Any experience with a kid losing weight for football?

[Mickey'snewestfan]

My son needs to lose less than 2 lbs in a week if he wants to play in the first football game of the season. He's a big guy, with a big appetite, but generally makes pretty healthy food choices. He's always been a pretty active kid, so I think the 10 hours a week he's doing of football right now won't have the same effect it would on a kid who wasn't active before. That is to say, if he went from the couch to football 10 hours a week, and didn't change his diet dramatically, he'd probably lose weight, but in his case summer camp, which was 3 hours of sports a day ended and football started, so there hasn't been a recent increase.

Anyway, I'd love suggestions for safe ways to change his diet or specific exercise things to do to help him make weight. I'm hoping to avoid the kind of strategies that wrestlers use to shed water weight and to have him actually show long term weight loss.

 

[undertheradar]

You don't say his age or size. I guess this is for youth football as opposed to school team? Get him on a treadmill or exercise bike. Change his snacks to fruits or vegetables. You need to weigh him out of gear, then weigh his gear(without helmet). If his gear is heavy, you need to guy buy thinner thigh, hip, knee, and tail pads, as well as lighter cleats. We had fields that weighed the guys in cleats, full gear except helmet and shoulder pads, others ahd them weigh in without shoes. If he is that close to weight right now, he will have to watch his weight until later in the season when the weight limits increase.

 

[left210]

Try something like the 17 day diet or cut carbs and sugar. My son lost 10 lbs in a month on it and easily lost 2 lbs the first week. He did a somewhat modified version of it and didnt do the lemon water or all of the green tea so his was more like cutting all sugars and carbs.

 

[nancygirl1]

If he drinks soda and eats any kind of salty snacks, cutting those out might help.

My son was in the same situation when he started playing football in middle school. He needed to lose 5 lbs. fast so he could stay in his weight group. It was one of the worst things we did. He did lose the weight, but it caused eating issues after that that lasted for quite awhile. He became hyper-focused on his weight and eating after that. Thank God we worked through it, but playing football didn't seem so very important after that.

There's nothing wrong with wanting your child to lose a couple of lbs, but make sure you do it in a healthy way.

 

[Magpie]

My son was diagnosed as hypoglycemic about four years ago. I switched him to the diet his doctor recommended (short term, in order to even out his blood sugar) and he immediately dropped several pounds. It was quite startling, actually.

Basically, cut out everything sweet - including most fruit (although he can have one serving for dessert at bedtime). No bread, grains, cereals, rice, or potatoes. No chips. Definitely no caffeine!

Drink water, not pop (not even sugar free pop).

Take it easy on the sweet veggies (like corn and carrots and sweet potato).

Feed him all the green veggies he can eat. Like broccoli, green beans, salad, etc... Any kind of meat (although just generally the leaner cuts are better for his long term health). Any kind of cheese. Eggs for breakfast. Nuts are GREAT. Hummus can be used as a dip. Peanut butter goes good in celery. Lettuce leaves can be used to roll up sandwich fixings, instead of bread.

Avoid ketchup (too sweet). Use mustard instead.

Snack on pickles.

Don't limit portion size - it's not how much he eats, it's what he eats.

After the first few weeks, my son's doctor started letting me use some whole wheat bread or wraps once a day, and he could eat berries and sweet veggies. But basically we still eat like this.

It's been great for our whole family. My son doesn't have that puffy look he used to have, and even my husband's lost weight. It's pretty easy to keep up. Just don't cheat.

 

[LuvOrlando]

We did it once or twice. Since my son wanted to do it there was no pushing from us, just guidance. I bought a lot of fruit & veggies and he had a home made scrambled egg sandwich for breakfast, a giant salad for lunch with cut up chicken breast, and whatever I was making for dinner minus the carbs. A few prunes the 2 nights before the weigh in and he was fine.

Kids don't really need a diet to lose weight, they just have to not eat junk or drink soda and it just slides off of them... if they are active I should say.

 

[undertheradar]

Most football organizations have former wrestlers who coach, be sure that your son learns the correct way to get on the scale.

Players who were close in weight did not eat any big meals the day of weigh-in.

 

[MyManGoofy!]

Can't play at all or would be limited to certain positions or "patched"?

