79 answers /
Last post: 16/07/2013 at 5:00 pm
Kathy S(29)
15/07/2013 at 1:44 pm
I would definitely seek gp advice but for what it's worth, here's what I would do.
What does he drink? Juice (including fresh) can be quite sugary. If you haven't already switch to semi skimmed milk. I would give crisps, biscuits, ice cream or anything of that kind in a very limited way, very occasionally (maybe no more than once a week). I would up his fruit and veg - carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, celery sticks. I would also home cook as much as possible, ready meals seem to really push up my weight. Would he eat porridge for breakfast?
Also up the exercise, my 2 run round the garden lots so that helps.
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 1:49 pm
In answer to
Anonymous
What stands out to me from what you have written is he's having a lot of sugar. Shreddies are very sugary and then he's having sugar on top of this (try sweetening with chopped strawberries or raisins instead), sugar in the yogurt, sugar in the biscuits, ice cream, sweets etc. how much exercise is he getting? My five year old plays on the park for 2 hours after school, riding his bike etc,swims 2x week and does 2 hours football training. If your son isnt getting enough exercise his body will store the sugar as fat and he wil gain weight. Fat doesn't make people fat, sugar does.
Try out new lunchbox ideas, ham is horrible salty processed muck and children shouldn't be eating it, what about a little tub of tuna pasta instead or wraps? Try making cereal bars or healthy flapjacks instead. Don't give him go ahead biscuits, this is 'diet food' aimed at adults, full of sugar and empty calories that won't help him feel full. He's hardly eating any fruit or veg either so maybe some in his lunchbox, grapes, cherry toms etc?
I have to argue with this, shreddies are one of the best cereals out there (i am an obsessive box reader), but adding an extra tsp of sugar is too much.
I take this back if you are discussing the shreddies with added sugar already.
Replace as many snacks as you can with actually something filling:
Typical values Per 100g of Shreddies
Energy 1566 kJ
370 kcal
Protein 9.9g
Carbohydrate 73.5g
Carbohydrate
of which sugars 14.9g
Fat 1.9g
Fat
of which saturates 0.4g
Fibre 9.8g
Sodium 0.30g
Salt Equivalent 0.76g
cheerios
Typical values Per 100g of Cheerios Serving of 30g with 125ml semi-skimmed milk
Energy 1615 kJ
382 kcal
Protein 8.6g
Carbohydrate 74.3g
Carbohydrate
of which sugars 21.4g
Fat 4.0g
Fat
of which saturates 1.0g
Fibre 7.1g
Sodium 0.41g
wheetos
NUTRITION 100g
Energy (Kilojoules) 1656kJ
Energy (Calories) 392kcal
Protein 8.4g
Carbohydrate 75.4g
(of which sugars) 23.5g
Fat 4.9g
(of which saturates) 1.0g
Fibre 6.2g
Sodium 0.09g
Salt Equivalent 0.23g
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 1:52 pm
In answer to
Anonymous
Hi Gemma,
Why not make an appointment to see your GP. See what they can recommend for you. If needs be, your local area may have a programme that you can join / may be able to refer you to a dietitian. Don't forget the measurements you have been given are from a basic height / weight chart and do not take into account build, muscle mass etc. But your GP will be best to advise you. xx
Not wishing to be inflammatory at all here, just wanting to raise the point that GPs aren't actually trained in nutrition and therefore are probably not the best source of advice.
I've just become involved with our local Active Families scheme, I'm re-writing the nutrition part of it, and a lot of the advice that's currently given out by GPs and health visitors is either out of date, or quite frankly completely at odds wiht the nutrition science. Not having a dig, I'm simply saying that nutrition is a massive subject in its own right, and that GPs and HVs have enough to do, but they shouldn't be charged with giving nutrition advice when they haven't studied the subject. Nutritional therapists (with the right qualifications) may be more appropriate in your case?
