Help... 10 yr old daughter overweight
My 10 year old daughter has gained a lot of weight since her father and I divorced 6 years ago. It's been a slow process, but she is miserable and extrememly self conscious. I've tried helping here change her diet, and I've made changes that I felt would help, like cutting out soda and lots of sweets being kept in the house. I always buy things like strawberrys, apples, grapes, bannanas and such, which she loves... but her problem seems to be with carbohydrates. For example, if I grill hamburgers, she may eat one or two bites of meat and then she eats the bun and will turn around and get another bun with ketchup and cheese. For the most part she hates meat... she like Salmon or steak on occaision... but she would eat french fries, bread and the such every meal if I let her. She has begun to make healthier choices on her own, like choosing Subway over McDonalds, but it seems no matter how many changes we make in our diet to try and help her out, nothing changes. She is not large all over either... just in the stomach and torso area. I think she is hypoglycemic (I am and she gets just like me if she skips a meal). I need advice as to what kind of activity to encourage her to do and what kind of diets are appropriate for a growing child.
Answers:
Dear Lady,
you didn't mention your daughter's weight or size so I'm just going to assume she is big for her age if she's feeling self-conscious. My neice is also 10 and she is 5'1" tall and weighs more than 150 pounds (yes - she's BIG) She wears a size 18 in women's clothing (bigger than me) but she doesn't eat junk - she just eats A LOT. Her mother (my sister) and father are both overweight (although my brother-in-law did have gastric bypass several years ago, he weighed over 400 lbs at the time) so she has heredity against her. But she is an only child, my sister works 12 hour shifts, so meals are haphazard at best. I've seen her eat 4 hot dogs and macaroni&cheese in one sitting, yikes. Her appetite is huge and yes she is more than a head taller than most of her peers but she ISN'T self-conscious and that's her problem. Once she becomes self-aware, then maybe something can be done for her.
Since it obviously is bothering your daughter, I would suggest seeing a nutritionist (your pediatrician should refer her to one) and take it from there. You've made some very important changes already - no soda/junk - in the house. Try drawing up some sort of daily food chart that the two of you can work on - like a food diary - and show her that what she eats (the carbs) need to be cut down or eliminated completely and help her find other choices for meals and snacks. I hope this helps. SS
Answers:
Hi Lady..........I have 2 children. My daughter is 12 and my son is 7. Neither of my children are overweight, but since it is in my family, I worry about it. I've been trying for the past couple of years to make them eat more balanced diets. They both complained at first, but now they are used to it. It does sound like your daughter is indulging in carbs more than she should. She should be forced to balance out her meals. Don't let her leave the meat and eat the carbs. She needs some of that meat for the protein. She shouldn't be allowed to take a couple of bites and finish off her meal with just bread. When I feed my children, I make them eat equal amounts of everything on their plates. I do not allow them to eat up 1 particular thing then tell me they're full and not touch the others. I'm the parent and they play by my rules..........no questions asked. They used to complain, but like I said........their complaints went in one ear and out the other and they gave up. Now, they do what I ask and they're content with it. As for snacks.....lots of fruits. Here is an idea of how I feed my children:
Beverage: Water, Crystal Lite, Milk, 100% fruit juices. I also let them add a little bit of flavor to their milk, whether it's strawberry or chocolate......just enough to give it a little bit of flavor. That is more or less their "treat".
Bread: Wheat, Multigrain.......on occasion, white...another "treat".
Snacks: Fruits, raw veggies w/ranch dressing, nuts/trail mixes (good source of protein). Their treat for snacks..........is anything as long as it has less than 16 grams of sugar per serving. If an item that they really want has lets say double the amount of sugar, I only let them eat 1/2 of that serving and they save the rest for later.
Also, another big thing is portion control. Don't let her eat massive amounts of food. You may also want to consider throwing in snack times too if you cut her meal portions. My children have a snack when they come home from school. Then they also have another snack an hour before bedtime if they want it. Their evening snack is usually only fruits or raw veggies. I try not to let them have anything sugary before bedtime. Adding these snacks also helps fill that "void" so to speak that they feel from losing some of their meal portions.