 

[dandave]

My son was diagnosed as hypoglycemic about four years ago. I switched him to the diet his doctor recommended (short term, in order to even out his blood sugar) and he immediately dropped several pounds. It was quite startling, actually.

Basically, cut out everything sweet - including most fruit (although he can have one serving for dessert at bedtime). No bread, grains, cereals, rice, or potatoes. No chips. Definitely no caffeine!

Drink water, not pop (not even sugar free pop).

Take it easy on the sweet veggies (like corn and carrots and sweet potato).

Feed him all the green veggies he can eat. Like broccoli, green beans, salad, etc... Any kind of meat (although just generally the leaner cuts are better for his long term health). Any kind of cheese. Eggs for breakfast. Nuts are GREAT. Hummus can be used as a dip. Peanut butter goes good in celery. Lettuce leaves can be used to roll up sandwich fixings, instead of bread.

Avoid ketchup (too sweet). Use mustard instead.

Snack on pickles.

Don't limit portion size - it's not how much he eats, it's what he eats.

After the first few weeks, my son's doctor started letting me use some whole wheat bread or wraps once a day, and he could eat berries and sweet veggies. But basically we still eat like this.

It's been great for our whole family. My son doesn't have that puffy look he used to have, and even my husband's lost weight. It's pretty easy to keep up. Just don't cheat.

This is what I would do, as well. Basically: no breads/grains, no corn, no potatoes, no carrots, no fruit, no sugar. Lean meats and non-starchy veggies galore, with lots of water are great for losing healthy weight! I would allow some green tea as well, if he has a caffeine addiction. It's no fun and unnecessary coming off caffeine cold turkey.

 

[*JoGo*]

My son was diagnosed as hypoglycemic about four years ago. I switched him to the diet his doctor recommended (short term, in order to even out his blood sugar) and he immediately dropped several pounds. It was quite startling, actually.

Basically, cut out everything sweet - including most fruit (although he can have one serving for dessert at bedtime). No bread, grains, cereals, rice, or potatoes. No chips. Definitely no caffeine!

Drink water, not pop (not even sugar free pop).

Take it easy on the sweet veggies (like corn and carrots and sweet potato).

Feed him all the green veggies he can eat. Like broccoli, green beans, salad, etc... Any kind of meat (although just generally the leaner cuts are better for his long term health). Any kind of cheese. Eggs for breakfast. Nuts are GREAT. Hummus can be used as a dip. Peanut butter goes good in celery. Lettuce leaves can be used to roll up sandwich fixings, instead of bread.

Avoid ketchup (too sweet). Use mustard instead.

Snack on pickles.

Don't limit portion size - it's not how much he eats, it's what he eats.

After the first few weeks, my son's doctor started letting me use some whole wheat bread or wraps once a day, and he could eat berries and sweet veggies. But basically we still eat like this.

It's been great for our whole family. My son doesn't have that puffy look he used to have, and even my husband's lost weight. It's pretty easy to keep up. Just don't cheat.

I also agree with this. My dr put me on a low carb diet b/c of my blood sugar level. I lost 20lbs in 2 months, no exercise - all diet. I have an app on my phone called Carb Control that lists restaurant menus for when I eat out but you can also search for things like "broccoli, raw". Water, water, water. If he needs some sweets (I have a MAJOR sweet tooth), get a tub of Chocolate cool whip and keep it frozen - it's like a bit stale marshmallow but I love it. Also, while fruits are healthy, there are carbs in them also! I eat 30 carbs/ meal 3 times a day and 1 30 carb snack. 1 serving of carbs is 15g. You shouldn't have less than 90g of carbs a day. Fast food - taco bell you get the most food for your carbs (I get 2 crunchy taco supremes and a pintos and cheese = roughly 30 carbs vs 1 jr bacon cheeseburger from wendy's).

There are also "free foods", like cucumbers, lettuce... such small amt of carbs you don't count them and can eat as much of those foods as you want - so eat them if you're still hungry. You also don't count the carbs in protein, like eggs.

good luck!

 

[Magpie]

This is what I would do, as well. Basically: no breads/grains, no corn, no potatoes, no carrots, no fruit, no sugar. Lean meats and non-starchy veggies galore, with lots of water are great for losing healthy weight! I would allow some green tea as well, if he has a caffeine addiction. It's no fun and unnecessary coming off caffeine cold turkey.

