Son (10 years old) unintentionally losing weight

laughtoomuch
laughtoomuch Posts: 9 Member
edited February 2015 in Food and Nutrition
I started eating clean at the beginning of the year. I stopped buying junk food, sodas, and other processed food for the house and started meal prepping all my meals and snacks. When my husband and kids started eating the food, I was REALLY happy cause it makes life so much easier when you don't have to cook several different things. Unfortunately my youngest son has started losing weight and he's already pretty skinny. He has practices/games at least 4 times a week so he gets a lot of exercise in. He only eats til he's full which I think is a good thing but the weight lost is worrying me.

What a typical day looks like for him.
Breakfast - 1/3 aidells sausage, 1 egg, 2oz potatoes (sometime he leaves 1/4 of this left...mostly eggs)
Lunch - 1/2 cup cubed turkey, 1 egg, 1 cup of edamame, 2 Clementines oranges, 1 almond butter and jelly sandwich
Dinner - 4oz salmon, 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup cauliflower
Snack - Greek yogurt, and a cup of whatever fruit I have in the fridge or no yogurt and 2 cups of fruit.

How can I get more calories in him ? What are some food that are healthy but higher in calories ?
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Replies

  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    1) Since he's 10 years old, a trip to the doctor is likely in order to ensure there are no underlying health problems driving his weight loss.

    2) What about adding a starch to dinner? Rice or potatoes? Add cheese and/or butter to his morning eggs/potatoes? Whole milk? Butter or olive oil on his veggies?

    3) I'm as big of an advocate of "healthy" eating (however you want to define that) for families as anyone. I never learned to eat healthfully as a child and it's biting me in the butt as an adult. That said...kids need to learn balance. There's absolutely no reason a normal/underweight 10 year old shouldn't be permitted a "treat" every once in awhile. Why can't he have a serving of ice cream for dessert or some pretzels or a cookie with his lunch or something? I have a 5 and 3 year old, and my 5 year old is bordering on underweight and my 3 year old tends towards chubbiness, so I try really hard to strike a good balance in what I serve them (I have extra challenges with the 5 year old because he's lactose intolerant and refuses to eat nuts of any kind due to now-outgrown but previously scary allergy issues). I think it's incredibly important to teach the value of nutrition without completely eliminating "junk" food. Teach kids how to meet their nutritional needs while properly incorporating treats so that they learn how to balance them into their day when they're on their own making their own choices. You know? Just a thought.
  • Naley2322
    Naley2322 Posts: 181 Member
    but why is the 10 year olds food measured?
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    That's not very much food for a kid. My kids eat at least two eggs every morning, fruit and some sort of carb.

    Are you actually measuring his food, or are you guessing? Does he regulate how much he eats on his own (meaning, do you allow him seconds if he asks)?

    I'd talk to his ped, in your shoes.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    Avocado, nut butters, full fat dairy, ice cream...
  • laughtoomuch
    laughtoomuch Posts: 9 Member
    I let them eat as much as they want. My older son has no problems grabbing 2nds or 3rds.

    I just got used to measuring everything I have in the fridge in case hubby and I decide to eat it.

    I will try adding more rice and potatoes...he seems to like those. As for snacks, he's not a fan of sweets/cookies/ice cream but he LOVES chips. He can eat bags and bags of those if left to his own devices. I have the fridge stacked with yogurts and fruits but he only gets a couple a day. He just eats when he's hungry and only til he's full so I feel like I need to change what he eats instead of making him eat more.
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
    To me, that looks like a lot of protein and not much carb or fat for a kid. My 11yo (who is likewise slender and active, and eats only when she's hungry, and is staying at a consistent percentile weight-for-height-for-age, which is the kid-equivalent of maintaining) eats about 2,000 calories a day spread across 4 meals and 2 snacks.

    I'd swap out some of those protein options for fat - olive oil, butter, full-fat cheese, avocado, whipped cream with the fruit, full-fat Greek yogurt, etc.

    If that doesn't improve things quickly, I second the suggestion to see the doctor. In the absence of some reason for appetite suppression (ADHD meds are notorious for this, for instance), I'd be quite worried about an actual loss of weight in a kid.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    I let them eat as much as they want. My older son has no problems grabbing 2nds or 3rds.

    I just got used to measuring everything I have in the fridge in case hubby and I decide to eat it.

