Help me with this situation of my son being overweight.?

Question

Healthy eating for a five year old?
Hi. I know that some of you are going to say, 'shame on you', but trust me, I have already said worse stuff so you wont hurt me anymore than I have already done. I need some help, real help not some fly by night operation just trying to score some points. My son is five years old and weighs 80lbs. Yes, it is my fault. I am the adult here and I could have said no. I really would like to know what I can do to get his weight off, eat healthy, etc. His dr. says he needs to lose about 20 lbs (he is very tall). How much is enough? He always says that he is hungry. I feel that I should give him something to eat and I know this is wrong. Yes, he wants the junk stuff. Should I just throw away everything in the house and start over? What should he be eating? Acup? 2 ounces? Help me please...

Hottie, this is for you...you are a mean, viscious person. You have no heart. I hope that you remember exactly what you wrote about an innocent child because someday, maybe not today or tomorrow, or even next year, this cruel and evil remark WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU. God bless your soul...

Answer 1

I would start with letting him eat small meals through out the day. So he will never be hungry. Talk to the school and let them know about the problem, make sure he is not allowed to over eat at school. Pack his lunch.

You should look in to weight watchers. Its not a diet, you can even have Mc Donald’s. Its away of life. How to eat healthy for you age and size. Portion control.

I would give him lots of bottle water, start cutting back
skim milk
fat free or low fat cheese
baked chips

look on the food before you buy it

you want low sodium, fat, and calories

I am sure weight watchers will help teach you more about food choice.

Deserts can still be yummy full of chocolate but smart.

He wont go hungry, So if he wants junk offer some thing else. If he isn’t hungry move on with the meal. That is that. Don’t allow him to get food himself.


LOTS OF WATER!!!


Start an after school walk with him. If its nice go for a 30 minute walk. Its fun make a game of if. Have him look for bugs, rocks, leafs, etc. Then it will be fun and keep him moving.

You can also look into a dance video with kids. I forget what it is called. You can get it at Wal-Mart I believe. Its a video where you dance and sing to music. Lots of fun.

You can also think about the game dance thing where you play on the mat and move around. Lots of fun.

Sports would be great. Swimming is amazing for your health and to get in shape

I wish you the best. I am happy and proud of you for wanting to make a change.

Answer 2

See if you can make an appointment with a dietician or nutritionist - your son's doctor might know someone. They'll be able to give you specifics on what to do to help your son.

First and foremost - kids learn by example. Don't expect him to eat carrot sticks if you're eating fries. That's not fair. He will want the junk food - that's normal. Don't deny him completely - he'll sneak it, and be worse off. Allow him one junk food item a day - at most! (aim for not every day) One. That's it. No more. Everything else has to be good food. Let him help you pick out what healthy foods to have that day - give him some choices - like an apple or an orange for his after school snack. Carrots or green beans with dinner. That kind of thing. He'll be more receptive to the idea if he thinks he's getting some control. (BTW - more fruit & veggies means more fiber and feeling full longer.)

As for activites - play some basketball in the driveway. Go bike riding. Take the dog on a good long walk. Sign him up for karate classes. The point is to do something, anything.

Good luck!!!!

Answer 3

When he's hungry, give him a glass of water. Young kids (and grown ups, too!) can confuse thirst with hunger. If that doesn't help, give him a something fun to do. We figured out with my 3 year old that when she says she's hungry, sometimes she just bored.

If neither of those help and he is truly hungry, give him some fruit or some veggies. My girls both love snacking on watermelon and carrots. (They love their junk food. Don't get me wrong. Offer the healthy alternative first.)

As far as portions, I'd ask his doctor what a correct portion. It would be hard to switch him from an adult size portion to a kid size portion. He can have some sweets, just severely limit them. Maybe one serving of ice cream, which is 1/2 cup and more than enough, a day or week. Cut down on pastas and potatoes and heavy, stratchy foods. Do not let him eat canned pasta at all. (Spaghettios, Chef Boyardee and the like. No one needs to eat those!)