Is there an Active Families programme in your area? I'm really excited about this one, it should be fab, can't wait to get stuck in. It's all funded by the council and the director I'm working with is wonderful, really keen that families should get help they need that's right for them.
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Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 1:55 pm
reduce down to 1 sausage as they are quite fatty.
in fact only eat sausages once every two weeks as a special treat meal after doing somethig really active.
Harriet C(58)
15/07/2013 at 2:09 pm
In answer to
Anonymous
Hope I'm not posting too much but just trying to help! By changing hula hoops to quavers you will loose 100 calories a day. Think hula hoops are about 180 cals and quavers around 80. I know it's not all about calories but also fat and sugar content, but a few simple changes could help as 5 year olds recommended calories are between 1200-2000 a day depending on how active they are x
I might be wrong but I believe french fries are also alot lower in everything that normal crisps x
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 2:12 pm
Also if you are joining slimming world then all of their food is "normal" food made from scratch so your little one will benefit from this. For example their spag Bol is extra lean mince, tinned tomatoes, garlic and herbs. So much less rubbish than in a jar and lots less sugar. All lean meat is free, and so is veg, salad and fruit so maybe making a change together will benefit you both 
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 2:16 pm
It really isn't all about calories.
It matters SO MUCH where those calories come from, and different foods have different effects on our bodies.
100 calories from almonds, for example, have a completely different effect to 100 calories from a mars bar.
NHS advice is very hung up on calories and fat, and there is FAR MORE evidence that sugar is the problem, including sugar from fruit juice. Don't blame yourselves for 'doing the wrong thing', blame the Government for allowing the food industry to self regulate and to surround us with cheap, addictive, convenient foods that are marketed aggressively to children, and the NHS for being about 20 years behind the nutrition science!!
Ok rant over , deep breath......
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 2:20 pm
I agree that it's not all about calories but sometimes it's the easy way to see how much of a difference there is between 2 foods. Eg magnum 300 calories, mini milk 30 which would equate to 10 mini milks. I don't agree with counting calories in every single food item but when looking at treats, eg chocolate, ice cream, crisps then it helps me to make an informed decision on how different 2 products are and how the higher calorie "treat" would contain more fat and sugar, for example one packet of quavers is the equivalent of 2 packs of hula hoops. I don't calorie count healthy meals or fruit and veg, just treats to help me make a better decision.
keeley a(13)
15/07/2013 at 2:54 pm
Slimming world will really help you and your child. The recipes are brilliant as they are fat free family meals. I think the key to your son losing weight is to almost not let him know that anything has changed, so breakfast, he doesn't need to know that you haven't put sugar on it, maybe put a tiny bit less each day, maybe only use a tiny amount of butter of spread in his sandwiches and use lean meat as a filling instead of cheese etc, he should still eat yoghurt or fromage frais for his bones etc,
Like other mums have said, still let him have a packet of crisps after school but give him a lower fat option (skips, quavers, wotsits) maybe limit ice creams to two or three times a week as opposed to daily? Or encourage ice lollies instead of ice cream? And you can make your own from fruit juice?
Go ahead biscuits are actually pretty bad if they eat the whole packet (ie. three slices) maybe try a mini packet of cadburys animal biscuits (less than 4g of fat per bag)
Just small changes will make a big difference to him! Has he got a scooter he could use on the journey to school?
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Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 3:05 pm
You could ask your gp to refer you to a dietician who can then guide you with meals and portion sizes x
Can't find your answer?
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 3:10 pm
we realised we were feeding our son too much so we bought some small plates and if one of those plates are full he has enough food. these plates are smaller than a side plate.
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 3:48 pm
In answer to
Anonymous
Example of this week.
Breakfasts are always either shreddies small bowl maybe a tsp of sugar.
Then milk.
Lunch Is packed lunch so il make - sandwich with a meat filling like lamb or ham. Then a yogurt fruit and packet of go ahead biscuits. With juice.
