I’m Dr. Sheila Carroll — a board-certified pediatrician, obesity medicine specialist, certified life and weight coach, and mom.  

This work is very personal to me. 

In the 1980s, I was a child and teen with extra weight. 

My parents loved me deeply, but they were given bad advice. My pediatrician told us to count calories and said I should eat only 1,200 calories a day. That advice left me hungry, discouraged, and feeling ashamed that I could not seem to do what I was told.

What we needed was not calorie counting, but better guidance. 

My parents were never taught how much the home environment mattered or how they could truly help me. 

Years later, I saw my own son starting to gain extra weight at around the same age I had. By then, I understood something I did not understand as a child: he did not need pressure, restriction, or to make weight loss his job. 

He needed me to change what was happening around him and create a home environment that supported his health instead of working against it. 

So that is what I did. I changed the food, the routines, and the environment at home. And the trajectory of his weight and health changed.

It is unrealistic to expect children and teens to fight an unhealthy environment on their own. But parents can change that environment. And when they do, everything can shift. 

Today, I no longer practice clinical medicine. 

Instead, I coach parents. I help them understand what is driving their child’s extra weight, adjust what is happening at home, and build a way of living that supports better health for the whole family. 

Parents do the work, and kids get to just be kids. 

With the right knowledge, support, and tools, you can change the trajectory of your child’s health and your family’s future. 

You are the right person for that job. My work is to help you do it. 

If this is the kind of help you have been looking for, I’d love to talk. To schedule a free conversation, email me at sheila@sheilacarrollmd.com