From Randy, Child's Age 17 - 02/03/20 - IP#: 71.224.67.xxx Click here to reply
Hey everyone, I posted about my son Isaac a few months ago (and forgot to follow up, sorry!). He actually stopped gaining weight as quickly once he joined the football team, so I thought he’d be able to lose the weight eventually. However, that wasn’t the case; ever since football ended back in November, he’s been gaining weight even more quickly than before! I think the football coach weighed him in at 320 during the season, but he’s definitely a lot heavier than that now, maybe even over 350! I honestly wasn’t even aware of how much he had gained because he always wears really baggy clothes, but about a week ago he was walking around the house shirtless and I noticed the stretch marks all over his body and his belly jiggling everywhere, noticeably bigger than I remember it was back in the summer. When I tried to press him about his weight, he just said that he was “bulking up” for next season. I don’t think he realizes that at this rate, he’ll be well over 400lbs by the time next season comes! His weight has been getting in the way of a lot of things too… I’m have to buy a bigger car for him now because with his size, its getting a lot harder for him to squeeze into the drivers seat of his current one. It’s getting harder for him to get up the stairs too; he’s almost always breathless, and more often than not on weekdays he just sleeps on the couch in the living room instead of walking up to his room. His girlfriend broke up with him too a few weeks ago (probably connected to his huge weight gain), and he’s been eating even more ever since. He’s even started ordering two lunches every day at school, though I can’t really blame him, I know he’s going through a lot right now. We’ve had to size him up a size too (from 3XL to 4XL), though I don’t think he really cares. I’ve struggled with my weight all my life too, and it really hurts me to see my boy going through the same things I had to deal with. Anyone have any tips? Thanks!
Reply from Janis, Child's Age 14 - 03/11/20 - IP#: 72.235.193.xxx Jesse, I'm 5'9" and weigh about 170. I haven't seen Paul's father in years but I've seen recent pictures of him. He's tall, 6'4", was slender when we were going together (he played basketball in college when we dated). From the recent pictures of him I've seen on facebook, he now has a big belly, hips and rear end and I can see now where Paul gets his build from. Luke's weight never comes up as a topic for discussion. I know he goes for an annual physical but nothing is ever said about the results and I don't want to ask. When Paul first got fat I spoke with my sis in law and brother about limiting what Paul ate and they told me there wasn't a problem, being big runs in the family,if a boy has a big appetite it's a sign he's growing and needs the extra food...every excuse in the book. I recently took both Luke and Paul to a gamers convention and was horrified to see how huge a lot of the participants are. For some reason, 99% are boys/young men under 30 and at least half are very fat, obese I'd say. It's totally sedentary and yet many of the gamers were snacking as they were playing.
Reply from Jesse, Child's Age 11 - 03/11/20 - IP#: 174.239.4.xxx Janis, do your brother and sister in law ever take their son to the doctor for a check up? 5'10" and 500 pounds is enormous! What about you and Paul's father? Are you overweight or obese?
