Daugther at 13 needs to diet

[Checkers]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

sandi, I say try putting that treadmill in your living room and just wave and smile at people going by. I don't think there's a person in the world that would think anything negative of you working hard at your treadmill. I take dance classes and the hardest thing I've ever done was to show up in a leotard and look at myself in the big wall of mirrors. It turned out to be a liberating experience. Go for it!

[Austlyn]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

Okay I did not read this whole thread, but first let me tell you that I was extremly obese as a child. As and an adult too, my husband also has many members of his family who were also obese.
We have a blended family and both of our girls were extremly over weight when we were married. Here are some of the things we did for them, activities no exception, they can pick them but hey have to pick somthing, they have really learned to love dance class, basketball, volleyball, and gym class. 3 days a week they do somthing. The next thing we did was take a garbage can throw away all the junk food i.e. potato chips, soda, snacks with sugar. We do prohibit them from eating these things they are just not available in our house. We hooked up the water line to the fridge, that is all they drink at home we do not have anything else here. Last but not least we stopped eating out , and if we did we set limitations like an eight year old does not need to eat off the adult menu at McDonalds and if she really wanted a sandwhich on it she could not have fries or a soda.
This has worked well for us. They are still overweight but not like before and then when they become of an age where they can decide to do somthing about it, it will not seem immpossible.
I am now trying to set an example for them, My 14 year old stepdaughter tried Atkins with me and lost alot but decided it was to restrictive for her. She is now learning about portion control and calorie counting and that seems to working for her. My eight year old says she perfers to be at dance more.
Now I will give you there specs so to speak
14 year old is 5'4" and cycles between 140 -155 pounds wears a size 9/11 in juniours she looks pretty good though! Consider 25-30pounds overweight
8 year old 4'8" 100 pounds even wears 10/12- 121/2 but I always tell my friends I wish they made quater sizes cause if I buy her plus sizes I have to buy her a belt. She is consider 27 pounds over weight has a little in the belly but it is not that bad. Our society has high expectations.
I am going to see if I can resize a pic of them to show you!

[donkey23]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

sandi, I say try putting that treadmill in your living room and just wave and smile at people going by. I don't think there's a person in the world that would think anything negative of you working hard at your treadmill. I take dance classes and the hardest thing I've ever done was to show up in a leotard and look at myself in the big wall of mirrors. It turned out to be a liberating experience. Go for it!

My treadmill sits on my balcony over looking the golf course I live on and no one seems to care when they go golfing by.

[not2late]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

Thanks you guys all of you have great replys, we have monitoried all eating habits, we have diet colas at home for three years not, we have no chips for them but once a month and we do low-carb wheat bread for them, she rollerblades, no couch potato or very much inactvity, when we started this six months ago for her she was at 141, she has been at 132 for about 10 weeks, she wants to lose and be thinner like her peers (living in Tx it isnt too many of them) but still at her age it is a heavy body, we will work with this and keep you posted. I like maybe a modified type Atkins??

If you've monitored/controlled her food choices at home and made sure she is physicially active, then I really suggest you get her physician involved in this.

Like I wrote earlier in this thread, children have different nutritional needs because they are still growing and developing. Doctors have a different way of assessing "overweight" in children: it's based on BMI-for-age-for-sex. They also take into consideration, the child's age and the child's height-potential. So, while a 44 year old female, who weighs 135 pounds and is 5 feet tall maybe "overweight", a 13 year old girl with the same height and weight may not be "overweight". Moreover that 13 year old girl might grow 2 inches in 6 months which will effect the BMI-for-age-for-sex which will influence the child's weight status.

So, you really need to get her physician involved.

[donkey23]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

I commend you for taking notice of this problem and doing something about it. It is never too late. I developed my weight problem around that same age, which means I have been "dieting" for like 18 years now.

[fawn]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

If only all of us instilled good WHOLE food eating habits from the beginning our children would be able to make better choices. We as parents are responsible for our childrens eating. What we buy so shall they eat. A big bowl of fruit always available on the counter, plenty of celery in the fridge with real natural peanut butter. Carrots and ranch dressing....nuts, seeds, popcorn....
I will tell you what I do at home and have been for a long time. We are a recovered processed food home as I tell everyone. I don't buy anything with transfats EVER. the ingredient list must only contain 3 items.....any more than that and I refuse.
My child who still lives at home has access to bottled water, fresh fruits, veggies, high quality proteins and fats nuts, seeds, and whole grain bread only. Children normally will not over eat whole grain bread. If she wants a grain with dinner we eat Quinoa. I allow "treats" once in a great while (they must be organic and without transfats) but normally she is quite content with my home made mousse or strawberries blended with half and half.
Though it's easier to go through a drive thru or grab and go yuck snacks.....the convenience for you now will be your childs nightmare later.
No, children do not need the social pressure of dieting but then again their diets should begin with whole foods the minute they leave the breast. I have had people tell me "but how do I take it away now?" or "how do I say no?"
Well imagine this.......would you allow your child cigarettes or alcohol? Treat processed foods the same way because at the end of the day these processed foods are as bad as drugs for your kids. Our kids are consuming so many preservatives that it makes me sick.....(and them literally)
I am a Health/Nutrition student and one of the most important nutrients children need between the ages of 6 and 18 is protein. Second is calcium.
Protein is the building block for the entire body.

So again, we as a society have strayed so far from what really counts in life......It's a healthy body.

[fawn]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

By the way, how much of that diet soda is she drinking?

I believe that aspartame is poison.

Aspartame also spikes blood sugar....

[sunflowergrl]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

Thank you so much for that post, Fawn. So many times I see people post questions about how FAST they can lose weight, if they can skip eating veggies (or eating at all) to 'speed up' the weight loss. It makes me sad, so many people seem to not care at all about their health, just what size jeans they fit in. Don't get me wrong, I want to lose weight also, but not at the cost of my health. Leaving a thin, beautiful corpse doesn't interest me at all.

