11 year old exercising

I think with kids, the focus should be more on activities that are FUN, that get them exercising, but without having them thinking of it so much as "cardio" or a "strength workout". I would just plain get her off of the cardio machines, period. There's too much potential for a dependency on numbers: counting calories, minutes, etc... at too young of an age. Sports-type stuff is probably best, even if it's playing catch or kicking a ball around. Swimming can actually build quite a bit of muscle, too. In an ideal, healthy society, we as adults would have been engaging in activities like this all along, without ever needing to use solitary cardio machines to burn off our indulgences, later.

Because her body is still developing, and especially given that she's in the middle of puberty, her body really can't be deprived of sufficient nutrients needed for growth, so change should probably be gradual. I would explain this to her, that because her body is still growing, losing the weight too fast by eating too much less than her energy expenditure is probably doing her more harm than keeping a bit of extra weight on for a bit longer. She needs to know that there is more to it than being skinny or fat, and that she still needs to eat enough dietary macro and micronutrients (dietary fat, included; very important for brain health), so all of her organs, bones, muscles, skin, etc are healthy. She'll have better odds of maintaining her lifestyle change if it happens gradually, too, instead of losing the weight in a crash course.

Really this working out upstairs with me started because she couldn't swim with the younger kids because it was TOM for her and I didn't want her to be bored for and hour to an hour and a half while they were swimming so I told her she could come upstairs with me I thought she'd do what my oldest does just sorta pedal while watching tv and chat with me. But she really worked out to the point she told me man I am bringing a water bottle with me next time. She was getting drinks from the fountain when she was thristy but you have to be doing some work to need to drink that often. However, at the end of the week she might just go back to swimming laps and playing in the pool or she might want to spend the time with me. I think I will limit it to just a once or twice a week thing for us to have some aunty and me time. Again I will stress she is having plenty of kid time playing outside and being active in that sense.It's a mile over to the park they bike, we have a 14' tramp, she's playing plenty.

I worry about her and my 10 year old because they are both on the heavier side and Obesity runs rammpent in our family and my neices dad's side. I think most of the adults in my family are either over weight or obese I managed to work hard at keeping myself from being obese I was 145 from age 16-23 until I had my kids I gained 50# with both and never took it off until recently I lost 45 pounds 3 years ago and have kept it off now I'm working on loosing the rest. My mother, father, aunt (mom's twin), have diabetes. I'm striving to bring my kids up with better knowledge about health. I mean come on I never ate a single vegatable that didn't come out of a can until I was married or sometimes at a family function with a veggie tray. Salad what was that oh wait it was that stuff covered in mayo, and sugar with some banana's thrown in or slathered in french dressing when we went out to eat.

At this point I think she gets that she just needs to make healthier choices when eatting rather than having 3rds or 4ths of a plate of spaghetti because it tastes good she is eatting until she feels full and STOPPING not going back for more "just because". I take the kids shopping with me to be included in the menu's since I don't know a ll their likes and dislikes and they were throwing fruit and veggies in the cart left and right. They like healthy foods it's the over eatting of the other stuff that's gotten them in trouble.

Kara. My house is not a free for all with food. If you want a snack, you ask for it, if I don't want you having an icecream cone I'm going to say nope there's some Kiwi in the fruit bowl or Carrot sticks in the fridge. As for exercising outside as I've said my kids do this too but we also like to go to the YMCA and go swimming. My sisters kids are use to s wimming on a daily basis because they have a pool in their back yard so we've been going to the Y more often so they can get their "fix" of swimming. I as a kid was also outside every single day sun up to sun down riding my bike all over the darn place was I over weight YEP! did my parents let me have free for all on foods NOPE! It isn't necessarily all about playing outside more and parents feeding right. Like I said obesity runs in my family and while people can argue genetics doesn't make people fat it can give them screwed up metabolisms or something.