From Kyle, Child's Age 16 - 10/04/20 - IP#: 100.15.212.xxx Click here to reply
My son is overweight. It is hard for me to see it as I’ve always been big (6 foot 2 and 400lbs right now) myself and to me he just looks a bit chubby, but according to his doctor he is obese and needs to lose 100+lbs, which is definitely scary to me as he is my only kid and his mom died around two years ago and I want the best for him. He is 16, 5 foot 8 and 245lbs. Around a year ago he was around 185lbs, so he has definitely been packing on the pounds. He is very self conscious of his weight, until we were at the doctors recently I hadn’t seen him with his shirt off for over a year, and I was shocked with how big he is, I guess baggy clothes can his a belly. He is fairly active, often biking around our city, but he is not really focused on team sports and the like, so I don’t know how to really help him lose weight.
Reply from Seongwha, Child's Age 18 - 10/07/20 - IP#: 173.79.71.xxx One thing I can think of is to acknowledge what he says, maybe say sorry because I think every teenager has something to blame parents for. Acknowledging it completely should help him to resolve that issue and be able to work on his weight. My son is the only one overweight in our family but I still think his habits can be partly blamed to me and his dad. My son is about 300 now and was big his whole life so I can imagine he feels there's no other way for him to be. Your son help you and his brother, maybe talk about why he feels that you can change but he can't.
Reply from Kyle, Child's Age 16 - 10/07/20 - IP#: 100.15.212.xxx We did talk about it after the doctors visit, and in the past I’ve tried to get him on board with me when I’m trying to work out and lose weight, and while he has participated he always eventually stops being interested. I’m very actively trying to lose weight, a very long road for someone who topped out at over 500lbs, and am currently debating surgical intervention, which is not a decision I want him to have to make in the future, which is probably my biggest fear. After my wife died from complications of obesity I decided for all of our sakes we needed to change our diets - we live in the Deep South so it was a lot of fried food, pop, etc - and while this has helped me lose around 100lbs (and obviously still going) and his younger brother (12) lose some weight, obviously he has still been on an upwards trajectory for these two years, especially this last year. Whenever his weight comes up, he says he hates how fat he is and he blames us for it, which I totally understands, but he just isn’t able to stick to a consistent exercise regimen or diet and just says he is big and there is nothing he can do to change that. I think many of the same reasons I struggle to see him as anything other then chubby are reasons he doesn’t want to really work at it. I don’t think he understands that while I agree that me or him will ever be skinny or thin, there is a difference between being a bit bigger and being as big as he is, and if he would put more effort into sticking with the program, he very much could lose weight and get to a point where he can be healthier and happier even if he still can’t see his ribs and doesn’t have a six pack.
Reply from Kyle, Child's Age 15 - 10/07/20 - IP#: 100.15.212.xxx Thank you. I wouldn’t say he eats a lot for a teen boy, he is eating what most would see as typical adult portions (I.e. a sandwich and yogurt for lunch, a chicken breast with veg and a start haha for dinner, 3 eggs with toast and 2 pieces of bacon for breakfast, just as examples) though he does snack some here and there, probably more during quarantine then he should, admittedly. He doesn’t drink soda or juice outside of very occasional special events as I’ve been trying to get healthier over the past 3-4 years for my own sake, and we try to encourage healthy foods over fried, unhealthy foods. I don’t know how much his weight effects his health. Thank God he doesn’t have diabetes or any other serious health problems, and he hasn’t complained about it having a physical toll on him, but I have noticed he is getting winded easier and his bike rides and other physical activity getting shorter. Being just over 400lbs myself, and having once been a few pounds above 500lbs, I’m very aware of how much your weight can effect your health. When I was at my heaviest I was very close to bedridden, and my wife, for a year and a half before her death from complications from Obesity, was bedridden herself, so that is probably my biggest fear for my son.
Reply from Fran, Child's Age 16 - 10/05/20 - IP#: 107.150.30.xxx I am in the same predicament. My son is 16 and large as well, and I didn’t realize he was very large until we saw the doctor last weekend. He had an asthma attack and we went to the doctor and said that his weight didn’t help the asthma. He is 5’9 and 262. Apparently at his last physical he was closer to 200. He was never an active kid, and quarantine didn’t help his waistline. I work in the medical field and during the peak of covid we were eating fast food daily as I was too tired to come home and cook. Same with your son, I haven’t seen mine without a shirt on for ages and it’s shocking how he got so big, manboobs and a massive belly. Kyle does your son eat a lot? I know you said he’s very active. Have you noticed him struggling with the new weight? My son has been getting out of breath more when doing the stairs in our home. Have you talked to him about it?
Reply from Seongwha, Child's Age 18 - 10/04/20 - IP#: 173.73.245.xxx Does he talk to you about it? If weight loss is something you are interested in for yourself you could suggest he do that with you.
