Low carb diet for my son
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wishfullthinking79
Posts: 322 Member
I apologize if this is has been posted before. My sons father and I are getting a little concerned with my sons weight. He is only 10 years old and right at 5 ft and weighs 110 pounds. So he is a little chunky. He is an active little boy, playing football in the spring and in the fall. He is self conscious of how he looks. Now he does not eat a lot of "junk". He does not eat like I do because I am just unsure if it would be right for him. What are your thoughts about this??
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If I had it to do over I would have raised my son on real food. Nothing processed, ever. As it is (he is 19) his favorite food is frozen lasagna! I have many regrets over past food choices. I don't think a potato is that bad for you. I think what they turn them into (chips...) are toxic to the human body. I don't think you would need to be as low carb, and just cutting out anything from a box, or bag, would help him. Over time he wouldn't want it anymore, hopefully. Best of luck!0
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Maybe lower carb, and low sugar, but not anything extreme. What does his doctor say? Depending on his build, he could be chunky, or just stocky. Plus, kids sometimes get a little pudgy, then grow 4 inches overnight without gaining any weight.0
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I focus on slow carb rather than low carb for my boys (ages 8, 11, 13). For example if they want regular bread, they just get one slice per day (we need to eat gluten free and the store bought bread is expensive junk). If they want to eat Soul Bread (with lots of protein and fat and just ~1g carb per slice) they can have more. I usually have lots of veggies cut up and in the fridge. I try to keep cheese and meats available for snacks. We always have a bowl of nuts, coconut and cacao nibs on the table for snacking with some fruits. When I bake I use coconut flour and add hemp, chia and flax meal and only use stevia drops for sweetener.
For my oldest and youngest, this works fine. My middle son is incredibly picky though and tends to just eat beige foods. I have to work to get him to not live on potatoes and rice.
I don't keep store bought treats in the house at most times. The biggest treat is rice crackers. I I keep the foods as whole foods or homemade (and sugar and grain free) I find that it is tough for them to overeat.
It may be working. They are all quite slim to skinny. It could also be genetics too as their dad was on the skinny side as a child, and I was at a normal weight. My 11 year old is about 5'2" and about 80lbs - he's my skinniest. The 13 year old is on the short side and about 5' or 5'1" and 85-90 lbs.0 -
@Sunny_Bunny_ posted the link to an article about reduced/lowering sugar in kids diets and how it positively impacts health markers (I would link it too but can't find it in my history now) - perhaps she can post it here for you too. We've been actively reducing sugar in my overweight 12-yo son's diet since then. He hasn't noticeably lost weight but it's only been a few weeks.0
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lithezebra wrote: »Maybe lower carb, and low sugar, but not anything extreme. What does his doctor say? Depending on his build, he could be chunky, or just stocky. Plus, kids sometimes get a little pudgy, then grow 4 inches overnight without gaining any weight.
So true. It's like they save up weight before the first puberty growth spurt, and then they just stretch.0 -
Just curious about how "junk" is defined. Does he eat a bowl of cereal with skim milk? Toast and OJ? If so, no different than a candy bar IMO.
Kids don't need to be low carb, but something like "paleo" would be good IMO. Real food.0 -
Keep him active (kick him out of the house for a few hours on weekends
), continue to limit the usual suspects (chips, candy, sugar-laden cereals, soda pop, fruit juice, etc), and give him free reign on whole foods. Don't forget to watch the sneaky sugar!
A lot of schools now have contracts with candy and soda companies at school with machines or lunch room sales of Gatorade and Little Debbie. Is he being honest regarding his consumption of these snacks?
Kids tend to grow either up then out or out then up during puberty. Unless his doctor suggests it, I would be hesitant to place a child on a "diet."0 -
I definitely think genetics play an important role in this. His father was a bit chunky when he was a kid. You know up until he was around 8 he was a skinny thing. Even as a baby.