Yeah, caffeine addictions aren't fun!

I think in our case it was because caffeine can also mess up your blood sugar. If my son gets over-caffeinated, he gets veeeery grumpy. Then he gets tired, and hungry.

On the other hand, if there's no caffeine addiction, then cutting it out might be a good idea anyway... blood sugar spikes followed by crashes can make you feel hungry and tired. My son used to complain he was hungry all the time before we got his blood sugar under control. Now he says he never feels hungry. (Which is a relief to me, because I didn't like feeling like the gatekeeper to the kitchen.)

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

As an athlete, I advise that you not have him try a low carb diet while working out. Carbs = energy. I also wouldn't do anything that would drop water weight while training for football. In that heat, he needs to be well hydrated at all times.

If he wants to lose weight, he simply needs to consume fewer calories than he burns. It is a math problem. 3,500 calories = 1 pound.

 

[mjkacmom]

If he is overweight, he is eating more calories than he needs. Big guy means he's been eating too much, and that's why he's big. My oldest ds does have a crappy metabolism compared to his siblings, and he knows it. He's very active (3 - 4 teams per season), and has lost 5 pounds in the past 3 years (and grown a lot), and his weight is now perfectly normal. Cutting carbs takes off weight quickly, which is what I would suggest for your ds now, but if someone is overweight, he or she just needs to consume less (easier said than done, I know).

The boys that need to eat are the ones who sprout up, and are pencil thin. Sometimes a huge appetite is because the body is trying to maintain the overweight status (I think everyone who starts a diet is hungry in the beginning, before the body gets used to eating less).

 

[undertheradar]

How old is the player involved?

 

[timmac]

As an athlete, I advise that you not have him try a low carb diet while working out. Carbs = energy. I also wouldn't do anything that would drop water weight while training for football. In that heat, he needs to be well hydrated at all times.

If he wants to lose weight, he simply needs to consume fewer calories than he burns. It is a math problem. 3,500 calories = 1 pound.

This! If he's doing a substantial amount of workout and training, then leaving his eating habits alone with only minimal adjustment to remove some excess junk, even, will likely make up the difference.

Losing weight in conjunction with athletic endeavors is somewhat tricky, since doing it wrong has a negative impact on physical performance that far outweighs (sorry for the pun) any weight-loss benefit. And any of the fad diets are simply ill-advised, likely a bit harmful, and possibly even dangerous suggestions.

If the coaches aren't able to provide any specific advice (and likely, they can), might even be worth a visit to your primary care doc to get some professional opinion.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Can't play at all or would be limited to certain positions or "patched"?

He's 12.

Here are the options for 12 year olds. Weights are with all gear except helmets.

9-11 league as an Older But Lighter player (must be under 115.9)
10 -12 league (must be under 145.9)
11 to 14 league (must be under 165.9)
11 to 14 league with a "stripe" meaning they can only play on the line (must be under 180.9) I assume this is the same as being "patched"

With pads he's was at 147.4 when I posted this. He started on the 11 to 14 team, but the coach of that team really wanted him to move down. He wanted to play on the line, and at the first scrimmage, watching my kid (who had never played) tackle and be tackled by 180 lb kids convinced me it was a good idea. The coach was also very honest, and said that he would play him six plays a game, because that's what the league requires, but no more.

At 10-12 there are 2 smaller teams, rather than 1 big one which means fewer players to compete with for spots, plus he's the same height as the other kids. Also since there's an A and a B team, if they put him on the B team he'll probably get lots of playing time, because many of the other kids he's competing with are also new to the sport.

So, based on all that we made the choice to have him on the roster for 10 - 12. Now that that choice is "official" we can't go back on it. He no longer has the choice, although he did in the beginning.

 

[undertheradar]

Ask the coaches to teach your son how to get on and off of the scale. There are lighter weight pads, cleats and socks, you need to get them. Be sure that he is not wearing any extra gloves or armpads when he goes to the scale. For our youth team, the smaller players would cheer as the larger players would make weight. You should have your son walk laps when he first gets to the field and keep him walking until they line up to go to weigh in. Depending on game time, your son should eat light the night before and day of game. After the weigh in, he should eat something. He should use a treadmill or exercise bike every week during the season to keep himself from risk of not making weight. Good luck, been there done that.