From Karen, Child's Age 13 - 07/05/01Click here to reply
I have a 13 year old daughter. She is overweight at 165lbs. She started having a weights problem from around the age of 8. She's taken a lot of teasing about this and usually just laughs it off. Lately though it's not been so easy. She is desperate to lose weight now and I am doing everything I can to help her. What makes matters worse, is that I have no idea where to start. I have never had to diet, so it's hard for me to know what to do. Luckily this web sight has been a big help for both my daughter and myself. For the last two weeks we've worked together, planning what food to buy and eat. We've done well and have cut out all the chips, soda and candy. Also checking labels for fat content etc. Every evening we go out and execise for an hour. My daughter weighed herself after a week and found that she hadn't taken off any weight at all. Very dissappointing for her. All I could say was it will take time. It's very hard for my daughter to accept this as being a teenager, she wants results now! Does anyone know what weight loss she should expect after a few weeks?
Reply from Joelle, Child's Age 13 - 08/12/02 - IP#: 205.188.192.xxx Try Stop the Insanity by Susan Powter...my daughter too was in the same boat, but with Susan's help we are on our way to not only being healthy, but "FIT". The key is that the labels LIE (there is a formula for actually figuring out the actual fat content). We eat all the time, and we also get the "good stuff" but in moderation. The other thing is that there has to be 30 minutes per day of continuous cardio to burn the fat. My sister tuned us in to the program...she has lost 40+ pounds since 1-1-02 and looks tremendous!!! If you have any questions, please e-mail me...I'd be glad to help!
Reply from sue, Child's Age 12 - 08/02/01 - IP#: 62.64.191.xxx I can only advise you to carry on as you are and be patient. When my daughter went on a diet we wrote down what she ate and calories and kept to the same amount, more or less, and some weeks she lost nothing and then the following week it would be 2 pounds, even though she had eaten the same as the previous week. It was very disappointing on the weeks when she lost nothing. It is natural to be curious and want to see results and know if she has lost weight but I wouldn't check the weight every week, especially at this early stage when it is easy to get despondent. If you know that you are doing everything right then just carry on and accept that some weeks she will see more weight loss than others. My daughter lost 20 pounds over about 12 weeks and thought it seemed awfully slow at first, it got a lot easier when she began to see the results and see how different she was starting to look. Good luck and don't give up.
Reply from Lara, Child's Age 14 - 07/24/01 - IP#: 209.53.121.xxx On average a person who cuts back on their food intake and increases their activity level should loose 1-2 lbs. a week. I recomend weighing your child once a week on the same day of each week. First thing in the morning after using the washroom. This gives a clear idea of weight loss.