    I will try adding more rice and potatoes...he seems to like those. As for snacks, he's not a fan of sweets/cookies/ice cream but he LOVES chips. He can eat bags and bags of those if left to his own devices. I have the fridge stacked with yogurts and fruits but he only gets a couple a day. He just eats when he's hungry and only til he's full so I feel like I need to change what he eats instead of making him eat more.

    Rice and potatoes are good. Maybe keep small bags of chips on hand that he can have once or twice a week. Higher calorie stuff like peanut butter, cheese, avocados, nuts - stuff like that.

    I wish you luck!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    That's WAY too little food. A 10 yo has no business being on such a diet. They need more nutrient-dense food, not things that will fill them up for low calories, like you. An active 10yo boy needs up to 2100 calories! You're feeding him what, 1400 calories?

    Cook his breakfast with butter (can't say much there, my kids don't eat much for breakfast at all). Add bacon.
    Add a carb for dinner (potatoes, rice, pasta, bread roll with butter) - you don't have to eat any if you don't want to. Give him more than 4oz of salmon. Seriously, that's way too little food at dinner.
    Add nuts, nut butters, cheese to his snacks... Make PB crackers, cheese and pretzels, whatever. But fruit as his age just doesn't cut it.
    Give him milk to drink.

    Obviously that's if you just want to stick to 'healthy' things. My kids have ice cream, goldfish and crackers regularly. I'm the one who needs to watch what I eat... not them.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I started eating clean at the beginning of the year. I stopped buying junk food, sodas, and other processed food for the house and started meal prepping all my meals and snacks. When my husband and kids started eating the food, I was REALLY happy cause it makes life so much easier when you don't have to cook several different things. Unfortunately my youngest son has started losing weight and he's already pretty skinny. He has practices/games at least 4 times a week so he gets a lot of exercise in. He only eats til he's full which I think is a good thing but the weight lost is worrying me.

    What a typical day looks like for him.
    Breakfast - 1/3 aidells sausage, 1 egg, 2oz potatoes (sometime he leaves 1/4 of this left...mostly eggs)
    Lunch - 1/2 cup cubed turkey, 1 egg, 1 cup of edamame, 2 Clementines oranges, 1 almond butter and jelly sandwich
    Dinner - 4oz salmon, 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup cauliflower
    Snack - Greek yogurt, and a cup of whatever fruit I have in the fridge or no yogurt and 2 cups of fruit.

    How can I get more calories in him ? What are some food that are healthy but higher in calories ?

    Nuts and nut butters. You don't list drinks. Does he drink milk? Do you use fat to prepare you meals?

    How much weight is he losing and how quickly? If he's not hungry and not experiencing any other symptoms, then it's probably fine. But for peace of mind, why not give his pediatrician a call?
  • laughtoomuch
    laughtoomuch Posts: 9 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    That's WAY too little food. A 10 yo has no business being on such a diet. They need more nutrient-dense food, not things that will fill them up for low calories, like you. An active 10yo boy needs up to 2100 calories! You're feeding him what, 1400 calories?

    Cook his breakfast with butter (can't say much there, my kids don't eat much for breakfast at all). Add bacon.
    Add a carb for dinner (potatoes, rice, pasta, bread roll with butter) - you don't have to eat any if you don't want to. Give him more than 4oz of salmon. Seriously, that's way too little food at dinner.
    Add nuts, nut butters, cheese to his snacks... Make PB crackers, cheese and pretzels, whatever. But fruit as his age just doesn't cut it.
    Give him milk to drink.

    Obviously that's if you just want to stick to 'healthy' things. My kids have ice cream, goldfish and crackers regularly. I'm the one who needs to watch what I eat... not them.

    Can we calm down a little ? I'm not starving him. He's not on a diet. I have the fridge packed with food. This is what I notice he is eating from the fridge. The only food I pack specifically for him is his lunch and he picks what he wants from the fridge. The only thing I'm not doing is buying junk food but if he needs it then I will. There are stacks of sandwiches in the fridge (Turkey sandwiches, almond butter and jelly sandwiches, egg sandwiches). I eat the salmon for dinner, he wants one too so he grabs one. I don't tell them when or what they can or cannot eat. I notice he is losing weight so I'm asking for advice on what I can change.
  • laughtoomuch
    laughtoomuch Posts: 9 Member
    Nuts and nut butters. You don't list drinks. Does he drink milk? Do you use fat to prepare you meals?

    How much weight is he losing and how quickly? If he's not hungry and not experiencing any other symptoms, then it's probably fine. But for peace of mind, why not give his pediatrician a call?

