Time reporter thankful her mother encouraged her to lose weight at a young age

A journalist for "Time" magazine is grateful to her mother for encouraging her to lose weight, she said in a recent op-ed.

Charlotte Alter shared that when she was a 12-year-old middle schooler, her mother told her she could stand to lose three to four pounds. Although she found it difficult at first, Alter eventually gave up desserts and started jogging.

In a recent essay she wrote for Time, Alter expressed how grateful she is for her mom's honesty.

"Pick your jaw up from the floor and put away your pitchfork, because this nugget of real talk was one of the best things my mother ever did," she wrote.

Alter explained that she and her mother have had several candid exchanges about her weight and that she believes her mother's willingness to face the problem of weight gain head on made a whole lot of sense compared to making oneself believe in a "Zen-like acceptance of my body."

"Eventually, it becomes too exhausting to maintain total acceptance of the way we look, and the 'self love' gets drowned in a wave of self-doubt fueled by everything from the media to the kids at school," she wrote.

Lynn Grese, the president and CEO of the National Eating Disorder Association, said that Alter is lucky.

"She's one of those people who isn't susceptible to an eating disorder," she said.

Grese explained that criticizing a young girl about her weight can cause her to spiral into an eating disorder, especially if she's already feeling depressed, anxious or sensitive about her appearance.

"Parents should always focus on health rather than weight. If a child truly does have a weight problem, it should be addressed with the help of a medical professional," she added.

Alter stressed that her mother's approach wouldn't have worked for everyone.