KATHRYN recalls the diet her mother imposed on her at the age of seven.

photo: Kellogg's Special K

Kellogg's Special K cereal used ads like the one above in a 1998 campaign to combat the concept of an ideal body weight.

"For some reason, she had a thing about me not eating pie crusts," recalls the 37-year-old, who asked that her last name be withheld. "It was wacko because now, as a chef, I know the filling is just as fattening."

Kathryn, who remembers being a "fat" kid, says she developed "weird" behaviors as a result of the diet. She would always find a way to break the diet behind her mother's back. In the afternoons, when her mother would nap, she would rebel.

"I would run into the kitchen and stuff my face with cookies and white bread," says Kathryn. "It seems ridiculous to me now. And we never talked about it."

Now a successful pastry chef in New York City, Kathryn keeps a full loaf of white bread in her kitchen and feels she has a better relationship with food.