Sign him up for an activity. Martial arts, swimming, something to get him moving around more.

Good luck! :o)

Answer 4

Are you overweight? Are you eating all the bad things too? If so you need to make a lifestyle change for yourself and your son. Kids learn by example and the #1 thing you can do is eat healthy and let him see you doing it. Yes, get rid of all the junk and artificial juices. Don't buy it. If it's not there he can't eat it. Learn as much as you can about nutrition labels and find healthy recipes for meals. It's important to make time to cook those meals because it's so much better than fast foods. Get him into activities away from home. Take daily walks. If he is hungry give him carrot sticks. If there is nothing else and he is truly hungry he will eat them. If he doesn't he's not going to starve. You should definitely see a nutritionist who will sit down and show you portion sizes, and what foods it's best to stay away from. He is five and you can't put him on a diet. Like I said it's a lifestyle change and if you aren't doing it yourself. It's going to be harder for him to accept doing it.

Answer 5

I recommend going to see a child nutritionist at your local WIC office or health department. WIC is an invaluable resource for what you're seeking. I don't think you'll qualify for actual WIC vouchers if your son is 5, but you can still contact them for information and maybe they can direct you somewhere you can get help. I know they offer classes that teach you about what young children should & shouldn't eat as well as show you examples of portion sizes and that sort of thing.

I can only imagine how you are feeling. I have two little ones and it is SO difficult to deal with having them upset. It's obvious you want to do the right thing and I applaud you for that. If it helps, remember that children's stomachs are usually about the size of their fists. I am not a fan of diets at all, especially not for children. But the first step is to make sure you offer him things he can eat that taste good and are good for him. I wouldn't say start from scratch right away, but I would definitely say to change the way the whole family eats. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Baked home fries instead of bought greasy ones... or even baked sweet potato fries! Home made pizzas, soups & sandwiches...
He will probably fight you tooth & nail the whole way, but keep in mind he's still a very young child. Let him be young and have some of the bad things every once in a while, and always in moderation.

Answer 6

It doesn't sound like you are too savvy regarding nutrition/portion sizes. I think that is a very prominent problem and a major factor as to why child obesity is such a problem. Don't beat yourself up...you're trying to do the right thing.

The obvious answer is to cut out junk food. But read the labels for everything--you'd be surprised at hidden nutritional information. Example--yogurt (even nonfat) is loaded with sugar. Sounds healthy, but it really isn't. As far as a diet plan, start with calories so that he can begin to lose weight. Those little 100 calorie packs are pretty good (but low in nutrition). As you learn more about food, you will be better equiped to prepare healthy meals. A lot of it is habit. My mom grew up in the South and still cooks with bacon fat only becuz she doesn't know healthy alternatives. Lead by example. Little things count. Grill chicken (or just cook it in a skillet with some marinade or lemon and spices...you don't even need any butter. Things like that.

Exercise is also very important. Try doing things with him. If he's resistent, don't make it seem like exercise. Go for an "adventure walk" to check out your neighborhood. Play hide and seek in the house...stuff like that. Take the stairs unstead of the elevator without making it a choice for him.

You'll be surprised at how quickly things can change. And you toomight lose a few pounds/become more healthy in the process ! Good luck in discovering truly good foods and enjoy the extra time with your son.

Answer 7

This is a problem that you solve at at the store. Yes, I'd throw away everyting in the house and start over. Ask your pediatrician for some nutrition recommendations. Also consider taking a nutrition class at a community college!

Stop all soda and juice, and sports drinks and switch to skim milk. Offer water only 1-2 hours before dinner and no snacks at bedtime. Make dessert something that happens infrequently, at your descretion, not after every meal or every dinner.

Avoid candy, fruit rollups, kids yogurt, and sugar cereals, switch to cheereos and make sure he eats the minute he wakes up.

