Please help me with my daughters diet!

[mumto3xxx]

My daughter is having some health concerns at the moment relating to her hormones (I started a thread earlier in the week about it) and when we saw the gp he said I need to cut down the amount of food she’s eating. She has aspergers, Tourette’s, adhd and some hearing loss and is 23. She seems to feel hungry a lot of the time so I try to give her substantial meals so that she doesn’t snack too much in between. She is in the normal bmi range also. In a day she currently has:
Breakfast: porridge with two bananas and yoghurt, a milkshake (she will only drink gold top milk unfortunately, I’ve tried to get her to drink semi skimmed)
Lunch: a portion of leftovers from the previous evening (admittedly she does have a full plate), a chocolate yoghurt and an apple, water
Afternoon snack: a banana and a biscuit and another milkshake
Dinner: usually something like spaghetti Bolognaise (she will also eat two portions of veg with her main meal) and a chocolate pastry swirl for pudding
Before bed: hot chocolate (again with gold top milk unfortunately)
I know it’s not a great diet but I struggle to get her to eat any less (I realise she is having two hot meals a day). She also suffers badly with constipation and the gp says the amount of food she’s eating won’t be helping. I was just wondering if anyone has any advice/ideas as I am quite worried about her and desperately want to help her. Thank you x

Does she snack inbetween?

Only in the afternoon- she has a banana, a biscuit and a milkshake
Thank you for your reply

milkshake could be a lot of calories. Sounds like you are in control of the main meals so I would think about cutting down portion sizes. also, could slightly water down the gold top very slowly over weeks, see if she even notices, until it is more like semi (could take months)

That’s a lot of milk every day.

Could you serve it in a smaller glass so she still has the taste but not as much?

It looks like the portion sizes of her meals could also be heavily reduced too.

Bananas can be constipating. Could you try a different fruit?

So her BMI is normal? Why does she need to eat less?

It sounds like the portion sizes are the problem. Could you reduce the portions a very little bit each day so she doesn't notice?

Bananas cause constipation and she is eating 3 a day!

Apples,pears and plums are all good for constipation
Does she drink much other fluids?
Could you try soup for fluids/extra veg(if she would eat it) and a roll with some cheese?
Bananas are high end of calories compared to say berries,could you do one banana and a different fruit in her porridge.if it's not satisfying enough maybe add few nuts/seeds/spoonful nut butter to vary nutrients?

Could you fit in more protein rather than carbs?

@dementedpixie I know the bananas going was my first thought when she first became constipated- she absolutely craves them though- she has 3 a day now but went through a period where she would only eat bananas so would have 8 or 9 a day. I offer her things like grapes a lot but she refuses!

@dementedpixie the gp says the volume of food that she’s eating won’t be helping with the hot flushes she’s having and also the constipation

Hi @mumto3 she is having quite a high GI diet...so there will be lots of fluctuations in blood sugar leading to feeling hungry. You might be better increasing protein to make her fuller for longer while reducing sugars. So maybe one banana and no milkshake at breakfast. She Could have wholemeal toast with an egg if still hungry. Lunch just reduce portion size and add veg. Or alternatively a bowl of homemade soup might help with constipation. For dinner...if having pasta then reduce the amount while increasing the veg. Also up her water consumption. When my young daughter was advised by the doctor I was amazed at the amount they recommend to drink. More Water may also make her feel fuller.

@stilllivinginazoo I had never thought of soups- that’s a great idea. Thank you

What is the link between food volume and hot flushes I wonder or is he just hypothesising? Could it be food intolerance rather than amount eaten?

@lljkk watering down the milk is a good idea! I will start very gradually. Thank you

No real help with the diet..... it is just a case of swapping a few things? Look at low GI, it helps stabilise blood sugar levels and manage cravings.

Has GP prescribed anything for the constipation?

@dementedpixie thank you for your reply. I think he was just hypothesising. He asked what she ate and he just said it’s too much and that it’ll be making things worse for her

Is she on any medication that causes constipation?

@crunchymum thank you for your reply. Yes she’s been on laxatives for a few weeks now

@dementedpixie no she’s not on anything at the moment (apart from melatonin)

You could try her with an options hot choc at the end of the day. What about fruit salad where it's all cut up etc? That often tempts people more.

Can you increase veg content in meals. You say she has 2 veg with evening meal but what if for something like bolognaise you serve more bolognaise sauce and less pasta but reduce the meat in the sauce and replace with mushrooms, carrots and courgette (v finely diced if necessary).