Overweight... | Imamother

amother

Thu, Oct 01 2009, 6:32 am

Ok, so heres the deal.. My DS is getting fat... Both myself and my husband struggle with our weight and enjoy our food, so I have conciously been careful with my kids.. Our pediatrician has a very laisez faire attitude and says just to increase physical activity (easier said than done) I try to limit the junk but when all the other kids are fressing on shabbos its difficult to do...
this is what I send him for lunch.. is this too much/

either a whole pita with tuna/low fat mayo and salad, cream cheese(low fat), peanut butter and jelly,
bagel with melted cheese and ketchup.
a fruit
a water bottle
a fruit leather,or fruit snack
a granola bar/chips/pretzels

the two last things are for recess snack... should I be doing something different??? maybe a whole pita is too much????

sim

Thu, Oct 01 2009, 7:25 am

bagels are about 500 calories. any bread you send should be whole grain, lechatchila, and send fruit, not fruit snack which doesn't have the fiber he needs and is far too sugary. Try cut-up melon (about a half cup), a small bunch of grapes, or an apple/orange. cut-up veg are even better. YOu are better off with some whole wheat crackers or pretzels rather than granola bars, which are very caloric. as far as spreads, be mindful of portion control even when they are low fat. low fat often means higher in sugar to compensate! with melted cheese, use natural cheese, not processed american which is mainly fat and salt. Does he really need so much snack? if the day is long, okay, but if he'll be home by 4ish, 2 snacks would be okay. buy little snack bags for his snack, not sandwich bags which are big -- the snack bag will seem full and he'll think he has "so much"! (same for dinner plates -- use smaller ones and ppl don't pig out at meals). and above all -- limit video time and computer time, and throw him outside with a ball every day regardless of the weather. as far as your other kids fressing on shabbos, buy max 2 nice shabbos treats that aren't so piggy (winkies, something else that looks like a lot but isn't). and no soda, ever ever ever. it is the absolute kiss of death. try flavored seltzer.

Marion

Thu, Oct 01 2009, 7:33 am

2 sandwiches for lunch???? Maybe, if your DS had a really quick metabolism, but you're saying he doesn't. (People with overactive metabolisms usually have difficulty gaining weight.) And get RID of the chips/pretzels/granola bars. Most commercial granola bars are as unhealthy as the chips.

Peanut2

Thu, Oct 01 2009, 8:03 am

The lunch looks fine. Kids do get hungry. I think the junk you mentioned is what needs to be eliminated - for all kids (and maybe you and DH too???) The best way to encourage healthy eating is to have lots of good food that your kid(s) can eat until they're full, and sweets/junk/dessert in moderation. If your kid is hungry it's better that he eat one more sandwich instead of junk.

FranticFrummie

Mon, Oct 03 2011, 5:00 am

Replace that granola bar with a BIG bag of carrot sticks, celery sticks, sliced bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and any other fresh veggie you can get him to eat. The bright colors will attract him, and he'll get a nice serving of vitamins and fiber. There's way more "brain food" in raw veggies than there is in a sugary snack bar, so it will help boost his grades, too. If the school is not "nut free", the put in a handful of raw or lightly toasted almonds, which helps regulate blood sugar.

Try to cut back on the dairy, and send him with whole wheat crackers like Triscits or wheat thins and some hummus. Look for ways to make the lunch more "fun". If you make sushi rolls for Shabbos, make extra for a Monday lunch treat. A hard boiled egg is a quick and easy snack, too. My DD won't eat them unless I cook them with food coloring. For some reason, pink eggs taste better!

If he NEEDS a treat, make homemade oatmeal cookies with old fashioned oats and raisins. Oatmeal is excellent brain food, and will help keep him full for the rest of the day. (Cut buck the sugar and oil and use apple sauce for part of the recipe. A little extra cinnamon will make them taste sweeter than they actually are.)

rothjj

Wed, Mar 13 2013, 5:47 pm

Do not try to restrict amounts of food... unless the food is high sodium or high sugar. Instead, switch the type of food you offer to whole grains, vegetables, lighter proteins (fish, chicken) , fruits, nuts, and the occasional treat. Do not forbid treats entirely or your kid will become a secret eater.

I regret extremely once trying to restrict amounts and cut out treats- this can set up eating disorders. I am still trying to undo this parenting mistake.

You can see if your kid eats when bored, and set up scheduled snacks and meals if yes- that's okay. Make sure they are often enough that he is not starved from one time to the next.

By the way, slim kids and fat kids eat remarkably similarly. Just slim ones are much more active - so work on that!!!!

If your family is overweight, you have to accept that some people are meant to have a higher weight- and there is nothing you are supposed to do about it. Your job is to teach healthy habits- not to restrict amounts of food. And you should concentrate on eating healthy at any size... many overweight people are more healthy than normal weight ones.

If you leave your kid alone, he may come to you one day and ask how to eat more healthy and lose weight, and then you can work with that.... And the best time for that is much later on in life. That will have much larger a chance of being successful than if you try to force it.

DEFINITELY talk to the pediatrician.