Need help with 13 y/o daughter

start little changes like buying the brown breads and rice and changing the cereal to something with more fiber, total raisin and fat free milk. My kids would rather eat my california brown rice and steamed broccoli and salads over burgers and fries. my two year old thinks green tea is a treat, my 9 and 14 years olds love brown rice,chicken breast and teriyaki sauce. I never offered it to them at first because I thought they would reject it, but they saw me eating it and asked for bites and that was it for them. I also bought them a trampoline to jump on and they don't even know they are doing something good for themselves because its so much fun.

I'm 5'5" and this was me at 252: http://kpwls.weebly.com/uploads/4/2/1/6/4216018/6178371_orig.jpg

This is me at 180: http://kpwls.weebly.com/uploads/4/2/1/6/4216018/1207310_orig.jpg

She's only 13...it could just be puppy fat
When she gets a bit older it might just start falling off.

I'm 5'6" but was measuring 5'5" at the time these pictures were taken. I didn't actually grow, but I improved my posture from training and it made me measure taller. I was 210 during the before pictures and 175 in the after pictures. They were taken exactly 12 weeks apart. The program I was on was 5 days a week, 10 minute warm up, 45 minutes of heavy weight training (alternating the muscle groups so as not to work the same muscle group two days in a row), 45 minutes of cardio (bike or treadmill, usually), and 20 minutes of cool down and stretch. For eating, I followed the 80% rule, where I would eat 80% of my total daily energy expenditure. TDEE is BMR + activity level + planned exercise. While the scale only read 35# lost, I actually lost 62# of body fat and built 27# of lean tissue. Notice I didn't say I built 27# of muscle. Yes, some of the gains were muscle fibers, but a lot of them were glycogen stores in the body to fuel the additional exercise I was doing. I went from 46% body fat to 20% body fat. My issues were from hormonal changes and medications to control those hormonal changes. I went off all medications and got my monthly cycle under control through this program. At her age, she may be having a harder time with her monthly cycle then she should be because of her weight, but she may not even realize it isn't normal. Be sure to let her know that she may experience changes in her cycle from working out and eating healthier. I've been a 13 year old girl, though, so you may want to let your wife handle that conversation.


Before





After

She's only 13...it could just be puppy fat
When she gets a bit older it might just start falling off.

That's a nice thought but 220 is not puppy fat. I was that girl, still am. Only now I'm 32 and weigh 241(was at 250 before MFP). She just needs support, exercise, and good eating habits.

Hi,
My daughter is also 13. She was overweight until about 2 years ago. She lost the weight on her own over the summer.
First, she had a burning desire to lose weight - she was self-motivated. I think that's critical.
Second, she started counting calories. It was a difficult summer - eating less calories made her grumpy - but she did it. We don't drink soda or have potato chips around - but she really loves fried food. Any opportunity to eat out, it used to be fried chicken, fish,
french fries, whatever. She gave that up (most days) to lose the weight. After that summer, she joined a cross country team at
school. That let her eat more of what she wanted, keep the weight off, and stop counting calories.

Other changes she made was she stopped eating the school lunch. That's a calorie/fat fest around here. She packs her own
lunch (today it included yogurt, special k bar, and carrot juice - I"m not sure what else).

I'm sure your daughter can do it. Some small changes. Some bigger changes. Remember that no food is 'off limits' - that's
too depressing - just in moderation (both the amount and the frequency).

I'm sure you are a great role model with your weight loss. Good luck to both of you.

Hi,
My daughter is also 13. She was overweight until about 2 years ago. She lost the weight on her own over the summer.
First, she had a burning desire to lose weight - she was self-motivated. I think that's critical.
Second, she started counting calories. It was a difficult summer - eating less calories made her grumpy - but she did it. We don't drink soda or have potato chips around - but she really loves fried food. Any opportunity to eat out, it used to be fried chicken, fish,
french fries, whatever. She gave that up (most days) to lose the weight. After that summer, she joined a cross country team at
school. That let her eat more of what she wanted, keep the weight off, and stop counting calories.

Other changes she made was she stopped eating the school lunch. That's a calorie/fat fest around here. She packs her own
lunch (today it included yogurt, special k bar, and carrot juice - I"m not sure what else).

I'm sure your daughter can do it. Some small changes. Some bigger changes. Remember that no food is 'off limits' - that's
too depressing - just in moderation (both the amount and the frequency).

I'm sure you are a great role model with your weight loss. Good luck to both of you.

This is great advice

My 13 year old daughter is currently around 5'5" and weighs 220lbs. She is having a difficult time imagining what she would look like thin. Anyone out there with a before and after pic around that starting height and weight? She sure could use the encouragement. Thanks MFP Ladies you are the best!

www.mybodygallery.com
You can enter height, weight, and body type to see what real people look like at certain weights.

Lots of great advice.

My daughter is 12 and is concerned about her body weight, she currently weighs 118 lbs. She is not as thin as the other girls in her class and that bothers her. I do not allow her to call herself fat and I tell her that she is growing into her body. I too, am very careful not to impose my body issues onto her.

We try to lead by example by living an active lifestyle and plan healthy meals and grocery shop as a family. On weekends we go out and run/bike, cross country ski, skate etc. together.

She takes gymnastics for two hours once a week and is starting a volleyball league tonight. She asked if she could join.

I try to encourage my daughter to help with meal preparation so she sees what is involved in making healthy dishes.

It is a very delicate situation yet it is a crucial time in a young persons life that they learn to make healthy choices and get active.

All the best to you and your family.

Karen

Wow, that's inspiring....60lbs made a huge difference.