down. You sound like a great mom by helping your daughter make healthy food choices and teaching her the importance of real nutrition. She's lucky. Does she have a lot of muscle? This can look like "fat" of fluff on some people, but they are just built and strong. Depends on the frame. My husband always says some people are built like Clydesdales and others like thoroughbreds but most are somewhere in between. He's such a nut. LOL.