Need Help weight problem in kids ( kinda long sorry)

[kaylajr]

Sorry if this is to long but i could use some ideas....

first there are two children involved so i tackle them seperatly

1) my DD she is 8 and wighs over 90 lbs and needs to drop some weight she is 4 feet tall

i had her at the Dr and they said she has a heart murmur at least that is what they are calling it right now but are sending her to a pediatric cardiologist cause they say her heart doesn't sound just right and we have family history of Heart problems
also her blood pressure is border line
on her own she has cut out all the soda and drinks alot of water
but the weight isn't coming off

i need some ways to make it fun for her

2) my nephew he is 6 and shorter than my DD.
i am now in a postion of watching him 4-5 day s aweek which is going to be good for him i hope

He weighs 113 lbs
his parents know he is overweight and say the limit what he eats but then they bring food for him like fruity pebbles cereal.

they share the same bad heart family history so i wanna get them both going towards a healthy life

and into this mix i have a 10 year ol DD who is in great shape
i don't wanna cook 3 different meals
i am doing atkins and already fix my stuff seperate which is fine because i eat on a different time schedule then the kids and DH works a weird work shedule so his meal 's don't factor in either
just the kids

so anyone have ideas

thanks in Advance

 

[yasuern]

have you tried having them do atkins/kind of that is - limit their carb intake - buy low carb pasta and icecream and peanut butter etc encourage them to eat in a new way a way that will help them for their entire lifetime not just to lose weight. Also make sure that they get outside and do some form of activity everyday! DD has to practice baton twirling for 30 minutes and 4 nights a week (at least we are trying to do 4) we - the whole family goes for a 1.5 mile walk

My dgt likes the atkins bars and indulgence ice cream we have low carb pasta(muellers w/1/2 the carbs) and although DH an I can't eat most of this stuff on induction - my goal is that when me and DH reach maintanence DD will be kind of in that same place too so meals will be easier!

I also have a friend who gives her kids tickets each week 5 for BAD SNACKS 7 for 30min on a video game and 7 for 1 hour of TV per week when the tickets are gone then no video game no TV and no unhealthy snacks so all thats left is healthy snacks and playing outside. All 5 of her kids are in great shape!

I really babble - hope something helps or sparks an idea

GOOD LUCK


You hear on the news how unhealthy our kids are today - Dr Phil once said if all you give them is healthy foods then eventually they will eat it they won't starve themselves - or something to that effect - but its hard!

 

[maryliz]

First, here's a for you. We went through the whole heart murmour scare last summer with our DD who was 6 at the time. Everything turned out fine, so I'm sending prayers your way for the same result.

Maybe start with some basics ... no junk food around the house, especially soda. If you want to make one evening a week where they can have something special, that might work. Keep lots of what we would call "free" snacks always handy in the fridge (cut up veggies, etc). And, I know that family schedules are often so hectic we don't know how we stay sane, but insist that all of you do 30 minutes of exercise, 4 times a week. Can be as simple as all of you going for a walk. As the days progress, go a bit further distance and try to do it in the same amount of time.

Good luck !

Mary Liz

 

[hammertime]

I know your doing atkins but if you daughter is serious about wanting to loose weight she can go do WeightWatchers if she has a Dr's note or maybe there's a special class for kids trying to loose weight through a Dr's office that she can join. We had a girl about age 12 who reached maintance after loosing 20lbs. She doesn't look skinny just healthy.

I really like the ticket idea for kids.

If you have some free weekends how about doing some hikes or biking or something outdoorsy so that you all get outside and get some exercise.

One of my biggest fears is that if I have kids I will pass on my bad food habits. I'm hoping to be at goal weight before I even start trying that way it will be easier to spring back after a pregnancy and also the baby will start out life learning good eating habits.

 

[married2grumpy]

When my DD was 5 she weighed about 64 pounds. She was getting heavy. A lot of it is due to poor eating habits. My Mom watched my kids for me while I worked from the time they were infants. She always gave them snacks whenever they wanted it and there was no limit to what or how much they could eat. Now, my DS doesn't gain weight but my DD can look at food and gain a pound. She takes after me!

She joined gymnastics and Wow what a difference. Just getting her physically active has helped so much. She had joined for the summer last year as a trial. Over the course of the summer she had lost almost 10 pounds. It was amazing.

My pediatrician had given me some advice on how to handle her weight problem. She said not to deny snacks just limit the amount of snacks they have. Her biggest advice was portion control. My DD would eat a sandwich for lunch and ask for another. She would have 2 slices of french toast and want more. By increasing her exercise and giving her the proper portion size, she has managed to keep the weight off.

It's so hard to be overweight especially for kids. My DD will probably always struggle with her weight as I have and her father has but I try to teach her to love her body and take care of it. She knows eating too much at once or just too much junk food is no good for her. This is a lesson I hope she will learn to live by.

My kids have Fruity Pebbles for breakfast and it's fine. But my DD now has 1 bowl instead of 2.

Good luck and I hope evrything goes well with your daughters health!

 

[twotoohappy]

My only advice is to watch the school lunches. They are mostly so high in fat, and not the healthiest. Atleast here. Also, my dd goes to a school K-2, the 2nd graders eat last, and they are allowed free seconds What are they thinking? This is such a bad thing. My dd was packing on weight until I met with the teacher/principal and told them to please refrain on extra lunches for my dd - they weren't all that responsive - I now have to continually ask my dd what she had for lunch and hope that she's not getting seconds anymore.

 

[dizneegirl]

Low(er) carb is perfectly healthy for children as well as adults... make sure they get plenty of veggies, additional fruit and whole grains... otherwise, they can follow the same diet you do - no need to cook 3 different meals.

If you'd like to read more about it, check out books like "Sugar Busters! for Kids", or "Feed Your Kids Well : How to Help Your Child Lose Weight and Get Healthy" by Fred Pescatore (who worked with Dr. Atkins).

 

[FreshTressa]

In our house, we have decided to go with the 'whole foods' approach to eating with my kids.

They pretty much never eat things that come in packages or are heavily processed. (this means no pasta, no packaged cereal and no crackers, no muffins, no cookies)

This means that most everything they eat has a high nutrient to calorie ration and seems to keep them slim.

So, just serve regular old food....Eggs, Meat, fish, fruit, veggies, whole grain breads, rice, cheese, oatmeal, nuts etc.. My kids really like skewers, so fruit skewers, veggie skewers, meat skewers

I wouldn't even really say anything about it or limit the quantity, I would just try and serve meals and snacks that don't have processed foods

 

[nativetxn]

How about a modified Atkins? Robin's son has had wonderful success by eliminating refined carbohydrates from his diet.


For your nephew, though, if his parents don't do the same thing at home it won't work for him.

 

[TigerBear]

Did the doctor say your daughter should limit physical activity because of her heart murmur? If not, I would make sure to incorporate exercise and activity into their daily schedules. Take a walk around the block every night. Buy her a jump rope, a hula hoop, bike, or roller skates. Is there a group sport she could join? Does she like to swim in the summer? I bet you will see a difference if you increase exercise and decrease junk food (cokes, chips, french fries, cookies, fast food).

Finding out if your medical insurance has a program for overweight children is not a bad idea. I commend you for wanting to make positive changes in their lives. Being heavy as a child is not an easy thing.