Reply from Janis, Child's Age 14 - 03/11/20 - IP#: 72.235.193.xxx Hello Randy, Paul is an only child and I’m a single mom. He was always a tall lanky little boy. When he was 8, I got job with a company that frequently sends me to South America for 3 or 4 months at a time, and they told me I wouldn’t be able to take Paul with me. So my brother and sister-in-law offered to care for Paul while I was away. My sister-in-law’s family owns three restaurants in the area and my brother is trained as a pastry chef. She was my best friend in HS (still is!) and my brother fell for her and they were married and their son Luke was born. So, Paul stayed with them for 4 months and I returned to find my tall, slender son had gained 45 pounds (65 to 110) and grown a fat pot belly and fat booty and was wearing “husky tall” clothes. I had kept in contact with Paul by skype while I was away but it was :face time” so I didn’t really notice how big he was getting. His appetite had become enormous, second helpings and always snacking. For financial reasons, we share a 2 family house and I’m away 7 ot 8 months of the year and, aside from the excessive eating, my bher and s-i-l share my values and have done a wonderful job with Paul. Luke, their son, has always been a very bg boy and his parents and very overweight too. I’m at home now...last night’s dinner was roast chicken...one for Luke, one for Paul, one for my brother, and one more for me and my s-i-l and leftovers. The boys and my brother each piled on the mashed potatoes and gravy, plus rolls and butter, etc. My brother brings home something from the bakery every night and I have seen Luke and Paul split a whipped cream cake between the two of them. Luke has definitely influenced Paul to overeat. He is a good boy, very intelligent, great with computers and Paul really sees him as his best friend. Luke is always eating. I’ve seen him eat a whole jar of nutella in one sitting, and Paul follows his example,Right now, I’m disappointed because Paul got recruited to be on the track team (shot put) but Luke is captain of the gaming team at school and so Paul has gone out for that instead, which means sitting at the computer. Their school actually gives a letter for this “sport”! Luke goes to school but he sits at a table in the back of the room because he can;t fit in the desks He’s about 5'10” in contrast to Paul’s 6’3”.
Reply from Randy, Child's Age 17 - 03/09/20 - IP#: 71.224.67.xxx Janis, it must be hard raising a 14 year old that big! I think Isaac was around 250ish then, so your son is a lot bigger than mine was at his age. Do you know how high do the uniform sizes go? I'd imagine there's not many kids at his school that are his size or bigger. Also, do your brother and his son live with you and Paul? If so, maybe thats the problem; 500 pounds is a crazy high weight for anyone, let alone a 16 year old. I think they're probably influencing your son to eat more. What do you guys eat on a daily basis? Sorry if this comes across as mean, but I can't even imagine how much you would have to eat to be 500 pounds by age 16... As for my son, everything's fine with Isaac for now. He's definitely over his breakup (and I think he's found another girlfriend! He won't tell me though). He's started going to the gym again in preparation for spring football training, but I doubt he's lost any weight yet considering he still gorges on junk food all the time at home. I haven't gotten the chance to weigh him since his last doctors appointment, but I think he'll have to weigh in for sports in April or May so I will keep you updated!!
Reply from Janis, Child's Age 14 - 03/04/20 - IP#: 72.235.193.xxx Randy, yes, my son Paul has been gaining weight since basketball season ended. He refuses to get on the scale but we had to get him new pants for school (private school, they require dockers and a polo shirt for boys). A couple weeks ago he split the back seam on his size 52 pants. We had to get size 56/34 since 54 wasn't in stock. To my shock the 56's just fit. Paul is enormous in the hips and legs. He wears baggy tops. He got required for track and field (shot out) but is telling my he'd rather be on the gaming team, which evidently is very popular at school now. He doesn't like to run and even shot up involves conditioning. He has a set of weights in the garage which he and his friends use but I don;t think he takes lifting seriously. After he "works out" he gorges on milk, peanut butter sandwiches, and something called mass conditioner which he mixes with milk. When I ask him to explain to me how it all works he gets impatient. Because of my job, my sister-in-law does all the cooking. Her husband (my brother) is close to 400 pounds (age 35), their son (age 16) is almost 500 and I'm afraid Paul will be over 400 by June when school ends. It sounds like you and I are in the same bast. Paul has a girl friend, who is chubby, so h weight isn't hindering him in that area. (For Valentine's Day, he gave his gf a dozen red roses and she gave him a 5 pounds box of chocolates! Paul told me some kids want him to run to be class president fr next year. He's good-natured and can be charming and seems to be popular. Maybe his height (6'4") keeps him from being bullied.