Make a list of the sweets your child eats. he/she can only eat 3 per day, if he asks for a fourth, read the list to him and say, that's enough.

You will have to put up with some really bad temper tantrums in the medium term, probably for about a month or two. This is normal and healthy. Make sure you have a way to relieve your own stress and make sure EVERYONE in the house is on board!

Kids are not like adults, they can handle rapid shifts in diet much better than we can. Don't be afraid of your kids temper tantrums. Do your best to keep yourself calm.

Answer 8

Good for you, that you are willing to work to get this under control.In general you can look at weight loss as a very simple formula: you must exercise more calories out than are going in. But don't get obsessive about counting calories! Here are my suggestions: 1) if you can afford even one session, see a nutritionist. They can give you guidelines specific to your son. 2) have your son see another doctor to rule out medical reasons for being hungry. 3) A lot of kids eat for emotional reasons. What's going on in his life that could be triggering this? Being overweight is also a trigger, so try to find what started it, if it's emotional eating. Even at age five it could be emotional eating. Get a copy of Geneen Roth's book Breaking Free From Compulsive Eating and read it. 4) Yes, throw out all the junk food! If it's not available to him, he can't eat it! When eating out, offer him two healthy choices to choose from. Avoid McDonald's. 5) Exercise!!!!!! Do something physically demanding with your son at least three times a week for 30 minutes. Get him a bike and a helmet if he doesn't already have one. Make exercise fun. If he likes to set and meet goals, try a simple pedometer and have him see how high he make the numbers go by walking, running, hopping, skipping... Go to an indoor pool, try downhill skiing. Try every time of movement you can think of until you find two or three things he likes. 6) Ask you son to set one goal that relates to losing weight. Something like "make my pedometer go to 5,000 steps today" or "hop on one foot from one end of the living room to the other ten times". Have him draw his goal and hang it on the fridge. Give him a sticker to put next to the picture when he reaches his goal. Don't nag him to reach his goal. don't ask him if he reached his goal. If there's a sticker up by bedtime, just say, "I see you reached your goal today - good for you." Have him set a new goal every day whether he reached the old one or not.

My mom is a diabetic and a nutritionist, so I'm not just some random person making stuff up. I also have worked with kids and goal-setting. Hope this helps.

Answer 9

Throw out or give away everything in the house that isn't healthy. No ice cream, chips, pop, sweets, no sweetened fruit juices (preferably NO fruit juices). No instant food: frozen pizza, burritoes, tv dinners. No mac and cheese.

If you ALL eat healthy he will eat healthy. Involve him in shopping and cooking to his ability. Try new fruits and veggies.

Start each meal with a salad or veggie soup. Eat fruit with a small serving of nuts for snacks.

Enroll him in some classes. Whatever would interest him. Sports, etc. You know your son.

You may find once he is eating 3 meals and two (or more) snacks a day that are mainly fruit and veggies he starts to loose weight regardless of how much he eats. It will keep his metabolism at a high level and he will be eating less calories overall.

A serving of fruit of veggies is about what fits in your hand. One apple, one pear, or a half cup of peas. 1 cup of salad greens.

Here is some info:
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/mpk_poster2.pdf
http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html

Best of luck! (PS Have you watched "Honey We're Killing the Kids" they have *some* good ideas)

Answer 10

OK so hes a little overweight. Look on the boxes of food you intend to buy they all tell you how many servings in a box. If you make things from scratch check out the boxes for information. If the box says its 4 servings and there is 12 oz of macaroni in it then you know that one serving is 3 oz of the macaroni. You can find this info in numerous places. Ask your childs doctor to give you an amount of calories he needs daily. Then give him as much as the doctor says. If he thinks hes starving there are foods with few or little calories in them such as fresh veggies and some fruits. Get him out and being more active that should help too. Your doctor may know of a program that will help him and you work together to get to a sensible weight.