Also, another thing...........check your labels when you shop. Don't always trust that the "lite" foods are better. They usually supplement the fat with more sugar. So, usually lite foods have more carbs, but less fat. In my opinion, fat is the lesser of the 2 evils only because some of that fat is good fat.
Basically, I'm pretty strict with how they eat. So far it is working. Both of my children are very tall and slender. I myself am overweight (about 40lbs) and I don't want them to get into the bad habits that I did. I also have a sister who had gastric bypass as well as a cousin. Plus, my brother is overweight. So, it is in my family.
Sorry this was so long. Just wanted to share some of my tips.
Answers:
My daughter is 4'11" and weighs 100lbs. She is not morbidly overweight by no means, but she certainly is heavier than most girls her age. I watch what they eat around the house... I've cut out sugary snacks and sodas... they eat fruits and trail mix bars, Nutra Grain Bars, Cherrios and such. She doesn't like meat... never has. It would not suprise me at all if she became a vegetarian eventually. She loves salads and trys her hardest to make good choices at least when I am around... I think she probably finds things to indulge in when I'm not because things will go missing. Her new thing is peanut butter and bananna sandwhiches... I've never bought white bread (except for hot dog or hamburger buns). She has a stange addiction to orange juice.. she will drink it morning, noon and night. I'm afraid that it's too much of a good thing though. The biggest thing beside the carb problem I see is the fact that she doesn't get as much physical activity as she should. She has P.E. and recess at school, of course and she has to climb 2 flights of stairs repeatedly at school to get to and from her class room, but I am a single mother and by the time I get home from work, help with homework and feed my kids... it's time for baths and bedtime. We are up at 5:45am every morning and it doesn't end till 9:30pm... I encourage her to use my hand weights (5lbs) and do sit ups and jumping jacks around the house and I'm considering buying a stationary bike or treadmill for her and the rest of the house. She is frustrated with the whole situation because I was overweight for a couple years and in the last year I've lost about 27lbs. and now I weigh 120lbs. (I'm 5'3). She wants to look like me and I don't know what to do to help her... I'm doing my best to be a good example and moniter what she eats and such, but I feel like we are at a standstill and don't know what to do to get us over the hump. I don't want her going into middle school or high school feeling insecure with herself.
Answers:
4"11 and 100lbs doesn't really sound overweight to me
Answers:
Dear Lady,
you didn't mention your daughter's weight or size so I'm just going to assume she is big for her age if she's feeling self-conscious. My neice is also 10 and she is 5'1" tall and weighs more than 150 pounds (yes - she's BIG) She wears a size 18 in women's clothing (bigger than me) but she doesn't eat junk - she just eats A LOT. Her mother (my sister) and father are both overweight (although my brother-in-law did have gastric bypass several years ago, he weighed over 400 lbs at the time) so she has heredity against her. But she is an only child, my sister works 12 hour shifts, so meals are haphazard at best. I've seen her eat 4 hot dogs and macaroni&cheese in one sitting, yikes. Her appetite is huge and yes she is more than a head taller than most of her peers but she ISN'T self-conscious and that's her problem. Once she becomes self-aware, then maybe something can be done for her.