After school a packet of hula hoops then a ice cream sometimes their friends will give them biscuits or sweets. Then dinner is 2 sausages mash and carrots with gravy. Or spag Bol without meat.
Hi Gemma,
I would definitely ditch adding sugar to the shreddies and would replace this with an occasional sprinkle of dried fruit (not every day though). I would also make biscuits just an occasional treat and replace this with fruits and replace the juice with water. The same applies to the after school snacks either fruit or if the child is very hungry a slice of wholemeal bread or rice cakes with veg based marg. I didn't know until recently that if a child has a bag of crisps per day, they consume the equivalent of 5 litres of oil per year!! I'm not saying that your son shouldn't have treats but these should be occasional rather than the norm.
Also if he isn't very active get him playing games in the garden, in the park, swimming and cyling.
My dd was in the obese category but just by tweaking her diet and being more active as a family, I can see a difference already. You can definitely make changes that will benefit your son in the long term.
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 4:19 pm
your ds' doesn't sound too bad, though i'd try to cut out the sugar on his cereal in the morning, add some fruit instead and maybe give a sugar free juice or water instead of the extra milk. the milk he has in his cereal would probably be enough for one meal... milk is very good for him but also high in fat. you could also think about swapping to green top milk if you are using blue top? his lunch sounds fine though to echo what someone else said look at what crisps he is having- some crisps have less than 100 calories so look out for them. instead of am ice cream in the afternoon how about frozen yoghurt? i buy wildlife tube yoghurts and put them in the freezer and its just as refreshing and yummy as an ice lolly but much healthier. also tjings like veggie sausages are much lower in calories than the meat versions.
how about doing a food chart with your ds to help encourage you both to think about what hes eating? maybe do days of the week and stick a picture up of what he choses for snacks etc each day then let him help chose these things when you are shopping too- making it fun for him will make it easier to change things.
good luck to both of you im sure you'll do well. dont put yourself down what you should and shouldnt do regarding food is so confusing there is alot of conflicting information out there.
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heidi g(22)
15/07/2013 at 4:21 pm
It doesn't sound to me as if he is having an unhealthy diet. My kids eat more or less the same and they are not overweight.
I would suggest plenty of exercise - this will speed up his metabolism which will enable him to burn excess calories quicker.
Don't make a big deal out of food because he could end up with a complex.
Make your free time exercise time, going for family walks, , swimming,playing in the park etc.
As a treat go bowling instead of a restaurant.
Walk to and from school if possible.
Just make healthy food and exercise part of normal life
Anonymous
15/07/2013 at 4:23 pm
Hi, have you tried him on porridge for breakfast? I have it with a chopped up banana & a t spoon of maple syrup or if I also put raspberries or blueberries in then I don't need the syrup. Very healthy & fills you up. it can be about portion size but if you give food that doesn't keep you full for long he will be hungry if you reduce size, so feed small portions of the right foods. Like other lady said wholemeal toast & fruit is another good one. Scrambled eggs, omelet. If he will eat veg add it. Does he like fish? My kids love yellow fish (smoked haddock) or cod with tomatoes. I make little roasts instead if chips, I chop potatoes into tiny squares, add tiny bit olive oil & roast, or I cut them into chip shapes instead.
Like others have said the slimming world will be good as it is basically a healthy diet, it will also make you more aware if what you are eating. You can quickly adjust your body to not need sugar, I was having about 6 cups of tea with sugar a day & decided it was too much so cut down to 2 with half a sugar, it was gross! Replaced other drinks with coconut water & in the morning 2 cups of hot water with lemon slices. I stopped being tempted by kids chocolate & now I don't want sugar, have none in my tea & am used to it. (I cut it out about 2 mths ago). The point I'm trying to make is the more you have sugar etc the more you want it, but it's best not to try & replace it with sweeteners as in the long run they make you eat more!
Hope this helps.