He takes his lunch to school because I want to know that he is eating healthy. He either gets a turkey sandwhich or a turkey wrap with spinach and kale, some carrots, a fruit, and either chex mix or his favorite chips takis. I alternate between them. He gets water and flavoring to drink. I do not allow him to eat a lot of junk. He definitely does not get much fast food. That happens on very rare occassion because I do not eat it at all.
He hasnt had a yearly check up yet. The last time he went to the doctor he did say Elijah was borderline overweight.
I really just want him to be comfortable with the way he looks. We spend the summer in florida so we are at the beach or a pool a lot. He would prefer to keep his shirt on.0 -
Just curious about how "junk" is defined. Does he eat a bowl of cereal with skim milk? Toast and OJ? If so, no different than a candy bar IMO.
Kids don't need to be low carb, but something like "paleo" would be good IMO. Real food.
He does eat cereal but not one that is packed with a lot of sugar or sugar reduced oatmeal. I provide him with healthy snacks 95% of the time.0 -
How about weight training?0
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wishfullthinking79 wrote: »Just curious about how "junk" is defined. Does he eat a bowl of cereal with skim milk? Toast and OJ? If so, no different than a candy bar IMO.
Kids don't need to be low carb, but something like "paleo" would be good IMO. Real food.
He does eat cereal but not one that is packed with a lot of sugar or sugar reduced oatmeal. I provide him with healthy snacks 95% of the time.
Cereal is still refined grains most of the time, which are essentially just glorified sugar, based on how the body responds to them.
Try swapping it out for omelets or sweet potato hash or something similar that's based on whole foods. If you still want to do oatmeal, switch it to steel cut oats. They take longer to make, but they're the whole food form, instead of the refined form.DorkothyParker wrote: »How about weight training?
I second this. The hormonal effects of weight training will also drop any excess fat if needed.
I do agree with the previous mention of the fact that it's also part of puberty. A lot of kids will grow out before up.
Eat real food. Drop at least the refined grains and focus on meats, vegetables, nuts, and fruits. That should drop his weight without "going on a diet."0 -
I didnt think it was really good for 10 year olds to be doing weight training. He already does a lot of different exercises at football practice which is 4 days a week with games on Saturdays. Are you suggesting that I add something on top of that?0
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Okay, I don't have kids, so feel free to shoot me. But he is only 10 years old. It's likely he could be about to have a growth spurt, or any number of random things. A focus on whole foods is great. Healthy habits, like being active, teaching him not to emotional eat are great. I think you are doing well. How does he eat when he isn't around you?
Also - it cracks me up. I'm 4'11" (woman) and I'm told that i need to be between the weight of 100-110 pounds. (Not my goal!) so it's hard for me to imagine someone who is still growing, is taller than me, and weighs a lot less than me is "overweight"!! SMH...silly standards!0 -
@wishfullthinking79 our son and daughter are now 18 and I agree it is great to keep them away from junk food but that is very hard to do. It sounds like you are doing a good job by sending him out with a good lunch.
If he is still on the heavy side a couple years after say 13-14 you may want to really get concerned but puberty can fix a lot of weight issues for guys (may trigger other concerns however) as Dragonwolf mentioned.
Generally speaking carbs that get burned off daily are not a real concern. It is when we get older and they get stored as fat in all of the wrong places that can be a killer especially in guys. Best of success. Our son shot up to 6'4" and has no weight problems. You are a good mom to be concerned but as active as he is I expect he will turn out OK.
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Thank you everyone. I just want him to have self confidence. He gets upset when clothes dont fit. He calls himself fat. Which he is not. He has some little boobs which is something the men in my family havee when they have weight on them. That child was blessed with his daddys plump booty. I tell him all the time girls will love that booty. lol
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Well he is a growing boy so buy him some clothes a bit too large.
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True. Baggy is a good friend to those who are self conscious and then he'll still be able to wear it when he shoots up... He's pretty tall already!wishfullthinking79 wrote: »I definitely think genetics play an important role in this. His father was a bit chunky when he was a kid. You know up until he was around 8 he was a skinny thing. Even as a baby.
