4 year review, very overweight

[Mum2BKW]

If he's saying he's hungry a lot try bulking up his meals with veg - even raw stuff like carrot /pepper sticks, sliced tomatoes etc so you don't have to cook it. Might help him feel a bit more full but is very healthy

 

[george83]

As pp I don't usually comment on diet posts as ive been over weight all my life and my kids are terrible eaters so I'm the sort of person you'd usually totally ignore!!

Just to add for evening meals we have meat, new potatoes and vegetables quite often and all 3 of mine have started off refusing to eat it, however I still give it to them with the expectation that ds1 and ds2 try something of everything. Ds1 now eats nearly his whole plate without any fuss or complaints, I think it's sonetimes just a case of keeping going and trying until they are prepared to eat it. Good luck

 

[catty]

Hi, I wouldn't normally post on a thread about diet as Ds and I are pescetarian and I've never been a big believer in low fat products as they often have added ingredients to help the taste.
Anyway, this said I was wondering what/how often your Ds drinks? A long time ago I was told that if you feel hungry have a drink of water - if you still feel hungry ten minutes later then you need food but often mild dehydration can feel like hunger. The idea of still water is that unlike fizzy drinks it doesn't bloat you and cause hunger but unlike milk or still juice/fruit juice it isn't a food/calorie source, it's purely about hydration. He seems to be saying he's hungry very soon after eating which is why I'm asking.

That is interesting. He has a drink with each meal and if we go to the park or out anywhere i pack juice but id say he has maximum of 5 very weak diluting orange juices per day. I struggle to get him to drink water and i stopped giving him any milk before as i kept getting nagged at his weight so cut it out completely. I will try and get him to drink more and see if that helps at all!

 

[catty]

As pp I don't usually comment on diet posts as ive been over weight all my life and my kids are terrible eaters so I'm the sort of person you'd usually totally ignore!!

Just to add for evening meals we have meat, new potatoes and vegetables quite often and all 3 of mine have started off refusing to eat it, however I still give it to them with the expectation that ds1 and ds2 try something of everything. Ds1 now eats nearly his whole plate without any fuss or complaints, I think it's sonetimes just a case of keeping going and trying until they are prepared to eat it. Good luck

I grew up having a very baige diet. Chicken nuggets, chips etc so i worry i dont even kniw what is normal for a child!
Thanks il tty that to at least get him to try each thing

 

[jd83]

Hi, I wouldn't normally post on a thread about diet as Ds and I are pescetarian and I've never been a big believer in low fat products as they often have added ingredients to help the taste.
Anyway, this said I was wondering what/how often your Ds drinks? A long time ago I was told that if you feel hungry have a drink of water - if you still feel hungry ten minutes later then you need food but often mild dehydration can feel like hunger. The idea of still water is that unlike fizzy drinks it doesn't bloat you and cause hunger but unlike milk or still juice/fruit juice it isn't a food/calorie source, it's purely about hydration. He seems to be saying he's hungry very soon after eating which is why I'm asking.

That is interesting. He has a drink with each meal and if we go to the park or out anywhere i pack juice but id say he has maximum of 5 very weak diluting orange juices per day. I struggle to get him to drink water and i stopped giving him any milk before as i kept getting nagged at his weight so cut it out completely. I will try and get him to drink more and see if that helps at all!

I agree with pp about the water thing. It's a really common issue with many people, to mistake thirst for hunger, and end up eating more food when your body actually wanted a drink. 5 juices, even diluted, is way too much per day IMO. Naturally flavored fruit infused water could be a better option, if he is bad about refusing plain water. The sugar content would be much less than diluted fruit juice, because it's mainly water with just a touch of fruit from sliced fruit infusing it.

 

[catty]

Today we had a birthday party wasnt sure how healyhy wed be today. We were there 3.5 hours running around softplay, he went on gokarts and was going down a hill on a sledge which he had to keep pulling back up the hill so he must have done so much excersise today.

Food wise -
Breakfast - one peice of brown toast with butter and banana

10.30am - pom bear crisps (at the softplay)
1pm - lunch at the outdoor area - chunk of cheese, cheese sandwich, apple (didnt eat much) small kids cake, and apple juice

5pm- spaghetti bolognase (onion, tomato, red pepper, carrot, tomato paste, low fat mince)

Yoghurt.

I think that was quite a good day especially with being at a kids party. Iv decided to take alot less snacks in my bag so that im not constantly bribing with things and today i was happy with so il just keep trying. Hes definately grtting alot of excersise. Will also try infusing water like someone suggested!

 

[Zephram]

Definitely cut out the juice. Juice is full of sugar and empty calories. My kids get water only (two year old has a small cup of milk before bed, but 4 year old doesn't) and juice only at birthday parties/Christmas Day.

 

[catty]

The juice says there is 6 calories in 250ml and less than 1% of there sugar for the day which i dont think is bad?

 

[CaptainMummy]

The juice says there is 6 calories in 250ml and less than 1% of there sugar for the day which i dont think is bad?

My girls dont go near plain water and only drink diluted juice. I'm guessing people think you mean fresh fruit juice diluted with water, which would have more calories, but like you say, diluted squash is negligible tbf.. I have never drank water (hate it!) and I don't know of any kids that drink water all day!

