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

lostinrates

I've een so impressed with OPs attitude in this thread. It really is half the battle.

re salads...he doen't really like letuce and tomato but will eat cucumber....tbh I'd get very bored of a salad containing just this! Increasing variety of vegetables sounds like a good tip for you. Jamie Oliver did the most beautiful rae courgette salad on his afternoon show on C4 last week.....and a raw beetroot one on another day that had be drooling...but use a fraction of the oil he does! I also, don't much like salad as a staple in the very cold weather. But the days are getting longer and warmer. Could you try variety in greens.....baby spinach, pea shoots?

Milk products are not bad. Low fat dairy supports weight loss...as part of a balanced diet, so low fat yoghurts, skimmed milk is good (and a glass of milk is filling without being food, so might be a good addition to ONE apple as a snack, to get away from volume of food?) I'm with those that think the fruit is no bad thing (especiialy as ATM you don't mention all that much in the way of veg, definitely somehthing about). Fruit from a cold climate...like the apples he likes, is lower in sugar generally than tropical fruit

I wonder if being more creative over food, having more variety at home and in lunch box (that's very hard, but doable) might help you all? Perhaps have a look at some ''diet'' cook books on supermarket shelves....or charity shops....allmine have come from charity shops...;). Trying to cook a new healthy...not just weightloss friendly, but full of nutrition..., meal, twice a week or so, to keep it interesting for you all.

Taliahmai

We do have a history of diabeties in the family, which is another thing worrys me with him, no one in our immediate family has it but my grandad ended up loosing his leg and consequently dieing from itand 3 out of 4 of my uncles also have it too.

I definatly need to be more adventourous in the foods i cook, we do have veg with almost every meal, but its usualyl either broccoli carrots peas or roasted butternut squash and sweet potato. I dont really tend to cook anything else....which needs to also change! I do have a few cook books that i will have a look through.

I rang the gp's this morning and got an appointment with the nurse practioner for tomorrow...so hopefully that will help out, ive also wrote some notes down to go over the school with to see if they can assist in any way when i have my appointment next week.

Thank you all so much for all of your advice, it has helped tremendously

busiscoming2

Taliahmai wrote: »

Thank you, it is me thats the problem i do know that, My son very much takes after his dad build wise, his dad is a rugby player and has the big broad shoulders etc, so i know my son will never be skinny. Im definately going to cut the portion sizes down! Its going to be hard to start with i think though as he is going to complain he is still hungry etc...but i know i need to do it thank you

I know exactly what you mean, my dh is the same broad build and ds2 has obviously inherited his genes!

It takes time but you will get there in the end.

FatVonD

I haven't read all the replies so apologies if someone else has already said this but my own son is also overweight and I took him to the GP and they referred us to a group that meet 2 nights per week where the kids have an hours talk about nutrition and diet and then an hour of playing strenuous games. Our local gym also does child sessions in the school holidays.

I'm trying to ensure my son doesn't put on any more weight and grows into the weight he's carrying. It is an upward struggle though as he has a really big appetite. We don't have sweets in the house but he just loves food full stop, any type of food, (luckily this includes fruit.) I know i'm guilty of letting him eat too much, his dad is very short which I don't think was helped by growing up in poverty so I never wanted to limit my son's food intake as I wanted him to hit his full growth potential but it's all gone horribly wrong somewhere!

One of the hardest things is realising myself that I'm limiting his intake for his own good, (if we have treats we eat them when he's in bed ), as a typical Cancerian I love to feed people so I'm constantly having to remind myself that 'it's not love, it's only food'.

patchwork_cat

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

In response to the OP's son asking about a weightloss game.

Best weightloss game; research the foods that you bought last week, and find a lower fat/sugar substitute - and look for recipes that feature [what slimming world would call] Free Foods - and look at different recipes using them.

If you don't BUY high fat/sugar foods - nobody can eat them.

Mysupermarket has a similar function. Also someone else mentioned a glass of water before meals.Eating an apple before meals has been proven that people eat a 1/3 less on average - not sure about this with an 8 year old bit gimmicky. Also low fat dairy helps you to absorb less fat from your meals and ofcourse is essential for strong bones and teeth. Our local high school has a saturday session for children from 7? as part of change for life http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/local-change-for-life-activities.aspx have a look what there is in your area. You might have to ring them as just checked ours and it names the school, but not what they offer.

patchwork_cat

Taliahmai wrote: »

We do have a history of diabeties in the family, which is another thing worrys me with him, no one in our immediate family has it but my grandad ended up loosing his leg and consequently dieing from itand 3 out of 4 of my uncles also have it too.

I definatly need to be more adventourous in the foods i cook, we do have veg with almost every meal, but its usualyl either broccoli carrots peas or roasted butternut squash and sweet potato. I dont really tend to cook anything else....which needs to also change! I do have a few cook books that i will have a look through.

I rang the gp's this morning and got an appointment with the nurse practioner for tomorrow...so hopefully that will help out, ive also wrote some notes down to go over the school with to see if they can assist in any way when i have my appointment next week.

Thank you all so much for all of your advice, it has helped tremendously

Think of sweet potato as potato and use it instead.

