calorie counting making me question my kids intake

AndreaWhite611

Okay so since I started counting calories it has me wondering if I should be letting my boys eat certain things. They eat decently healthy food but just sometimes they amount makes me question....especially my oldest who is almost 10. Like he will eat three wraps with like probably 10 servings of peanut butter or two fried egg sandwiches (4 eggs, 4 slices of toast, cheese and ketchup) for breakfast. They aren't overweight and are active in sports....so do I need to think about the fact that those egg sandwiches would be like 800 calories ?

shadowofender

If they aren't overweight, and they're active, and the DR has no problem with them, leave them alone. Growing kids need more calories. My brother had to have downed about 4000 calories a day from 10 to 20 and he's a 6'2'' 140lb bean pole now.

Mr_Knight

Remember that they're growing - adding mass - as well. I wouldn't be worried about it unless they start chunking up.

Holly_Roman_Empire

They're boys and they're growing.

Don't make a big deal out of it unless the doctor gives you reason for concern.

navyrigger46

Don't sweat it, kids need a high intake, they're typically much more active than adults, and it takes a lot of calories for a body to grow. About a year ago my neighbor (who is overweight) was worried about his nine year old's eating, he was packing in a lot of food and starting to show, then he hit a growth spurt and he's now five feet tall and slender. As long as they're active they'll be fine.

Rigger

Laurend224

My kids eat constantly. My youngest (he's almost 3, weighs 32 lbs) can put away 2 Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches, a handful of raisins, a glass of soy milk and 2 or 3 pieces of fruit for lunch. One day I will quietly track their intake just for kicks. If your kids aren't overweight, don't worry about it.

shadow2soul

shadowofender wrote: »

If they aren't overweight, and they're active, and the DR has no problem with them, leave them alone. Growing kids need more calories. My brother had to have downed about 4000 calories a day from 10 to 20 and he's a 6'2'' 140lb bean pole now.

^I agree with this.

EmmaFitzwilliam

Seriously? 10 servings of peanut butter? That's 2/3 of a jar of peanut butter. Hyperbole much?

As for the egg sandwiches, it's all a matter of calories in vs. calories out. There is no way to answer that without knowing what the boys' metabolic burn is.

Also, it's all about trends, not moments. Are they eating fried egg sandwiches and having peanut butter wraps every day? You say their choices are generally healthy; okay, roll with it.

Sure, it's valuable to teach by example about healthy food choices, portion control, and activity, but there is no point in becoming a "food cop".

Mr_Knight

EmmaFitzwilliam wrote: »

Seriously? 10 servings of peanut butter? That's 2/3 of a jar of peanut butter. Hyperbole much?

So I went to see how many servings are in a jar of peanut butter, and it turns out there are about twice as many as your post above suggests (33 servings in my modest jar). Hyperbole much?

No question my little dude could knock back 10 servings of PB, it's really not that much in terms of volume.

TavistockToad

AndreaWhite611 wrote: »

They aren't overweight and are active in sports....

You answered your own question....

AndreaWhite611

Thank you for your replies. I'm not becoming a good cop, I have not mentioned anything about this to them at all. Simply a mom who realized how small a serving of peanut butter is and got to thinking. I want to do the very best for them is all.

999tigger

Children and young people have different dietary needs and metabolisms. Just make sure they eat a relatively varied diet with fruit and veg in for their 5 a day.

VeryKatie

AndreaWhite611 wrote: »

Thank you for your replies. I'm not becoming a good cop, I have not mentioned anything about this to them at all. Simply a mom who realized how small a serving of peanut butter is and got to thinking. I want to do the very best for them is all.

I'm glad you asked this - I was curious too. This way, you can be the bad cop and I'll be the good cop (once I have kids).

(I tired really hard to make a good joke, 'tis the entire reason I'm posting).

Not kidding though, I've always wondered how much kids are supposed to eat and when they're not kid enough to talk to them about portions (in other words, when portion control actually becomes important for their bodies - when do the growth spurts stop?). Hmm.

EmmaFitzwilliam

Mr_Knight wrote: »

EmmaFitzwilliam wrote: »

Seriously? 10 servings of peanut butter? That's 2/3 of a jar of peanut butter. Hyperbole much?

So I went to see how many servings are in a jar of peanut butter, and it turns out there are about twice as many as your post above suggests (33 servings in my modest jar). Hyperbole much?

No question my little dude could knock back 10 servings of PB, it's really not that much in terms of volume.

<shrugs> My 16.3 oz jar of peanut butter says it contains about 14 servings at 2Tbsp each. What are you considering a portion? I can't put 2T of peanut butter on a sandwich, to say nothing of three times that amount.

TR0berts

You people do realize that there are different size jars of PB, right?

AndreaWhite611

I know what a serving of peanut butter looks like and he easily eats 10. Happy to be your bad cop Katie ☺

EmmaFitzwilliam

TR0berts wrote: »

You people do realize that there are different size jars of PB, right?

That would be why I specified a portion size.

My 16.3 oz jar is, to my eyes, a "modest size". I still can't fathom being able to eat 6T of peanut butter in a wrap (even the giant burrito size), to say nothing of three of them. Two "fajita size" wraps with a total of 3T of peanut butter (1.5 servings, according to my jar) is about my limit.

Pandapotato

TR0berts wrote: »

You people do realize that there are different size jars of PB, right?

LOL.

dopeysmelly

My 9 year-old daughter can seriously pack away the peanut butter too. I don't have a problem with it - she stops eating BEFORE she gets really full most of the time, is very active and her body shape/size/weight is good for her height and age. DH did frown at the sheer volume of PB she was spooning on, so we used it as a way of having a discussion about fats (PB=gums up your mouth + healthy fats, butter=tasty + less healthy fats), and making sure you eat a variety of things.

I would actually caution about trusting your kid's doc too much on this, though. Doc's are rushed and notoriously UNLIKELY to raise the issue of excess weight in general (I was obese and my doc never said a word and he's pretty good IMO). I would look up the height/weight charts for your kids yourself and make your own mind up.

ChristyB1117

Wow....weighing the serving if PB shows it to be much smaller than most TBS you think of. I easily put 3 or 4 tbs on my sandwiches before I learned to weigh my PB.

I come from a family of obese people, as does my husband. Although he is lean, I have struggled with my weight for over a decade. Now that I have my son (2), all I can do is provide a good example for eating habits. I do worry more about watching his weight than other parents do - so I rely on the doctor for feedback because I can't allow my family baggage to cause me to give him body issues.