Son (10 years old) unintentionally losing weight
laughtoomuch
Posts: 9 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 ?
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
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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.0 -
but why is the 10 year olds food measured?0
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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.0 -
Avocado, nut butters, full fat dairy, ice cream...0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
laughtoomuch wrote: »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!0 -
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.0 -
laughtoomuch wrote: »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?0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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 conditions0 -
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.
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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.0
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Buy your kid some real food instead of this "clean" nonsense.0
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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.0
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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.0
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laughtoomuch 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).0 -
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.0 -
If he LOVES chips, then stock some chips in the pantry.laughtoomuch wrote: »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.
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laughtoomuch wrote: »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.
Well, there's your problem. That's a very good skill to have (eating only until full), but (as others have pointed out as well) the foods you're offering to him/have available for him are not as calorie-dense as the foods it would stand to reason you've eliminated from your house. For those of us trying to lose weight, this is an advantage - we can fill up on fruit and salmon and edamame and feel full on fewer calories. However, for an active 10 year old boy, he may not be able to consume enough volume of those foods to meet his calorie needs.
It sounds like you agree, but just to reiterate - add to and/or replace parts of what he's eating now with full-fat, more calorie dense foods. Even if that means chips.
And still go to the doctor.0 -
If he LOVES chips, then stock some chips in the pantry.laughtoomuch wrote: »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.
I would second this. If you have the calories to spare, which he does, chips aren't bad. Potato chips and corn tortilla chips are typically only 3 ingredients. Certainly don't let him eat bags and bags of chips, but there's nothing with chips as a snack. Tortilla chips and salsa, bean dip or guacamole is a healthy snack.0 -
I can't make any recommendations, but if you have concerns, definitely talk to a doctor. There could be any number of underlying issues that you would want to rule out. My cousin's son (I believe he was 9 at the time) started losing weight, and it became significant. From there, other issues started popping up. Without getting into the specifics of what was going on with him, I'll just say that he is now back on track, but he had a combination of issues--some of them being newly developed allergies, in combination with some autoimmune stuff. Initially his pediatrician blew it off, but after some serious complications and lots of "second" opinions and specialists, they were able to get him gaining weight again. Hopefully it's nothing serious in your son's case. My sister's son has never liked eating, and my sister has to work at getting calories in him. She uses pediasure to help with that.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
If she is literally every day giving her 10 year old tukey cubes for lunch and grilled fish and cauliflower for dinner, and all food comes measured in cups, this is not normal eating for a child, this is setting her kid up for an eating disorder. There is clean eating, as in healthy choices, and there is obsession. An overweight adult being on a restricted and repetitive diet is one thing. Having a 10 year old follow the same diet, it is not normal. There would be absolutely nothing wrong with the child eating this menu once or twice a week, the repetition and counting everything is the weird part.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
If she is literally every day giving her 10 year old tukey cubes for lunch and grilled fish and cauliflower for dinner, and all food comes measured in cups, this is not normal eating for a child, this is setting her kid up for an eating disorder. There is clean eating, as in healthy choices, and there is obsession. An overweight adult being on a restricted and repetitive diet is one thing. Having a 10 year old follow the same diet, it is not normal. There would be absolutely nothing wrong with the child eating this menu once or twice a week, the repetition and counting everything is the weird part.
It says a "typical" diet. As in example.0 -
When my husband was a kid, he was very skinny, and wouldn't gain weight. His pediatrician put him on Ensure. Probably not the best route, but maybe giving him a can of ensure a day just to pack on some calories?!0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
If she is literally every day giving her 10 year old tukey cubes for lunch and grilled fish and cauliflower for dinner, and all food comes measured in cups, this is not normal eating for a child, this is setting her kid up for an eating disorder. There is clean eating, as in healthy choices, and there is obsession. An overweight adult being on a restricted and repetitive diet is one thing. Having a 10 year old follow the same diet, it is not normal. There would be absolutely nothing wrong with the child eating this menu once or twice a week, the repetition and counting everything is the weird part.
All of the food in my fridge is portioned out in individual servings because that's how I store it. It's not all that odd... Someone tell me I'm not crazy. Please?0 -
If you're preparing a lot of the same things every day, he could just be bored with the food. It may look like he's eating until he's full but it could really be that he just doesn't want what's there.
ETA: Your meals look like they're of the protein + veggie + (sometimes) starch model which is fine but there are also soups, pasta dishes, casseroles, pizzas, sandwiches and burgers, salads, tacos, etc. Preparing food in different ways helps make it more interesting and fun to eat.
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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.
I cook on Sundays and prep food for as long as it will last. I have two fridges in my kitchen that I stock. What I listed for him is JUST what I notice he has been eating for the past few days. I currently have salmon, catfish, sautéed chicken, sandwiches, eggs, cubed turkey and bulgogi in there along with broccoli, cauliflower, edamame, carrot sticks, cucumbers, grapes, oranges, strawberries, pineapples, and blueberries. I also have a ton of greek yogurt, waters, orange juice and gatorades. I'm sure there are other things but I can't remember all of it.
I'm not measuring food for him, I'm doing it for me but I don't control what or when they eat. There is no lock on the fridge.
When I know we will be out all day, I suggest we grab a bite somewhere and they want me to bring what we have at home. I'm not forcing these food down on them...they really seem to like it.
I know chips and other junk food will add more calories to his diet...I was just hoping for other options.
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