From Susen, Child's Age 11 - 06/28/04 - IP#: 24.124.81.xxx Click here to reply
How can my child put off weight? I would like ideas for what she eats and a excersice program without going to a gym. Thank you all.
Reply from Dee, Child's Age 13 - 06/29/04 - IP#: 216.175.30.xxx We have kind of modeled our own program of what works based on my daughter's life-style and eating habits. She has only been working at this since about June 15, and has lost about 7 lbs. Here is pretty much a typical day of eating: Breakfast - 1 cup of low fat yogurt with fruit. An extra serving of fruit of she is still hungry. Lunch - spinach salad with meat or sunflower nuts and dressing (not low fat). She has just discovered she really likes the spinach salad so we added that in. Otherwise, we prefer she have like a hamburger with no bun but she can use ketchup and fruit afterwards. 2% milk with lunch. Dinner - varies a lot but I try to have a meat serving and a vegetable serving and stay away from white rice, noodles, and potatoes. Prior to dinner, a small serving of salad or fruit and 8 oz. of water. This fills her up some before the meal. As far as portion sizes go, we don't measure them. We started with don't take 2nd helpings. Once that was controlled, we went to leave 1 bite on your plate, of anything. The food part helped her maintain her weight for about 3 weeks. Then her doctor suggested 30 min. of strenuous exercise per day, and increase it as the stamina increases. It doesn't have to be 30 min. all at once either. The more often the heart rate goes up, the more calories you are burning. Since including the exercise with the above diet, she is losing on the average of 5 lbs. per week. It's a little fast, but the toning of the muscle is the start. She knows the loss will slow down. She also sees that when she does not do the exercise, it takes 2-3 more days to see a lb. come off. Of course, she gets her cereal for breakfast sometimes, or PB&J for lunch, sometimes. We just remind her to make the choice. You can't be there for them when school starts again.