Reply from Randy, Child's Age 17 - 02/29/20 - IP#: 71.224.67.xxx Hey Luke. Your boys are a lot bigger than Isaac! I couldn't imagine my boy ever getting up to be 500 pounds, but you never know. What's it like having kids that big? I'd imagine you have to help them with a lot of things. I definitely agree with you that the football season has increased Isaac's appetite. No idea how much he actually eats because I'm rarely home but I'd imagine he's eating quite a lot if he's putting on the pounds that quickly. It must be hard caring for four kids on your own! I only have one, so I can't even imagine your situation. What do you cook them? We get fast food pretty much every night too, and I'd imagine eating 3-4 burgers every night on top of numerous hours of constant snacking when I'm not home is probably contributing to his weight gain. I'd definitely appreciate some suggestions about what to make instead! Oh, and also are your two younger children struggling with weight issues as well? Maybe you can prevent them from getting chubby before it's too late!
Reply from Luke, Child's Age 16 - 02/26/20 - IP#: 166.137.12.xxx Hey Randy, it looks like you and I are in a similar situation. I convinced my second son Grayson to join the football team at his high school last fall, I think his weight was in the 380s then (a lot of that weight gained in the summer!!) and I really wanted him to lose the weight, but all that it’s done is give him an even bigger appetite. He now constantly asks for seconds and thirds at the dinner table, and I know he’s been eating out pretty much every day after school. I think he lost maybe 5-10 pounds during the football season but once it ended he must have gained it all back in less than a month! He’s gotta be over 400 pounds by now. Barely any of the clothes I got him over the summer fit anymore. All he wears is sweatpants now and even those are getting pretty tight... And all he does at home is eat and play video games. I had the same problem with my oldest son Jaxton. He’s 20 now and well over 500 pounds by now. He’s in college right now so I don’t know his exact weight but it seems like every time I see him he’s gained another 20 pounds... I’m just afraid that Grayson will blow up to be Jaxton’s weight by the time he goes to college, he’s already heavier than Jaxton was in 10th grade and is already starting to have issues with mobility and showering by himself. Honestly, I’ve never really brought up Grayson’s weight to him, so I don’t know if he’s willing to lose the weight. I talked to Jaxton about his weight back in middle school when he reached 300 but all it did was cause him to start hiding what he eats from me. If anything, it probably accelerated his weight gain! I don’t want the same thing happening with Grayson. Plus, I don’t think they’ll be willing to take any health advice from me... I’m not exactly the fittest guy in the world, probably over 500 pounds by now but we don’t have a scale so I can’t check. I’ve been pretty chubby my whole life, so I do know what my kids are going through, but I’m just afraid they’ll all grow to be bigger than me one day!I do try to cook healthy things, but we honestly get fast food a lot of the time. I have 2 other kids (one daughter and one son), and it’s definitely hard to raise 4 growing children on your own! Is anyone else in a similar situation?
Reply from Randy, Child's Age 17 - 02/23/20 - IP#: 71.224.67.xxx Hey Janis, it looks like we're in the same situation! Isaac's been getting pudgier ever since football ended; after school instead of exercising he just sits on his butt all day eating and playing video games in the living room. We actually just went to the doctor's a few days ago and his weight rn is 356lbs, so I guess our sons are about the same weight now! I doubt he really cares though. A lot of people on my side of the family (me included) are on the heavier side, so I guess he just thinks being bigger is normal. There's not much I can do either; most of the time, he gets his food by driving to fast food places or ordering some from his phone, and I can't take away his driving/phone privileges... Has your son Paul gained any weight since basketball ended? I know for my boy Isaac that's when he started getting heavier.
Reply from Janis, Child's Age 14 - 02/19/20 - IP#: 72.235.193.xxx Randy, it sounds like you're going through with Isaac what I'm going through with my son Paul. He's 6'3" and weighed 360 pounds as a player on the freshman basketball team at his school. The season just ended two weeks ago and he's now interested in the school "gaming team"...what they do is sit in front of a monitor and play competitive computer games. No physical activity at all. Like your Isaac, my son Paul doesn't seem to care about how fat he is. He actually seems proud to be the heaviest boy in his class. I wish someone would contribute to this thread with advice about how to get teenage boys to be concerned about the long term implications for their heath of massive teenage obesity.