 

[Rags]

Catty, I think you're right about not having snacks with you all the time too. I've been really lucky with Ds when it comes to food but I've always made a point of never using food to bribe him or if he's hurt giving him it to make him feel better, it's purely something he has when he's hungry. I'm not saying he's perfect by any means, he enjoys sweets and ice cream and chocolate and lemonade etc but he's always been told to eat when he's hungry, to eat slowly and to stop eating when he's not hungry any more. We don't have set meal times, if it's a school morning he eats within half an hour of waking, about 8:30, then will only have a tiny bit of his lunch because he's not hungry yet, on weekends he'll be up for a couple of hours before he decides he's ready to eat, so maybe about 10:30 - we then wont even think about lunch until about 3! On weekends he's likely to have some fruit during the day but on school days he'll finish off his packed lunch when he gets in at 3 and wont be looking for dinner till 7. I know it doesn't work for everyone and a lot of children like/have a very fixed routine but for us this means he and I are only eating when we actually need food rather than just constantly topping up.

 

[catty]

The juice says there is 6 calories in 250ml and less than 1% of there sugar for the day which i dont think is bad?

My girls dont go near plain water and only drink diluted juice. I'm guessing people think you mean fresh fruit juice diluted with water, which would have more calories, but like you say, diluted squash is negligible tbf.. I have never drank water (hate it!) and I don't know of any kids that drink water all day!

Phew glad im not the only one, i really cant go down the water route as i feel iv already enough going on in my day without fights over what they drink. Il try and make it even more diluted but cutting it completely cant happen as everywhere we go people drink that it just wouldnt be worth even going to a friends for the arguments it would cause me.

 

[catty]

https://groceries.asda.com/product/...-sugar-apple-blackcurrant-squash/910001291026

This is the kind of thing i mean not fruit juice although buy cheaper type for the house (same brand)

 

[Rags]

https://groceries.asda.com/product/...-sugar-apple-blackcurrant-squash/910001291026

This is the kind of thing i mean not fruit juice although buy cheaper type for the house (same brand)

Lol lots, you're better than me then because I buy the one with sugar in! You'll get there, honest, your gorgeous Ds just needs a bit of time to get used to a slightly different way of doing things and he'll love the football sessions and it doesn't matter why he's there only that he enjoys himself and learns a bit more about sport being fun - something my own Ds will never believe!!!

 

[petite ping]

We try to avoid fruit juices or squashes. My girls drink water most of the day and are only allowed fruit juices for their afternoon snack.

If they eat carbs for one meal (ie pasta for lunch), it's veg for dinner. On the other hand they are really crappy breakfast eaters so I give them what they want to eat (otherwise it's off to school on an empty stomach)

They don't really to snack but if they do I give them a fruit puree (DD2 doesn't like fruit). DD1 is much less picky so we replace the purees with fruit. Given the choice they prefer savoury to sweet, but that is partly due to how we fed them as babies.

A typical day
DD2
Breakfast
2 fruit purees
+ a few biscuits (or a slice of toast)

Snack (sometimes)
a biscuit

Lunch
Nuggets, mash potatoes
Yoghurt (without sugar)
Fruit puree (or banana depending how brave I'm feeling)

Afternoon snack
Apple juice + bread roll

Dinner
french cured ham
Roast chicken + green beans
Yoghurt (Vanilla)
Fruit puree

On the other hand, it may not just be diet but genetics at work. My girls are skinny minnies but so were my OH and I at their ages.

 

[Rainbow82]

I don't think your DS looks too overweight catty, a bit chubby but at his age one growth spurt can change things quickly. For my DS the difference between very overweight and bottom of healthy weight is about 4 cm which he recently grew in a two month spurt. It's great that you're being proactive about it before he gets any older.
My DS is coeliac and was underweight because of it for a while but the dietician wanted to focus on healthy eating rather than packing calories after the first few weeks.
DS eats:
Breakfast
Egg and mushrooms on one whole meal gf toast sometimes followed by banana and natural yoghurt
Lunch
Pasta bake/baked potato and salad/fish pie/ with veg
Fruit
Dinner
Spag Bol with courgette instead of pasta spaghetti/soup/stew/etc
Natural yoghurt or as a treat frozen banana "ice cream"

He doesn't ask for snacks often but when he snacks he has:
Carrot sticks/cucumber/pepper sticks sometimes with a spoon of yoghurt, hummus or cream cheese to dip

We were told that the highest concentration of carbs should be with breakfast or lunch when he's most active and if he's genuinely hungry he will eat veg for snacks and if he won't then he's not hungry. Also to make sure he's drinking plenty throughout the day. DS mainly drinks water but like you he also has very weak squash after he does gymnastics/football/rugby sessions. We fell in to the trap because all the other kids had it in their water bottles, I don't think the odd bit is that bad. Dietician told us to give him whatever he would drink.

 

[morri]

He honestly says he is hungry allll day it drives me mad!!

Here is today

Morning - kids bowl of cornflakes (7.30)
10am - bowl of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries (kids sized bowl)
12 - cheese sandwiches and yoghurt ( ate 3 sandwiches out of 4, 2 slices of bread)

3- half a dohnut for being good getting his injections

5 - sausages, beans and sweet potato fries (quick meal as we were out all day)

He generally has pasta dishes such as - macaroni cheese, lasagne, tuna pasta bake, spag bol. And will clear the entire plate and sometimes ask for more.

To me i thought this was good he eats everything and loves fruit. His favourite food is carrot so i honestly thought his diet was great

have you heard of lchf/banting? Maybe your kid will do well on this. it is basicallyy cutting out all grain products. and sugar products. also fruit (which tends to be quite high in sugar) has been reccomended only a fist ful everyday.
https://spice4life.co.za/life_at_home/family/banting-for-kids-%c2%ad/

what makes ou hungr are mostly carbs because the send your insulin to high heavens and then it will plummet. which will make one hungry quite a lot. with lchf you will get a more even level and hopefully our kid will be less hunfry.