[fawn]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

You have a good attitude sun. Nutrition is sooo important. We have degressing bodies and a great deal of them in this world. There's a lot of skinny people out there that are walking disease right now we can thank our government and special interest money. And the pharmaceutical companies are out to make money as well. So eat crap we'll give you a pill.
Nutrition is your everything!!!!
As I ask my son
Would you put the wrong kind of oil in your car?
Why are you putting the wrong kind of food in your body?

[ttdriver]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

FAWN, WHAT A GREAT POST!!! Girlfriend, I so totally agree!!

I only wish I could influence my 21 year old to eat right at this point in her life. She works, earns her own money and makes BAD choices .. I feel somewhat guilty for all those wasted years when I didn't know any better and I got her started eating crap foods .. ugh. Well, that was then, this is now. I try to be a good role model for her and she really does *know better*, but says she just loves carbs (i.e. sugar) too much to give it up. I just say, well maybe at 21 you can eat it, but in another 20 years, you will be battling for your life. I wish so much that she would save herself the agony later and just do the right thing now. But its hard for me to preach it to her when I ate crap for the first 40 years of my life too.

Even if you bring 'em up right and teach them good eating habits and to choose the right foods, when they get to 20 and they earn their own money and make their own choices .. well you can't force them to eat right, yanno?

All I can hope for is that she will one day have the same revelation as I have had and turn her eating habits around before its too late.

Betty

[ronnie114]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

I have three kids. 15, 14, and 10 1/2. The oldest and the youngest are skiiiiinnyyyy. The middle one has got a budah belly. He used to have a double chin and his belly was so tight/big that it looked like he was going to pop. OK so, how do you regulate the eating habits of one kid in a house where the other two neeed to eat and eat? The overweight son is my most active kid.
Well, we got him into Kempo. Got him (and us) a treadmill. Got my personal trainer to come to the house for one hour a week. (HUGE insentive for my son to keep up the exercise during the rest of the week or he won't be able to keep up on his training days) Dad makes sure to play basket ball and tennis when ever the kids ask, or he might goad them into it. Also he has to get on the treadmill on days that he isn't at kempo or training. So far so good. The weight gain has stopped. And the double chins have gone. Belly is still there, but he is doing much better.
I also put a smack down on the junk food. No more in the house!! Also, If I am no longer allowed to drink soad, sorry kids you aren't allowed either! Next switch will be back to whole weat bread. They do love the high fiber wraps (only 3 net carbs) I don't want to make sweeping changes all at once, cause I don't want to send them in to shell shock. But I do want them eating healthier.

[Momtofour]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

My middle child is overweight at 9 years old. The only changes I have made are the simple ones right now. No, junk food in the house(chips, cookies,ice cream etc). They eat what I make. I do give them bread and some pasta. She has increased her activity level and still has not lost weight. I am not necessarily putting her on a diet, as much as I'm trying to help her make better choices. I am just confused as to why she is not losing weight when I don't have any crap foods in the house anymore. I thought for sure that she would lose just because of that. She is definately carb sensitive just like her Dad and I. We are also getting her a basketball hoop for Easter to try to encourage more exercise. I am hoping to keep her very active this summer and drop some weight. I'm a SAHM, so I can keep her active all day and it will benefit me too.

[Momtofour]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

By the way SAHM means stay at home Mom. LOL I forgot that I wasnt' on my mommy board.

[ronnie114]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

Momtofour, it took me a second or two to figure that one out!
I look around our neighbourhood and am sad that my kids aren't able to have the childhood that I had. Eventhough we live right down the street from the house that I grew up in! I remember my mom would shove us out the back door in the morning and we would be off to play with a huge group of neighbourhood kids until mom called us in to lunch. After that we were back outside again and on the go, biking, playing tag, building forts, swimming in the pool, climbing trees, etc, etc, etc.... Can't do that these days. During the school year, there is so much damn homework that just getting in extracurricular activities in a chore! Oh well, I guess we have to live in the world as we find it. And it doesn't mean that as mothers we can just throw up our hands and give up.

[catestar]

Re: Daugther at 13 needs to diet

Hi,

there has been some great advice above which is food for thought (no pun intended!) for me too.
To be honest, I am the "fatty" in my family. My 15 yr old son & 13 yr old daughter are incredibly fit & toned - but only because we have made the effort over the years to get them out of the house & involved in sports (I exist to drive & feed them). My daughter in particular competes in sports aerobics (has represented NZ over there in LA with her team-(proud mum) ).....and I have found that this is great sport to look into for girls in particular as it works the kids aerobically + provides resistance & flexibily exercises, using their own body weight as they are still too young to be using weights of any kind. I have seen all sizes of kids enjoy the sport & would highly recommend it as a fun activity for your daughter.
Despite this, my kids are not angels in regards to diet. They get McDs every now & then & the odd treat. We don't have sugary fizzy drinks in the house though & I don't let them have diet drinks either as they are not good for them. They mainly exist on water, juice & a sports drink if they are doing intense training over an hour in length. There are only crisps if friends are over on a weekend & dessert is very rare - again, more for weekends.I have talked a bit with my daughter about making "healthy choices" rather than being on a "diet" as I don't want her developing the unhealthy diet thinking that has plagued me most of my life. She has a problem in that she is so ravenous with her training + growing that she can stack on the weight very quickly if on a break. The closest I've been to doing anything Atkins with her at these times is to encourage her to have carbs before 5pm, then just protein & veg from then - it doesn't feel like a diet, & keeps her on a fairly even keel.
Hope this helps!!
Cate