He takes his lunch to school because I want to know that he is eating healthy. He either gets a turkey sandwhich or a turkey wrap with spinach and kale, some carrots, a fruit, and either chex mix or his favorite chips takis. I alternate between them. He gets water and flavoring to drink. I do not allow him to eat a lot of junk. He definitely does not get much fast food. That happens on very rare occassion because I do not eat it at all.
He hasnt had a yearly check up yet. The last time he went to the doctor he did say Elijah was borderline overweight.
I really just want him to be comfortable with the way he looks. We spend the summer in florida so we are at the beach or a pool a lot. He would prefer to keep his shirt on.
If it is a concern for him, you could always give his lunch a makeover. Leftovers are always good, but the turkeywrap sounds good too. Root veggies are high in stach/carbs so carrots are higher in glucose than cucumbers, avocado or celery would be. Fruit could be swapped for veggies if you wanted, but probably isn't a concern. I would drop the chips and chex if you do want to change anything. That's a treat in our house. I buy Chex on holidays. You could you pack him bag of nuts, seeds, or homemade trail mix (minus dried fruit and candy) instead, or give him a few pepperoni sticks and cheese.
It sounds like you are doing well by him. I bet by age 14 he is 5'6" and only 10 pounds heavier than he is now. Especially since you are working to make good choices for him. 0 -
wishfullthinking79 wrote: »I didnt think it was really good for 10 year olds to be doing weight training. He already does a lot of different exercises at football practice which is 4 days a week with games on Saturdays. Are you suggesting that I add something on top of that?
Regarding weight training, specifically -- http://breakingmuscle.com/family-kids/strength-training-is-good-for-kids-heres-how-to-do-it In short, the AAP actually recommends it after age 8, and it sets the child up with a solid muscular foundation from which to grow.
If he's already highly active, then it's not an issue as far as weight goes, but what about outside football season? His schedule is likely more flexible then. It's also as much about his self-esteem as it is about physical results. Weight lifting is empowering as all get-out.wishfullthinking79 wrote: »Thank you everyone. I just want him to have self confidence. He gets upset when clothes dont fit. He calls himself fat. Which he is not. He has some little boobs which is something the men in my family havee when they have weight on them. That child was blessed with his daddys plump booty. I tell him all the time girls will love that booty. lol
Have the men ever had their estrogen levels checked? Man boobs and fat storage in the butt area are indicators of estrogen-driven storage. There's a slight chance there might actually be an underlying medical condition driving some of that.
That said, I agree with Gale on the clothing sizes. Don't buy what fits him now, because it won't fit him in a month or two. Buy at least a size larger. He can wear a 5 now? Get a 6. This way, you don't have to buy clothes so often, and he's less likely to be in high-waters in a month.
I'd say try an experiment -- drop all grains. Don't worry about "carbs." You can still do sweet potatoes (in moderation), carrots, etc. But try a month without bread or cereal. You can use the Whole 30 program for guidance. See how it affects his body composition. If it's anything like what I've seen other people say about their boys, you'll likely have the opposite problem before too long.0 -
@Dragonwolf Not sure what to say about the estrogen. I just know when they put on weight they do so in their chest as well. His butt us not a result of fat. He has a nice firm bubble butt just like his father. A butt I wish I had.
If he is not playing football he is doing wrestling. This summer we will,be in florida. So he will be swimming and surfing.
I don't know how I can cut out grains completely. I think even the wraps have some form of grain in them.
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wishfullthinking79 wrote: »
I don't know how I can cut out grains completely. I think even the wraps have some form of grain in them.
Soul Bread is a great bread/pseudo bread that he might like. It is basically made from cream cheese and whey isolate protein powder. Its EXPENSIVE to make but it is a bread that I feel really good about my kids eating. http://lowcarbediem.com/low-carb-soul-bread-recipes/ There are some good paleo coconut wraps out there too.0
