Health advice for my 8 year old overweight son please...

Taliahmai

faithcecilia wrote: »

It must be very hard to see your son so upset about it, I think this is all the more reason to go back to the gp as it sounds like he could possibly be depressed.

I have thought this myself but i kind of force myself not to think it as it sounds to drastic almost....he is only 8

[Deleted User]

Hmm, what about humus and carrot sticks? Rice/oat cakes?

I managed to loose about a stone by following weight-watchers.. the main thing is to remember "everything you eat counts". Watch out for things high in saturated fats. I hate exercise, so my main way of loosing the weight was to have smaller dinner portions, I ate LOADS of zero calorie jelly and I ditched high-fat sandwiches at lunch, in favour of diet sandwiches and fruit

faithcecilia

Taliahmai wrote: »

I have thought this myself but i kind of force myself not to think it as it sounds to drastic almost....he is only 8

I think thats all the more reason to get him seen now, so he can get the right treatment and hopefully not suffer his whole life. Depression is an illness and can be treated, try to think of it like if he broke his leg you would get it sorted rather than hope it would just go away.

shellsuit

Taliahmai wrote: »

Ive never really thought about the sausage rolls etc, he doesnt have them every day but like today for example he had ready break for his breakfast then a ham sandwich with a sausage roll (i dont mean a big one just the picnic size ones) and a picnic egg (picnic eggs are basically a ball of fat too) then for his dinner we had a chicken breast (not a whole one) with cous cous and roasted butternut squash and sweet potato. He also had a twirl after his dinner and has 'snacked' on 2 apples and a handfull of grapes. So just today, the sausage roll is a no no, so is the picnic egg, so is the twirl. If you're giving him a large bowl of ready brek made with full fat milk, that's bad for him too.

In all honesty after reading your replies i think i have a lot to learn about a 'healthy' diet....i do cook all my meals from scratch and buy no frozen meals, not even pizzas. But yes i did just cut out most of the sweet stuff he eats and increased his fruit/veg intake It's the fat content you need to watch more than the sweet, so sausage rolls, pork pies, full fat milk, white bread, butter and chocolate (and they're just the ones you have mentioned) should all be cut out of his diet if you want him to lose weight.

Im overweight myself (by 3st) so yes i think i need to educate myself too...

thank you everyone! I think im going to rignt he dr in the morning and see if i can get an appointment.

Re the exercise etc, i also have a 4 year old and a 1 year old and im on my own with them,so it can be difficult finding something we can all do together, ive tried going for a walk to the park (about a half hour walk away) but my 4 year old struggles and just complains and cries that her legs hurt!. We do have a trampoline in the garden that he goes on a lot when the weather isnt bad tho...

Have you got a Wii console? That's something you could all do and I'm sure any little lads would love the games you can get for it! I know they're expensive, but weigh the cost up against how much it would cost for you all to swim twice a week for X amount of time.

Ringo has a good suggestion about the jelly, does your son like jelly? If so, make up some sugar free jelly, which isn't bad at all!

Taliahmai

squoog wrote: »

If this were my son, i would go back to the gp and explain the whole situation and ask to be referred as I suggested before. I hope the school are taking the bullying seriously.

The school have been rubbish...or at least they was, they do seam to be making more of an effort now, but i think is more to do with the fact i have been threatened with court about his non attendance


Sorry im not sure how to multiquote lol...but for the person who asked what his sandwhich consists of, its usually a ham sandwhich, with butter on a brown breadbun, he sometimes has cucumber on it too

[Deleted User]

First things first - start a food and exercise diary

msb5262

Hello OP,
I had a good look at your post -

today for example he had ready brek
Not a bad food but very sweet and quite highly processed

ham sandwich with a sausage roll (i dont mean a big one just the picnic size ones) and a picnic egg
again, highly processed meat products, containing a fair amount of fat and salt

a chicken breast (not a whole one) with cous cous and roasted butternut squash and sweet potato.
protein - great - but with 3 different kinds of carbohydrate???

a twirl after his dinner and has 'snacked' on 2 apples and a handfull of grapes.
so he hasn't had his five a day and has had a chocolate bar...not ideal.

In all honesty after reading your replies i think i have a lot to learn about a 'healthy' diet....
You have got a great attitude, OP. I think you'll get some help and support from the GP surgery when they understand the situation properly, and you will soon be making changes which will make all the difference to your son and to your whole family. Well done you!

Best of luck

MsB

julie03

also just a tip, even tho fruit is healthy it does contain more calories and sugar than vegetables, so more veg than fruit, if you gave him a banana, a serving of grapes and a pear and an apple that is over 200 calories whereas an apple, some carrots and extra veg at dinner would be half that

Taliahmai

No ive not got a wii but we do have a kinnect which he loves and we do go on as a family....he has also asked for a weightloss game for this but i have said no and we just play on the normal games

Thank you all so much for all of your replies....it really has made me sit up and think. If im honest with myself im totally clueless! I really need to educate myself on this before i can hope to help him...thank you!

[Deleted User]

julie03 wrote: »

also just a tip, even tho fruit is healthy it does contain more calories and sugar than vegetables, so more veg than fruit, if you gave him a banana, a serving of grapes and a pear and an apple that is over 200 calories whereas an apple, some carrots and extra veg at dinner would be half that

It sounds like the issue is more down to fat in the diet.. the sugar in the fruit would be burnt up pretty quickly. If the boy likes fruit, i'd let him eat it, otherwise the alternative 'sweet' food is the likes of chocolate