PolishBigSpender

Taliahmai wrote: »

we have cut his sweet stuff right down, he does have 1 sweet or treat size bar of choc a day, if he has eaten all his dinner. but he loes his savory treats like sausage rolls and pork pies etc, which he usually has with a sandwhich for his lunch (followed by fruit)

You should eliminate sweets altogether, 1 chocolate bar a day?? I don't eat that much and I'm not on a diet! 1 sweet a week would be more appropriate.
Also, I think it's wrong to reward a child for eating - he's overweight, you should reward him for NOT eating!
Sausage rolls, pork pies should be eliminated immediately. Lunch - natural yoghurt and fruit instead of a sandwich would be far, far better.

Taliahmai wrote: »

We changed his diet back in Nov and he has only managed to lose 2 lb!! He also does a judo lesson (only started 2 weeks ago) which is for an hour on a friday night, but apart from walking home from school and playing out some nights, this is the only exercise he gets.

Play with him, take him out lots, make him ride a bike or run - or best do it with him! Gym might be a bit boring for a young boy like that, but why not a swimming pool?

Becles

Just another thought: would he eat more healthy foods if he was involved with the deciding and cooking?

If you buy a healthy meals cook book, he could sit and pick the meals he'd like to try and you could make it together. He might try things he currently doesn't like if he's had an input into the decision and helped make it.

Made a beef stew in the slow cooker this morning as I've got an appointment late afternoon today, and my daughter was helping get the ingredients out and dropping them in the pot for me.

TBagpuss

Lots of good advice on here.

A couple of things to add:
- It takes about 20 minutes for the 'I'm full' signal to get from stomach to brain. Consider giving a smaller portion of a meal - if, 20 minutes AFTER he finishes eating he is still hungry, let him have a little more. (And encoruage him to drink more with or before his meals, too)

-focus on fitness as much as, or more than weight. Find physical activities he enjoys - rugby would be great if he likes it (He can see it is possible to be both big & fit) but if he doesn't, explore other options such as swimming, walking, cycling. If he is self-conscious then something like the WiiFit, which he can do in private, may suit him.

- treats and sweets - consider having other types of treat, to help break the link where food=reward, and making the treats conditional - for instance, you only get one chocolate bar a week, but you don't get it if you have nagged for chocolate in the rest of the week; you can chose to have some extra pocket money instead of foodie treats (or 'save up' for bigger treats - e.g. 2 weeks with not sweets = choose a film to rent / 1 trip to the soft play centre/1 extra trip to swimming pool etc.

- you mentioned that you eat together, whcih is great - do you ever have the TV or radio on while you're eating? There has been some recent research that if you eat with the TV n you are more likely to snack later on - it has something to do with the fact taht you are distracted while you eat and your brain doesn't 'notice' you've had a meal, so so get signals to say you need food!

-Is your son a member of the cubs or any similar organisation? They tend to be quite active, but it may also give him the opportunity to be with a slightly different group of kids to the ones at school

- you mentioned thet your kids spend their weekend with their dad. Have you spoken to him? I suspect it will help your son if he feels he is getting support from his dad as well as you - does his daddo anything active with him? (Also, would it be possible for him to have any one-on-one time in the week when he & his dad could do something such as swimming, cycling together>? It might help with the issue of you not being able to do things because of the younger children, and also if his self esteem is suffering becasue of the problems at school, good, positive time with his dad, and the chance to exercise adn get fitter awy from possibly unsupportive peers may help, as well.

- have you and his dad separated recently? I wonder whether part of the issue might be comfort eating.

Taliahmai

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

You should eliminate sweets altogether, 1 chocolate bar a day?? I don't eat that much and I'm not on a diet! 1 sweet a week would be more appropriate.
Also, I think it's wrong to reward a child for eating - he's overweight, you should reward him for NOT eating!
Sausage rolls, pork pies should be eliminated immediately. Lunch - natural yoghurt and fruit instead of a sandwich would be far, far better. I cant remember if i said but the choc bar was a small treat sizr one, fun size i think there called not a full size bar....but i have already told him this morning that will be stopping. Lunch time unless loike this week with it been half term i have no control over as he has school dinners.....but then i still need to cook for the rest of us so he has another cooked dinner at tea time too.



Play with him, take him out lots, make him ride a bike or run - or best do it with him! Gym might be a bit boring for a young boy like that, but why not a swimming pool?

Unfortunately i cant go bike riding with him, my 4 year old isnt very confident on a bike at all, no matter how much we try and help her, she just doesnt like them, same for swimming, i cant manage to take all 3 kids in the pool on my own...not to mention im not allowed no more cause of the 1 to 1 rule. I do try and find things we can all do together, but i dont have help from anyone else, so it has to be things that my 4 and 1 year old can do too, which makes it real difficult. I also dont drive and only have time after school, but also need to fit dinner and my youngests bedtime routine starts at 6pm. I know it sounds like im making lots of excuses, but i do honeslty find it hard. This is something im going to have to look at and try and work around.

He is out playing on the trampoline at the moment, and we have just put some veg soup on and he really enjoyed helping me with it and is looking forward to eating it.