6 year old on a diet?

[grlpwrd]

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I'm LOL at all the comments about how healthy yogurt is. Do any of you realize how much sugar (white sugar and or high fructose corn syrup)is in most flavored yogurts? Not exactly the snack I'd recommend when trying to make healthier choices

Well, I make my own yogurt and you can buy one's made with better ingredients so not all are high sugar/made with HFCS.

I think it depends on how far a person is willing to go to be "healthy" and it means different things to different people anyway. There was a thread on the budget board a while back about pudding. Some people thought it was a healthy snack.

There are also "healthy" junk food, like some of the items at Trader Joe's. You really do have to read labels these days... but like I say it's always best to make your own so you know what is in it.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

First of all, OT, I must say that TM2, your baby is totally adorable...I'm too old for baby lust, but I certainly had it when I saw her.

As to the topic of the thread....I would make some subtle lifestyle changes. Cut down on the high sugar/high fat foods and substitute healthier things. Don't eliminate them, though, and do it slowly or she will crave what is no longer there. Stay active. Doesn't have to be a big exercise program, but little things. My 7yo was just down in the basement with my DH doing their typical morning before school basketball game with his little basketball hoop. He loves that time and it's a nice little calorie burner.

I have 4 children--the older two tended to be on the thin side, but the younger two tended to be stockier--built different than their older sibs. My 13yo (3rd child) plays a lot of sports and has tough year around workouts, so he really burns the calories. Even though he is fairly trim now, I knew the high fat food that he loves (lots of pizza and ice cream) would take a toll on him later when he wasn't so active and would still not be heart healthy now. He's finally started to eat better and asked us to not buy ice cream that he likes.

My 7yo is a bit chunky and I don't quite understand. He is active and doesn't eat a lot of fatty food. He eats a lot, but a lot of it is good food. And he is active. I think with him once he gets a little older and starts with more intense physical activities it will come off. And he wants to be healthy (everything is a competition with him, so he wants to be healthier than his siblings )

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

In addition to the eating healthier, I just wanted to elaborate on the exercise. There are definitely things the two of you can do together. My daughter is 6 and LOVES to "work out" with me. It used to be Pilates, but that never held her attention for very long. Last year, I picked up some bellydancing DVDs. It's a great workout and she absolutely adores it. In fact, she's constantly begging me to bellydance with her. In the warmer months, we go to the park and take walks. Or she'll ride her bike and I'll walk alongside her (unfortunately I don't have a bike right now). I always make sure to do things with her. She's also taken ballet, tap and gymnastics in the past. So there are lots of fun things that will keep her active.

Your dd is totally cute btw!

 

[sha_lyn]

Just switch to Organic Dairy and your problem is solved.

Your pediatrician may say no though...but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Actually the levels in organic and non organic dairy aren't that different. However there is speculation that even the minor increase in comercial dairy, because it is synthetic is part of it. It does seem that it is the over consumption overall, be it comercial or organic. Soy had a high amount of plent estrogen, so it really isn't a good alternative either, if hormones is what one is trying to avoid.

 

[sha_lyn]

Well, I make my own yogurt and you can buy one's made with better ingredients so not all are high sugar/made with HFCS

I said most flavored yogurts. I did not say all flavored one, or ones you make yourself.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

Your DD is too cute. I am not sure I would put her on a diet but I would try and watch what she eats. No junk food and more healthy food. Exercise is wonderful to do together as in more outdoor activies, Bike riding, skating, jumping rope and just to get her heart rate up.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I agree with the people that said it needs to be a lifestyle change for EVERYONE in the family this includes better food choices and more physical activities.

As far as the yogurt debate my favorite brand is Stonyfield Farm. My store doesn't carry the light version, but there is a light version out there that is made without using artificial sweetners. http://www.stonyfield.com/OurProducts/AllNaturalYogurts.cfm#javascript:void(0)

Also, it sounds like you have not come to terms with your own weight struggles. I fear that you may transfer your own fears onto your DD, and that can lead to some unhealthy behaviors. You may want to talk to someone about those issues. Or at least visit a nutritionist or dietician to help you feel more confident about the food choices in your home.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I wouldn't tell the kid they were on a diet, but I'd quietly eliminate most junk food. I'd just get the kid moving - do something outside, take them swimming, etc. A little exercise combined with the fact that they are growing and the kid would slim down.

If the kid was not eating junk food and was getting exercise, and STILL getting fat, I'd take them to the doctor.

I don't eat yogurt. My taste buds rebel.

 

[PaulaSue]

Not a diet, but I am trying to watch the sweets more with my DDs.

 

[Aidensmom]

She is a very cute girl, and I don't think she really looks that terribly "chunky."

Like some others have said, I would make it a family thing - start making healthier lower-fat meals, eat whole grains instead of white flour, get lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Play outside together, go for bike rides or walks or jogs together. Expose her to some other activities like dance or karate or soccer where the body is moving all the time.

A lot of healthier food may seem not to taste as good when you first start eating it, but once it becomes the mainstay of your diet, much of the bad-for-you stuff starts to taste kind of artificial and nasty.

As far as yogurt goes, plain yogurt with cut up fresh fruit which has a lof of juices (strawberries, peaches, blueberries, etc) is a lot better than some of the fruit flavored stuff, though it can be a bit of an aquired taste.

 

[Crankyshank]

Please Please do not make an issue about her weight and looks. Don't force her to exercise for the sake of exercise, and don't control every morsel she puts in her mouth.

I'm not saying you will, but it happened to me by my mother who just wanted to spare me from being a chunky teen like she was and it backfired in a very big way.

Your daughter is beautiful. She looks pretty solid- is she big boned? If so, she is more likely to struggle with her weight her whole life than a more petite person. If that's the case, now really begins the time where you need to make it fun for her so she will eat right and exercise because she enjoys it and it's good for her- not because she needs to look a certain way in order to be accepted.

I just read an article where nutrionists recommend eating off of a salad plate to control portions, and you have to wait 20min before helping yourself to seconds. I plan on doing that myself, and think that would really work well for kids because by the time 20min are up, they have moved on to something else.

 

[Crankyshank]

as far as yogurt goes - I make smoothies with plain yogurt, fruit, and a little bit of apple juice for breakfast.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I personally think vanilla yogurt with fresh cut-up strawberries in it tastes a lot better than the other kind of fruit yogurts.