Since it obviously is bothering your daughter, I would suggest seeing a nutritionist (your pediatrician should refer her to one) and take it from there. You've made some very important changes already - no soda/junk - in the house. Try drawing up some sort of daily food chart that the two of you can work on - like a food diary - and show her that what she eats (the carbs) need to be cut down or eliminated completely and help her find other choices for meals and snacks. I hope this helps. SS
Answers:
Hi Lady..........I have 2 children. My daughter is 12 and my son is 7. Neither of my children are overweight, but since it is in my family, I worry about it. I've been trying for the past couple of years to make them eat more balanced diets. They both complained at first, but now they are used to it. It does sound like your daughter is indulging in carbs more than she should. She should be forced to balance out her meals. Don't let her leave the meat and eat the carbs. She needs some of that meat for the protein. She shouldn't be allowed to take a couple of bites and finish off her meal with just bread. When I feed my children, I make them eat equal amounts of everything on their plates. I do not allow them to eat up 1 particular thing then tell me they're full and not touch the others. I'm the parent and they play by my rules..........no questions asked. They used to complain, but like I said........their complaints went in one ear and out the other and they gave up. Now, they do what I ask and they're content with it. As for snacks.....lots of fruits. Here is an idea of how I feed my children:
Beverage: Water, Crystal Lite, Milk, 100% fruit juices. I also let them add a little bit of flavor to their milk, whether it's strawberry or chocolate......just enough to give it a little bit of flavor. That is more or less their "treat".
Bread: Wheat, Multigrain.......on occasion, white...another "treat".
Snacks: Fruits, raw veggies w/ranch dressing, nuts/trail mixes (good source of protein). Their treat for snacks..........is anything as long as it has less than 16 grams of sugar per serving. If an item that they really want has lets say double the amount of sugar, I only let them eat 1/2 of that serving and they save the rest for later.
Also, another big thing is portion control. Don't let her eat massive amounts of food. You may also want to consider throwing in snack times too if you cut her meal portions. My children have a snack when they come home from school. Then they also have another snack an hour before bedtime if they want it. Their evening snack is usually only fruits or raw veggies. I try not to let them have anything sugary before bedtime. Adding these snacks also helps fill that "void" so to speak that they feel from losing some of their meal portions.
Also, another thing...........check your labels when you shop. Don't always trust that the "lite" foods are better. They usually supplement the fat with more sugar. So, usually lite foods have more carbs, but less fat. In my opinion, fat is the lesser of the 2 evils only because some of that fat is good fat.
Basically, I'm pretty strict with how they eat. So far it is working. Both of my children are very tall and slender. I myself am overweight (about 40lbs) and I don't want them to get into the bad habits that I did. I also have a sister who had gastric bypass as well as a cousin. Plus, my brother is overweight. So, it is in my family.
Sorry this was so long. Just wanted to share some of my tips.
Answers:
My daughter is 4'11" and weighs 100lbs. She is not morbidly overweight by no means, but she certainly is heavier than most girls her age. I watch what they eat around the house... I've cut out sugary snacks and sodas... they eat fruits and trail mix bars, Nutra Grain Bars, Cherrios and such. She doesn't like meat... never has. It would not suprise me at all if she became a vegetarian eventually. She loves salads and trys her hardest to make good choices at least when I am around... I think she probably finds things to indulge in when I'm not because things will go missing. Her new thing is peanut butter and bananna sandwhiches... I've never bought white bread (except for hot dog or hamburger buns). She has a stange addiction to orange juice.. she will drink it morning, noon and night. I'm afraid that it's too much of a good thing though. The biggest thing beside the carb problem I see is the fact that she doesn't get as much physical activity as she should. She has P.E. and recess at school, of course and she has to climb 2 flights of stairs repeatedly at school to get to and from her class room, but I am a single mother and by the time I get home from work, help with homework and feed my kids... it's time for baths and bedtime. We are up at 5:45am every morning and it doesn't end till 9:30pm... I encourage her to use my hand weights (5lbs) and do sit ups and jumping jacks around the house and I'm considering buying a stationary bike or treadmill for her and the rest of the house. She is frustrated with the whole situation because I was overweight for a couple years and in the last year I've lost about 27lbs. and now I weigh 120lbs. (I'm 5'3). She wants to look like me and I don't know what to do to help her... I'm doing my best to be a good example and moniter what she eats and such, but I feel like we are at a standstill and don't know what to do to get us over the hump. I don't want her going into middle school or high school feeling insecure with herself.
Answers:
4"11 and 100lbs doesn't really sound overweight to me