Full fat V Low fat ?

[bambinaUK]

One of the things I have learnt whilst living with Atkins is to read the nutrition labels again. Like most mums I have been giving my kids 'low-fat' foods for years. Now im totally unsure what to do.

I have a 9yr old daughter who has a visible doublechin and a podgy belly along with quite a hefty bottom. This has gradually developed over I would estimate the last 2yrs. She is now very concious of it and Im struggling with myself as to what to do about it.

She has a reasonable amount of exercise and does martial arts twice a week along with swimming and a huge amount of walking with me, so she certainly isnt a couch potato. I cook 99% of her meals and make her lunches and make sure she has her fruit & veg and things like fries are a very limited thing possibly once a week. Candy is an absolute no-no during the week and she is allowed one item at the weekend.

So im presuming that this is possibly pre-puberty excess that she has got at the moment..

After that HUGE explanation, I will now get to the point...... Should I try cutting down the amount of carbs she has ?? Such as bread, pasta, rice and potatoes? Or should I be heading to the doctor with her? Im just scared that im going to be putting her on a treadmilll to endless worries about weight if I go overboard, but hate to see her so fed-up with how she looks.

[book]

Cut down on the sugar and refined flour first. Let her eat her fruit and potatoes, pasta once in a while and make sure when she eats pasta it is balanced with protein and fat.

Remember, insulin plays a key role here. Fat can only be stored in the presence of high insulin, so what you want to prevent is any insulin surge. We know that sugar will spike the blood sugar and cause a surge, so that is out of course. If she eats pasta, or any other carb, but balances it with protein and fat, this lessens the surge. You know how we say that you can have a protein/fat snack without a carb, but never eat a carb alone? Follow this principle with her.

At the age of 9 she still has plenty of growing ahead of her. You do not want to restrict her food intake severely at all. If she is eating in such a way as to keep a stable blood sugar, she should be very energetic and have plenty of energy for her sports and play. If the junk is gone from the diet, she will start trimming down without you needing to ever make a point of taking any foods away entirely.

The age of 9 is an ideal time for this. Most girls around this age get growth spurts, and if she does not gain weight but increases her height, she is going to be growing into exactly the body she will want. Don't even put her on a scale. You don't want that message in her head. When you substitute healthier foods, make sure the message is "I found I feel so much better when I eat this way, and I am sure you will too." She will get the message that health and feeling well are the most important things.

book

[Desertthorn]

Oh I so agree, and remember low-fat often equates to high carb to make up for the fat, so start introducing good fats back into her diet, ie butter, olive oil, avocadoes, mayo etc.
Great post, thanks

[bambinaUK]

Im so pleased that your replies were totally understanding!!!
From past experience (not on this board) the instant you mention a childs weight you get accused of intending to make your child annorexic!! I want a healthy balanced child thankyou very much...

I will start out this week with reducing the sugar & starch. I think I will give her a go with cutting out bread completely, she isnt a huge sandwich eater in the first place so this will be easy to do. Ive already switched the whole family to olive oil and full fat mayo, but what about Milk?? Currently everyone (except me of course) has half fat milk to drink and on their cereal, should I be buying full fat instead?

I know she weighs about 89lbs at the moment as she had to stand on scale in order to be able to go on a bungee trampoline (???) And she will be weighed again as part of the sign-up for a Jujitsu competition at the end of September, so I will compare then.

We had a nasty moment at the park this afternoon when a boy told her to move her fat gut out of the way because he wanted to climb a net before her!! Breaks my heart I can tell you.........

She has watched me like a hawk this year as I have lost weight and has not once mentioned anything about her needing to diet, so im hoping ive done a good job on informing her that this is a way of eating for life, not a diet....

[book]

oh definitely let her have her milk. Think about it, yes milk has some natural sugar, but also protein and fat! So use regular milk, not low fat. My kids had to actually get used to full fat milk, they weren't used to the creaminess of milk.

the competition sounds like fun, hope you all have a good time! I have a son in cross country, and my most exciting moments last school year were watching him take the 2nd place in the 2 mile at the district meet. He was a freshman, the only freshman in the JV, and running against sophomores and mostly juniors! It was fantastic. My husband thought I was going to clear the fence. I could give you a total play by play...

Promise us details, okay?

book

[Lady Lamond]

I can fully understand your concern for your daughter, my youngest is almost 9, and she is almost at an even 100lbs :no

It started about 3 months into her first grade school year, until then she was trim. I am concerned, but our Dr. isn't.

She isn't very active though, we have decided to enroll her in a afterschool bowling program to remedy that.

[bambinaUK]

It is a concern as I dont want her having to face the misery I have the last 15yrs. So if I can educate her now about the quality of the food we eat as a family, I think that is for the good.

I could have cheerfully slapped her older brother today, he told me that he saw a girl walking down the street and he thought that she looked like his sister would look like in 5yrs time because she was overweight, wore glasses and had bunches in her hair!!! He had a HUGE lecture of me .......

The good news this week was that she passed her green belt Ju jitsu grading!! She has also gone a week without eating bread too and has loved having her own little 'picnic' of different foods for lunch instead.

[Lady Lamond]

:joy Congratz on her green belt