need help with my daughter

LuckyLeprechaun

You could try not keeping unhealthy food in the house then there will not be a choice whether to have "bad" food or not.

I agree with this.

Children will not starve themselves. If your house is full of only good things, she will eat some of them.

You have to lead by example, which it sounds like you already are. She will come around. If she comments that she doesn't want you to be smaller than she is, you can gently remind her that she can decide to change her health too. Not in a way that makes it sound as though you think she's fat, but in a way that reminds her that her current state of health is 1. up to her, and 2.dynamic...she's not stuck at her weight any more than you are.

mrsyac2

Cut the tv time,computer time, game playing and send her outside. Put her in sports as well. Get her active! Get the crap out of the house is the first step- yes she may get it elsewhere but atleast it won't be in the house. A fudge pop for breakfast is unexceptable and I'm glad you said no.

KeriA

bump (to read later) good topic

LuckyLeprechaun

although it is "technically" against the rules for a teenager to use MFP, they do. it's ok. just adjust the DOB

rockinright

...she's a 15 year old girl. Nothing is going to motivate her but a boyfriend. LOL. As a teen, I was always between 160 and 175 lbs (give or take), but I'm a little taller (at 5'6"). My father was a HUGE man, so it's always been difficult for me to be thin. I also HATED exercising unless it was something I picked to do for myself (like volleyball, which I played all through high school). Even walking the dog was a huge issue for me. If you belong to a gym, why don't you take her to try a kickboxing class or a Zumba class? That way she can see if she likes it. Also, only keep healthy foods in your house. No more junk, no more fudgecicles. Try fruit and nut bars, baked chips, or tortilla chips with salsa. Or even popcorn! Have a variety, but no junk. That way she doesn't have that option. As for dinners, cook foods that are high in protein and fiber so that she fells fuller. Good luck!

that's a step above me. I hated ALL excercise, even sports. As a guy that's tough. Even now I abhor exercise and have to force myself to do it.

NH_1970

You could set new 'house rules' where you do a family day(s) where everyone has to participate with no reasons other than sickness or injury could they be excused.
Then go out and make sure that you, your son, your daughter and anyone else who lives in your home goes out and does something active. It's a good way to spend family time together. You could go hiking, go biking, etc. and if she is in the mindset social peer group thing of "what will my friends think if they see me!" - which is normal. Then go to another area where they won't see her, or tell your kids that they can invite one friend along to go on an outing with you.

I'm also with everyone else who has said it, remove bad food choices from your home.

You may also want to have her checked out with your doctor to make sure it's nothing physical affecting her weight gain/appetite.
Also doing balanced nutrition is good, because she might be craving carbs for the serotonin release which helps reduce stress and teen age years are fraught with stressors. Exercise and good balanced nutrition can help with that.
Like my daughter craves carbs when she gets home from school, I have healthy carbs available for her because I know that she's just come home from a long day of having to be 'the teen at school with her friends, and among her teachers.' Which isn't the same as when she's at home and can just be herself. Good mood/bad mood/silly etc.

Here's an article on food/mood http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Met-Obe/Mood-Food-Relationships.html

Also, make sure you're adding protein to your evening meals and not going straight carb/starches on food, and you might want to ask her if she's eating at school, My daughter went through a phase where she wouldn't eat at school but would want to come home and eat and eat, and I had to ask her if she was eating lunch, or how much lunch she was eating. Also there isn't a huge consumption of water at school either generally for most kids, so you might want to teach her about hydration, which can mimic the hunger urge if it's low.

NH_1970

Oh and if you fudge it and have her join MFP you should definitely learn from a doctor "the horses mouth" on what acceptable calories are for a growing teen, They are NOTHING like the minimum or recommendation that MFP puts in for adults.

chocolateandvodka

as i don't have kids of my own i'm probably not much help except that i've been in your daughter's shoes. when i was 14 i fluctuated between 130-160 thanks to a terrible attitude about food and binge dieting (no parents for a chunk of my teen years)

but i CAN give you some advice with the second and third helpings. i actually have this issue with my husband and have started serving our plates as soon as the food is ready, and then immediately putting the remainder away. that way the first plate is measured and pre-portioned BEFORE i touch a bite of it. and if YOU (i.e. hubby, teenage daughter) want second helpings after that? then YOU have to pull it out of the fridge, open it, reheat it, repackage it, wash the dishes, etc. it's definitely enough to make a teenage girl or a husband think twice. especially when everybody's used to mom cleaning the kitchen after dinner.

quick edit - yes i agree with all the other posters (just now reading the responses) get the junk food out of your house. we don't keep that stuff at our house for this very reason. and i have to say that the habit started when my stepmom moved in and noticed the EXACT same thing going on with me (i was about 15 then) and made the rule that if i wanted junk food i had to buy it and eat it away from home with my own money.

the other thing is to quit using food as a reward or motivator if that's something you do or have done.