Weight range and calorie intake for a 9yr old girl

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Angiepackmom4
Angiepackmom4 Posts: 75
in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering if anyone knows a website or can tell me what a good weight range and what the caloric intake would be for my daughter who is 9 years old and is 4"7 inches tall. She needs to lose weight but I need a starting reference point to help her.

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  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    sign her up for mfp :)
  • rahretro
    rahretro Posts: 15
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    i think just offering healthy eating choices to her instead of a calorie intake or saying you're on a diet... starting that young can lead to eating disorders and self image problems i have taught my kids that its ok to have a piece of cake but not everyday and not large portions
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    To be honest, I would not restrict her calories except as a last resort. Instead, I'd work on healthy choices and more activity as a primary weight control tool. If she is given unlimited amounts of veggies, and reasonable quantities of fruits and proteins, with primarily milk and water to drink, she should be able to get back to a healthy weight. Eating processed foods is what seems to be the main culprit for weight gain, so if you eliminate those, she will learn the very best diet aid there is!
  • tammyhoff2004
    tammyhoff2004 Posts: 89
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    I would take her to her pediatrician or a nutritionist and find out how many calories she should be intaking. Maybe if she started eating better foods, that might get her metabolism going again. Exercise her daily. Take her to the park, on a bike ride, or a exercise dance video like Turbo Dance. My brother put my nephew in karate and he lost weight. Hope this helps. God bless you on your journey!! :flowerforyou:
  • hjackson6
    hjackson6 Posts: 30 Member
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    You have to be 18 to create an account on MFP and if you lie it is gonna say your under weight because it thinks you are 18. I was gonna create on for my 9 year old son.
  • sweetn3ss
    sweetn3ss Posts: 341 Member
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    Talk to a dietitian that specializes in pediatrics. Then go from there all the advice you get from us is going to come from the heart (some maybe educated advice), but I think when it comes to a child advice taken should come from someone with a degree. Once you know what she should be eating then sign her up on here.
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
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    I agree that at nine I would just offer healthier options (and not just single her out, but make a change in the family's way of eating). Also see if there is some kind of exercise activity she can be involved in, even if that is just getting the family more active. You as a parent have control over what food comes into your house and what she is eating, especially at age 9.

    9 is a tough age. Lots of girls are a little overweight because they are about to have a growth spurt... and too many of them are already too worried about being overweight.
  • AMOMONAJOURNEYTOCHANGEHERLIFE
    AMOMONAJOURNEYTOCHANGEHERLIFE Posts: 170 Member
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    I would suggest talking with her doctor about that. The main thing to do is limit junk, get rid of soda, fruit juice, switch to skim milk if you haven't already. Then talk to her about good fuel for her body. Make healthier choices get her interested in some form of physical activities.

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/estimated-calorie-requirement

    Maybe that website would be helpful
  • khk2010
    khk2010 Posts: 451 Member
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    I think you should talk to her pediatrician. 9 is really young for "dieting". It's 2 sided. You want her to be at a healthy weight and you don't want to add more pressure than girls already have to be thin from the media. I think parents have to be careful.
  • Nlongenecker
    Nlongenecker Posts: 765
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    Check out this site for kids health guidelines.

    http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/go_slow_whoa.html
  • krisakira
    krisakira Posts: 28
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    you are a good mom for caring about your child's health. i wish my mom would have cared about what I ate when i was 9. Then maybe I wouldn't have this problem today. I hope the best for you and your kid.
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    Here is a website that gives some tips on eating healthy for kids: http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html
    On there is a place where they give suggestions for menus, "MyPyramid Plan" gives you an idea of how much of which kinds of food kids should be eating, and there are games and coloring pages you can print off.
  • GIBride01
    GIBride01 Posts: 328 Member
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    Please take your daughter to a dietitian (dietitian, not nutritionist, if you are not sure, ask). Ask your pediatrician, he or she can get a referral to send you. A pediatric dietitian would be ideal, but most any dietitian is going to be able to give you the info you are looking for and help you out. Unless your daughter is extremely overweight, weight loss/diet restriction is not recommended. You are asking a young growing body to be in a catabolic state (burn energy) and an anabolic state (build muscle, bone etc) at the same time when you restrict calories, and it can cause havoc if not done with medical supervision. Usually restricting the "junk" , soda, candy, chips, fast food etc. plus increasing the activity will prevent any additional weight gain, and allowing your daughter to grow into her weight.
  • karenjoy
    karenjoy Posts: 1,840 Member
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    I would speak to your GP or Health visitor, they will advise you on the best course of action. I suggest following the the change 4 life programme http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/change-for-life.aspx

    it is an excellent programme aimed at children and there is all sorts of free stuff like snack swappers and if you sign up you get a personal plan through the post. (can you tell I work for children's services???)
  • Angiepackmom4
    Angiepackmom4 Posts: 75
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    Thanks for all of the websites (im going to check them out) and all of the great advice! How cool having such a variety of answers since sometimes some of the advice might not necessarily work for that individual although I am going to give it a try. For instance, she is a picky eater so she would rather "skip" eating than have to eat something she abhors. To jrich, I got the same results as Hjackson6 did when I tried to add her to mfp. It didn't work because of her age.
  • Angiepackmom4
    Angiepackmom4 Posts: 75
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    Thank you Krisakira. That was so sweet for you to say that about me. I have a son (21) and I don't think I was as educated back then at 20 years of age when I had him and also, people weren't as "health conscious" as they are now so I am sure your mom cares about you more than you realize. I wish you the best in your weight loss journey. I will cheer you on if you would like to add me.
  • Angiepackmom4
    Angiepackmom4 Posts: 75
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    karenjoy, I will have to check this program out. Thanks!!!
  • gnrshelton
    gnrshelton Posts: 358 Member
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    I'm with most of the people here. Just give healthy alternatives. Also why not try to work with her. You could go for mother daughters walks in the evening. Make it special time and it seems more attractive. It also gives the kids time to talk and share there day. My eight year old granddaughter told me when we walked she wished her mom would walk with her. Just a thought.
  • bjshooter
    bjshooter Posts: 1,174 Member
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    I got my 8 year old weighed the other day, she found it very exciting, she has been walking with me a lot and I wanted to see if it was making too much of a difference. She is about 60lb and and 4 ft 2. I looked on here

    http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx

    And that is right for her age. I also came across calories and its 1750 for girls between 7 and 10. Thats way more than I am allowed :(

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