From ANNE, Child's Age 5 - 02/20/01Click here to reply
Hi,I have two sons one is 5 weighs 85 pounds and is 46 inches tall. The other is 7 is 95 pounds and is 55 inches tall. I try to limit their intake of sweets (no more than one small one a day) and make the rest of their food choices healthy ones.They are always saying they are hungry and will eat almost anything I give them. They are fairly active but with New England type winters it is hard to do anything.Any ideas on how to get them to maintain their weight without making them feel self-concious and worried about eating.I grew up with a weight problem and I am still dealing with issues from things said to me as a child I don't want this to happen to them.Help
Reply from Robby, Child's Age 13 - 06/27/01 - IP#: 152.163.194.xxx Well, what ever you think will work try it because I was overweight at that age and now I still am.
Reply from Sue, Child's Age 12 - 02/22/01 Just noticed another bulletin and it recommended the following website: www.room42.com in which you can input height, weight etc and it will give recommended calories. I don't know how accurate it is but I put in my daughter's statistics and it seemed about right and was consistent with what she is eating and her weight loss.
Reply from Sue, Child's Age 12 - 02/22/01 With your children so young you are in an excellent position to be able to control their diets and have them reduce their fat and calorie intake without them realising it. One way is obviously exercise but obviously at this time of the year it is difficult. Are there any fun kid's exercises that they could do to music or a video with dancing around? You are right in not wanting them to know your concern but at some point, with kids being kids, someone at school will tease them about their weight. So regarding their eating, I would first find out about how much fat content and calories they should be eating. This isn't easy information to find but I am sure it is out there. Perhaps visit the doctor without the kids and voice your concerns, although the doctor would probably want to see the kids in person. Once you have the information on calories and fat content then set about planning their meals but you will probably have to write everything down so you can keep an eye on exactly how much they are eating. I don't know how much time you have but you could either get some low calorie recipe books and make fun kid's meals or go for the Weight Watcher's meals. Either way and the kids won't realise you are watching their weight. Kids, of course, love candy and potato chips but there are low calorie versions. I found some lolly pops at 25 calories each plus low fat ice lollies and even very low fat potato chips. My 12 year old daughter was about 22 pounds overweight and by following the above guidelines she has now lost about 14 pounds in eight weeks. She still eats some candy because she has a sweet tooth and that won't go away but everything in moderation. We even found some chocolate eclairs at 95 calories each, which are delicious. Bad eating habits are very, very easy to slip into but with the right knowledge and a lot of determination these bad habits can just as easily be broken.