    I use olive oil when cooking. He eats almond butter and jelly sandwiches at least once a day. He doesn't like milk, drinks a lot of water, and gatorade when he has games and practices which is almost every other day.

    He's lost about 3lbs since the end of Christmas. I will take him to his Pedi this week.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,123 Member
    Please, CONTACT THE PEDIATRICIAN ASAP!!!

    Sorry for yelling, but I experienced a similar issue about a year and a half ago. I ended up rapidly experiencing unintentional weight loss (about 60 pounds in three months). My hair ended up starting to fall out, I got concerned and went to an urgent care, and I ended up having to be rushed to the hospital for diabetic ketoacidosis (can be lethal if not caught) and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. At the very least, you should voice your concerns to the pediatrician to make sure there's no underlying medical conditions
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    I gave you some advice. There's nothing wrong with salmon, but you can make extra things for him too. He's not on a diet but he's losing weight, so he's eating the number of calories of someone on a diet.

  • Eudoxy
    Eudoxy Posts: 391 Member
    edited February 2015
    The dinner jumps out as light, add some buttery potatoes and dinner rolls. Or maybe rice a roni, kids usually love that. Or noodles. Mac and cheese. And chips and crackers for snacks.
  • blazterx
    blazterx Posts: 10 Member
    Buy your kid some real food instead of this "clean" nonsense.
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    A 10 year old is still growing - he needs some carbs and fats. Plus, why are you measuring his food? He may also have some body issues or medical issues - you need to figure out if there is a reason behind the weight loss other than not getting enough nutrients.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
    Is there a reason there are so few carbs (no bread, rice, pasta)? What you describe sounds like a weird diet for a child, to the point that it could also be boring. I could not make such a "typical" day list for my kids, because the average week has usually variety, soup with bread one day, pasta the next, pizza on a weekend, meat cooked with vegetables one day, fish the next and so on. It sounds weird for a kid to have the same lunch and dinner everyday, and also it seems weird to not have more cooked meals.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    That's WAY too little food. A 10 yo has no business being on such a diet. They need more nutrient-dense food, not things that will fill them up for low calories, like you. An active 10yo boy needs up to 2100 calories! You're feeding him what, 1400 calories?

    Cook his breakfast with butter (can't say much there, my kids don't eat much for breakfast at all). Add bacon.
    Add a carb for dinner (potatoes, rice, pasta, bread roll with butter) - you don't have to eat any if you don't want to. Give him more than 4oz of salmon. Seriously, that's way too little food at dinner.
    Add nuts, nut butters, cheese to his snacks... Make PB crackers, cheese and pretzels, whatever. But fruit as his age just doesn't cut it.
    Give him milk to drink.

    Obviously that's if you just want to stick to 'healthy' things. My kids have ice cream, goldfish and crackers regularly. I'm the one who needs to watch what I eat... not them.

    Can we calm down a little ? I'm not starving him. He's not on a diet. I have the fridge packed with food. This is what I notice he is eating from the fridge. The only food I pack specifically for him is his lunch and he picks what he wants from the fridge. The only thing I'm not doing is buying junk food but if he needs it then I will. There are stacks of sandwiches in the fridge (Turkey sandwiches, almond butter and jelly sandwiches, egg sandwiches). I eat the salmon for dinner, he wants one too so he grabs one. I don't tell them when or what they can or cannot eat. I notice he is losing weight so I'm asking for advice on what I can change.

    As others have said, look for ways to add in extra calories to what he already eats. If he eats until full, try to increase the calories without adding too much volume. If he does well with scrambled eggs instead of fried, try mixing in some cheese and heavy cream to fill them out. Put full fat cheese on the turkey sandwiches you have prepared. Maybe buy some juice or drinks with natural sugar for him to drink (see what he likes).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    I would definitely make an appointment to see a doctor...

    Beyond that, I'm not seeing a whole lot of dietary fat in there...and also, if he's that actively involved in sports he could do with some more carbohydrates. Also, sometimes people just need calories...it's great to eat healthfully, but when you need calories, you need calories...it's great that he's learning to eat healthfully, but a part of that is also understanding that a little "junk" here and there isn't detrimental and when you need calories, it can actually be a good thing.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    As for snacks, he's not a fan of sweets/cookies/ice cream but he LOVES chips. He can eat bags and bags of those if left to his own devices. I have the fridge stacked with yogurts and fruits but he only gets a couple a day. He just eats when he's hungry and only til he's full so I feel like I need to change what he eats instead of making him eat more.
    If he LOVES chips, then stock some chips in the pantry.